General Category > General Discussion
Coco not a fan of the V7?
Zinfan:
Heh, Coco checks out my V7 when I stopped by Coco's Corner in Baja last week. Bike seemed to work ok for dirt as long as I took it carefully and watched my line. Pretty lucky with the weather, 70 degrees, no wind and no rain made for a pretty easy run. I can imagine it is a real chore in the heat.
The road (Mex 5) has about 20 miles of dirt to navigate with some sand (not too deep), rocks (watch your line!) and washboard as you might find on any dirt road. My V7 could be a bit easier to ride standing on the pegs if I change the handlebars. There wasn't a real neutral position to stand while riding like on a dirt style bike, it felt like I was always pulling myself forward in order to keep the best position. I'll have to ditch the sump extender and find a sump guard for my big trip, just wish there was a place to get the guard as the only one I've ever seen was on an Italian web site, may go that route but it didn't look all that sturdy.
Mexico highway 5 on the way to Coco's.
Mal Wright:
Hwy Zinfan, thought I would give this a bump. I am very interested in how well the V7 handles on dirt roads and off road, so thanks for your comments. Do you have any other photos from the trip that you can share?
not-fishing:
--- Quote ---I'll have to ditch the sump extender and find a sump guard for my big trip, just wish there was a place to get the guard as the only one I've ever seen was on an Italian web site, may go that route but it didn't look all that sturdy.
--- End quote ---
What about a DIY sump guard?
A little 1/4" or so surplus aluminum plate.
A little 2" hole saw and drill.
A 2 lb "single jack" sledge hammer.
A vise or something to bend the aluminum with.
Here's a video of making an 1/8" RC Plane motor mount our or aluminum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsQ81eLXNuI
Zinfan:
--- Quote from: Mal Wright on January 06, 2015, 01:43:33 PM ---Hwy Zinfan, thought I would give this a bump. I am very interested in how well the V7 handles on dirt roads and off road, so thanks for your comments. Do you have any other photos from the trip that you can share?
--- End quote ---
Thanks for the bump! The V7 handled ok with of a touch heavy steering in the dirt but I think the foot peg position is a bit forward as compared to a dual sport type bike so standing up required a pull on the bars rather than just using the legs alone to rise out of the seat. If you have a V7 then try standing up while riding on the road and see if you get the same sense as I did. Once standing up the bike worked well and the ability to just torque along in first/second gear was nice, I was not moving fast on the dirt, probably 30 mph max and I tried to avoid the sand where possible. The little sand I rode though wasn't too deep and was no problem for the bike. Sorry for the lack of pictures as my camera wouldn't work for the trip and I only had my cell phone, I'll see if there are any other decent pics to put up.
Zinfan:
--- Quote from: not-fishing on January 06, 2015, 04:00:32 PM ---What about a DIY sump guard?
A little 1/4" or so surplus aluminum plate.
A little 2" hole saw and drill.
A 2 lb "single jack" sledge hammer.
A vise or something to bend the aluminum with.
Here's a video of making an 1/8" RC Plane motor mount our or aluminum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsQ81eLXNuI
--- End quote ---
May try that or look for a fab shop nearby to run something up, I think it could be a needed addition to the bike for riding on unimproved roads.
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