Hi everybody
I am relatively new here and just want to introduce myself. I'm Norwegian and have a 1998 BRG Steamer with 140 Kkm on the clocks, which has been mine since it was new. It took my wife and me to Ushuaia and back in 2000-2001.
I was about to find a retirement spot for her in the back of the garage and buy a KTM 690 Enduro R as my focus was moving more and more towards offroad, when I saw Patrick Rielos Tiger a few months ago here and on ADVrider.com and fell madly in love.
So for the last few months I've modified Rocinante into a more brutal off road Steamer, and I'm very happy with the result, both looks and abilities. Her she is:
(http://www.dagjen.no/mc/20091209_Tiger_0014.jpg)
She's now a mix of 10% KTM, 80% Triumph and 10% other stuff. :)
Some more pics:
(http://www.dagjen.no/mc/20091209_Tiger_0022.jpg) (http://www.dagjen.no/mc/20091209_Tiger_0032.jpg)
(http://www.dagjen.no/mc/20091209_Tiger_0036.jpg)
This you might call the road version of Rielos Tiger Trail. I'm not going to take her to the tracks, so I opted for a low cost modification with focus on weight reduction and rider geometry improvement. I'm almost 2 meter tall, and have raised the bars and seat and lowered the footpegs to fit me better. Corbin seat (6 kg), engine guards(heavy), part of the rear frame and original exhaust is all gone and has reduced the weight with about 20-25 kg, resulting in her weighing about the same as an Africa Twin.
I still have work to do, like making the seat fit better in the front(for looks only), convert the front wheel to 21 inches (waiting for parts) and remove more unnecessary steel in the back, which will bring the weight down further.
Now she's got studs and is ready for her first winter outside. I took her for the first real spin on icy backroads today, no snow only wet and frozen tarmac, and although a bit nerve cracking at times, it was a lot of fun.
Let there be snow!
Dag
Quote from: "Rocinante"....I took her for the first real spin on icy backroads today, no snow only wet and frozen tarmac, and although a bit nerve cracking at times, it was a lot of fun.
Let there be snow!
:shock: I always though you lot were mad....
:lol:
Nice job, and some good ideas.... welcome to the funhouse :wink:
It looks nuts!!,but kinda sexy too :roll: :twisted:
godt å ha deg her
det er noen ekstreme sykkel !! :rock-1
aint Google Translate brill :lol:
Welcome to the Tigger forum Rocinante !!
KK
ps i hope i got it right :shock:
THAT IS REALLY FRICKIN COOL!!!!!!!!! welcome aboard - hope you have some more photo's - both past and present. eric
:rock Really cool! Where did you get the pipes? The high front fender is the best looking one I've ever seen. What is it?
Man those Steamers look sharp. Nice job and welcome to the board. 8)
Thank you for the welcome, guys.
Quote from: "Bixxer Bob"Quote from: "Rocinante"....I took her for the first real spin on icy backroads today, no snow only wet and frozen tarmac, and although a bit nerve cracking at times, it was a lot of fun.
Let there be snow!
:shock: I always though you lot were mad....
Not mad, just plain stupid.
No, driving on snow is in many ways like driving on gravel, and can be a hell of a lot of fun. I've done it two winters on a 350, and would never have taken the Tiger out on snow without that experience.
But I'll have be carefull and will probably have some scary moments.
Quote from: "KuzzinKenny"det er noen ekstreme sykkel !! :rock-1
aint Google Translate brill :lol:
Not to bad. I got the meaning.:)
Quote from: "aeronca"THAT IS REALLY FRICKIN COOL!!!!!!!!! welcome aboard - hope you have some more photo's - both past and present. eric
Thanks. For pictures from the past I guess a visit to the home page in the bottom here is a place to start.
Quote from: "Colonel Nikolai":rock Really cool! Where did you get the pipes? The high front fender is the best looking one I've ever seen. What is it?
The pipes are Motad I think. There's no label on them so I'll have to ask my dealer to be sure though.
The front fender is from a KTM 660 SMC 2003, as is the rear sub frame and seat. The fender is a bit too short to catch all the dirt thrown up by the front wheel, so some of it finds it way over and hits the front lights. I hope this will change when I convert the wheel to 21 inch.
Dag
Correction: The exhaust is Norman Hyde, not Venom.
Dag
Probably the coolest thing on the internet.... 8)
looks great.. 8) the modified rear end and exhaust make the bike look quite compact..
Welcome Dag. Nice to see that you have kept Rocinante. I've red about your travels some years ago. Radical Steamer. Looks really mean.
Norway rules. Røros to Aursjövägen and Eikesdalen (Meringdal camping) is the best bike-day I've had so far.
That is just too cool for words, Norske or English 8)
KK how about these farkles for your Girly :lol:
Quote from: "nickcalne"Probably the coolest thing on the internet.... 8)
:) I like that. There are probably one or two out there that would disagree, but I'm with you...
Quote from: "harre"Welcome Dag. Nice to see that you have kept Rocinante. I've red about your travels some years ago. Radical Steamer. Looks really mean.
Norway rules. Røros to Aursjövägen and Eikesdalen (Meringdal camping) is the best bike-day I've had so far.
Hey, someone remembers.:)
It's been eight years and then some since we came back. Time flies. But Rocinante stays. I decided back then that she would stay with me forever, since it was too battered and I'm too melancholic.
I've ridden Aursjøvegen and it could have been Meringdal Camping we stayed at in Eikesdalen. Just stunning!
I go every year to OTC offroad rally Bukkerittet in Rondane, not far from Røros. It's a gravel adventure and well worth visiting if you're into such a thing as three long days of gravel riding in the best of Norway's nature.
Now it's 5-6 cm of fresh snow outside and I'm taking half a day off. :wave
Hei Dag, nice to see your bike and read your story!
Your bike is same year and color as mine, what separates them are 120 000 kms! Its good to see that I have lots of kms to look forward to.
I like your modifications to your bike, nice stance!
QuoteI go every year to OTC offroad rally Bukkerittet in Rondane, not far from Røros. It's a gravel adventure and well worth visiting if you're into such a thing as three long days of gravel riding in the best of Norway's nature.
Very interesting. I've always wanted to visit Rondane. Sounds like a perfect detour for gang on ADV bikes. However nobody has knobby tires so maybe the terrain is too tough for us. How much of the Rondane area is open for motorcycles?
Way cool bike, thanks for the pics
Quote from: "ArcticTiger"Hei Dag, nice to see your bike and read your story!
Your bike is same year and color as mine, what separates them are 120 000 kms! Its good to see that I have lots of kms to look forward to.
I like your modifications to your bike, nice stance!
Hey, someone from Narvik too!
Yours is hardly broken in. Must be a nice feeling. Nice colour too!
Quote from: "harre"QuoteI go every year to OTC offroad rally Bukkerittet in Rondane, not far from Røros. It's a gravel adventure and well worth visiting if you're into such a thing as three long days of gravel riding in the best of Norway's nature.
Very interesting. I've always wanted to visit Rondane. Sounds like a perfect detour for gang on ADV bikes. However nobody has knobby tires so maybe the terrain is too tough for us. How much of the Rondane area is open for motorcycles?
Rondane is quite open compared to for instance Jotunheimen which is a national park and therefore is more closed off to traffic.
Put on a set of TKC-80. They feel much like road tires on tarmac, unless you like to wear down knee pucks. On gravel they are a lot, and I really mean a LOT, better than Michelin T66 and its likes. I know. I visited the rally three times with T66 before I swapped to TKC-80 and saw the light. On wet dirt, gras and mud TKC-80 suck, but not much of any of that in Rondane.
The OTC rally is about gravel and dirt, and for all levels of experience.
Dag
Dag, how have you been? It's Ken in Campbell River. Good to hear from you again. I also still have Felix, my 95 Tiger. It's on 100.000 km now, still running strong. Same excuse for not dumping it ... too much fun. Mine is now set up for long distance gravel touring.
Some of the mods I did you might be interested in. I finished putting a 1999 tiger 3 into 1 header on with a GSXR Titanium muffler last year. Wicked sound, but still legal. The new setup is about 8 kg ~ 18lbs less. 4" pipe style toolkit in place of the missing left muffler. A modification to the front sprocket cover now allows me to change gearing in about 10 minutes without disturbing anything else. I'm right now working on installing a similar front fender on a fork brace with a 21" wheel. I can send photos if you are interested.
Say hi to Bente,
Ken in Campbell River, BC
& Felix, black 95 Tiger
& 82 Honda FT500 Ascot
Quote from: "fishnbiker"Dag, how have you been? It's Ken in Campbell River. Good to hear from you again. I also still have Felix, my 95 Tiger. It's on 100.000 km now, still running strong. Same excuse for not dumping it ... too much fun. Mine is now set up for long distance gravel touring.
Some of the mods I did you might be interested in. I finished putting a 1999 tiger 3 into 1 header on with a GSXR Titanium muffler last year. Wicked sound, but still legal. The new setup is about 8 kg ~ 18lbs less. 4" pipe style toolkit in place of the missing left muffler. A modification to the front sprocket cover now allows me to change gearing in about 10 minutes without disturbing anything else. I'm right now working on installing a similar front fender on a fork brace with a 21" wheel. I can send photos if you are interested.
Say hi to Bente,
Ken in Campbell River, BC
& Felix, black 95 Tiger
& 82 Honda FT500 Ascot
Hello Ken. Really nice to hear from you again. It's been more than nine years, but we both still remember the Salmon Teriyaki we had in Campbell River, not to mention the fishing trip.:)
I just hooked up with Clif the other salmon eater, as well, through ADVrider.
Nice to see you both are doing well.
Now for the bike; 100 000 km! Good for you. Did you go into LD Touring the serious way, like Clif?
Does the 3-1 tubing made for a 1999 Tiger fit the 1994-98?
I'm interested in the change you did to the sprocket cover. Pictures are welcome.
Say hi to Daphne and the rest of the bunch.
Dag
I usually do a couple of 4~5 day trips plus at least 2 weeks, looking for gravel roads with good fishing spots along the route. Last large one was 2,800 km of gravel mixed with 1,200km twisty mountain pavement over 12 days. 10 rainbow trout reeled in from 8 different lakes. Clif is a lot of fun, but in more of a hurry than me.
The 3 into 1 from a 99 was a lot of fabricating, cutting it apart and re-welding. It runs well, but is more work than I would recommend. It was an exercise for me. I still have to do something about the engine guard. I will send over some photos as soon as I retrieve them from a dying hard drive, along with instructions
Ken/fishnbiker in Campbell River
Well as the owner of a 96 tiger with an interest in reducing weight, et al, I'm very interested in your modification.
Here are 2 photos taken during mock-up. More recent pix are loaded in a reluctant PC. I hope to be able to post other pix by year end.
Once you obtain a 1999 header, it's a lot of cutting & welding to fit any pipe that fits on the old muffler mount hole. This took several weeks of farting around to get the fit. Is it worth it? Only if you can do everything yourself.
Ken/ Fishnbiker
in Campbell River,BC
Quote from: "Colonel Nikolai"Well as the owner of a 96 tiger with an interest in reducing weight, et al, I'm very interested in your modification.
The main sources of weight reduction on Rocinante are:
1 - Replacing the exhaust, saves 9 kg and lower the centre of gravity a lot.
2 - Removing farkles, Corbin seat and engine guards, at least 12-14 kg saved.
3 - Cutting of the tail end and replacing it with a KTM aluminum sub frame. I kept the bend of the original sub frame and cut off everything behind it, then cut off the KTM sub frame legs an laid it on top. This doesn't save as much weight as replacing the whole sub frame, but it will be stronger than the relatively thin KTM aluminum frame, and not least, a hell of a lot easier to do. I did it myself using mainly a hack saw and I'm not a mechanic. I don't how much weight I saved, but it wasn't more than maybe 3-5 kg. Better riding geometry was the most important goal. Eh, and looks...
4 - Removed original luggage rack. I am waiting for a light weight rack from SW-Motech. Saved a few kg as well.
These four steps have brought the weight down to about 220-225 kg, but it subjectively feels lighter to me because the centre of gravity is so much lower. Much of the reduced weight in the sub frame, seat and pipes were placed high up.
Ken, the replacement exhaust on Rocinante is from Norman Hyde and made for the same year Triumph Sprint. It weighs only 5 kg and sounds very nice without beeing to loud. The only modification I did was to bend it say 15-20 degrees upwards behind the foot peg. It was mounted and done in one hour.
BTW, I too have a pvc pipe turned tool box in place of the canister on the left side. :)
Dag
Dag, you have the Keihin carbs on your Tiger, right? I now have a Keihin set I would like to put on mine (I believe off a Thunderbird, jet size 98). Do you know what you have for carb settings & jetting? What is your air cleaner now? My Mikunis use a K&N unit cut down from one off a Porsche boxer. See my recent pix on this thread. It flows a lot better than the stock airbox, having 55 square inches of surface area as opposed to the stock 49 sq inches. I went from 112 to 130 jet size to make it run nicely, now putting out 101hp, but resulting in a loss in economy. As I'm now focusing more on gravel touring, the fuel economy is becoming more important than the extra horsepower. I would need to know the stock settings before figuring out how much to upsize the jets, needle settings, and slide vacuum hole alterations.
Anyone else done anything like this?
Thanks,
Quote from: "fishnbiker"Dag, you have the Keihin carbs on your Tiger, right? I now have a Keihin set I would like to put on mine (I believe off a Thunderbird, jet size 98). Do you know what you have for carb settings & jetting? What is your air cleaner now? My Mikunis use a K&N unit cut down from one off a Porsche boxer. See my recent pix on this thread. It flows a lot better than the stock airbox, having 55 square inches of surface area as opposed to the stock 49 sq inches. I went from 112 to 130 jet size to make it run nicely, now putting out 101hp, but resulting in a loss in economy. As I'm now focusing more on gravel touring, the fuel economy is becoming more important than the extra horsepower. I would need to know the stock settings before figuring out how much to upsize the jets, needle settings, and slide vacuum hole alterations.
Anyone else done anything like this?
Thanks,
Ken, I have no clue really about carburettors. Mine are still at stock settings, but I think I have to dive into it. I'm not 100% happy with them after I replaced the exhaust.
The Keihins on a steamer came with main jets that are size 98
the pilots are 42
the bike runs lean with no mods to exhaust or air box
with stock exhaust and stock air box the bike is very happy if you
run 105 mains and 45 pilots are good but the 42's work fine also with the air screws set at 2 to 2 1/2 turns
also shimming the needles up by .030 of an inch helps the mid range stumble tremendously
these are excellent base line settings for a stock steamer with keihins
obviously if you hve increased airflow thru different airbox and exhausts you are going to have to increase the mains to suit the higher airflow
Sweet bike,
I love reading stories like this when I'm tempted by the latest and greatest
Dag, if you should look at the "Steamers" section in this chat group, there are 2 postings near the top of the list with my name on the last reply ...Fishnbiker. One is something like "Pure Dual Sport?" & the other is right below it. Both have info & photos on how this is done. The first step is to find a spare cover to cut up instead of the original, in case anything goes wrong, you still have the original. I see them coming up on EBay occasionally for about US$50 if you can't find one at a breaker's shop. After you have read them. I can answer any questions you may have at that time.
Ken / Fishnbiker
Quote from: "fishnbiker"Dag, if you should look at the "Steamers" section in this chat group, there are 2 postings near the top of the list with my name on the last reply ...Fishnbiker. One is something like "Pure Dual Sport?" & the other is right below it. Both have info & photos on how this is done. The first step is to find a spare cover to cut up instead of the original, in case anything goes wrong, you still have the original. I see them coming up on EBay occasionally for about US$50 if you can't find one at a breaker's shop. After you have read them. I can answer any questions you may have at that time.
Ken / Fishnbiker
Hi Ken
I guess you mean the sprocket coverr? Excellent job, and I'll put it on the list of things that could be done some day in the future.
Dag
well Rocinante (Dag) has done upgraded again. Gone to a 21" front tire.
(http://www.dagjen.no/mc/20100205_Rocinante21_00005.jpg)
see:"
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... 2&page=209 (http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64652&page=209)
I've asked him to answer a few questions here since this is more of a thread on his mods while the ADVRider thread is a pic posting thread.
ok... next post... the questions
Dag,
I'm watching your progress close cause
1. I need to lighten the bike cause:
a. Im one skinny son of a bitch at 150lb (tooth pick legs)
b. I'm putting an even heavier engine on the bike (3cyl diesel lump)
c. weight reducing mods mean less physical conditioning I have to do just to lift her up if I drop her :oops: (lazy sons of bitch I am 8) )
Most of my use will be as a commuter bike. BUT.... when I do offroad I want to be able to OFF ROAD and not just do nearly paved hard packed roads. Im a former Jeeper/Unimoger and consider fire and powerline trails, as off the beaten path. Offroad is cow trails, jeep trails etc. Yes I know it can't be a DIRT BIKE so it will be not technical cow/jeep trails.
soooo... with that in mind, your tire size change, will it help at all steering wise street and or trail for a lighter rider who can not exert as much steering force as a larger built person.
Quote from: "coachgeo"Dag,
I'm watching your progress close cause
1. I need to lighten the bike cause:
a. Im one skinny son of a bitch at 150lb (tooth pick legs)
b. I'm putting an even heavier engine on the bike (3cyl diesel lump)
c. weight reducing mods mean less physical conditioning I have to do just to lift her up if I drop her :oops: (lazy sons of bitch I am 8) )
Most of my use will be as a commuter bike. BUT.... when I do offroad I want to be able to OFF ROAD and not just do nearly paved hard packed roads. Im a former Jeeper/Unimoger and consider fire and powerline trails, as off the beaten path. Offroad is cow trails, jeep trails etc. Yes I know it can't be a DIRT BIKE so it will be not technical cow/jeep trails.
soooo... with that in mind, your tire size change, will it help at all steering wise street and or trail for a lighter rider who can not exert as much steering force as a larger built person.
I'm by no means an expert in these matters, but I know that going up to 21 inches front tyre, you'll have a much more stable front through rough stuff.
Replacing the original exhaust could save you 9-10 kg, depending of course what exhaust you're planning for on a diesel (diesel, really?).
That's a good start.
Quote from: "Rocinante"...
Replacing the original exhaust could save you 9-10 kg, depending of course what exhaust you're planning for on a diesel (diesel, really?).
Will have to make an exhaust manifold so will plan to take it to a single tube. Put a tool tube in place of opposite side I guess.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7BqPBvVuyY
Quote from: "coachgeo"(http://www.dagjen.no/mc/20100205_Rocinante21_00005.jpg)
Very nice work.
I've been following you and PAtrick on adv and I'm really coming to the idea of searching the perfect Steamer to start and off-road conversion like yours.
May I ask you what was your budget (except the bike) ?
Thanks
Cheers
D.
Quote from: "davidfrench"Very nice work.
I've been following you and PAtrick on adv and I'm really coming to the idea of searching the perfect Steamer to start and off-road conversion like yours.
May I ask you what was your budget (except the bike) ?
Thanks
Cheers
D.
Well, mine was the poor mans work compared to Patrick. While he had www.motobau.com (http://www.motobau.com) to do the work, I did it in the garage. He opted for a racing ready bike with perfection in all the details. I opted for a prototype gravel seeker based on all the very nice ideas he and Motobau came up with.
So far I think mine has cost me about 2500-3000 Euro(remember Norway is high cost though), much if which is in the exhaust which alone was 850 Euro. The rest is used parts, paint, new handlebars, footpegs (Mustang), and lots of bits and pieces laying around in the garage.
A lot of work remains, because at the moment it definitely is a prototype.
- The seat still needs to fit better in the front
- Paint. The whole bike will get new paint this winter, which includes a lot of work on the plastic. I believe there´s a spot down on the left side which
hasn´t got a scratch.:)
- Engine covers need a paint job
- Cylinder head will be replaced (nothing to do with the rebuild though)
- Rear wheel to 18 inches, 17 at current
- Lower footpegs further, 1 or 2 cm. I´m almost two meters tall.
- Replace the original instrument with a Sixo all-in-one instrument from Motobau. This includes a lot of goodies. Check their website.
- Make a new aluminum bracket for the gps
- I might add a couple of lights up front to increase daytime visibility. After the crash this summer that seems sensible.
- Plastic side panels under the saddle need to be either made to fit better or custom made.
I plan to do all this in the garage and it should be too expensive, but the main challenge is to fit the work in with the ever more delayed and half done house extension....:roll: Not to mention that I am used to the prototype and lazy when it comes to the details.
This is how it looks now, after a crash a few weeks ago and with a new home made screen:
Hi Dag and thanks for your quick answer !
sorry to hear about the crash, I saw your post.
we share a couple of things in common... I'm 2meters too, and photographer !
Yes Patrick's bike use an inverted fork and I don't think I'll go that far.
I'm looking now for the Steamers available at a good price.
Keep in touch
Cheers
D.
Quote from: "davidfrench"I saw your post.
we share a couple of things in common... I'm 2meters too, and photographer !
Hey, we could be a small club of tall, customized Tiger riding photographers...:)