I'd like to start off with introducing myself, and a little behind the thought process behind building the 919 in this direction.
I picked up my 2005 Honda 919 earlier in the year, and found it to be quite good at many things while not truly outstanding at any one thing. A perfect blank canvas, with comfortable ergos and the legendary Honda reliability. Wet weight is down under 450lbs fully fueled, so it is also quite manageable.
Starting with general maintenance, I went ahead and replaced: the tires, chain/sprockets, wheel bearings, fluids/filters, spark plugs, and gave it a good once over to establish a maintenance baseline. For performance, I cut the header and installed a R6 Y pipe and added a PCV to balance out the fueling. Power delivery is much more tractable at low RPMs now, and the weight gained from the crash protection was offset by the lighter weight exhaust.
From there, I rode it several thousand miles (commuting, weekend riding, camping trips, etc) to get a feel for the platform.
On my last camping trip, I rode around Lake Michigan in it's entirety along with ferrying over to Drummond Island. It was on Drummond that I realized the 919 makes for a decent ADV type bike, if ridden within it's limits. From there, my build took on this direction.
While off-roading on some mild Jeep Trails on Drummond, I made some mental notes on what I felt were the most pressing issues that needed attention. Lack of ground clearance, traction, and under engine protection were the three things I knew I could rectify without compromising too much on road handling.
I picked up my 2005 Honda 919 earlier in the year, and found it to be quite good at many things while not truly outstanding at any one thing. A perfect blank canvas, with comfortable ergos and the legendary Honda reliability. Wet weight is down under 450lbs fully fueled, so it is also quite manageable.
Starting with general maintenance, I went ahead and replaced: the tires, chain/sprockets, wheel bearings, fluids/filters, spark plugs, and gave it a good once over to establish a maintenance baseline. For performance, I cut the header and installed a R6 Y pipe and added a PCV to balance out the fueling. Power delivery is much more tractable at low RPMs now, and the weight gained from the crash protection was offset by the lighter weight exhaust.
From there, I rode it several thousand miles (commuting, weekend riding, camping trips, etc) to get a feel for the platform.
On my last camping trip, I rode around Lake Michigan in it's entirety along with ferrying over to Drummond Island. It was on Drummond that I realized the 919 makes for a decent ADV type bike, if ridden within it's limits. From there, my build took on this direction.
While off-roading on some mild Jeep Trails on Drummond, I made some mental notes on what I felt were the most pressing issues that needed attention. Lack of ground clearance, traction, and under engine protection were the three things I knew I could rectify without compromising too much on road handling.
