Dual-Sport GS750

[Zooks]

Great thread. Keep us posted.

Dirt tyres on road bikes always remind me of the bikes that were 'modified for duty' during WW2. There are some great pics from that era of BMW's, Harleys and BSA's with knobby tires and all sorts of weird attachments.

 

[BentRod]

hmm how odd i find this thread now..

I was working at the Rally of the Tall Pines this past weekend, and while the cars are nice, I began thinking about building a street bike to take the rally roads ( not reall off roade I suppose)

I suppose the candidate for the conversion would be the GS400 right now, unless I could get my hands on a CL350, or a Xl 400V.

I also want to mount extra batteries, first aid kit, and a HAM radio.

I've been looking at the Pirelli tyres. and on the topic of tyres.. those knobbies you have on there, wonder what happens on sheet bridges? doesn;t look pleasent.

 

[zig06]

You know, I'd bet that any one of the "smaller" GS twins would work great for a dual sport conversion. You may have to bend up a custom exhaust, but those little twins definitely have the torque and they really are not that heavy...

 

[Sunburn]

yes, I like the idea. :idea: Need to graft some moto susp. and clearance with the finders. Longer wider bars. Make a a trail rider out of it with little more comfort. It would be fun.


Who can post up some pic's of good examples for such a converasion?

I likw the VX800 thread who just put the duel sport tires on....


Mark

 

[witttom]

I'm glad to see that this thread is still here. I thought once an account was deleted due to inactivity that all posts/threads tied to that account were gone too. I guess that's not the case.

Even though these Trials tires worked pretty well, I did not stick with this Dual-Sport GS adventure. The GS750 works great for dirt and gravel roads or even just busted up pavement, but I was trying to go for something more off-road. It did not work out well. I had it buried up to the axles in mud a couple times, and it was a real work out. It's just too heavy for something like that. The knobbies also start to walk around on the pavement at about 80mph. That's probably not a problem for most sane riders, but I'm a speed junkie and I exceed that on a regular basis. So I slapped my street tires back on it. I do still have dirt bike bars mounted though, as I like the riding position AND the wide bars offer a lot of leverage in the twisties.

Those wheels that I built for that dual-sport project are for sale on my local CL.
http://cincinnati.craigslist.org/mcy/2809626940.html

 

[Guest]

Tom, when I saw this thread I went... cool!!! So a little disappointed to see you abandoned it, but I do understand why

I chucked some dual sports on my 450 for a "scrambler" look as well as some hand guards and motorcross guards but at this point I don't intend to head off road as I really don't wanna scratch up the shiny new paint...

Having said that, I have no expectation it would cope with anything more than some light gravel or something...

I had a guy wanting to sell me trials tyres like what you have there for it when I had trouble finding suitable dual sports in 18" front/rear, but I was really not convinced they would go all that well on the road, and reading your comments I'm glad I didn't go that route.

I ended up with Pirelli Scorpions, a Trail on the front and a MT90 A/T on the rear. So far they've been going well on the road for me, although to be honest I'm not exactly the world's quickest rider...

 

[salty_monk]

I turned my 1000 into "bajazuki". It was ok on dirt roads but a lot of bumping, vibration etc quite tiring.
The KLR I bought was like riding a sofa on the same road...

What did I learn from this? Buy something made for the job....

Shinko 705 tyres, engine guards, V&H to allow use of the centrestand, fairing with mesh light guard, Handguards (available for sale if anyone interested as I'm now turning it back to stock).

 

[Guest]

I turned my 1000 into "bajazuki". It was ok on dirt roads but a lot of bumping, vibration etc quite tiring.
The KLR I bought was like riding a sofa on the same road...

What did I learn from this? Buy something made for the job....

Shinko 705 tyres, engine guards, V&H to allow use of the centrestand, fairing with mesh light guard, Handguards (available for sale if anyone interested as I'm now turning it back to stock).

Aaaah but I have a big soft spot for Bajazuki Dan, still love it...

If I got some case savers for the 450, a sump guard, and some way to protect the pipe, I might be tempted to give it a go... maybe... or maybe not... Don't scratch the paint job right?

 

[salty_monk]

That's a "sacrificial" 1100 tank I'm running there. The rare skunk tank stayed at home. In the finish I didn't scratch anything up high...

 

[Guest]

That's a "sacrificial" 1100 tank I'm running there. The rare skunk tank stayed at home. In the finish I didn't scratch anything up high...

Yeah... I get ya... my ceramic coated pipe would take a beating me thinks, especially the right header...

 

[salty_monk]

Yep, you'd want to get a shield in front of it if there was rocks or gravel. Most of what I did was sandy stuff...

 

[Guest]

Yep, you'd want to get a shield in front of it if there was rocks or gravel. Most of what I did was sandy stuff...

Aaaah yes, not so chunky...