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/127956
PROJECT Yamaha WR400F Dual-Sport Conversion . TheTT; toLi htin Fantastic Meeting your state's lighting requ irem en ts is the hard es t part of any dual-sport con version, and this is w hat Baja Designs' kit is designed to do. Said requiremen ts vary from stale to state, thou gh not by much, California demands a headlight with high and low beams; a high -bea m indicator; a taillight; a brakelight; a licen sepla te light; tum ind icato rs; a license-pla te illuminat or; a ho rn; and a battery that is cha rged by the engine and can o pera te th e taill ig ht fo r a t least 15 mi nutes with th e mo tor off. Follo wing are th e steps to ach ieving st reetlegal lighting with the Baja Designs dual-sp ort kit. LlCENSE-PLA TE LIGHT AND HOLDER The sto ck fend er doesn't provide a location to mount th e license plate, so this sano aluminum bracket fills the void. It also includ es a license-plate light with wiring. POWER SWITCH BATTERY AND VOLTAGE RECTIFIER/REGULATOR In order for the lig hts to operate without the eng ine running, a battery is requ ired . The kit includes a batt ery and bracket, whic h bolts to the inside of the airbox. Also mounted in the airbox is the replacement voltage regulator, which rectifies the current fro m AC to DC. The ki t includes a template for d rilling the'bolt holes in the airbox . TURN INDICA TORS FET . A field effect transistor is provided to decrease th e d rain on your ba ttery wh en th e engine is stalled bu t the ignition is on. This small black box is at tached to the top bo lt of the stock ignition coil, and a longer Allen screw is included. HORN Since your lights will function without the motor running, a power switch is requ ired to turn off the lights. The toggle switch, which mounts on the left hand lebarclamp, must be on fo r the bike to start. A tiny wi ndo w on the switch serves as a hig h-beam ind icat or. HEADLIGHT BULB For m ost sta tes, rep lacing the stock bu lb wit h a halogen un it is sufficient. Baja Designs 'offers an option of a DOT-approved Acerbis headlight for stricter locales. WIRING HARNESS Eac h o f these n e w e lectrical d e vice s o b v io usly requires an elec trical current, w hich is w hy an ad ap ter harness is p ro vid ed . Th e ins tructio ns explai n exactly where each of the wires must connect. STATOR MODIFICATION Four turn signals are provided , along with mounting brackets for the front units and instructions for where on the rea r fender to attach the rear indicators. The signals are activated via a handlebar-mounted switch, and the flash er uni t zip-ties behind the headlight cow ling . BRAKE-LIGHT SWITCH A sp ecial swi tch replaces the banjo bolt on the master cylinder for the hydraulic rear brake, allowing the brak e li g h t to illuminate wh en th e rear-brak e p ed al is depressed . The sw ap necessitates bleed ing the air ou t of the brake line afterwards, but Baja Designs includes a bleed hose and step-by-step instructions. get used to having a power sw itch o n su ch a d irt-oriented bik e, and I'd peri odically thrash fruitl es sly aw ay a t the kickstart lever befor e finall v remembering that I wa s o n dua l-sp orter and flicking the toggle. Another drawback is the alum inum license-plate bracket, which, although light, has enoug h mass that the rear fender wig gles back and forth more than it does unladen (thou gh there's still p lenty of ver tical in tegrity). The o nly other tim e yo u'll notic e th e kit ? Wh en you're sitting at an intersection and th e fuzz rolls by. Following tha t initia l jolt of fear that comes with having a guilty consci ence, yo u ' ll realize. that you're completely and legitimately within th e realms of the law, and the sha me will be replac ed b y a sensa li on of r e v en ge (ass u ming yo u d on't happen to be doing a burnout at the tim e). Said assu mptio n may not be sa fe to mak e if yo u - like m e - in stall an FMF exhaust system, w hich mak es resistin g suc h stu nts nea rly im possible. Wh ereas th e conve rsion kit jus t retains ou t-of-thecrate per form an ce, the replaceme nt pipe and head er steps it u p a no tch with a not icea ble increase in power. Pri or to uis this p roject; Cycle Ne ha d been experim entin g wi th FMF's Power Core I V ex haust, but I p refe r th e versati lity of the MegaMax II. The form er unit has a sc reen-type spark a rrestor and offers eno ug h hit for just abo u t anyone, but at the pri ce of an annoyi ng bark. I ran the mi nimum nine d iscs in th e MegaM a x Those per forming hom e-mad e dual-sport conversions often sa tisfy the hom requ irem en t with a simple bicycle squ eeze horn , but Baja Desi gn s u ses a cool electrical hom, w hich mounts behind the headlight cow ling . HANDLEBAR SWITCH In ord er to ho nk the hom, act ua te the turn signa ls and switch bet ween high and lo w head ligh t beam, a handlebar switch is mounted in place of the stock kill button on the left side of the handlebar. and still felt p ower d eliver y was ideal for dual-sport or eve n end uro. A nd if you want to moto or hound har es, yo u can add di scs or even delete the sparkarr estor cap where allowed . To be hon es t, I'd prefer th at th e MegaM ax w ere quiet er still, and if yo u' re rea lly co ncerned about th e decibel level, vou can ret ain th e stock pipe and eithe~ utili ze the provided baffle (su pe r-q uiet, supe rrestrictive), or yank the baffle and use a Thump er Racin g d roop-snoot ba ffl e (p retty quiet, not so restrictive). But ev en if yo u retain the stock pip e, consider the HF head er . The aluminu m tu be not only looks cool (especia lly wit h th e nickel plating of th e FMF pi pe ), but tucks in better than s toc k and allows eas ie r access to the moun ting flange . And su p posed ly, it s ce ra m ic coa ting ai ds in ex ha us t scavengi ng . On th e d o wn s id e, th e la ck -o f a he at g ua rd resu lted in a pair of slig htly mel ted riding pants. The 909 hand lebar .stands up well to ab use, bu t more importantl y, it relieves eling noticeable som e of the cramped fe wit h the stock, steel unit. Still, I'd have liked to be ab le to ge t mo re of my weig ht over the fro nt w heel, and I often foun d myself wishing I'd gone with an a fterm arke t ta nk and YZ sea t. Part of my testing took p lace in the CountDown Mam m o th 250 in central California , w here I spent a lot of time chasing the 400's fron t end in th e silty pumice for w hic h the Mamm o th La k es area is Con verting the stator from AC to DC allows the chassis to be used as ground, and the lights to be operated by the ba ttery w hile the engi ne is off. Th is is the most compl ex step in the conversion, and Baja Desig ns ca n perform it for $15 if you prefer. Otherwise, you ' ll nee d to pull the flywheel and rem ove the sta tor plat e, the n sni p a copper w ire and so lder the lead to another wire inclu ded in the kit . Also provid ed are a flyw heel pu ller and torx w ren ch. fam ou s. If I had enoug h money, I'd use the different tank-seat combo to get my butt fu rthe r forward, th en ad d th e 909 bar and a Pro-Tee or A p p lie d Raci ng tripl ecla m p to once again ope n up the cockpit (the aftermarket clamps move the bar fur the r forw ard ). Altho ug h the CycoActive map hold er isn ' t reall y neces sary o n o rga nized dual-sport rides, it is nice to have for real dual spo rt (exp loring unfamiliar terrain o n you r own or with a pal). Its sma ll 5 x 9-inch window allows easv ob servati on of a map of the imm ed iate ar ea, w hile a fold -open 11 x 17-inch wind ow can di splaya more compreh en sive map. And there's a Zip pered co m p a r tmen t for holding m oney, lD o r whate ver . Th e holder does so meti mes interfere with m y lanky right leg during starting of the bi ke, bu t ql!ick ly d isconne cts to all ow refueling or to avoid sticky finge rs during restauran t stops. The WR itself is idea lly sui ted for the dirt-biased type of dual -spor t ridi ng I prefer. Granted , it's no t my first choice for ou tings cursed w ith lon g pavement sections, or even for those with a high dirt-road-to-tra il rati o. The sea t is hard , the suspension is relatively stiff and the flywh eel IS so mew ha t lig ht , so pavement addicts should opt for a Beemer 1000, an d mellow trail plo nkers ough t to go with a Ho nda XR400. But don' t th ink for a moment tha t the Ba ja Designs Yamaha WR400 d ual-sport co nversion isn' t versa tile: Th is is a bike capable of p lacin g in th e top 10 in a Na tio nal e n d u ro o n Sund a y, winn in g a loca l mo tocro ss Tuesd ay night, and exploring the local mountains on Thursday after no on - all whil e co m m u ti n g to w ork during the week - and all without a single alteration between ou tings. 1:\ Thanks, God . • How Much? Acerbis MX Handguards $2 5.25 - Acerbis rear-view mirror $ 18.18 Baja Designs dual-sport kit .. . .$385.00 ($439.00 w/ DOT-approved li9htin9). CountDown rollchart holder $22 .00 CycoActive BarPack map holder $40.00 FMF gOg ha ndlebars $89 .99 FMF MegaMa x e xha ust $249.99 FMFMoto H F exhaust heade r $149.99 W ho are you going to call? Acerbis USA 619 /679-5220 www .acerbis.com Baja Desig ns 619 / 578-91 11 www.bejedesiqns .corn CountDown CycoActive FMF 818/348-838 1 800 / 49 1·2926 310/539·6884