Dual Sport Conversion

[JCW]

I am going to ride a few dual sports this year and I will need to add a brake light, a horn, and a tag to my '03 KDX 200. I don't want blinkers and I have been assured that I can get by without them. Any ideas on the best way to add a horn and brake light without buying a complete dual sport conversion kit. And while we are at it, any ideas on the best deal for a full dual sport conversion kit (it that turns out to be the only option).

Thanks,
JCW

 

[WildBill]

Quickest and cheapest would be to pick up a brake switch for the rear master cylinder, (they are fairly generic) and whip up a simple wiring harness. The harness will contain a resistor that reduces the power to the bulb until the brake switch bypasses it and send full power to the bulb. For a horn, a bicycle bulb horn will suffice, I believe. A friend of mine dual-sported his pumkin this way and I have the brake switch and a wiring harness that he made me so that I can do my KDX.

A lot of it depends on your local police station that will do the inspection and sign off as it being street legal. Our Secretary of State here in Michigan has a form with a checklist for the police to inspect. Some items are more strictly enforced than others, and as I said, it really depends on the officer doing the inspecting. A friend, relative or bike friendly cop is your best bet. I believe that Baja Designs makes a full dual-sport kit for most bikes. I would check them out.

Good luck and let us know your results.

 

[JCW]

Thanks for the info. I got the rear brake switch for the rear master cyclinder and put it on today. I had to move the brake fluid resevoir a little to make everything fit, but it works great and it's invisible. I also bought a kill switch to use as a horn button and I will get a basic horn and mount it behind the headlight. This will keep the bike looking stock. So far, all of the dual sports I'm looking into are not requiring turn signals and I'm glad. From what I have read, the horn, the brake light, and the tag will get me in. Next, I need to see if the stock electrical system will handle the brake light and horn.

Thanks
JCW

 

[WildBill]

If you use the resistor set-up, you will have enough power out of the stock stator. This is because you are not increaseing the power output to the tailight. The resistor will dim the bulb until the brake switch passes through normal power. The dual-sported pumkin I mentioned also had this done to the headlight to provide a hi/lo beam. He also installed an blue led on his fairing to act as a high beam indicator. He's a GM mechanic specializing in electrical / electronics and he went a little overboard, but it is a nice set-up. Good luck, let us know your results.

Bill

 

[Mrobbins]

For a brake switch did you just pick something up from a motorcycle shop that is generic or for a dualsport/street bike? Thanks.