Replace Your Kawasaki Versys 650 Front Wheel with a Vstrom 1000 19 inch Wheel

The Kawasaki Versys 650 is exactly what the name suggests, a versatile system. My 2008 Versys is at home on curvy roads and is an absolutely splendid sport touring motorcycle. The Versys is not a great off-road adventure bike, mostly due to the 17” front wheel and street tires. It is common knowledge in the Versys community that a Suzuki Vstrom 1000 front wheel will fit on the Versys with a little bit of work. It took a fair amount of scouring the internet and the various pages of information on Advrider and the Kawasaki Versys forums, but the information is not in one place. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about adding a 19” wheel to the Kawasaki Versys 650.

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Skip the Long Lines at Monument Valley and Camp Amongst the Rocks in Valley of the Gods

Just a few minutes north of the famous Forest Gump Point and sacred Navajo lands that make up Monument Valley is a lesser-known area that is as majestic and beautiful as the crowded neighbor to the south. Valley of the Gods is a network of intricate and superb rock features that line San Juan County Road 242 below Cedar Mesa.

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DENALI D7 Driving Light Review | Excellent Design and High Performance Driving Light

We have had our hands on the DENALI D7 Driving Lights for over 6 months and the results are really impressive. Our D7's have been installed on a couple of our 4x4 trucks and their permanent home is on the steel bumper on our Lexus GX470.

 

We wrote another article of our first impressions of the D7 that you should read before continuing on. In the past 6 months of use we have explored all of our local trails and even made a trip to Moab, UT with the DENALI D7 lighting the way. Read on for an in depth look at the D7 and hear our opinions on their performance.

DENALI Lights-Top Notch Build Quality

The build quality of the DENALI D7, like every product that we have handled from DENALI, is top notch. The case is tough and sleek looking, while not being obnoxiously designed like a lot of other light brands. We are fans of traveling under the radar when possible, so the discreet branding and simple design is appealing. The D7 optics use seven CREE LED's placed behind a polycarbonate lens with a rugged rubber gasket to keep the elements out. The D7 is IP67 rated and we can attest that after several submersions, our D7's are still completely sealed.

Each D7 comes with a proprietary DENALI 3 wire plug at the end of the light and adapters included to wire up your lights if you aren't using the DENALI harness. We opted to use the DENALI harness and ease of installation and the plugs click in with no drama and 10,000 miles of trouble-free driving.

The most appealing selling factor for us, besides the performance of the light, is the size. At 4.5" in diameter, the D7 is small and packs a massive punch. The light fits perfectly in our Explore Overland front bumper and is less obvious than a light bar or larger set of lights. As much as we like camping, we often spend time in hotels or AirBnB's while we travel and having a light that doesn't scream "Please steal me" is an added benefit.

The D7 comes standard with a clear lens, but DENALI offers a Selective Yellow and Amber lens as well. Swapping the lenses is extremely simple and only requires the removal of 4 small screws on the rear of the casing.

 

The D7 is Stupid Bright

We have had the opportunity to test the D7 in a variety of conditions including forests in the Ozarks, long highway stretches, and desert runs in Moab. We are a bit blown away each time we flip the switch, these lights are crazy bright. Each D7 cranks out 7,665 lumens per pod and the spot beam pattern reaches over 1,200 feet at 1 lux. In real life conditions, the D7 projects light nearly 2,000 feet in a usable beam.

On our most recent camping trip to Moab, we got caught out in a rain storm and came back to camp to find our tent overturned and water inside. Not only did the D7's save our bacon on the drive back to camp in a torrential downpour, but also lit up our campsite while we drained water and re-pitched our tent. The amount of usable light is simply amazing. Where we live in rural Oklahoma, most roads are poorly lit at night and the chance of hitting a deer or other animal is pretty high. We use the D7's as our high beams nearly every day and have noticed many hazards well before they became problems.

The DENALI D7 is a Great Value

I understand that claiming a light kit that costs $700 is a great value will come as a shock to some. If that is you, it's probably best that you look at the pretty pictures and move on. If you have found that you typically get what you pay for when it comes to gear, keep reading.

At the current price for the D7  light kit ($699.99 USD), the D7 comes in at a cost of $0.04 per lumen. The nearest competitor offering claims 7,500+ lumens at a cost of $1,179 ($0.15 per lumen). The competitor's offering of similarly performing 7 LED spotlights costs 275% more than the DENALI D7. The decision for us is really easy, the D7 offers superior optics at an affordable price, relative to the alternatives.

There are absolutely a ton of offerings from name-brand lighting companies at cheaper price points for this size of light. However, at the lower price point you lose total lumens, distance at 1 lux, and cheaper build materials. DENALI is extremely straight forward about light performance and even offer ISOLUX charts (like above) for all of their lights. Tracking down light tests for many of the bigger lighting brands is extremely challenging.

We have found that the motto of "buy once, cry once" applies to nearly every gear purchase we make. After using cheaper big name lighting brands and amazon knock-offs, we will only be running quality lighting on our vehicles. Safety is not department that we want to skimp on.

Oztent RX5-30 Second Tent First Impressions

The roof top tent game was not for us, at least not the $1000 roof top tents-the “cheap ones”. We have historically used a backpacking tent more than anything else in our off-road adventures and that worked fine. The backpacking tent is likely the best compromise between setup time, durability, cost, and storage requirements. As we have traveled and met others that camp a lot and are tough on their gear, we have come across an interesting tent and decided to give it a go- the Oztent RX5.

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DENALI D7 Off-Road Lights First Impression Review|1986 Toyota 4Runner

1st Gen 4Runner Off Road Lights

These Lights Are Ridiculously Bright

We had the opportunity to test the DENALI D7 LED Auxiliary light set and spoiler alert, we were blown away by the performance. I (Zach) had heard from friends and coworkers that the D7 was a powerhouse and to watch out for blinding reflective street signs when rounding corners with the lights on. I was a bit skeptical initially, but my first impression of the DENALI D7 confirms all of it!

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Tips for Full-Time Travel

I can’t say when it happened, but somewhere between meeting my now-wife Rachael and when we got married, we decided that full-time travel was right for us. I can’t say what started the conversation or what the final deciding factor was for us to quit our jobs and travel full time. I can, with a fair amount of confidence, give advice about leaving your stable life and embarking on a life of full-time travel. Here are five tips that everyone should see before hitting the road.

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Okienomad’s Full Size School Bus Build: Removing Walls, Floor, and Ceiling

The WORST…I repeat, WORST part of any skoolie build (based on the two that we have worked on) is demolition. Our first bus was 100% stock and still had heaters and seats bolted to the soggy, candy wrapper strewn floor. We spent several days hollering back and forth from under the bus switching which bolt we were working on and eventually we got the interior completely stripped out. When we went to inspect a full-size bus for a new project we were planning, we were ecstatic to find that the seats, AC units, and heaters had all be removed and plywood had been laid down. Score one for the home team.

One problem, that continues to appear every time Rachael and I take on a new project is that we want it to be better than the last one we did. Some would call it perfectionism or being overly competitive, but it’s how we are wired and our skoolie projects are no exception. On our first build we did not remove a single riveted panel from the bus and left the terrible yellow fiberglass insulation in it’s home and it was only when we experienced 1ºF temperatures in New Mexico in February did we wish we had taken the time to insulate the entire bus. Fast forward to our new project and we are going to strip it down to the studs. We started with a drill, then an angle grinder…and finished the project with an air chisel. The air chisel was the most effective of the tools that we used by far!

Below are some of the most useful tools and supplies that we used during this stage of the build. By clicking the link below, you pay the same price as you would on Amazon, we simply receive a tiny fraction of the transaction. Everything we earn contributes to keeping this website up and keeping us on the road, so thank you in advance!

The panels above the windows and the metal end caps are secured with a bunch of #2 Phillips screws so Rachael made quick work of those and Addy-dog made sure no one snuck up on us coming down the drive.

As we were working on rivets, Rachael’s dad comes over and says he needs our eyes to see what’s going on at the neighbor’s house a mile down the road. Several police cars had blockaded the country road that Rachael grew up on and they had a helicopter circling overhead. Turns out several street-youths had tried to break into a house and were now on the run in the wilds of South Tulsa County. We spent most of the evening watching helicopters work into the dark and later we got word from an informative neighbor letting us know that all four criminals had been apprehended. Another day in rural Oklahoma.

While Rachael and Addie worked on screws and protecting us from danger, I began grinding rivets with an angle grinder. We had heard horror stories of how hard it was to remove the rivets, but the grinder made fairly quick work of them.

And just like that, 6 hours later all of the lower panels are off and we discovered a new way to remove rivets that involves a pneumatic chisel that we will share in a different post.

We were so excited when we picked up our new bus because the seats had all been removed and the rear heaters were no where to be seen. We became less excited when we pulled the subfloor and insulation up and found that they hadn’t been screwed down and that there was sitting water under the floor. That will be a project for another day once we are done chopping up metal on the outside.

With the insulation and plywood removed, there is approximately 6′ 3″ of standing height in the middle of the bus. Because I am 6′ 3″ tall, a roof raise is in order to be able to insulate the floor and ceiling like we want and still be able to walk upright. We are planning a 10-12″ roof raise beginning behind the driver’s seat and continuing to the back of the bus.

Something seems off here…I can’t believe BlueBird would let the bus leave like this?

Demolition is nasty and hard work. The engineers at bus companies work very hard to make sure busses are safe and sound and it takes a lot of work to undue their efforts. Once we got all of the insulation out we went through with the air compressor and broom and blew out most of the trash and dust that was left behind.

We Bought a Bus…Again!

You read that right and if you follow us on Instagram and Facebook (and you should if you are into this kind of thing) you are already aware that we bought a huge, beautiful, full-size school bus to replace our little 4-window that has been so good to us over the last few years.

How and Where did you find your new bus?

As soon as the Covid-19 pandemic began to take hold in the United States, Rachael and I saw the writing on the wall that full-time travelers were about to have a rough time finding places to work, shower, and get supplies.We made a plan to retreat back to Oklahoma where we have a super supportive network of family and friends to hunker down with throughout the lockdown.



We knew that we would be extremely bored sitting at our parent’s or sibling’s houses with nothing to do, so we made a plan to start a project that we have dreamed about since we first bought our little bus. We scoured Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other online resources to find a bus that was long enough to accommodate our plans and that had a serviceable engine and transmission. We inspected a couple of busses before finding one that we liked in Lubbock, TX, approximately 500 miles and 7 hours of car driving away.

We loaded up a makeshift overnight vehicle consisting of a borrowed Chevy Suburban and an air mattress and took off for the Texas panhandle. We observed as many Covid-19 protocols as we were able and noticed that the majority of Texas was acting like the coronavirus didn’t exist. We made a deal on our bus and drove the two hours to Amarillo to sleep at a rest area. We couldn’t help but take a few photos in the lot.

What have we done?

We got on the road early the next day to make our way back to Oklahoma. I reached for what I thought was the headlight switch and nothing happens. As rain started to sprinkle on the flat windshield in front of me, I thought to myself that people drive in the rain without headlights every day, this will be no big deal. An hour down the road, the rain picked up to a pour and the driver’s side windshield wiper stopped wiping. Now I was driving a 16,000 pound behemoth of a bus down the Interstate at 58 miles per hour with no lights and no windshield wipers…these trips are always an adventure.



No lights, no wipers, no problem!

We stopped for lunch and to take a conference call a few hours in and decided to try and let the rain pass…PS, it didn’t pass. The rain kept falling and we kept trudging along at slow speed for the interstate crossing into Oklahoma. Traffic around Oklahoma City was a really unique experience and taught me a lot about the handling and weight of the new rig. Nearing Shawnee, OK the water temperature gauge started rising and the warning alarms starting ringing as I began to smell coolant coming from the doghouse. I pulled into a truck-stop to inspect the engine and found no obvious sign of failure, so I filled up the radiator and drove another 10 miles before the temperature started to rise again. Upon further inspection, I found a tear on a heater hose that was leaking a strong steam at this point. The rain had picked up to a cold deluge and darkness was getting close, so we parked the bus at a truck-stop and returned the next morning to fix it.

We returned the next morning, replaced the hose, filled it with coolant and took off for the 2 hour drive that was left between us and our destination. The bus ran solid on the rest of the drive and the temperature never moved once warmed up. We pulled into the bus’s new resting place for at least a few weeks and sighed a breath of relief that it made it in one piece. On a side note, the Cummins 5.9L 12-valve diesel got 10-13 miles per gallon on our return trip.

Why buy a new bus?

This is a great question and it has a few reasons that we have slowly been compiling for the last two years of traveling full-time in our shorty.



  • We Wanted More Room- We found a 4-window school bus is great for 2-week long trips down a forest service road or even for long-term travel when traveling is the primary concern. However, when you mix in the reality of having to work most days for at least a few hours the space becomes very small, very quickly.
  • We Wanted a Home Base- After traveling around North America for two years full-time we grew tired of how much work it was to have a weekly (much less, daily) routine that involved showers, work and a toilet. We found ourselves sleeping in our short bus, driving into town with our 4Runner and spending all day in town to get all of the errands done that we couldn’t do in our bus. The new bus will have a full shower and toilet as well as a separate living area from the bedroom.
  • We Wanted to Haul Our 4×4- This spring we drove both of our vehicles separately, our bus and ’86 4Runner, out West and frankly, we didn’t enjoy driving separately but we loved having a capable off-road vehicle to explore with and commute into town for supplies. We briefly considered flat towing our 4Runner but the wear and tear on both the toad and towing rig made this less appealing to us. Our short bus is not a powerhouse and we were not confident in it’s ability to tow our fat truck around safely. Our plans have changed and we have decided to flat tow or dolly our 4Runner behind our fully converted bus. The extra room was too tempting!

What’s the Plan?

Our build plan is broken into a few phases: demo, infrastructure, and build out. In the first stage we will completely gut the interior of all panels and stock insulation and return the bus down to it’s metal framework. In stage two we will raise the roof 10-12 inches and remove all of the windows. Later in stage two we will skin the entire bus in sheet metal and add actual RV windows and insulation. In stage three we will build out the interior to resemble a typical camper or RV including running water, a solar power system, and fridge/freezer combo.

As always, we will be updating our social media channels first followed by detailed blog posts here and bi-monthly videos on our YouTube channel. Any support online is greatly appreciated!

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