Supermotard Conversion

T

Thumper-meister

Can anyone give me some info on what is involved in converting my 93XR650L into a supermotard bike. The engine has already been modded. I understand white brothers has a loweriing kit that lowers the suspension 2 inches. What about wheels/rims and brake rotors and calipers?

Thanks for any help you guys.
 

Okiewan

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Mr. "Super Retard" Rohrich is your guy... he'll see this post soon. Hummm... I've got an AF... hummm...? :scream:
 

Rich Rohrich

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You've got an AF and I've got 17" SuperMoto wheels that will fit it HEHEHEHE

On my XR650 SuperMotard I had Jeremy Wilkey (MX Tech) lower the suspension 4" (both ends) and revalve it for pavement/ hardpack use. I've ridden a few that were just lowered without the revalve and they didn't work very well on asphalt. My XR was an incredible slider on dirt or pavement. Backing it into the McDonalds parking lot was easy even for me :)

Standard Motard setup is 17"x3.50" wheel with a 120/70 tire on the front, 320mm floating disk (I used a Braking floater), stainless line and stock Honda caliper (you have to mill the backside of the caliper to make it fit). Performance Machine makes a super light 6 pot race caliper but you are looking at about $450, and flipover stoppies if you get to aggressive. Rear is 17"x4.25" wheel with a 150x60 or 160x60 rear tire. I ran the 150 so I didn't have to trim the edge of the tire. I hated the way the 160 felt, but FAST guys tell me that once you get over the quirks of the 160, it's the better setup. Most guys seem to run Talon hubs with Akront rims. White Bros sells the complete setup, and I was told Kosman does as well but I've never verified Kosman.

I'm setting up my YZ444F for SuperMotard/DTX work with 19" wheels at both ends and Maxxis CD3 & CD5 dirttrack tires. I'l be riding soon and will pass along how it works. I also have a 17" wheel setup for it like I described above. It should be interesting to see which is the better all around setup.

You'll have a great time Motarding you XR. It's the most enjoyable biking experience I've ever had.

http://www.ericgorr.com/images/future_thump.jpg
 
T

Thumper-meister

Thanks Rich. When you converted your 650L, how did you deal with the battery relocation?
 

Rich Rohrich

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I originally left it in the stock location and it really didn't cause a problem, but for estetic reasons I eventually ran no air box and used a really small battery in the airbox space. Given it to do over again I would have left it in the stock location and just used a smaller lighter battery.

I believe at one point Baja Designs made a kit to deal with this. Another things to consider is the A-Loop MX style tank and bodywork. If A-Loop had that kit out a few years ago I never would have been able to part with the mighty XR. :)
 

SFO

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As Rich said, Kosman will do special wheel set-ups for motard or anything for that matter.
They manualy machine most of their custom hubs and are still the US importer for Akront.
There are alot of wheel options, depending on your$$$ and mechanical prowess.
The bolt up WB and Koman options being the easiest.
Myself, I would track down an old set of magnesium TZ hubs and lace them up with 17's.
Just trying to be extra tweaky, I guess. But those ol' tz hubs look sooooo cool.
And, it sure isn't in any catalog, you will always be the first on your block.
Going to a national dirttrack or looking at cycle news could snag you a set of 19's but you would have to do wheel spacers and brake hangers.
This I think would be cheapest.
I love the way DTX bikes look too.
 

Rich Rohrich

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I don't know Bill, I think my Gold Talon hubs are tricker looking than the TZ hubs :)

I'd love to set one up with those ultra trick 19" Performance Machine spoked mags like Dale uses on his Husaberg dirttrackers. Think he might have a spare pair laying around collecting dust ? :)
 

SFO

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24K dude...
The pm wheels are light but a hamfist with a tire machine can turn a racing pm wheel into garbage in 15 seconds.
The flanges are soft and thin. At Kos we used to have a hot tank of water that we would warm the tires in and just slip them on without tools.
My favorite brake setup is a 13" Kosman rotor with a 4piston nissan caliper of the gsxr variety, that way you don't have to trim the backside of the caliper so much and the rotor center is really easy to make being flat.
You will want a fork brace too, as without it you will be doing two lane stoppies as the front end winds up with the single side torque application and you steer into parked cars, or oncoming traffic. (Don't ask me how I know this)
I think that using stock hubs is a fine option as well, you get to retain your cush drive, and they bolt on.
Just send your hubs to Buchanans and let them do the rest.
I made custom links to lower my seat to make the front end.
You might want to run a stiffer spring as well.
When it is all said and done I would also mock up the front end geometry on paper and make sure you have enough trail.
Something else I had time to think about sliding on my back down the freeway at 70mph because my bike got so twitchy you had to keep both hands on the bars.
I am glad I got to live and learn about that one...
The new excel hubs look bitchin too.
I can only imagine what collects dust at your house Rich.
BTW, I am sworn to secrecy about Dales collection.
 
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Squidwannabe

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White bros spins excel rims I think ? With talon hubs ..... Anyways, they get real expensive. A cheap alternative would be Honda Cbr600 F2 rims. Some customization is required but hey, it's way cheaper.
 

SFO

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The oem mag wheel route is the definite cheap way to do this.
Custom work is easier said than done. Be advised your results will vary wildly with your attention to detail.
Wheel centerline, sprocket offset, brake hangers...
Learning by experience could be painfull.
I have seen "pro" jobs that I wouldn't use for a static display.
I am doing a Moto-Martin 1500 turbo right now, putting marchesinis and custom brakes on it.
This is a 8 hr job for me and I have done it at least 50 times..I also have a full machine shop at my disposal.
If you have the time to figure this out it is the cheap way to go.
 

Rich Rohrich

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SFO is right, there are certain things you NEVER want to do the FIRST time, and fitting OEM wheels is one of them. Unless your time is worth 10 cents an hour save the grief and BUY wheels made for your bike. They'll fit, they'll be lighter, and they'll LOOK way more trick. Plus on a SuperMotard the LAST thing you want is a STIFF OEM mag wheel. Spokes are still on dirt bikes for a VERY GOOD reason :)
 

Magellan

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Not knowing what a SuperMotard was (I though it was some kind of king Spode), I check out some websites.
Wow! Now I want one! Sure does look like fun to ride around town.

What's the deal/need to relocate the battery?

Mag
 

Rich Rohrich

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On the dualsport XR the battery is high and to the rear. It's fairly heavy so it's a chunk of mass that would be better centralized if possible. Whether or not it pays dividends equal to the effort is in my opinion debatable :)

Either way it's a remarkable amount of fun. A number of Euro manufacturers have full on SuperMotards as part of their normal lineup.
 

gulliver

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Supermotarding is not a motorcycle, but a lifestyle of the city.
See the curb, feel the curb, Be the curb - the modifications will follow.
 

PeteN

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Besides being heavy, street bike mags will bend if you jump very high. The 17s laced onto stock or aftermarket hubs are the way to go, but expensive. I use 19" wheels with dirt track tires when SuperTT racing my DRZ400. They are on old YZ hubs that I have adapted to fit. I also use a BMW K1100 rotor with the stock caliper on a 1/4" aluminum adapter plate. The 19" wheels wouldn't be good for the street because there aren't any DOT tires for them and they don't have the poser appeal that 17s do. ;)

I can't wait because there is a SuperTT this weekend in Seattle. If you would like to see more of this type of racing look at www.supertt.com
 
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