Deputy Gene's XR 650 gets new stuff

deputygene · 06-29-2011, 07:34 PM

Hey, long time no post, but I just had some mods done to the Big red Pig and wanted to show them. I have had plans to ride the pig on the Transamerica trail, but I have been working every weekend off on our cheap mountain cabin so much that the bikes have been neglected.
I scored this XR's only tail pipe off of ebay over the winter.

That along with Dave's Mods, new jets and air filter really woke the pig up.
Here is a better shot

The Kenda 270 has almost 3000 miles on it, still has some wear left.

The stock front tire, at 5400 miles is about gone

[/img]

Here is what has been eating up all of my time. This is four weekend in;

Slowly, as I am not a construction worker and had to figure stuff out as I went along.
Here it is now

[/img]
This cabin has been built on the cheap, one weekend at a time. The framing lumber is all seconds from a home supply store bought up over a years time. Same with the doors and windows. It is a 2 room cabin, living room/kitchen and bedroom/bathroom at about 460 sq feet. The exterior wood is pine trees rough cut at a small local mill.
Here is the interior of the living room

My made from scratch kitchen cabinet

It is well insulated

And another shot of the current status

[/img]
I hope to be mostly done by the end of July. Maybe then I can get back into my TAT quest.

MICRider · 06-29-2011, 10:47 PM

The XR looks great! And a cabin in the mountains... Does it get much better than that?

Only way I could think of is if you had a nice fishing stream nearby.

deputygene · 06-29-2011, 11:12 PM

No stream :( . But, the valley behind the cabin goes pretty far down and is full of deer and coyotes!
The XR runs much better, I think it may be a little rich now, but more riding will tell.
The cabin is my first building project, I am pleased with how it has come along, suprised some thing have taken so long. I spent a whole weekend on the dang kitchen cabinet. But overall, I am pleased.

SpudRider · 06-30-2011, 01:29 AM

Thanks for posting the update; your BRP looks great!

You have done an excellent job on your cabin.

When you are ready to start the TAT, you might consider installing a ManRacks, Super Duty luggage rack, or a ManRacks, RotoPax rack.

I just installed a RotoPax luggage rack, and it is very strong.

I attached my J.C. Whitney mounting plate to the RotoPax rack.

Spud

Weldangrind · 06-30-2011, 10:26 AM

Nice work! You're lucky that you can use pine siding where you live. It would rot away on the wet coast. I think that a steel roof is a great choice.

Nice tail light!

deputygene · 06-30-2011, 10:41 AM

Hey Spudrider! Did you notice the tailight in the second picture? The one you recommended, that I made a trade to weldandgrind for. It works great.
I looked at those racks once, may have to give them a second look.
How many miles do you have on your bike now? What front tire are you running?

deputygene · 06-30-2011, 10:50 AM

We are going to seal it. I would like it to keep the new sawn "yellow" look. Why would it rot worse on the west coast? Humidity?
We have very little $$$ in the cabin, the biggest expenses have been the insulation and the metal roof. But the metal roof will last forever and should never leak.
The framing wood was all seconds, the interior boards were free, The exterior wood cost about 100 bucks to get sawed, we spent the day helping the saw mill guy do that (scary watching him crawl all over the mill while it was running) The sink, shower and water heater were all craigslist finds. We have paid as we went, so I won't owe anything when finished. It will be our little homebase, mountain retreat when we ride up that way

FastDoc · 06-30-2011, 11:24 AM

Looking good! I love the cabin, and the BRP. Enjoy!

SpudRider · 06-30-2011, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deputygene

Hey Spudrider! Did you notice the tailight in the second picture? The one you recommended, that I made a trade to weldandgrind for. It works great.
I looked at those racks once, may have to give them a second look.
How many miles do you have on your bike now? What front tire are you running?

I didn't notice until Weldangrind pointed it out!

Indeed, the Western Power Sports tail light is excellent, and fits the BRP as if it were designed for it!

After trail vibrations killed the filament in the stock, tail light bulb, I recently installed a Trail Tech, 1157, LED bulb in my tail light.

I bought the bulb from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC.

The odometer on my XR650L now shows 19,391 miles, Gene. I bought the bike with 7,800 miles on the odometer.

I am employing a CST, Surge I, front tire on my "pig." This tire works surprisingly well on the street, and has never failed me off road.

I just mounted my third, Surge I, front tire. I have averaged 5,000 miles of wear from my first two, Surge I, front tires.

Spud

deputygene · 06-30-2011, 02:03 PM

19,391, thats great. I've been wondering what kind of longevity to expect from the brp. I looked on thumpertalk and the claims are all over the map, from 40,000 down to 10,000 miles. I have mid 5000 on mine. The Suzuki DR's claimed engine life seems to be higher, might be the oil cooler. I know mine is running cooler with the new jetting. It ran really hot before.

Weldangrind · 07-01-2011, 02:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deputygene

Why would it rot worse on the west coast? Humidity?

Yep. Mold happens extremely quickly around here. We had a bumper crop of moss on the lawn too.

Jim · 07-01-2011, 03:00 AM

Very cool cabin

I'd consider something like that if I could afford land to put it on around here.

deputygene · 07-01-2011, 08:58 PM

It's on some family land with some other small cabins. We pay a lot rent for it being there.

Lot of neat stuff up there like this gathering area with fire pit

We built the living room/kitchen first, finishing it as we got the wood, then started on the bedroom addition

But the whole cabin was planned from the start

as it came along

See the original bedroom window framing. The window we had was huge! But it was free. We scored the window that was installed at the last minute

We treated the osb floors with water repellant, but it was important to get the bedroom under roof to protect it from the weather.

the interior of the bedroom is not finished, but it will have a bathroom.

Before the exterior wood...

and after...

Weldangrind · 07-01-2011, 11:36 PM

Is the ceiling open inside with no insulation? How will you deal with sewage? Septic tank?

katoranger · 07-02-2011, 10:25 AM

I could live there.

06-29-2011, 07:34 PM	#1
deputygene Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 254	Deputy Gene's XR 650 gets new stuff Hey, long time no post, but I just had some mods done to the Big red Pig and wanted to show them. I have had plans to ride the pig on the Transamerica trail, but I have been working every weekend off on our cheap mountain cabin so much that the bikes have been neglected. I scored this XR's only tail pipe off of ebay over the winter. That along with Dave's Mods, new jets and air filter really woke the pig up. Here is a better shot The Kenda 270 has almost 3000 miles on it, still has some wear left. The stock front tire, at 5400 miles is about gone [/img] Here is what has been eating up all of my time. This is four weekend in; Slowly, as I am not a construction worker and had to figure stuff out as I went along. Here it is now [/img] This cabin has been built on the cheap, one weekend at a time. The framing lumber is all seconds from a home supply store bought up over a years time. Same with the doors and windows. It is a 2 room cabin, living room/kitchen and bedroom/bathroom at about 460 sq feet. The exterior wood is pine trees rough cut at a small local mill. Here is the interior of the living room My made from scratch kitchen cabinet It is well insulated And another shot of the current status [/img] I hope to be mostly done by the end of July. Maybe then I can get back into my TAT quest. __________________ Lifan QP 100cc Gy Tank 200 GY 2007 Honda XR 650L 2007 DR 650 1973 Yamaha TX 650
	0

06-29-2011, 11:12 PM	#3
deputygene Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 254	No stream :( . But, the valley behind the cabin goes pretty far down and is full of deer and coyotes! The XR runs much better, I think it may be a little rich now, but more riding will tell. The cabin is my first building project, I am pleased with how it has come along, suprised some thing have taken so long. I spent a whole weekend on the dang kitchen cabinet. But overall, I am pleased. __________________ Lifan QP 100cc Gy Tank 200 GY 2007 Honda XR 650L 2007 DR 650 1973 Yamaha TX 650
	0

06-30-2011, 01:29 AM	#4
SpudRider Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Idaho Posts: 25,054	Thanks for posting the update; your BRP looks great! You have done an excellent job on your cabin. When you are ready to start the TAT, you might consider installing a ManRacks, Super Duty luggage rack, or a ManRacks, RotoPax rack. I just installed a RotoPax luggage rack, and it is very strong. I attached my J.C. Whitney mounting plate to the RotoPax rack. Spud __________________ Spud "Never argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level, and beat you with experience." Mark Twain 2015 Zongshen ZS250GY-3 (RX3) 2006 Zongshen ZS200GY-2 (Sierra 200) 2005 Honda XR650L 2004 Honda CRF250X 1998 Kawasaki KDX220 Mods made to my Zongshen ZS200GY-2: http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=6894
	0

06-30-2011, 10:26 AM	#5
Weldangrind Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sardis, BC, Canada Posts: 25,977	Nice work! You're lucky that you can use pine siding where you live. It would rot away on the wet coast. I think that a steel roof is a great choice. Nice tail light! __________________ Weldangrind "I figure I'm well-prepared for coping with a bike that comes from the factory with unresolved issues and that rewards the self-reliant owner." - Buccaneer
	0

06-30-2011, 10:41 AM	#6
deputygene Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 254	Hey Spudrider! Did you notice the tailight in the second picture? The one you recommended, that I made a trade to weldandgrind for. It works great. I looked at those racks once, may have to give them a second look. How many miles do you have on your bike now? What front tire are you running? __________________ Lifan QP 100cc Gy Tank 200 GY 2007 Honda XR 650L 2007 DR 650 1973 Yamaha TX 650
	0

06-29-2011, 10:47 PM	#2
MICRider Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 3,274	The XR looks great! And a cabin in the mountains... Does it get much better than that? Only way I could think of is if you had a nice fishing stream nearby.
	0

06-30-2011, 10:50 AM	#7
deputygene Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 254	We are going to seal it. I would like it to keep the new sawn "yellow" look. Why would it rot worse on the west coast? Humidity? We have very little $$$ in the cabin, the biggest expenses have been the insulation and the metal roof. But the metal roof will last forever and should never leak. The framing wood was all seconds, the interior boards were free, The exterior wood cost about 100 bucks to get sawed, we spent the day helping the saw mill guy do that (scary watching him crawl all over the mill while it was running) The sink, shower and water heater were all craigslist finds. We have paid as we went, so I won't owe anything when finished. It will be our little homebase, mountain retreat when we ride up that way __________________ Lifan QP 100cc Gy Tank 200 GY 2007 Honda XR 650L 2007 DR 650 1973 Yamaha TX 650
	0

06-30-2011, 11:24 AM	#8
FastDoc Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southeastern Washington desert Posts: 14,761	Looking good! I love the cabin, and the BRP. Enjoy! __________________ Happy to serve.
	0

06-30-2011, 02:03 PM	#10
deputygene Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 254	19,391, thats great. I've been wondering what kind of longevity to expect from the brp. I looked on thumpertalk and the claims are all over the map, from 40,000 down to 10,000 miles. I have mid 5000 on mine. The Suzuki DR's claimed engine life seems to be higher, might be the oil cooler. I know mine is running cooler with the new jetting. It ran really hot before. __________________ Lifan QP 100cc Gy Tank 200 GY 2007 Honda XR 650L 2007 DR 650 1973 Yamaha TX 650
	0

07-01-2011, 03:00 AM	#12
Jim Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada Posts: 4,880	Very cool cabin I'd consider something like that if I could afford land to put it on around here.
	0

07-01-2011, 08:58 PM	#13
deputygene Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 254	It's on some family land with some other small cabins. We pay a lot rent for it being there. Lot of neat stuff up there like this gathering area with fire pit We built the living room/kitchen first, finishing it as we got the wood, then started on the bedroom addition But the whole cabin was planned from the start as it came along See the original bedroom window framing. The window we had was huge! But it was free. We scored the window that was installed at the last minute We treated the osb floors with water repellant, but it was important to get the bedroom under roof to protect it from the weather. the interior of the bedroom is not finished, but it will have a bathroom. Before the exterior wood... and after... __________________ Lifan QP 100cc Gy Tank 200 GY 2007 Honda XR 650L 2007 DR 650 1973 Yamaha TX 650
	0

07-01-2011, 11:36 PM	#14
Weldangrind Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Sardis, BC, Canada Posts: 25,977	Is the ceiling open inside with no insulation? How will you deal with sewage? Septic tank? __________________ Weldangrind "I figure I'm well-prepared for coping with a bike that comes from the factory with unresolved issues and that rewards the self-reliant owner." - Buccaneer
	0

07-02-2011, 10:25 AM	#15
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	I could live there.
	0