MXC520 for Dual sporting?

[jirvine]

I have a street licensed 520 and I'm wondering how much road life it could tolerate. I haven't planned to used for more than short road jaunts to get into the dirt but wondered what others experiences have been doing this?

 

[cujet]

Believe it or not, that bike seems to do quite well on the street from what I can tell. I do not own one, however I ride with those who do. The bikes hold up well.

Chris

 

[jirvine]

After my posting I did find more on the topic and it seems like there were threads that they weren't designed to hold up but the reality is there they are sold as dual sports in Europe. I, and others, find it hard to believe that sane street riding can be more difficult on the machine than desert racing.

 

[Highflier]

The issue is the cush hub in the rear hub assy. Offroad bikes have direct drive due to loose soil, easing the driveline shock on the tranny. If you plan on riding much on hard surfaces, take it easy on your drivetrain, or mod the rear hub.

 

[Tony Eeds]

I shot Person8 an email. I know he has converted a big bore to DS. He can likly chime in with lots of great info.

 

[Person8]

Absolutely! Thanks for the link Tony!

I have had my 520 dualsported since '01. My street riding mostly consists of riding out to the desert trails from home (about 10 miles each way), or the occasional run to the corner store. I have seen absolutely no bad effects from doing this. I have also never heard of anyone else experiencing problems related to street use. As has been said, there is no cush hub on the RFS bikes, so the 'shock' of the rear tire having almost perfect traction is sent directly to the transmission. Theoretically this could cause accellerated wear on the tranny gears and related parts. It is my belief and experience that if you take it easy, especially when moving from a standstill, that everything will be just fine.

There is always the option of adding a cushioned rear hub if you plan on doing more than the occasional road trip. The rear wheel from an LC4 series bike will fit right on (although reversed as the sprocket is on the opposite side). I did not do this as I felt it was not necessary for the kind of riding that I do.

I hope this puts your mind at ease a bit. Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll do my best to answer!

Larry

 

[anca]

... there they are sold as dual sports in Europe. ....

Sorry to tell you, i don't know from were you have this info, but you are wrong, 520 are sold as hard enduro racing bikes, not DS. Yes it are street legal,at least here.
One thing i can tell you for shure, there are some used here for super moto racing and also off-road the same bike and after a season the bikes are all right. I think that super moto with slick tires are putting alot of stress on the gears and...no problem