97 Conversion to Trail Warrior

Different discipline.... same Hoon behavior
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B440
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Joined: September 18th, 2008, 7:11 am
Location: Thompson, CT

97 Conversion to Trail Warrior

Post by B440 »

Second time around for doing a conversion for me so I'm doing this one on the cheap. It mostly means that I'm going to do the wiring myself rather than buy a kit and parts will be second hand.

First, the headlight: 55W Ray halogen with a low wattage DRL that I'm gong to replace with an LED
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Hard to see the small lamp inside
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High/Low/Parking light switch and kill switch from a Banshee. I'm not running blinkers.
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Mirror from the previous dual sport with a CB360 mounting bracket
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LED taillight straight out of Hong Kong via Ebizzle with a mount made from an old license plate
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I purchased new for the speedo. Wanted to make sure I got everything I need for this
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Also been trying to make the initial throttle a little less abrupt so I cut away the radius to make what's called a "control throttle", No need to spend 70 bucks for the brand name. The black line in the pic shows what I cut away.
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Got a DOT rear tire and I'm patiently scouting a cheap front
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Bought a used regulator/rectifier from a Honda TRX200, but no pic of it yet.

Made the switch to a 95 CR250 coil so I can run 60W. I haven't purchased the lighting coil or battery yet. Those will be bought new.
bluegroove
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Post by bluegroove »

I'm loving this bike! Can you give us an update? how's it to ride? Did the throttle mod work like you expected?
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B440
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Location: Thompson, CT

Post by B440 »

Sorry bro, no updates yet. Got a new baby girl, so projects are paused.
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Bought a SPAL fan. Thinking I may need it if I get stuck in traffic.
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Purchased a Shorai. Wasn't sure there was a battery in the package it's so light.
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It's lighter than my lithium-ion powerdrill battery
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That's all I got for now. Most of my time is taken up by a 3-month-old, and winter weather blows.
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B440
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Post by B440 »

I also scored THE ultimate woods silencer. Quieter than a stock KTM 250!
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Kuma
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Post by Kuma »

It looks a little restritive
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Picked up this CR250 60W lighting coil for initial use. I've got other plans for a larger coil but this will work while I get the rest of the bike sorted.
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Got some parts today from Autolumination.com. One of these lights will go in the headlight DRL as mentioned in one of the previous posts.
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Standard 194 bulb on the left: still works but getting ugly. A high-powered amber LED on the right from another project, and a side-emitting white LED in the center, which is what you're interested in. I picked a side emitter because it will bounce light off the headlight reflector better, as opposed to some forward angle that will just shine out the corner of the headlight

I may have to run a total loss system so using the LED in my headlight will gain me more riding time.

Standard bulb current draw: 184.3mA
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High-powered amber LED: 27.6mA
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Side-emitting white LED: 17.8mA
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Not much to update. I put the 15oz flywheel weight on. That made a monster difference in how the bike runs "off the pipe" when you're just putting along at 30-40mph; No more jerkiness. I'm also thinking about lowering the compression to further offset pumping losses. Maybe a second head gasket?

I had to buy blinkers and a signal switch to pass inspection. Parts are on the way, so no pics yet.
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Got the blinkers on.
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Had to change to a different style handlebar control. It works out pretty good though because now I have three ways to run the electrical:

1. Nothing on except the Vapor dash.
2. Vapor, tailight and DRL LED.
3. Vapor, tailight and 55W halogen headlight.

Pic of the DRL LED lit up.
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Battery mounted
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I changed to this kill switch because there was none on the turn signal side.
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New handlebar control has everything except kill switch
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And the horn. I couldn't bring myself to put a bicycle horn on
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Last edited by B440 on May 9th, 2012, 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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B440
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Post by B440 »

You can also see in the pics that I went to a 50/50 tire. I have used these before on a DRZ400. Good on-road manners and doesn't feel like a streetbike tire off-road.
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AlisoBob
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Post by AlisoBob »

Cool setup...
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2strokeforever
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Post by 2strokeforever »

careful about the shorai, out of 8 people i know none of theirs has made 6 months without crapping out
the 450 will have less power and will be harder to start, and will be heavier, but to make up for it it will require more maintenance.
4stroke=dead fish
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B440
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Post by B440 »

2strokeforever wrote:careful about the shorai, out of 8 people i know none of theirs has made 6 months without crapping out
Noted. I'll keep track of use/time. How were they using theirs? Mine will likely be drained to nothing and then charged using a trickle charger.

Hmm, Shorai sells a specific charger for their battery. Maybe it's more important to use that than a traditional charger?
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Took the bike out for a ride today with mixed road/trail/fire roads and I have a couple questions:

How can I make the cruising speeds smoother? When you're off the pipe (out of the power band) it's still a bit choppy/jerky even with the flywheel weight. Are there other tricks I can employ to smooth it out?

Lower compression?
Different carb settings?

Running the stock PJ carb. It came with a 50 pilot in the carb. 1/8 throttle was choppy. Stock is 55. I put in a 60 just to make sure I wouldn't burn down a piston riding the roads at 1/8 throttle, but it's the same when off the pipe.

About the ride today: This bike may not be the fastest on the highway, but it'll smoke anything stoplight-to-stoplight..... if I can keep the front wheel down.
josh
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Post by josh »

mine does the same thing, try adjusting your pulse air gap, and tighten the chain. i thought it was my pipe, so i went stock everything. I'm trying to get use to running a gear high (4 gear 50 mph) to stay in the pipe, but its all throttle control (i suck at it)
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B440
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Post by B440 »

Small update: I tried out a 45 pilot and the engine didn't like that. Went to a 50 and it's idling ok, but doesn't feel much different from the 60. Might try a 52 or 55 later.

I also messed with the needle position, which didn't help much for that choppy feeling while cruising. I'm thinking that it may be the stock porting that causes this? Might have to port it :shock:

But first I'm going to play with timing. I'll try the inexpensive stuff first.
JohnnyAirtime
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Post by JohnnyAirtime »

I know this is a SUPER old thread...

But, the pictures no longer are linked and don't show up.

Any updates?
I too am about to embark on getting some illumination for a rear running light and low output headlight. I don't need much.

Let us know!
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