Thanks! Yes, the space I'm using turned out to be quite ok even though it's only a temporary solution. The garage is merely a shell at the moment. I intend to add insulation, new sheeting, paint, new lighting and electrics, work bench, storage shelfs, etc. during my summer vacation. After that it will be even nicer and it will be warm enough to use even during the cold winter months. Then I can start working on whipping the sport bike you can see in the background into shape again. :)

This is a long weekend and today I had some time to work on the bike.

First on the agenda today was to clean the chain and remount the back wheel.

In this picture you can se how discrete the mounts for the pannier frames are. Now that the frames have been taken off you can hardly see the mounts are there unless you know what to look for. Very nice! :D

http://www.xt660.com/picture.php?alb...&pictureid=144

Now I went for the handlebars. I needed to drill holes to mount the electric clusters. I figured I'd measure the distance from the ends on the stock handlebars and use the same measurements on the new handlebars. I was a bit surprised that the distance was asymmetrical, 165mm on the right side and 160mm on the left. I still used the stock measurements but of course it turned out to be wrong. The right side was correct but on the left side the heated grip stuck out a bit. So I drilled another hole on the left side and this time I got it right.

I mounted the electric clusters and the heated grips. I also had to mount the new throttle cables to the throttle roller which gave me some trouble and took longer than I had expected. I remounted the levers (which had to be taken off before drilling the holes) and mounted the aux. power outlet (Touratech) and the switch for the aux. lights. The mounting bracket for the control unit for the heated grips didn't fit on the bike. It's supposed to be mounted on the mirror mount but the holes didn't line up. I fastened it to the handlebars and risers using zip ties. It seems to be ok but only time will tell. Of course, I won't be able to use it without letting go of the handlebar but I don't foresee that to be a problem.

I haven't connected any of the electrics yet. I'll do all the electrics at once to make sure all cables are routed safely and discretely.

http://www.xt660.com/picture.php?alb...&pictureid=145

Time for the Barkbusters. Mounting it on the left side was no trouble at all. However, on the right side the brake line is in the way. Fortunately I'm going to change the brake lines anyway and then I can make sure to route them (there will be two, one for each caliper) out of the way of the mounting bracket.

I don't know if it will actually make any difference but I got the matching bar end weights from Barkbusters (as you can see in the picture). I also have the "Storm" wind protection plastic but I'll hold off on mounting it until at least both Barkbusters are mounted but I should probably wait until all the fairing stuff is remounted. Then I can make sure the they don't hit on anything before I mount the plastic. I'm guessing it will be easier to adjust them (if I need to) without the plastic.

http://www.xt660.com/picture.php?alb...&pictureid=146

Final action of the day was to suspend the front end so that I can get the front wheel and fork legs off (to change the fork springs).

I probably won't have time to do anything else this weekend because I'm going away to attend my nephew's wedding. Actually, when I do get back I need to move some stuff around in the garage so that I can get that mower out. The grass is growing like crazy outside. Working on the bike is more fun though. We'll see how it goes... :unibrow:

http://www.xt660.com/picture.php?alb...&pictureid=147

Great write up, really enjoying following the build! Steve

Same here!
What kind of bar riders you have? Concept looks similar to rox riserz, but seems like other brand.
I've never seen other brands do them, except for imitations ( which u have got)

They do look like the ROX risers but that's because it IS the ROX risers (not some kind of imitation). At least that's what I ordered and that's what it said on the plastic wrapper they came in. :)

I meant to do some work yesterday and I got as far as taking off the front brake calipers and the fender in preparation for getting the wheel off to get the fork legs off. Unfortunately I discovered I was missing the tool needed to remove the front wheel axle. That meant I had to arrange to buy a new tool. I was able to do it later in the day but it meant that no more work was done yesterday.

Today took off the front wheel and the fork legs. A bike really does look quite strange without the front end.

http://www.xt660.com/picture.php?alb...&pictureid=148

Now I opened up the fork legs - out with the old oil and stock springs and in with new �hlins oil and �hlins springs. The fork legs were put back on the bike along with the front wheel. I'll hold off putting back the calipers for now. I don't yet know if it's easier to change the brake lines with the calipers mounted or not. I think I will at least wait until the old brake lines are off the bike before I remount the calipers. I wouldn't want to get any brake fluid on the discs if I can avoid it. The front fender will also have to wait until I've had a chance to clean it properly and put some ArmourAll on it (as I will do on all fairing plastic).

I also mounted the Touratech lockable GPS bracket.

The bike is now no longer suspended and I don't think it will need to be suspended again. I realized that I didn't lubricate the chain after I cleaned it so I did it now and that was the last thing I did.

http://www.xt660.com/picture.php?alb...&pictureid=149