'pigpen'

[m in sc]

theft recovery '14 gladius that wound up in my lap, front headlight was fucked, so fit twin headlamps.

more to follow, somehow i got this turd to run.

[85RZwade]

Did you intentionally blur the photo to make the Gluteus look better?
Seriously, though...if anybody could salvage that bike, it's you. The engine and suspension aren't half bad, right? It's just the styling that took a tragic turn somewhere during development. I read a rumor that the same guy who designed the Gluteus also penned the Pontiac Aztec.

[m in sc]

having owned a 1st gen sv when new, i have a severe aversion to these. i mean, the motor seems better a bit in design.. but... but its like 80 lbs heavier and the rest of the bike is so cheapened out from the original its appalling. the 2 best parts of the original were the frame and the motor.

i do hate the styling. its very cheesy and roundy like a 90s ford sedan (think contour  ) But i also don't have a real beater in town bike and the GF wants to learn how to ride. I don't care if this gets dropped.  at all. and, the driveline is solid.

I'll play with it for sure. i'm in it 300 bucks w a clear title.  i took some actual pics i need to download... but its def better blurred. the twin headlamps were under 30 bucks. when it rideable i'll be under 1k easily.

[m in sc]

not as fuzzy pics.



as i collected it:

doesnt look as bad as it was here. note: the exhaust was cut off at the collector here. thats right: BEFORE the 02 sensor. so it had been running on limp more for who knows how long. this bike was recovered with a guy actually riding it. (please note the front tire pics as well)  luckily i knew somebody that had a stock setup i could have.

[OnlyCrimnson]

Converted the front tire to a slick, nice! It's too bad they made that bike look so bad, plus side is they are super cheap now I guess  ;D

[m in sc]

guess i should update. I got it all sorted out, new tires, fender, twin headlights, frame sliders, etc. it actually cleaned up ok.



I lowered it 2.5" in the back, and had to shorten the sidestand




and Then taught angie how to ride. theresa  bit more to go on that part, but here we go.  shes doing great. keep in mind, shes 4'10" also, she was a competitive gymnast mot of her life and works out a lot, shes very strong and very nimble. She did a low speed drop and the dismount the 3rd time out in a parking lot, half flip/twist and tuck and roll off the lf peg was super impressive. I -wish- i had video of it. Bike survived just fine.

[Czakky]

I always enjoy making a new two wheel addict. Suzie 650s make a great tool for any experience level too.

Sounds like the ego is intact after the little drop with a dismount like that too.

[m in sc]

exactly. she can drop it 100 times no one cares. 

shes good, got right back on. 

[RDryan]

Angie sounds like a natural, born to ride. Well the dismount story and her background had me laughing.

Good job on Pigpen. Ironically she really did clean up nice.

OK so this lowering of the bike you did is an example of a great job and I am learning that bikes with lesser tech have an easier time to tackle with this potential dilemma. So a bit OT I do a have  gripe with the new to me 2016 KTM Superduke 1290GT. She is very high off the ground for this 5,10 fella. I am on my tippy toes at stop lights. Getting on forums and it seems that with the electronic suspension it's not as easy to achieve lowering results without affecting the handling of my bike. One has to raise the forks a bit to achieve the 25mm drop which is about max for the front before there's a taper to the shape of the fork being pinched in the clamps. I would have to shorten the side stand as well but the nugget is the shock. somehow it gets tricky to lower it with some kind of spacer and still have the same spring rate. I just did some quick googling and found this discussed on the Superduke sites, one guy had s suspension shop do the work and it came out great while another guy had his bike shop do work and found the handling to become awful. Another guy bought an expensive 200 dollar German made washer that lowers the shock messing with the spring rate but was told to return it because it will just mess with what KTM intended. Kinda interesting but I'm getting carried away and this is your thread. Point is... Conversely my 06' gixxer 1k has Vortex lowering links that it came with when I bought it. I can flat foot it and it also has the stock kickstand and if anything the bike leans a bit too much whilst on it. Go figure, old bike and easy to mess with is a sure win.

[m in sc]

thanks. have you considered getting the seat cut down a bit? an inch goes a long way.   and, yes it affects handling, the geometry is affected.  my PC hybrid has actually raised due to the longer swingarm,  and to keep the steering angle and rake all correct the forks are a bit longer with a diff offset, luckily the fzr trees were just about perfect.    I'd seriously look into getting the seat minded, maybe add a gel pad under the cover.  .02

[RustyRD]

well sucks that it was taken, good it was recovered. Great that it has a new rider . I have a VTR1000 that is sorta in the same shape and will be a project next.

[RDryan]

thanks. have you considered getting the seat cut down a bit? an inch goes a long way.   and, yes it affects handling, the geometry is affected.  my PC hybrid has actually raised due to the longer swingarm,  and to keep the steering angle and rake all correct the forks are a bit longer with a diff offset, luckily the fzr trees were just about perfect.    I'd seriously look into getting the seat minded, maybe add a gel pad under the cover.  .02

That's a great idea. I think that maybe my best bet. I did read that KTM offers a more narrow seat with some kinda gel padding and it's heated. That seat may offer some more flexibility to get my feet down as the stock seat is extremely wide and super firm, it's been described as a literal plank.