XR 650 retool

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Whethefakawe

Race Dog
Joined
Jun 21, 2006
Messages
621
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Bike
KTM 950 Adventure S
I seem to have a penchant for starting bike rebuilds and then discovering I don't have enough time to finish the job, shame on me.So this is a very succinct restoration report.....basically before and after  :lol8:

Some time ago I saw a clean-looking 2002 XR 650R on Craigslist, the US equivalent of Gumtree. XR's are part of my DNA, and over breakfast at a Jewish deli  :lol8: one day I told the missus I just want to go look at it since it wasn't far away. She laughed at me which hurt my feewings, but honest - I had no plans to do anything irresponsible, I really just wanted to look.  XR's are like babies to me, I simply HAVE to touch them and make goo-goo gaa-gaa noises.

Well - the thing was CLEAN - oke I bought it from had just bought it from the original owner who put about a dozen hours on it and dropped it in his driveway once. He wanted to make a Motard out of it but he was a smallish oke and realised immediately it was too much bike for him, so he put it up for sale again. We went and looked at it and I was stunned by the bike's condition. I showed him how to kickstart it wearing flipflops, which scared the shit out of him, then drove to the nearby bank and held it up. Got a smoking cash deal, and he threw in a pair of brand new FOX boots which were also too big for him. The XR 650R is a big boy's bike in all ways  :lol8:

Anyways - it sat in my garage for a while, I had no particular plans for it, got a few offers to sell for as much as $500 more than I paid for it, but something stopped me. Finally, around March I decided I was going to make it into the Baja race bike/overkill DS I always wanted. I never really modded my first one as much as I wanted, so this time I went for it.

The bike already had a new IMS tank on it, and a bunch of aftermarket stuff miraculously appeared on my doorstep over the next two weeks:
Complete new wheels from Dubya Wheels - Talon hubs, extra strength stainless spokes, Excel A60 rims - can't build a stronger wheel
BRP high triple clamp with Scotts steering damper under the bars
Renthal CR High handlebars
ASV levers and perches
New grips
Enduro Engineering bark busters (tried something different from the usual Cycra)
Had the seat redone by Seat Concepts, tall size of course
New chain
New sprockets
XR's only case saver
Mylar radiator hoses and low-temp thermostat
High pressure radiator cap
Baja Desings Squadron headlight that fades paint if you get too close
Galfer brake discs and pads front and rear
Galfer steel-braided brake lines
XR's only chain guide
Maxxis desert tyres
Heavy-duty tubes and rim locks
TrailTech instrument cluster with speed, coolant temp, voltage, timers etc
IMS shifter
IMS Enduro footpegs
Aluminium skid plate
Pro Circuit exhaust system
Heavy duty radiator guards
Scotts rear disc protector
A few pieces of red bling like the front brake cylinder cover
Last but not least, Stillwell Performance suspension modified for my weight and riding style.

I started a training course in March that had me out of town for 5 weeks and knew I would get nowhere trying to do it myself,. so I took it to my mates at Stilwell Performance (suspension specialists, but they will take on projects like this) and had them build the bike. They've now built three bikes for me, and if I don't make some serious progress soon getting my 950 ADV S reassembled, it will be four. Time is money!

I missed one or two small details and still have to mount the number plate, but it's Ready to Ride Red. I'll fix those next week.

This was the bike when I decided to build it, last November. On these bikes, the way to tell how much it's been used and abused is by the amount of scuffing on the clutch cover and frame downrails just behind. This one didn't see much of that.




I got the call two days ago to come fetch the beast. It looks like this now:




Detail





Yes, I kinda cheated with this "restoration" but a man must know his limitations  :lol8:


 
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