BannedCR500Riders.com

So here it is...Starting today...My first question is should I get the swing arm alignment correct before I make any cuts?

Nope, the engine / swingarm aligns itself when the proper bushings are used...

CHOP AWAY!!!!

Does anyone make a headstay for a 2003 crf 450 my fab skills are seriously lacking.

The 450 headstay hasent been "Standardized" yet..... just about every builder found their own soultion...

Read the threads....

I really like the kick stand!

Check out my 04 head stay, I did it with a drill press, high speed cutting wheel and a simple press. Not the best looking of the bunch!

researched a little more. i have a couple ideas for the headstay. I will try to post some pics tomarrow. As for the stand I knew i should have used my trusty 2 x 4

If you decide you want billet (either single sided or two-sided) I can help you out too.

On my gen III I moved the frame mount over to align with the head mount and just made two straight headstays. If you're not gen III double check tank clearance etc. See the pics at the link below....

http://www.bannedcr500riders.com/board/ ... php?t=2970


I've been riding it and it is very solid with little vibration. Notice I used a button head allen in the top hole on the frame because the stock hex head bolt just barely touched the tank under there. The bolt probably would not have hurt anything but I wanted it clean.

If you use this method just be careful to not grind into the frame or mount too much when removeing the headstay mount from the frame. I ground just enough to barely remove the weld bead then used a midget sledge hammer and large steel drift to carefully pop it off the frame.

450fs don't have that big mounting block that the 250r and 250f have.

Shanman I am interested in the billet headstay. How can I contact you. Thank you for your help

How are you going to use that on a 450?

Here are the latest pictures. The Y and engine mounts have been removed. Now I am looking for the metal stock for the frame and the mount tabs. I also see why Shanman's headstay won't work. So it's back to the drawing board.

Shanman's front motor mount worked out perfect on my 04, price was real reasonable too.

i was talking to him about getting mounts and now i really wish i had...if my half ass mounts don't crack on me i'll be lucky...those mounts look real prime...

Shanmans parts are the finest avaialble.....

Thanks doodes...I appreciate the nice words.

By the way, as always, I can be e-mailed at: bandsmurray@msn.com

Balaclava wrote:i was talking to him about getting mounts and now i really wish i had...if my half ass mounts don't crack on me i'll be lucky...those mounts look real prime...

The trick is that it is very difficult to get the angle right to match the tubing unless you have a milling machine. Getting shanman's mounts really is a requirement with the gen 3 frames.

[/quote]

The trick is that it is very difficult to get the angle right to match the tubing unless you have a milling machine. Getting shanman's mounts really is a requirement with the gen 3 frames.[/quote]


desertrider, what did you use for the bottom mounts? Is it possible to relocate the oem ones?

Yup, just clean them up and weld them back on.

Does anyone have any square tubing for the Y extensions? I just got back to work on the conversion and i'm having a hard time finding the tubing.

Just get solid rectangular bar stock, and file the ends down so they'll fit(butt) the tubing.Get a car jack to spread everything apart and fit them in. Give everything a wack with a rubber hammer so it's snug.
The gen 4s have square tubing but the gen 3s are rectangular, and I don't think anyone has a source for the stuff.

The worst part for me was refitting the Y back to the big down tube, it doesn't sit at the right angle so it took a lot of grinding to fit. BTW make sure you do this part first before you cut the bar stock pieces for the bottom part.

Nicolson makes a file just for aluminum that doesn't clog up. It's worth the 15 bucks.

i used the 1'' tubing on the rectangular cradle...doesn't look the best but my welder figured it would be best to go with it, rather then the bar. It does work...my cradle isn't going to break...

I like the butted bar stock because it is kind of fail safe, even if the welds crack and fail you would have one heck of a time pulling it apart. It is also nice that everything is set up for the welder, just clean it and weld it. No way to screw it up.

true^

but i really wanted to save that 1/8 of a lb the tubing gave me for better control of the bike...



jussssssssst kidding...


if i was you i would just go bar stock...it looks cleaner for the 450 conversion...it's jsut weird cause i told my welder i wanted it and he still went with the 1'' round edged tubing...