Svartdecisions
new rider
I have been off bikes for a number of years, a heavier bike was not in the cards due to injury. I need to fit out for long daily travels, typical speed from 60-120kph, carrying a work bag(s) of about 20KG in all weather, typically 600-900km a week. The current fuel prices allowed me to justify it to myself, as the cost of financing a bike is lower than the fuel savings. I found a Svartpilen 701 that with hindsight I think was low-sided at about the 250km mark then parked inside, a couple small rub marks, replaced bar end, and catalytic converter damage suggest that. Got it for a decent price, with several years of unlimited mileage warranty. I'm absolutely in love with it. No messing with choke, 4.5L/100km on fuel, great headlight, tons of power.
I thought I wanted a 690/701 Enduro or maybe a 790, almost got talked into a CFmoto 450 by a salesman, and did consider a Honda 500X fully kitted out before settling on the 390 adventure. All the bigger bikes were fairly difficult to consistently get off the side stand, and hard to move around on foot. I am not accustomed to nice suspension and fancy features anyways so I don't think I will miss them if I do get off-road again eventually.
I realized I am not 20 anymore; I watched a funny video of an 'older' guy in the UK getting told off by the coppers for speeding and was chuckling to myself that some people don't grow out of it even when they get to his age, only to realize I am his age. As much as I dream of long travels in questionable conditions again, the realities of aging parents, work and all the other things that have crept up on me make it a silly dream at this age. I finally get the old men, probably younger then than I am now, who told me I was lucky to be traveling young and broke on an old bike pinching pennies and sleeping rough while they rode their nice new BMWs. A credit card and age does take away some of the magic anyways.
The Svartpilen 401 was OK, much cheaper to insure and cheap to purchase, in hindsight I think perhaps I should've gone that route, as it still has more power and more top speed and 80kgs less weight than bikes I've ridden years and a dozen or so countries on, but the 701 was a bit more appealing, though I didn't realize how challenging the aftermarket is. I like the headlight on the Svartpilen, feels like a luxury to see so well at night, and more I absolutely love the aesthetics of it, it reminds me of the bikes I had when I was younger, just better, even if harder to fix with whatever scrap is lying around in remote places.
Current plans and upgrades:
Much will be attempted with cheaper Aliexpress etc parts, as I'm on a bit of a tight budget.
Hand guards I'm assuming bark busters are worth the extra cost?
Heated grips May just use the heated grip covers as the soft foam should help with vibration as well?
Bar risers Maybe the vibration damping type which will require re-locating the instrument pod, I like the PHDS, but not clear if I can raise them 20-25mm and still keep the vibration reduction?
Windscreen I'd like something taller than the common Puig new generation, I got spoiled by riding with a windshield on a bigger bike after many years of avoiding them. Thinking of the Puig up-down and modifying the lower edge for aesthetics, and a slight dip in the centre to draw air pressure to the sides away from helmet.
Chigee Aio-6, with TPMS, OBD2 connection and maps/phone controls as I often have to answer calls while moving
NiceCNC enduro dash, I cannot see the instruments well without having to tip my head way down, I prefer them closer to line of sight, and am thinking of re-positioning the original instrument cluster at the same time by extending the harness. I think combining this with re-locating the instrument pod, and using the mounting holes on it and the old gauge pod location to secure the windscreen if I can't get everything needed on the AIO-6.
Cruise control Slightly worried about clutter on the controls, I may go with Veridian but try to figure out a better switch setup, so it's not a stretch to reach it, considering a Duke left control and re-using the screen control buttons for light, heated grips etc.
Better, lower pegs my legs cannot take the riding position very long and round pegs kind of suck, I'd prefer to move them forward too, like the Duke adventure conversion in this article but they give no details on the control or peg move, and it doesn't look like the stock setup for that year. https://adventuremotorcycle.com/bikes/project-2016-ktm-690-adventure-duke
Shorter or longer brake and clutch levers May just move controls inward so I can use two fingers on each, right now I have to use 3 and it's awkward, using the outer two fingers with the extra leverage like the older bikes, or the inner two, right now the in between sucks.
De-cat Trying to put the existing bike on a diet to compensate for things added, has anyone tried the cheap Ali-Express ones? I notice the clamping areas are different vs the GPR, but not sure it matters, in an ideal world I'd find an exhaust that runs along one side as in the photo above.
Tail tidy 5lbs of unsprung weight seems silly, although I am not sure what can be done yet to reduce splatter on the back of the bike, and on the rear shock, already an area that builds up heavily? Also to reduce weight at the tail end
Engine guards Thinking of using duke 690 ones. Mostly for mounting bags forward and low, it seems to me the bike is naturally a bit tail heavy, and I imagine adding bags etc there will only make that worse?
Kev 02 mod Mostly the lower end one, but with exhaust/intake changes I'm not sure if I should switch to both
Evap/SAS delete
Airbox lid removal
Re-gearing I spend a lot of time feathering the clutch at low speeds in traffic as even in first it seems to lug/try to stall a lot, not sure if that's normal? In any case I don't see needing the top speed available but more acceleration if needed is nice
Custom rear bag mount. I'm fed up with digging around the internet trying to find a decent set and rack that isn't a fortune, so I'm thinking of designing a simple rack to take bicycle panniers, they're so easily available and cheap, I've had good luck mounting them with a slight angle before and think the passenger footage mount will be easy to use for a lower connection. I know a good machinist, and if it turns out as simply as I'm hoping.
Mirrors Tried the Husvarna Bar end mirrors, they solved the vibration issue and are beautifully made, worth every penny except the position is still slightly off, may be fixed by the bar risers and possible swapping to slightly more convex glass for a wider viewing area, not sure what hand guards will work with them though, are there any that have a clamp style at both ends?
A long shot option, but I'd really like to find. way to add fuel capacity, I'm not clear if I can swap in the rear sub frame/tank assembly from a ktm SMC, and run the vent line for the main tank into the original pickup to use the siphon effect and let it vent pressure via the rear tank. It would ruin the lines of the bike but I'd like to have that capacity both for range and due to the type of gas pump that has all 3 octane ratings on a single pump, paying for premium and losing 25% to clearing the hose gets old.
I thought I wanted a 690/701 Enduro or maybe a 790, almost got talked into a CFmoto 450 by a salesman, and did consider a Honda 500X fully kitted out before settling on the 390 adventure. All the bigger bikes were fairly difficult to consistently get off the side stand, and hard to move around on foot. I am not accustomed to nice suspension and fancy features anyways so I don't think I will miss them if I do get off-road again eventually.
I realized I am not 20 anymore; I watched a funny video of an 'older' guy in the UK getting told off by the coppers for speeding and was chuckling to myself that some people don't grow out of it even when they get to his age, only to realize I am his age. As much as I dream of long travels in questionable conditions again, the realities of aging parents, work and all the other things that have crept up on me make it a silly dream at this age. I finally get the old men, probably younger then than I am now, who told me I was lucky to be traveling young and broke on an old bike pinching pennies and sleeping rough while they rode their nice new BMWs. A credit card and age does take away some of the magic anyways.
The Svartpilen 401 was OK, much cheaper to insure and cheap to purchase, in hindsight I think perhaps I should've gone that route, as it still has more power and more top speed and 80kgs less weight than bikes I've ridden years and a dozen or so countries on, but the 701 was a bit more appealing, though I didn't realize how challenging the aftermarket is. I like the headlight on the Svartpilen, feels like a luxury to see so well at night, and more I absolutely love the aesthetics of it, it reminds me of the bikes I had when I was younger, just better, even if harder to fix with whatever scrap is lying around in remote places.
Current plans and upgrades:
Much will be attempted with cheaper Aliexpress etc parts, as I'm on a bit of a tight budget.
Hand guards I'm assuming bark busters are worth the extra cost?
Heated grips May just use the heated grip covers as the soft foam should help with vibration as well?
Bar risers Maybe the vibration damping type which will require re-locating the instrument pod, I like the PHDS, but not clear if I can raise them 20-25mm and still keep the vibration reduction?
Windscreen I'd like something taller than the common Puig new generation, I got spoiled by riding with a windshield on a bigger bike after many years of avoiding them. Thinking of the Puig up-down and modifying the lower edge for aesthetics, and a slight dip in the centre to draw air pressure to the sides away from helmet.
Chigee Aio-6, with TPMS, OBD2 connection and maps/phone controls as I often have to answer calls while moving
NiceCNC enduro dash, I cannot see the instruments well without having to tip my head way down, I prefer them closer to line of sight, and am thinking of re-positioning the original instrument cluster at the same time by extending the harness. I think combining this with re-locating the instrument pod, and using the mounting holes on it and the old gauge pod location to secure the windscreen if I can't get everything needed on the AIO-6.
Cruise control Slightly worried about clutter on the controls, I may go with Veridian but try to figure out a better switch setup, so it's not a stretch to reach it, considering a Duke left control and re-using the screen control buttons for light, heated grips etc.
Better, lower pegs my legs cannot take the riding position very long and round pegs kind of suck, I'd prefer to move them forward too, like the Duke adventure conversion in this article but they give no details on the control or peg move, and it doesn't look like the stock setup for that year. https://adventuremotorcycle.com/bikes/project-2016-ktm-690-adventure-duke
Shorter or longer brake and clutch levers May just move controls inward so I can use two fingers on each, right now I have to use 3 and it's awkward, using the outer two fingers with the extra leverage like the older bikes, or the inner two, right now the in between sucks.
De-cat Trying to put the existing bike on a diet to compensate for things added, has anyone tried the cheap Ali-Express ones? I notice the clamping areas are different vs the GPR, but not sure it matters, in an ideal world I'd find an exhaust that runs along one side as in the photo above.
Tail tidy 5lbs of unsprung weight seems silly, although I am not sure what can be done yet to reduce splatter on the back of the bike, and on the rear shock, already an area that builds up heavily? Also to reduce weight at the tail end
Engine guards Thinking of using duke 690 ones. Mostly for mounting bags forward and low, it seems to me the bike is naturally a bit tail heavy, and I imagine adding bags etc there will only make that worse?
Kev 02 mod Mostly the lower end one, but with exhaust/intake changes I'm not sure if I should switch to both
Evap/SAS delete
Airbox lid removal
Re-gearing I spend a lot of time feathering the clutch at low speeds in traffic as even in first it seems to lug/try to stall a lot, not sure if that's normal? In any case I don't see needing the top speed available but more acceleration if needed is nice
Custom rear bag mount. I'm fed up with digging around the internet trying to find a decent set and rack that isn't a fortune, so I'm thinking of designing a simple rack to take bicycle panniers, they're so easily available and cheap, I've had good luck mounting them with a slight angle before and think the passenger footage mount will be easy to use for a lower connection. I know a good machinist, and if it turns out as simply as I'm hoping.
Mirrors Tried the Husvarna Bar end mirrors, they solved the vibration issue and are beautifully made, worth every penny except the position is still slightly off, may be fixed by the bar risers and possible swapping to slightly more convex glass for a wider viewing area, not sure what hand guards will work with them though, are there any that have a clamp style at both ends?
A long shot option, but I'd really like to find. way to add fuel capacity, I'm not clear if I can swap in the rear sub frame/tank assembly from a ktm SMC, and run the vent line for the main tank into the original pickup to use the siphon effect and let it vent pressure via the rear tank. It would ruin the lines of the bike but I'd like to have that capacity both for range and due to the type of gas pump that has all 3 octane ratings on a single pump, paying for premium and losing 25% to clearing the hose gets old.