Cynicalriders "J0hnny5 is ALIVE!" 01 build thread.

huge pain in the ass to load/unload. trying to hold a bike up and grab/tighten ratchet straps was a major hassle. also caused the rear end to obssessively bounce up and down on poorer highways. ride for a few hours of that and its enough to drive you crazy, ha.

 

Haha! Nice dude! During the pre-order there will be a decent price cut for pickup from our shop. Absolutely worth it if you can take a little time to explore Montana on the way home. Our shop is in a primo spot, about an hour from yellowstone (can give you directions to drive a lot of dirt to get there from here) and we are surrounded by rad gravel roads and mountain ranges with all different types of trails and terrain.

Wiley carries a 500EXC on a hitch receiver and it seems to be a really good compromise. Really wish that the long bed tacoma was a 6.5' bed because it would be easy to keep the tent at roof height but not go outside the bed perimeter. We are going to be releasing a video soon showing this thing in context a little better and explaining the functionality, so that might help clear things up.

 

I like the hitch carrier for lighter bikes. I think it's great for my KTM and would be horrible for my KLR. Moto trailers are super convenient but if you're in California it sucks having to drive 55 while towing.

 

The fact that wiley owns a KLR is also horrible.

 

You know they are the Toyota's of the ADV world, can't blame him.

 

I mean, that sounds like an insult to Toyota.

I like to believe the KLR has more in common with this thing. Although that's so ugly its almost cool.

 

i used my hitch carrier for a drz. mildly heavier than your 500exc. i just wasnt impressed using it.

more like a samurai, lol.

haha thats about how a klr looks too. fugly

 

@gmacmt @Sacrifice @cynicalrider - KLRs are ugly. But there is no greater joy than stuffing some KTM rider into a corner on the KLR. That said, the 500 is well worth its onerous service schedule.

I do love my KLR though:

 

i debated about a 500, picked up a 690. couldnt be happier. nice medium between small bike and bigger adv bikes.

 

I did the opposite of that Almost went with the 701 but in the end wanted something I could thrash a little harder. And I'm one of those weirdos who thinks the 500 is plenty comfortable on the highway and most of my riding is confined to two or three 1-2 week trips a year. Worst thing about the 500 is that every trip has to start with mounting a new rear tire 690s a rad bike though. I think my ideal stable would be the 500EXC and a 950 Super Enduro. That would cover the spread.

 

i have plenty of friends who ride the 500s on highway too, weve done 300 mile day trips in the arkansas twisties a few times now. granted they are in supermoto trim.

@cynicalrider you can pick up a hitch carrier off Amazon relatively cheap if you want to try it. thats where i got mine, didnt have any issues with construction or otherwise. and when i sold it i got most of my money back.

 

Great info!
I’ll need to stop in Bozeman on my trip next August.

 

I've been watching for a while, great thread. A note on the hitch hauler, I got a versa haul from a friend at work just because he gave me a killer deal and one thing that is a necessity is something to take the wobble out of the hauler in the receiver. There are a few different styles on Amazon ranging around $10-$30. I got one where the pin threads into a nut inside the neck of the hauler pulling it tight against the side of the receiver. It works but the one I got is made with a locking pin that came with a real weak wrench and the nut surface is really hard to grab. It works, just difficult to tighten down. When the bike moves with the truck it is just extra weight, when it is shaking from side to side it's like the tail wagging the dog.

 

who is this? and is there link somewhere?

 

I think he’s talking about Bob’s truck @NYCO , Jake.

FWIW, I’m thinking about doing the same sort of thing with my bed rack down the road. I even had it drawn up in Solidworks.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/nyco-build-thread.157700/

 

Right on! I've been thinking of doing something like this. The RTT is great, but I like having dry gear too. This sounds like it could work.

 

This thread sucks! Been slow going on the truck ever since I got back. I broke my electric antenna so I need to replace it/fix it.

I decorated for Christmas:




And I moved the wiring I had going to the ARB plug in the back to a normal Blue Sea 12v plug via the rear cubbies for a future mod.



Because I still use these cubbies for storage I went overboard on protecting the wires and the plug itself.



These wires are already in an ARB harness and I put the harder plastic around just in case. Also heavy use of electrical tape.

And JUST in case, I have made a ghetto shield using Ikea Tupperware.



I figure if I do use this cubby for storage, there is no risk for metal contact on the plug. The tupperware is held in by pressure really, had to force it in there.

 

I can see it now from your wife...."Stop stealing all the tupperware!!"

Haha all in good fun, looks good.

 

Only if she figures out it's gone...