I''m in!!! Looks like a nice setup. I'm getting thirsty just looking at it

 

I got in now. That setup looks great. With that fairing it looks set to do a DAKAR. (aside: The 450s actually put in a good showing in this year's run, a 351 might be a bit small though) Looking forward to your ride report.

 

I like your solution to the water carriers.

 

I tried a test ride today at highway speed with about 3/4 of my camping load on the bike (30 lbs food, stove, clothes etc) in my Dirtbagz and got my a** scared off me when I got the bike up to above 55 mph. I got a nasty weave/wobble on acceleration from that speed or if I went over a bump or dip on constant throttle. It feels like the whole bike is shimmying and it is scary! Doesn't feel like its coming from the handlebars, but the whole bike weaves. Goes away when you slow down, gets worse if you keep accelerating. I can't trigger it by shimmying the bars at any other speed.

I thought it might be sag so I cranked the rear spring pre-load down so there is 1.5-2 inches of sag with me and the load and added a few psi to take the new D606's up to 20. That helped a very small amount, basically moved the start of the weave up a few mph. I have ridden this bike with these tyres on the highway at higher speeds with no issue unloaded. Anyone got any bright ideas? I am not going to drive 400 miles at 50 mph nor do I fancy dealing with the constant threat of a death wobble.

I'm thinking swing arm or steering head bearings? Help, I'm supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon.

 

There's a lot of factors at play on your bike. I'd start experimenting incrementally to see which have the most dramatic effects on your handling. You could first try a few more PSI in the tires, then maybe try riding the bike without the fairing, w/out water jugs, w/out camping gear, etc. You might have to go all minimalist, leave behind anything you can survive without. You may end up making some sacrifices gearwise.

Could you leave your water jugs empty for your road trip portion and then fill up when you're about to head into the boonies? How about food? Is it mostly dry/dehydrated type stuff, or is it cans/pouches and requires cooking (which means you need a stove and stove fuel)?

Some relevant info here: http://www.adventurealan.com/

 

Thanks for the reply Heavy. I have packed fairly light, I just weighed the dirtbagz fully packed for the trip and they weigh 25 lbs. Thats all my food, fuel, stove, cookset, clothing, spare tube, quart of oil and odds and ends. The water tanks are empty for the road portion and add maybe another 10 lbs max to the load. I was going to add another 10 lbs on the back rack with my tent, pad, sleeping bag and hiking shoes. So with just that little bit of weight I can't help thinking that there's something wrong. It doesn't seem like 30-35 lbs extra, no matter where it's packed, should affect the handling that much. Hell, I've carried my wife without ill-effect and she's not that skinny.

I have had a similar problem on another bike years ago, but in that case, after I somehow recovered from the tank-slapper I got when I took my hands off the bars, I found several loose spokes on the back wheel. The KLX wheels are fine, front and back, the wheel bearings seem good also... Don't have much time to sort this out before my vacation is up though so I may have to defer to 4 wheels for this trip

 

Looks awesome! Sorry about the wobble, but I'm sure you will figure it out. Here's mine. Love to see other ideas.

 

Hey Deej do you have the stock spring and fork spring on your bike? That load you have must be as heavy as I was carrying.

 

Yep all stock, adjusted to the max, and if you think that's heavy, check this out! LOL

 

axel: I would try increasing the tire pressure to 25psi for your heavier load. In the Kawi manual it recommends that pressure when carrying a heavy load. Might help.
Have a good trip.