BLOG PLUG: Rob Lance's Vegas to Reno on an ATK!!!

I just happened onto this, but I am in full support of a dude and a dream. Especially when that dream is to potentially cause yourself bodily harm on a sweet four stroke single! Check out his prep and give him any guidance you might have for desert racing.

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Rab Lance Vegas to Reno Racing Dreams and Dual Sport Adventures

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MODIFICATIONS: New Tread AKA "Goodbye to the supermoto dreams"

Since I got the 490 in 2010 I have dreamed about having two sets of wheels thinking a set of 17's would make road riding that much more awesome. After 3 years of rolling on two sets of 80 / 20 21" / 18" Pirelli MT Scorpions, I decided that I hate the slippage on the washboard sections of dirt roads and that I would give a try to a set of 50 / 50 Mefo Explorers.

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I never liked that skinny 21" Pirelli on the Front. The 140 18 looked super beefy by comparison.

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Amazing that such a simple frame and motor can bring so much happiness to my life.

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Not quite knobbies...

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But perfect for the numerous Humboldt County loops.

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The thought of spending more on a set of supermoto wheels and tires than I paid for my bike has never appealed to me, but getting to and making it out of tiny corners of the world that the ATK has given me access to appeals very much to me. I have yet to see how the Mefos hold up to lots of road wear, but so far they are holding up to the curvy sections of HWY 36 at the speeds that the Scorpions would tolerate without all the slippage on the washboard.

MODIFICATION: FORK SWAP: STEP 2: DISASSEMBLY

The paradox that one must face when doing this is taking a PERFECTLY FUNCTIONAL motorcycle, and deciding to rip it apart only to attempt to make it functional once again. I put this project off for a couple of weekends after getting the new front end just to get a few more rides in "just in case."

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With the "last rites" out of the way, disassembly could begin:

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There is no "quick guide" to taking a dual sport bike apart. I just started with the plastics.

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As I got deeper, I made sue to document wire and guide positions with pictures so that when it came time for reassembly I did not rely on my memory a few days later. I used a roof rack strap to lift the intact bars / controls / electrics slightly above to old forks so I wouldn't have to rewire the whole bike. Also, important to note at this point was that I was careful to strap the back end of the bike to the MX stand and put some blocks under the rear wheel to keep everything from falling off the stand when I took the weight o the front end off of the frame.

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GONE!

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COST: $0

INSPIRATION: BONES

Not uncommonly, my desire to change my motorcycle from a perfectly happy healthy state of being into something different was not uninspired. Bones is one of those people that has taken the canvas of the ATK 605 and transformed it into many different states of awesome. From the older full frame 1995 701 SM conversion, to the 1999 605 full dual sport outfitted monster, he has managed to make a beautiful machine even more magnificent. A master of machinery, an Alaskan ATK muse, a man of vision and purpose: BONES.

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Bones' SMUGMUG account for more detailed pics of each build.