Dirt Bike->Dual Sport Conversion

[ttrider24]

Just saw this and thought it was interesting:
Dirt Bike Conversion

I was even thinking about doing this to my 230 but I dont know if it would be worth the trouble. Anyone tried it or heard of anyone doing this?

 

[Rich Rohrich]

J Anyone tried it or heard of anyone doing this?

YEP ;)

 

[ttrider24]

Looks good! :cool: I'd like to do that to bike soon. I'm just debating whether or not it would be worth it. Was there alot of work involved? Fom the looks of the other pics it looks like you had to strip it down to the frame.

 

[dirt bike dave]

I've done 3 bikes with Baja Designs kits.

I was one of their early customers - I think the first kit I bought was for a '90 XR250. My other conversions were on a KDX200 and KDX250. All my buddies did their bikes, too, when we went through our 'dual sport' phase.

The first time to install a kit it takes maybe 6 hours; mostly checking and double checking stuff. Probably varies some from bike to bike, but it is not hard, IMO. No need to strip to the frame.

Easy job for a Saturday.

After the install, getting the

 

[ttrider24]

Thanks for the info. I've never heard of Baja Designs before. Maybe I will be able to convert it sooner than I thought!

 

[Rich Rohrich]

The Baja Designs kits are great and very complete, but you can easily build your own kit from standard aftermarket parts.

Below is a picture of the parts I put together for my CRF450. It includes an Acerbis Headlight, UFO tailight, a Moose Racing dualsport wiring harness and handelbar mount light switch along with an Electrex lighting coil.

Eric Gorr's upcoming CRF Performance book will have a little write up on this project.

 

[dirt bike dave]

FYI, Alan Roach, the author of the article linked in the first post, is the founder of Baja Designs.

 

[ttrider24]

Thats a good looking setup. I'm looking at their site to see what they have and theres a pretty good selection. I'll probably build my own kit so I can get what I want. One more question though: Is this something that someone with no experience doing this can do? Or should I get someone to do it for me? Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[dirt bike dave]

With some research into parts and your state's laws, anybody with a basic knowledge of electrics could make their own kit. By finding the best price on individual parts, you could save a few $ over a pre-made kit from Baja Designs or one of their competitors.

However, you will spend lots of time designing your own system, tracking down parts, etc... Spend a little more for a pre-made kit and you could be installing it next weekend and have a plate shortly after.

 

[ttrider24]

Good point. I was thinking about that but I probably won't be riding on the street for a while. My mom is still nervous about me being on the road on a bike. :( I thought that maybe I could work my way up until I'm able to. I'm not going to worry about it too much though, I like riding my dirtbike for now. :)

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

Based on the experience of everyone I personally know.......and this was a few years ago, Electrex stators were VERY undependable. Hopefully they have improved. Rohrich........what's your experience?

 

[adam728]

I have a Moose lighting coil on my bike, which by my understanding is made by Electrex. No problems so far, had it about a year and a half.

I have a Baja Designs D.S. kit on my bike as well. If I had to do it again I would piece together my own setup and save some cash.

 

[ttrider24]

What kind of coil would you guys reccommend then?

 

[Rich Rohrich]

Hopefully they have improved. Rohrich........what's your experience?

Lets' see, I have access to anything I want and I picked the Electrex for my own bike. HMMMMM...... :whoa:

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

Lets' see, I have access to anything I want and I picked the Electrex for my own bike. HMMMMM...... :whoa:

Those big 4-bangers are a real bear to push ya know........thanks for the kind reply "Einstein's-my-avatar" guy.

 

[ttrider24]

So which brand is a good? I'm still leaning more towards the Electrex since its the only one I know of and 2 agree its good and 1 doesn't. Any more suggestions?

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

I really don't know much about Electrex TODAY...........but, the first one I bought lasted just under a year, was waranted......and I went through 2 more (all waranted) but I got tired of pushing. Back then the company would rob some ignition-windings to provide the lighting-windings, in time, the ignition side would overheat and quit. When I heard of others with the same results, I quit using their product.........even though when I talked directly with Electrex (in Europe) they said "first time we heard of it." Maybe their better now, I like Moose's stuff, when I got mine Steahly was the distributor, do they still offer Electrex? If you decide on one, after some rides if the bike won't start by kicking it, and you need to bump-start it........head straight for the truck!

 

[Rich Rohrich]

So which brand is a good?

As Dave pointed out earlier, the Baja Designs kit or the Electrex Dakar kit is the simplest way to get a complete setup designed for your bike and the quality is first rate from both companies.

If you want to do it yourself and maybe save some money over a pre-built kit I've had excellent luck with Electrex lighting coils as well as E-line coils.

 

[ttrider24]

I'll probably go with Electrex then. I've found a headlight I think I might get from Acerbis and I'll probably get it soon since I need one anyways. I'll just get the rest of my stuff later.

 

[GhostRider32]

It really depends on where you live as to what you have to do to it. In Texas, you need a headlight, battery to run headlight and a tail light. That's it I believe. If you have a bike that already has a tail and head light, it doesn't take much more here.

 

[gurt]

Right now im in the process of getting my kdx200 on the road. Rather than forking out the dough for a baja designs kit I decided to adapt a harness from a junker dual sport bike to fit my kdx. I am almost ready to put it on and all I had to do was buy a hydraulic brake light switch, which was about $20. So, in my opinion I would try to make a or adapt a harness for your bike like I did. It's a good bit cheaper than a kit.