Ok, time for an update on the new front end.... Well that was a lot more involved than I expected. Getting the triple trees to fit was simply removing old bearings and races and fitting new ones (what a fun task that is) but the problems started with the Highway Dirtbikes fairing/lighting and the front wheel. The front wheel turned out to be from a CRF250R and, without the speedo pick-up, the spacers I had didn't fit. Time for a little bodging - using a spacer kit from a 450X and a new 450R dust cover/spacer I managed to get the alignment correct. As soon as the wheel was on and spaced I realised that the rotor that came with the wheel was bent, grrrrrr, so I had to source a new rotor. This turned out to be a good thing as I didn't fancy trying to stop my 155kg bike (plus lumpy rider!) with the standard 220mm rotor. Ebay to the rescue and a 280mm rotor and caliper bracket fit like a treat: Back to the top of the yokes and the issue stemmed (excuse the pun) from the handlebar mounts. On the 250L they are 96mm apart but the 450R is 110mm so the order went into HWDB for a new tower mount and bar clamp (never try and ship to the UK over Easter holidays.......bloody customs.....grrrrrr). Once the new parts arrived it was a simple job to get everything back on the bike:
In order to keep things on the level I needed to do some work on the rear end too - time to say a sad goodbye to the excellent Ohlins shock and the 250L linkage pieces and hello to Rally parts and a new YSS shock. I just couldn't bring myself to spend the £750 Ohlins want for a Rally shock (over £200 more than the L shock ffs!!) and I'd heard great things about YSS. I have to say, after riding it for over 100 miles I am really happy with the YSS performance and the spring they supplied with it - sag measurements were spot on straight from the box! The new front does need stronger springs (ordered) but the bike performed brilliantly and I have 11" of ground clearance now - you can see how higher it now sits versus my mates Racetech/Ohlins fitted Rally:
In total I had to change the following parts: Forks Triple Trees Headstock bearings Front fender Front wheel, axle and spacers Front rotor and caliper HWD tower mount and bar clamp Rear shock Rear shock rod Rear Shock arm Worth it? Hmmmmm, good question. I really liked the RaceTech/Ohlins combo but, due to the way my exhaust/sump/bashplate ended up, I really wanted more ground clearance. I could've sourced a 250 Rally front end and RaceTech'd that but I know the 450R forks are always going to be superior. Time will tell
Scutty - You'll love these forks - same ones I have on my AR17. So these forks have about 12 in. of travel me recalls. What is your ground clearance? Less than 12 in.? My clearance is 9.5 in so if I bottom the forks my sump case is going to hit the ground. I plan on reducing the stroke on my forks - are you planning to do the same? If so let's share data because I don't know how to do that. Bike look awesome
Just read you have 11" of ground clearance - maybe you are safe and don't need to worry about bottoming?
I've been following your build too, nice work! I'm going to switch to stiffer springs then see. I think I might be ok as the rear is 9.4" travel. If you check out Levi's build thread he shortened the travel on his forks and detailed how he did it.
Thanks. Do you know what bike your forks were sourced from? The clamp plates are a bit different than mine.
The forks are from a 2012 CRF450R, as is the wheel, but the triple trees are from a 2012 CRF250R (hence the need for a different front fender)
If you have a complete front end then you can find the bearings you need here: https://www.allballsracing.com/forkconversion You will need a spacer for the top of the stem, under the castle nut, as the stem thread isn't long enough. Additionally you will need to sort out steering stops and a way to mount the headlight and dash if you stick with the standard ones.
Hi Scutty, What model YSS shock did you buy? Was it the G-series with the piggyback and hi and low settings? Do you have a picture of it? I'm thinking of one of these for my dr650, that's why i'm looking for some feedback. How much was it, if you don't mind me asking. Thank you.
I got mine from Firefox Racing: http://firefoxracing.co.uk/parts-ac...2016-yss-mono-shock-absorber-mz456-420trl-05/ There is an version with a remote reservoir but its about £650 - I pad £305 all in with a heavier spring (110NM because the bike is heavier and I suffer from cake retention)
Wow, I'm so lazy, has it really been over a year since I updated this thread??! Consider my wrists slapped! Ok, here's the latest update on the '500: I've dumped the 450 triple clamps - they were doing something weird to the front end that made it really twitchy. I've gone back to the CRF triples, machined out to fit the 450 forks and its much better (plus I have steering stops back). This also means I can return to the original HWD top plate and mount (£120 wasted, oh well) I've lost my rag with Garmin finally, just one too many failed "rugged" mounts (those bloody little copper pins suck!) so I've mounted an 8" Android tablet running Drive Mode and it is so much better. I'm using an Armor-X mount and a waterproof (ish) case from Amazon and it was ok on my 6 day TET run 2 weeks ago. I think I will replace the tablet with once that has Glonass/Galileo/etc GPS receivers as the Samsung only does GPS and loses signal a bit. Bit more investigation needed. To power the tablet I added a fairing mounted combined Dual USB and voltmeter, nice and neat and keeps the tablet at 100%. I've added a "Cool-Cover" seat cover as I was planning to be in 40+C temps in Spain, Covid kicked that into touch but the cover seems to work so it's staying. I've switched to Tracker tires - wow, loving them. The grip is brilliant and the wear seems to be really good (for a set of tires I paid £63 for delivered. Gotta love an eBay voucher!) I do need a new front rim, the 450 one I picked up is badly dinged and causes some annoying vibes. Also, I REALLY want black rims...... very jealous of my mate's Rally rims. I have switched to Tubliss after 3 or 4 punctures in about 2 weeks (tubes are dead to me now!). So far so good with the Tubliss, sealed up great, hold pressure really well (I have some 100PSI TPMS dust caps which make monitoring really simple). It's a bit fiddly to fit but so simple once they are on and I'm now running about 15PSI with the option to go lower if needed. I carry an electric 110 PSI pump and a back-up hand pump so I can alter both pressures if I want. I'm still undecided about my Akrapovic (fakerapovic) and the in-pipe DB killer. I have had this continual battle between engine performance and loud exhaust - the engine feels like it wants to breath more but I hate loud cans. Might drop the DB killer for a while and see how obnoxious it gets. Any way, that's a lot of updates, here are some photos from my recent Trans Europe Trail trip on the Great Western Trail section:
Black rims you say...…??? Had these knocked up from Talon with 'cush drive' rear for a smidge over £900....
"I'm still undecided about my Akrapovic (fakerapovic) and the in-pipe DB killer. I have had this continual battle between engine performance and loud exhaust - the engine feels like it wants to breath more but I hate loud cans. Might drop the DB killer for a while and see how obnoxious it gets." Scutty, I've done performance mods on quite few of these engines by now, some of them are over 20hp more than stock. Apparently the learnings cannot apply directly but most of the time I've seen better performance figures (both torque and top end) with the dbkiller in. As far as I can tell, you have quite a bit longer midpipe than stock, what can be a limitation. But the heavy breathing can come from elsewhere too. Also the intake is a big restriction. The engine has 180° firing order, even with the very conservative 210° cams this has as stock the individual cylinders starve each other. That's why these are responding very well to larger or semi-open air boxes, and improved velocity stacks. Can't remember, what diameter exhaust runners and midpipe are you running, and how is your intake looks? Will check back in the thread but I'm not sure I've seen detailed photos of these finished parts - especially the intake.
I will get some pics for you, and some measurements of the exhaust. The airbox is the original 250 one but running a Unifilter (Aus) filter into a custom intake. This is probably the clearest photo I have of the intake:
Talon dont do a cush drive setup for the 'L' but do for the CRF250R. I had a set of spacers machined to suit, I'll measure them and post up (there not on the bike at mo). I'll ring them as well to confirm the exact order [emoji1009][emoji965][emoji469]
[. Also, I REALLY want black rims...... very jealous of my mate's Rally rims. if its any good to you the 450rs from 13 up to 18 and 250s also from 14 are available in factory o/e black rims ..the fronts fit right on the older forks ..i havnt needed a rear as im only on the 300 engine and the original is fine .it does leave you with the question of a cush drive ..but them years will get you black wheels if you hunt around got mine off facebook market at a rather reasonable 60quid nice job your bike look ace