MT07 adventure build series?

[Grant31781]

Has anyone seen Jake the garden snake's MT07 adventure build series on Youtube?  I think it will be a cool bike when its done. I don't see it being a  feasible conversion price wise, but still its a neat project.  I cant wait to see the final result.

 

 

[kylerhsm]

Yeah I've been watching that one. Definitely cool to see it all unfold, but definitely not feasible haha. He's dumping A LOT of money into that bike. I'm all about the Scrambler conversions though so it's up my alley. You can see my profile pic is an adventurised MT03 660, which makes a far better off roader than an MT07. I ride with a bloke who has an XSR700 my MT03 is far better on the rough stuff with much better ground clearance and far superior suspension. The 660 engine sucks though.

[shinyribs]

Someone on here posted a link to the "suspension" portion of the videos, so I found and watched them all. 

I like Jake. He's just a normal guy. 

The wire wheels are a very pricey addition to an otherwise reasonable setup. But I agree that the cast rims (on these bikes) are pretty soft for truly going offroad. I mean, it's never gonna be a dirt bike, or even a "real" dual sport, but I really like what he's doing. 

Of course, his budget/prices are based off him doing admittedly bolt-on things that anyone else can follow along with, which is a really cool aspect of his "builds". If one were tooled up to make/machine their own parts you could swap around pre-existing wheels much cheaper. 

For example, this bike is an 1981 XL500S. It came with drum brakes, a very short rear swingarm (wheelie monster, but poor handling at speed) and oddbal wheel sizes. I swapped on forks/wheel/disc brake from a 2003 Kawasaki up front, and the rear swingarm/wheel/brake is a mix of late 90's-early 00's Honda stuff. $400 for the bike and spent another $400 in parts. That's including new tires and $120 worth of new stainless spokes. Something similar could be done with an 07, if one were patient with his ebay shopping

Before(google image):

After:

 

[kylerhsm]

19 hours ago, shinyribs said:

For example, this bike is an 1981 XL500S. It came with drum brakes, a very short rear swingarm (wheelie monster, but poor handling at speed) and oddbal wheel sizes. I swapped on forks/wheel/disc brake from a 2003 Kawasaki up front, and the rear swingarm/wheel/brake is a mix of late 90's-early 00's Honda stuff. $400 for the bike and spent another $400 in parts. That's including new tires and $120 worth of new stainless spokes. Something similar could be done with an 07, if one were patient with his ebay shopping

Maattee..... I own an XL500S as well! Bloody love the thing and I'm about to embark on a suspension upgrade. I have an XL250R front end on it now (forks/wheel/brakes in the XL500 triples) which gave me a stronger brake and a 21" front but it's still trash. And the rear shocks, oh dear they're trash as well. I'm a lightweight and I bottom this baby out front and back getting 1/2 a metre of air.

Can you give me some details on your front end swap? I want conventional (not USD) like what you have to maintain the retro look. On the rear I'm just going to buy a set of fancy twin shocks. I've be trying to track down an XR250R or XR400R front end as it should be able to fit with an all-balls bearing conversion kit, but I'm open to considering all options.

[fzar]

20 hours ago, shinyribs said:

Someone on here posted a link to the "suspension" portion of the videos, so I found and watched them all. 

I like Jake. He's just a normal guy. 

The wire wheels are a very pricey addition to an otherwise reasonable setup. But I agree that the cast rims (on these bikes) are pretty soft for truly going offroad. I mean, it's never gonna be a dirt bike, or even a "real" dual sport, but I really like what he's doing. 

Of course, his budget/prices are based off him doing admittedly bolt-on things that anyone else can follow along with, which is a really cool aspect of his "builds". If one were tooled up to make/machine their own parts you could swap around pre-existing wheels much cheaper. 

For example, this bike is an 1981 XL500S. It came with drum brakes, a very short rear swingarm (wheelie monster, but poor handling at speed) and oddbal wheel sizes. I swapped on forks/wheel/disc brake from a 2003 Kawasaki up front, and the rear swingarm/wheel/brake is a mix of late 90's-early 00's Honda stuff. $400 for the bike and spent another $400 in parts. That's including new tires and $120 worth of new stainless spokes. Something similar could be done with an 07, if one were patient with his ebay shopping

Before(google image):

After:

 

Look what we have here. NICE.

[shinyribs]

6 hours ago, kylerhsm said:

Maattee..... I own an XL500S as well! Bloody love the thing and I'm about to embark on a suspension upgrade. I have an XL250R front end on it now (forks/wheel/brakes in the XL500 triples) which gave me a stronger brake and a 21" front but it's still trash. And the rear shocks, oh dear they're trash as well. I'm a lightweight and I bottom this baby out front and back getting 1/2 a metre of air.

Can you give me some details on your front end swap? I want conventional (not USD) like what you have to maintain the retro look. On the rear I'm just going to buy a set of fancy twin shocks. I've be trying to track down an XR250R or XR400R front end as it should be able to fit with an all-balls bearing conversion kit, but I'm open to considering all options.

Hey man, here's the whole build thread. 

XL500Scout- Restomod | Adventure Rider

---

Back last July I ended up buying a '81 XL500S. I really didn't know anything at all about these bikes, but I've always been a fan of Honda's and...

 

 

I used the KLR front end because I literally had it laying around. They are generally considered trash, but since the XL is like....130lbs lighter....than the KLR they work out pretty well. I've always done stem swaps for my fork swaps, but I hear a lot of people finding what they need with conversion kits. I have a XR400 and those forks can be made to work VERY well with a little tuning. That would be a fantastic front end for your XL, and will give you a better brake, too. 

My shocks are the $56 RFY ebay Chinese specials. I like going inside forks and shocks and tuning suspension, but I haven't felt the need to go inside these shocks. The valving is actually ok. The biggest downfall of the shocks is they don't charge the properly. I don't recall the psi's (it's in that thread) but getting a real nitrogen charge in them really transformed how they work. 

I have the feeling you are across the pond. I'm in Virginia. But If there's anything I can do to help out with your project (lathe work,etc) just give me a shout. 

[kylerhsm]

16 hours ago, shinyribs said:

Hey man, here's the whole build thread. 

XL500Scout- Restomod | Adventure Rider

---

Back last July I ended up buying a '81 XL500S. I really didn't know anything at all about these bikes, but I've always been a fan of Honda's and...

Awesome thanks mate! I'm reading through it now (should be working) but man you did a really comprehensive job on that bike! When I first bought the bike I put a pair of cheap $100 (AUD) eBay shocks on it, but they were way too squishy. Turns out the springs were thinner gauge metal than standard, so I painted the standard springs and put them on cheap shocks. Bike still bounced around like crazy, so I put the standard springs back on the standard shocks and ended up back where I started. If I get a decent front end sorted, I'll be spending up for some quality rear shocks too. I like to push the bike pretty hard and the only thing that lets it down in the suspension.

[shinyribs]

Yeah, I don't push mine like a true dirt bike,as you can tell by my tire choice. Just plodding around dual sport style. They are good bikes with really fun engines. Definitely not a powerhouse on the open road, but super smooth for a big bore thumper. Very underrated bikes IMO!