701 Enduro Mods – Part One

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Since picking up my new 701 Enduro on the 12th November I have ridden it down the Autobahn, parked in the the garage, ridden it once around the car park, proceeded to take it apart comprehensively and then break it twice.  I’d like to be out riding it right now, but I can’t, so I am writing this blog post to outline what I have done to it and what you should not do to yours if you – dear reader – ever happen to buy one.

What you should not do – in case you are wondering – is install an additional fuel filter where I tried to install my additional fuel filter.  That is to say where you can see mine installed in the photo below.  I thought it looked like a nice, easy place to get to once the air box is off – so easy to clean it if needed. Also it was on the “I’m sure there is no fuel here” side of the quick release fuel thing.  That is as opposed to the other side known as the “if I cut this hose, fuel might piss out” side.  Yep, I am ignorant.  It turns out that if you put it there then the air box doesn’t fit on any more, so I am awaiting delivery of a new length of fuel line and some clips from Amazon.  This way I will be able to route it outside of the frame and make it exceedingly easy to get to the quick release and thus both the stock and additional filters.  I could have got the complete kit from RR and avoided all this hassle, but their kit is over £120, buying the filter and a length of hose cost £55… I’m not crying.

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I’m not even convinced it’s a worthwhile modification.  The fuel is filtered four times before it hits the injector, so I can’t imagine much grime getting in there – but the filter was pretty cheap and I was placing an order anyway so I figured what the heck – I won’t regret it if it does prevent a problem.

I’ve also successfully installed 98.3% of the Perun tank re-enforcement kit.  “Why only 98.3%” you say “what about the remaining 1.7%”?  The remaining 1.7% constitutes one nylock nut and 1cm of bolt.  Because I ordered the wrong set.  I didn’t read the Perun website properly and ordered the one for older versions of the 690 which has a marginally shorter bolt.  Nikola from Perun is being an absolute star and sending out a longer bolt free of charge – when he gets back from his holidays.  Very easy to install though and I won’t waste time detailing it here – Nikola does a vastly better job than I ever could on his website.

Other modifications so far include the thermostat from Rally Raid, to keep the engine temperature down a bit.  My Tiger used to cook me from below and I got very sick of that very quickly.  As I was ordering some bits from RR anyway I thought I may as well go for it.  In case anyone happens to wonder the same thing I did prior to installation – yes, removing the sensor will cause coolant to come out.  You need to drain it all out from the plug at the bottom of the engine, under the bash plate; very easy to do and the procedure is in the manual.  If, like me, you have never done it before be warned that after you’ve removed the bolt at the bottom of the engine it’ll drizzle out slowly.  As soon as you twist the radiator cap, even a little bit, it’ll piss out like Victoria falls.  Which for led to a big splash on my garage floor.  Every day’s a school day.

I’ve never taken apart a motorcycle to quite this extent before, it’s been pretty interesting and it’s nice to feel my confidence growing.  I’m beginning to think that I can probably handle most problems that could come my way – especially on this bike.  One thing that stands out compared to the Tiger is that it’s a pleasure to work on; most of the screws/bolts are the same.  They’re almost all the same size.  Everything is relatively easy to access and work on – it’s certainly a better designed bike for travel; it inspires confidence that – even as a novice mechanic – you might actually be able to do something with it should it go wrong.

So far I have successfully added a metal sprocket guard which was so ludicrously easy even I managed to avoid cocking it up.  My Garmin 590 bracket is in place as are the TPMS caps.  I’ve also put in an Osram Night Breaker headlight; it only cost 5E and is marginally better than the flashlight that comes as standard.  It’ll have to do for now, I can’t afford nearly £500 on LED lights right now.  Additionally I have no idea if the TUV here in Germany will approve them.  I’ve removed all the bodywork panels, which is very easy* and revealed a very snazzy little hidden box underneath the left hand side front panel.  Photo below.  No idea what I will keep in there, but I suspect I can find a use for some well-concealed storage.
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I’ve got the Rally Raid racks but there isn’t a lot of point in installing them until I am done with the fuel and sub frame re-enforcement mod.  Still to arrive are the metal spines for my Barkbusters, Magadan 2 panniers, Adventure Spec bash plate and engine guards, Double Take mirrors, a funky little green flashing light that tells me the status of my electrical system, UniFilter pre and normal filters, a Giantloop Fandango tank bag and a Powerlet socket so I can charge things on the go.  All this, and more, in 701 Enduro Mods – Part 2.

*Although initially I did have to walk away from the bike for work, having failed to remove any of them after half an hour of trying.  I was baffled by how I was supposed to remove the fuel filler to get the rear panel off.  I was looking for a screw hole or something.  It was only after lunchtime that I realised I just needed to remove the actual cap.  Y’know.  With my key.  Like I was fuelling up.

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