Meet Betty White (1 Viewer)

[ARJMN]

As if I did not have enough projects in process, I have now added one more. Meet Betty White. Betty is my buddy Rob's 1995 FZJ80 that came into his possession with a blown motor. She is in excellent condition overall with the paint being notably better than either of my rigs. To remedy the failed ticker, Rob procured a 2009 Chevy 2500 with a Gen3 6.0 LS and a 6L90 transmission. The truck was stripped of its vitals and they were then transplanted into Betty. This swap is very close to my LS with the exception of the transmission and brakes. While mine has the 6L80 from a 2013 Camaro SS, Rob's runs the 6L90 from the aforementioned 3/4 ton truck and Rob is running a full Hydro-Boost brake system. I'll get into the details of the differences in a future post. I have a good bit to say about this build and am looking forward to diving in after I get a few other ToDos knocked out.

For now, here are some terribly framed pics of the rig. Don't judge me, I was at the end of a 20 hour drive from Arkansas.

Rob = @OlafProt

 

[OGBeno]

Nice base for a project.

 

[Mattman]

Nice project! Off topic... but is that a KTM 1290 SAR I spy in the back of the Dodge? That's what I ride

 

[ARJMN]

Nice project! Off topic... but is that a KTM 1290 SAR I spy in the back of the Dodge? That's what I ride

Yessir! I picked that up when I brought back the 80. I have been on two rides so far and am really impressed so far. Its been 9 years since I owned a bike, and have missed them. I had a 2006 950 Adventure S years back and loved to see where I could take it, and a few spots I regretted getting into. I used to love loading up all my gear, heading out for the day. I carried a cable lock to secure my paniers to a tree, and then I would ride trails with buddies on dirt bikes. It was always fun to see their eyes get wide when you cleared a nasty section or hill climb on it. I'll admit that more than once I had to smile laugh and wave them over to help me push that thing out of trouble. While I don't have any plans to risk the 1290 in the same way, I did take it up the Mt. Lemmon Control Road yesterday and it started to feel like old times. While not really any heavier than my old 950, it has so much more torque that I swear it is easier to negotiate slow chuggy stuff.

Anyway, this is not a bike forum, but I do love spending time on 2 wheels as well as 4.

My 2006 KTM 950 Adventure S:

 

[Mattman]

Let's meet in the middle somewhere and do a ride in the fall. @LandCruiserPhil might be down for that too if he still has is Dakar BMW...

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

Let's meet in the middle somewhere and do a ride in the fall. @LandCruiserPhil might be down for that too if he still has is Dakar BMW...

Devils Hwy 1000's turns in 94 miles

 

[ARJMN]

Sounds good to me, but definitely need some cooler weather! It was 76 when I left the house at 5:30am Monday, and 107 when I got home at around 11:00am. The temp swings still blow me away.

 

[RHINO]

nice 950,,, this was my trusty '07 990, amazingly capable bikes.

 

[ARJMN]

nice 950,,, this was my trusty '07 990, amazingly capable bikes.

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Agreed! The 950/990 were much closer to being purely over grown dirt bikes than the modern brethren. Makes sense as they were designed to win the Dakar.

 

[ARJMN]

Quick update. With Lexi Jo back on the road, I will be hauling Betty White home this week and taking stock of where I am on it. Keep a watch here for progress coming soon.

@OlafProt