Levior* - Becher's Bomber Build

[bilinvic]

Very kool crawl...I'm sure it was even steeper than it looked since video never seems to capture this aspect.

[mikebecher]

Thanks Bil, one of these days I'll get the hang of taking decent video That or I'll just recruit someone to do it for me.

[DowntownScience]

Your Bomber looks like a Comp Crawler on those rocks! That second vertical was pretty impressive.

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[mikebecher]

Thanks Mr. Science that was the intention for this build. I want to be able to crawl the entire length of this stream bed. There are six lines that I never could clear with my Wraith. With this rig I can clear all but two of those and countless others that were challenging are now trivial. I'm hoping that with some knuckle weight I can conquer this last section.

It's been fun building this rig with the primary intention of making this run. I could have built a comp crawler and done it fairly easily but I want to see if it can be done with a class-3 legal rig and no winching.

[Turtlejon]

So would you say the tummy tuck really helps crawling? In the wraith section it seemed popular for a while, but then a lot of folks seemed to go back...

[mikebecher]

It has helped my Bomber crawl better for the way I have it setup. I run it pretty low slung to keep the COG down and it still drags the skid sometimes but clears enough to just give it a bump to breakover. I have no intention of going back.

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by Turtlejon

So would you say the tummy tuck really helps crawling? In the wraith section it seemed popular for a while, but then a lot of folks seemed to go back...

I forgot to mention that I wrote a Bomber Tummy Tuck How-To if you haven't already come across that.

[mikebecher]

Levior got some new shoes today - 2.2 KLR gold compound up front and silver in the rear. I reused the CI DD foams that were in the HB Rovers - 5.5" comp cut narrow with medium outers on the front and soft on the rear. My rig now weighs 5 lb 1 oz and the foams are just about right. I thought I might have to widen the wheels but they seem OK like this.

My first impressions after some brief testing - awesome performance and they look a helluva lot better than the Rovers! I don't have the terrain in my backyard course to really put them to the test but it's pretty evident that they easily outperform the Rovers which were really good tires on this rig. I'm going to head out to my favorite spots just as soon as I can (if it stops raining ). I can't wait to see how these measure up to what I've been running for the last ~3 months. I might finally have the last ingredient to make a no touch run of my White Whale.

Now I just need to finish the interior and it should be class-3 legal.

[bilinvic]

I know the 1.9 KLR tires kick some serious ass, but you have to have them on correct, the driver's side tires are backwards!

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by bilinvic

I know the 1.9 KLR tires kick some serious ass, but you have to have them on correct, the driver's side tires are backwards!

Yeah...I...was...comparing the characteristics of the directional tread. Yeah.

Thanks Bil! Luckily I haven't glued them up yet so flipping them was trivial

[RustenPaines]

Those videos are great! The lines it can pull are amazing! I did a tummy tuck in my wraith chassis. It's amazing how much performance you gain from this type of mod. Awesome rig

[mikebecher]

I made some more short running videos today with my new GoPro knockoff:

[DowntownScience]

That's a really beautiful spot. Looks volcanic. Where are you at? Your truck is still looking good. Do you think the light weight has both positives and negatives? Looked like it had a little problem hooking up toward the beginning and slid around a bit?

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[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by DowntownScience

That's a really beautiful spot. Looks volcanic. Where are you at? Your truck is still looking good. Do you think the light weight has both positives and negatives? Looked like it had a little problem hooking up toward the beginning and slid around a bit?

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Yeah, it's all volcanic, I'm on the Big Island of Hawaii.

That climb where it slides down and to the side is the only way I've managed to complete that obstacle. It's too steep and off-camber to get over those protrusions straight-on. And it has to be super dry, any moisture at all and it's game over since there's some moss on the rock face.

[mikebecher]

So after about 6 months of near daily crawling, I finally had my first real breakage on this rig. It rolled off a ledge (only about 2 feet high) and squarely landed the face of the rear wheel on a rock It's endured MUCH worse falls but these things happen, oh well. I love these wheels and I'm sure Robbob can get me back up and running.

[mikebecher]

Got a new dig servo today, it's so tiny!

[MD ENFORCER]

Got a link to the wheels?

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by MD ENFORCER

Got a link to the wheels?

These are comp wheels and not really intended for a heavier rig, mine sits at about 5 lbs. Rob cut a custom set for me out of 3mm CF and they've held up well, except for that one unfortunate fall. Here's the link: 2.2 Hearts

[JatoTheRipper]

Those tires seem to be polarizing. Do you love them or hate them?

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Those tires seem to be polarizing. Do you love them or hate them?

I love them now but they did need some work for my application. Since this rig is so light with respect to these tires (even with soft CI foams), I had to groove the inner ridges and trim lugs.

Here's a good shot of what they looked like a few months ago: How to increase forward bite in KLRs?