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/127811
IMS XR440L Dual Sport approved and quietet, an IMS Krizman exhaust tip was installed. As mentioned, the tip is U.S. Forestry-approved and easily passes the 98-decibel sound level required to participate in most dual sport rides and enduros. . The airbox was modified to improve air flow first by removing the snorkel at the top of the airbox. Next, the stock backfire screen in the air-filter case was cut out and the edges were epoxied so that no loose metal was left rough. A White Brothers Power Filter was then installed over the modified cage. For those of you don't want to carry out the modifications, K&N makes a nice replacement air filter that IMS has used with good results. Stig Pettersson of Pettersson Pro Suspension happened to have the latest and hottest forks to hit the United States in quite a while, a pair of Marzocchi sOnun conventional forks, and 1MS just couldn't resist bolting them up. PPS didn'fstop with the front end, and provided an Ohlins rear shock and modified both the shock and forks to 1MS' specs. IMS then contacted Gary Emig (yes, Jeff Emig's dad) and had a pair of billet triple clamps crafted to contain the new mammoth legs. (Left) The IMS XR440L was the ultimate weapon at the Chaparral Fall Grand Prix, whleh featured a motocross traek, trails and a paved road eourse. It excelled In all conditions. (Bottom) The bike Is a roiling showcase of aftermarket parts and modifications and draws crowds wherever It Is parked. By Cameron Coatney Photos By Kinney Jones and Kim Fong ome people are perfectly content to go out and buy a stock dual sport and enjoy it for years without doing anything more than changing the oil, air filter and tires periodically. Some people take it a step further by lightening-up and tricking-out their duai sports, while there are people who take it even another step further by going through the process of converting full-on dirt bikes to dual sports to create the ultimate dirt-ready, street-legal rides. Well, we thought these were the ultimate dual sports until we got a look at Scott Wright's dual sport. Scott is the marketing/sales manager at IMS products in Riverside, California, and he and his crew have created the most radical dual sport-converted Honda XR400R that we have ever seen - the 1MS XR440L. This bike has most every conceivable top-quality IMS and other aftermarket dao-dads that you can possibly imagine bolted on to it, and it all works well together as one cohesive unit. Honda's XR400R was one of the most highly anticipated and sought-after offroad motorcycles to hit the showrooms in years. It has good four-stroke power and reliability, combined with the lightness, excellent handling, slim ergonomics and excellent brakes associated with two-strokes, and that's exactly why IMS chose to start making numerous products for the bike. Keep in mind that the bike we tested was an industry project bike and would be quite expensive to build. Adding one or any combination of these products would be a definite asset to your machine, whether you use it for motocross, off-road or dual sport purposes. The heart and soul of the 1MS XR440L is the big-bore kit and it comes complete with an oversize piston, rings, gaskets, and sleeve. IM5- also installed one of its all-around cams that can be used to enhance any XR400 with or without the 440 kit. The stock valvespring assembly was replaced in favor of a set of R&D titanium valve springs and collars. These help keep the valvetrain light and prevent valve float at higher revs. The head was modified for improved flow and the carburetor was rejetted, the float level was set and the slide was cut to improve throttle response and overall power output. White Brothers heavy-duty clutch springs were then added to lend more durability to the somewhat fragile stock XR clutch. A White Brothers oversized headpipe was added along with a Pro Circuit exhaust system, which help the bike produce additional power and torque. 1MS reports that FMF has a pipe that works equally well and has also seen some time on the bike. To eliminate the SuperTrapp disc pack necessary to make most fourstroke exhaust systems U.S. Forestry-