Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127281
WORKBENCH By Larry La ngley Dual Sport legal ith the continuing popularity of orga n ized dual -spo rt (on- a nd offroad) motorcycle rides thro ug hout the cou ntry, ma ny people have, or are con iderin g, converting their fou r-stroke dirt bikes to stree t-legal sta tus. T hese peo ple, however, cou ld run down to their local motorcycle shop a nd purchase a bra nd new du al-sport-design ed motorcycl e if they wanted to , bu t they know that most (bu t not a ll ) o f th e d ual-spor t bi kes cUrren tly on the mar ket are aimed mor e towards street riding ra ther tha n off-road , which is where the majo rity of dua l-sport riding occurs . T he re a re pl enty of advantages in making dirt bikes street legal. Motorcycles designed strictly for off-road riding are typically better suspended, more pow erful and lighter compared to their street -legal co usins, such as Honda 's all-d irt XR models compa red to its sti ll popu lar, but discontinued, lineup-of on /off-road XL models. Unfortunately, XRs, for example, are no t street legal in stock form , th us canno t be ridden in orga nized dual -spor t even ts. But with a little bit of mon ey and work in the garage, you can XL -ize your XR. Here's how one person did it, Jerry Cou nts , owner a nd opera tor of a mo torcycle aftermar ket com pa ny called Countdown Engineerin g, in California, wanted an all-din-oriented dua l-spo rt bike, so he looked a nd looked un til he finall y found want he wan ted - a cherry 1985 Honda XR350. Then he went to work. First of a ll, each sta te's la ws vary regarding licensing dirt bikes, so you have to check wi th your ow n DMV on legality. In Ca lifornia, for ex ample , the la w basically requires the motorcycle to carry a battery to keep the taillight lit for 15 minutes, ha ve a worki ng brak elig h t, high! low headligh t beam, mirror , hom and tum signals. The first thing Co unts did was discard the stock headlight a nd rear taillight and replace them with D.O .T. ·l egalunits made by Acerbis. The " Baja" headl ight unit Counts chose also comes with a small windsh ield. The rear fender uni t contained both taillight and brakeli ght components he needed, but he found that the plastic rivets that hold the fender to the license plate subfender needed to be rep laced by stro nger alumin um rivets or bol ts. A Hon da XL brake swi tch was mounted on a frame rail and activa ted by a sp ring at tach ed to th e foo t bra ke lever. For maximum lighting, Cou n ts installed an XL sta tor in the XR motor , as the stock XR unit doesn 't su p ply enough juice to power the ligh tin g system, incl udi ng the .tum signals. Scrou ngi ng around in his garage, Counts located a Yamaha high! low/ tum signal switch that is considera bly sma ller than most OEM items. A stock XL Honda clutch perch was added so a stock XL mirror could be used. Honda XL tum signals were mo unted up front bu t Cou nts used trai ler clearance lights for tum'signals at the rear. Counts is a n electrical engineer by trade, so he did all the wiring himself. But he will offer tips to customers, an d he also sells all the accessories needed to convert your bike. For personal preference reasons, an IMS 4.6-gallon gas tan k replaced the stock tan k for more range. Other touch es included an IMS folding shift lever, a new rear shock spri ng , different fork sp rings, da mper rods, a ; K&N a ir filter a nd a n alum in u m Supertrapp muffl er. T o be absolu tely street legal in California, a battery must also be mounted, which enta ils more com plicated wiring a nd a rectifier. Licensing in Californ ia means getting a light certificate from a dealer and sign ing a statement of facts to the DMV that you have read an d u nderstand CHP form 888 (wh ich su mmarizes the law s concern in g street legality of motorcycles). The DMV will then issue you a license plate. It is up to you and the local constable if you are riding a legal bike, so it is recom mended tha t you make it as legal as possible. For more informati on contact Cou ntdown Engineering, 22102 Covello, Canoga Park, CA 91303, or call 818/ 348-8381. 0'1 W ..... v ..Q o .... u o SOME LIKE IT HOT. Ifyou like it hot, there's only one way to get true FLUORESC COLENT H ORS: use V T's Fluorescent Brites exclusive three-step spray paint kit. F guaranteed eye-popping pizazz, start with VHT's brilliant white fluor orescent basecoat, then apply VHT's fluorescent color coat. Finish it off or with V T's super high gloss, anti-fade UV c1earcoat. F all H metal, fiberglass and most plastic surfaces. We've got the hot ones in bright orange, bright red, bright yellow, bright green, bright blue and bright pink. VIIT specialty products are now available through your favorite motorcycle dealer. For more information, call the VIIT technical hotline at 213-323-6162. PJ1 and VHT are PJH GROUP Members: 5