Serious dual-sport building

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
So there's a trend of guys building dual-sport out of bikes that were originally never intended to go offroad. I'm in love with these, could you imagine having 100 HP and knobby tires? Something like this would make a killer touring dual-sport. It would be fun to find a wrecked bike and put one of these together with dirt-bike suspension. I was looking at the Honda Super Hawk, the V-Twin engine would make a rideable power delivery. Here's a few I've seen and liked.


This was a Suzuki GSXR 1000-
suzuki_gsxr_1100_enduro_2009_02.jpg


Honda 919-
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Was a Ducati Monster, now a Terra Mostro. terramostro.com-
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A Harley! :eek: -
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Corban_White

Well-Known Member
Location
Payson, AZ
That GSXR looks LOUD! I bet it would blow your eardrums in less than 10 miles! All said I think it's more about the power to weight ratio. My dirt only bike has one hp per 4 lbs. :D Those would be cool for the long, multi day trips across half the country that you guys keep talking about. I just wouldn't want to get on anything technical.
 

Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
Yes, yes I can :cool:

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But I'm sure these builds are far more affordable :cool:
Now if the Adventure wasn't so dang ugly :p

Some of those conversion are very sweet indeed...my only issue would be much what I find with my bike, aftermarket support. You want racks, bags, panniers, etc? It's all going to be custom deals, which starts to get annoying rather quickly :D
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
Yes, yes I can :cool:

But I'm sure these builds are far more affordable :cool:

Good answer! The reason I'd like to put together a bike like this is ONLY because I can't afford the Adventure 950/990. Those bikes are simply amazing. You've seen the 950 Super Enduro, haven't you? It's a striped down Adventure... the God of dirtbikes, IMO.

6562d1164505722-ktm-super-enduro-950-ktm950_super_enduro.jpg



That GSXR looks LOUD! I bet it would blow your eardrums in less than 10 miles! All said I think it's more about the power to weight ratio. My dirt only bike has one hp per 4 lbs. :D Those would be cool for the long, multi day trips across half the country that you guys keep talking about. I just wouldn't want to get on anything technical.

Yeah, that GSXR would be stupid-loud... a pipe would be required for actual real-world riding. Something like this would be for adventure-touring, say you wanted to ride to Alaska and wanted a bike that was pretty powerful for those long stretches or for riding mild 2-track or gravel roads in your own backyard.


Now if the Adventure wasn't so dang ugly :p

Some of those conversion are very sweet indeed...my only issue would be much what I find with my bike, aftermarket support. You want racks, bags, panniers, etc? It's all going to be custom deals, which starts to get annoying rather quickly :D

It would be a total custom job, lots of one-off work and no aftermarket support. In my thinking, it would be a fun project to build and tinker with as time goes on. I think anyone with some mechanical and fab skills could put one together. If you could do that, building racks for universal bags would work.


Oh great... SOmething else to want a droll over...

Sorry.... :rofl:
 

spencurai

Purple Burglar Alarm
Location
WVC,UT
Good answer! The reason I'd like to put together a bike like this is ONLY because I can't afford the Adventure 950/990. Those bikes are simply amazing. You've seen the 950 Super Enduro, haven't you? It's a striped down Adventure... the God of dirtbikes, IMO.


I took an '07 950 ktm out for a test ride after filling out a credit app...they were douchebags...anyway that thing was a religious experience!! It had been a long time since I had thrown around a dual sport but that thing was incredible. I am glad I didn't throw the cash down for it despite the incredibly discounted price. Someday I will pick one up...I've got wandering to do.
 
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Caleb

Well-Known Member
Location
Riverton
WAY too heavy... for anything fun in my opinion.

A street legal Honda 450R /X would be better. Put a big bore kit on it if you need more power.
You also need to consider the kind of riding you do. True dual-sport riding, it's sometimes nice to have a little bit heavier bike, it helps to absorb the impact of the road (dual sporting generally involves both on and offroad riding). If you want to ride these bikes like they are a motocross, then yeah...way too heavy. Two completely different types of riding though. :)
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
You also need to consider the kind of riding you do. True dual-sport riding, it's sometimes nice to have a little bit heavier bike, it helps to absorb the impact of the road (dual sporting generally involves both on and offroad riding). If you want to ride these bikes like they are a motocross, then yeah...way too heavy. Two completely different types of riding though. :)

x2

That is why I said 'touring dual sport' at the beginning of this thread, I'm not talking dirt bikes here. I would like a big V-Twin Adventure bike to supplement my DR650. The DR650 goes offroad pretty well, but a bigger bike would be much more comfortable for huge Adventure rides where you were covering lots of miles and more power was helpful. I can ride the DR650 on the freeway at 75 all day long, but it's pretty taxing on the bike. Being able to cruise at 80-90 when needed and still have plenty left would be great, that's where the V-Twin would come in. One of the bikes mentioned above would be killer for a Ride the World type tour, IMO.
 

muleskinner

Well-Known Member
Location
Enoch, UT
Yeah, that GSXR would be stupid-loud... a pipe would be required for actual real-world riding. Something like this would be for adventure-touring, say you wanted to ride to Alaska and wanted a bike that was pretty powerful for those long stretches or for riding mild 2-track or gravel roads in your own backyard.

It wouldn't be that bad:eek: Here's one from Widowmaker last year. (sorry, cell phone vid:ugh:)



I wonder how those bikes handle? Sure sounds like a fun project:)
 
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