XR400 Dual Sport questions

[G-Man]

Ok I'm new to this forum, as I am usually on the CRF450 page. Please excuse the dumb questions cuz I'm a Moto guy! lol ?

Anyway I live in AZ and have a 01 XR400 I want to dual sport. Just went down w/o the bike and got a license plate today! ?

So now for the questions.

1) Previous owner had his XR250 wired for the street but took it off before he rode it and gave it to me. It has one of those rubber license plate holders and tailight, hangs down like a big mudflap. Before I go drilling into my fender to mount and cut into my existing rear taillight wire I want an opinion. This thing seems cheezy like it will flap in the wind. I ride pretty hard off/road and can't imagine this thing taking much abuse (wires/bulbs etc).

2) Can I just mount the plate on the fender? It won't have the clear lens part sining on plate.

3) How do I get the two-wired bulb into a three wire with brake light?

4) Rear brake switch, any suggestions? I have heard hydraulic is best, anyone know a Honda OEM one that will work?

5) Front light seems weak any suggestions?

6) Will a squeeze horn be legal?

7) I've ridden in the street for yrs. Do people not notice you on these low powered light bikes?

8) Anyway to put an ignition/cutoff key?

9) AZ seems pretty lax any AZ riders get pulled over?

Thanks for your help, I hope to do some killer dual sport rides soon. ?

[pdxrider]

You can get a relay for your rear master cylinder. I have a Baja designs d.s kit and they have them for sale. it's a two wire set up. you can see it in the picture. it has the red tape and replaces the bolt that holds the hydro line.

[MrGadget]

I would check out the Baja Designs web site. They have very good mounting options for license plates, new lights (hi/lo beam) in their dual sport kits, and a pressure switch for your rear brake that will run your tail light. Their kits have horns too. ?

[G-Man]

Thanks guys I just saw the Baja designs switch. Does it have good instructions to wire it up, is it easy to do?

Also is it worth it to go to the glass headlight, does it light that much better? How about durability from rocks, I saw the guard, but it won't stop getting roosted by small pebbles and breaking the glass?

[ZenMoto]

I bought the Acerbis Cyclops headlight. It puts out a LOT more light than the standard DS kit lights, and has a removeable polycarbonate cover that protects both lenses (it has a wide angle, lo-beam, and a hight intensity, focused high-beam).

Great light, pretty tough, and not too expensive. The only downside is that you have to mount your front turn-signals differently as the sides aren't flat ...so you can't just tap them into the side of the headlight surround. You can see pics of my setup in My Garage.

As for wiring the lights, etc, they should come with instructions, but it's pretty easy and straight forward. The good news is it's all 12VDC, so you can't really hurt anything too badly wiring it wrong, it just won't work! ?

Good luck.

[G-Man]

ZEN,

Nice setup looks good. ?

12V do you have a battery or is it the same wire for your OEM light? Does the OEM light stator have enough power?

I don't need turn signals in AZ, so that's not a problem. I notice you changed rear light assy.s do you like the BD fender a lot better? I ride a lot of whooped out single track do the bulbs hold out?

Do you have an ignition sw?

Thx,

G

[XR4guy]

Baja Desins makes a 3 wire socket that you can put inside the stock taillight that replaces the 2 wire socket.This Way you can have the stock fender light work with a break switch,Looks better than the one that hangs down. I mount my plate on top of the fender. ?

[MrGadget]

A piece of plexiglass will protect your glass headlight. You would need to make some small brackets to hold it on. I think I saw a picture of this done here on TT about a year ago. You might try a search here on the XR forum.

The Baja Designs kit runs off the stock OEM stator wiring. ?

[Fabricator]

1) Previous owner had his XR250 wired for the street but took it off before he rode it and gave it to me. It has one of those rubber license plate holders and tailight, hangs down like a big mudflap. Before I go drilling into my fender to mount and cut into my existing rear taillight wire I want an opinion. This thing seems cheezy like it will flap in the wind. I ride pretty hard off/road and can't imagine this thing taking much abuse (wires/bulbs etc).

Sounds like you are describing the Baja Designs P/N 602050 license plate bracket with the light. One of those was installed on my used XR4 when I got it, and it has held up really well. I did knock the bulb receptacle out of the bracket once while riding some in some real rocky stuff, and replacement lights are like $5 from BD.

I believe the the previous owner installed it because WA state actually requires the plate to be illuminated. I have never heard of anyone getting gigged by Johnny Law just for for mounting their plate on top of the fender. Most get pulled over for riding like a 'hooligan', and then Mr. Law picks the bike apart for non-DOT stuff.

2) Can I just mount the plate on the fender? It won't have the clear lens part sining on plate.

Refer to #1...

3) How do I get the two-wired bulb into a three wire with brake light?

An awesome step-by-step on modifying the stock tail light can be found here

4) Rear brake switch, any suggestions? I have heard hydraulic is best, anyone know a Honda OEM one that will work?

Addressed in #3...

5) Front light seems weak any suggestions?

Don't ride after dark. I have, and putting the brake on really knocks it down some more. I am in the process of installing a BD 55/60 headlight, but I am also adding a 200w stator that will power everything I am adding to the bike, and more.

6) Will a squeeze horn be legal?

I have seen them out there - check your state vehicle code - I think they require it to be heard from so many feet away? I have also seen the little air horns sold for boating zip-tied to the bars, and another method was to use some kind of 12v buzzer/alarm/horn from Radio Shack (that will run on AC) and wire that in.

7) I've ridden in the street for yrs. Do people not notice you on these low powered light bikes?

Just like your regular street bike, ride like they don't notice/see you. I don't ride my XR4 on the street any more than I have to due to my tire choice.

8) Anyway to put an ignition/cutoff key?

I answered a similar question here

9) AZ seems pretty lax any AZ riders get pulled over?

Can't answer that one...

Thanks for your help, I hope to do some killer dual sport rides soon. ?

Good luck, have fun, and ride safe! ?? You are lucky to be able to plate a dirt bike as easily as you can, we sure can't here... ?

[boatxr]

tail light:

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/TaillightReplica44-0193.html

liscense plate holder:

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/LicensePlateHolder3.html

brake switch:

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/BrakeSwitches.html

mirror: get #19 UFO (NOT acerbis!)

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/Mirrors.html

i don't bother with a horn where i live, but they have it.

site is crap to navigate but has EVERY thing you need. call the guy to order. he's easy to deal with.

[G-Man]

tail light:

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/TaillightReplica44-0193.html

liscense plate holder:

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/LicensePlateHolder3.html

brake switch:

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/BrakeSwitches.html

mirror: get #19 UFO (NOT acerbis!)

http://www.fourstrokesonly.com/Mirrors.html

i don't bother with a horn where i live, but they have it.

site is crap to navigate but has EVERY thing you need. call the guy to order. he's easy to deal with.

Damn I hit the motherload with those links boatxr, thax. I'm ordering the lens, socket and brake sw on monday. ?

Thanks to everybody for their replies and for fabricator explaining everything step by step.

Went for the first real ride today it was freaken great, the AZ desert is sweet right now. Found a couple of Moto tracks and the setup I had did not last. Took it to my buddies and we strenthened it with a bracket and it held out. But I think if I want to ride the bike hard like that I'm going to have to keep it simple to take the abuse.

License plate screwed into the fender and the stock looking rear lens from 4-strokes only.

Oh and I do ride on street to get to the good places.

I like the idea of the Acerbis light tip from Zen moto because I will be riding at night and want a good light.

"I bought the Acerbis Cyclops headlight. It puts out a LOT more light than the standard DS kit lights, and has a removeable polycarbonate cover that protects both lenses (it has a wide angle, lo-beam, and a hight intensity, focused high-beam)."

So my question is will the stock stator be ok? I don't need turn signals. Is it worth it to bump up the stator?

How much, easy to do?

I also ordered one tooth bigger C/S sprocket for road use, anyone tried this, will it fit (clearance)? Will it make the bike a dawg?

What have you guys done to give it more hit. I bought mine used and the guy got these tips from here:

XR250 muffler end cap

K&N Air filter

bigger main jet I need to look any suggestions?

I just odered the 60 pilot, this thing can be a bitch to start when cold! ?

Do they have any ignition advancers that work? I don't want to do a 440 kit or any of that stuff I have my CRF450 for that adrenaline RUSH!

I want to keep it the bulletproof bike it is....

Thx! ?

[MrShred]

You can run a 16T countershaft sprocket but will have to take the stock case guard off. It will definitely cruise out a bit better on the highway, and you will use the clutch a bit more in the tight rocky stuff. Works OK for me.

Does anyone know if the aftermarked case guards will work with a 16T sprocket? I've never thrown a chain but riding without a case guard makes me a little nervous.

[G-Man]

Thanks for the reply yea I will be a bit nervous too w/o the guard is it possible to shave some material off of it?

[G-Man]

Ok I need to order a light today

I like the idea of the Acerbis Cyclops light tip from Zen moto because I will be riding at night and want a good light. It has 55 watt bulbs.

"I bought the Acerbis Cyclops headlight. It puts out a LOT more light than the standard DS kit lights, and has a removeable polycarbonate cover that protects both lenses (it has a wide angle, lo-beam, and a hight intensity, focused high-beam)."

So my question is will the stock stator be ok? I don't need turn signals. Is it worth it to bump up the stator?

How much, easy to do?

Thx

[HairyScary]

Thanks for the reply yea I will be a bit nervous too w/o the guard is it possible to shave some material off of it?

Using the original as an approximate pattern, I made a new one out of 1/8" steel plate and maximized the thickness by having it go right out to the side of the stator cover/case. Of course this meant that I didn't use the flimsy outer cover tin thing ("pants saver" or whatever) which one could argue gives the bike a more agressive look anyways.

I know of a person who went with the plan of simply removing material off the inside radius of the OEM part, but it doesn't leave a lot left and so I liked the idea of adding material to the outside radius by starting from scratch.

[G-Man]

Using the original as an approximate pattern, I made a new one out of 1/8" steel plate and maximized the thickness by having it go right out to the side of the stator cover/case. Of course this meant that I didn't use the flimsy outer cover tin thing ("pants saver" or whatever) which one could argue gives the bike a more agressive look anyways.

I know of a person who went with the plan of simply removing material off the inside radius of the OEM part, but it doesn't leave a lot left and so I liked the idea of adding material to the outside radius by starting from scratch.

Thx for the reply what did you cut and form the steel with. I had a garage fire a couple yrs back and lost EVERYTHING. So I don't have all the tools I once had. Also why couldn't you use the pants saver? I want to keep mine on for those quick trips to the store etc.

[HairyScary]

There wasn't really any mega tools involved. I think I just traced out roughly what I wanted on a scrap of 1/8" plate based on the original and then used a hacksaw to cut away all the excess. A sabre saw with a steel cutting blade would have also worked, but I was in no hurry and just kept nipping off small bits until I got the basic shape to where I could use a coarse file and match it to my pattern and to fit the shape against the stator cover. Obviously a bench vice makes cutting and filing easier. I think there was a collar/spacer welded to the OEM part and I also used a bit of thick wall steel tubing to make one for my part, and tack welded it on but you could easily just use a stack of washers to get the right height (it wouldn't look as factory or be as convenient during install/removal, but hey...)

Once I had the shape and fit, I used a fine file to detail off all the edges and a bit of black paint and you'd swear it was from Honda.

As for the pants saver, if I recall correctly, it fit between the stator cover and the OEM derailment piece. To get maximum strength of my new derailment piece I made it as thick there as possible which meant it essentially touches the stator cover/engine case. I think I could have just trimmed off the offending edge on the pants saver and put it back on, but I really didn't care for it anyway.