Street Bikes To Off Road/motocross Conversion

[mixed]

There seems to be a lot of this going on lately, converting old bikes into off road bikes. The most popular ones are Nova Dash, Sonic, Raider and KR. The bikes themselves are very cheap and so are the conversion kits, however if you want to add proper off road suspension it can be quite expensive. One big advantage is the bikes are registered, sure the BiB can grab you for no mirrors, indicators and too much noise, but they can't confiscate your bike. Can anyone recommend mechanics for doing this and prices? So far of been told 16K for a Dash conversion (without working on motor) and 28K for a KR, but this includes work on motor and clutch. The price for KR seemed a bit much, but the mechanic really seemed to know his stuff and had a heap of trophies.

The KR is more powerful and bigger, so more suited to a farang, but it's also quite a bit heavier. I think a convetered one would be at least 120kgs. The Dash is really light and but a bit small. Apparently a 150 raider can be rebored to 200cc, this is also a very light bike with decent power for a 4 stroke.

Would be good to hear from others with knowledge or experience.

[BigBikeBKK]

There seems to be a lot of this going on lately, converting old bikes into off road bikes. The most popular ones are Nova Dash, Sonic, Raider and KR. The bikes themselves are very cheap and so are the conversion kits, however if you want to add proper off road suspension it can be quite expensive. One big advantage is the bikes are registered, sure the BiB can grab you for no mirrors, indicators and too much noise, but they can't confiscate your bike. Can anyone recommend mechanics for doing this and prices? So far of been told 16K for a Dash conversion (without working on motor) and 28K for a KR, but this includes work on motor and clutch. The price for KR seemed a bit much, but the mechanic really seemed to know his stuff and had a heap of trophies.

The KR is more powerful and bigger, so more suited to a farang, but it's also quite a bit heavier. I think a convetered one would be at least 120kgs. The Dash is really light and but a bit small. Apparently a 150 raider can be rebored to 200cc, this is also a very light bike with decent power for a 4 stroke.

Would be good to hear from others with knowledge or experience.

Dunno what those scooters cost, but instead of sinking all that money into trying to make a scooter into a dirt bike wouldn't it be better to just go buy a KLX250 for 149,900? Road legal and 2 year unlimited warranty.

[BigBikeBKK]

How about modifying newer big bikes for dual sport use? That's what I'm trying with my ER6n-

I finally had a chance to have dual-sport/enduro tires installed on my ER6n- looks so cool!

Can't wait to hit Cambo and some of the dirt roads that Bard has sniffed out in Rayong and Chantaburi.

Pirelli Corsa MT60RS Dual Sport:

RIDE ON!

Tony

[LivinLOS]

I see them all the time.. Many of the dash conversions..

I am guessing these are 10 - 15k bikes to Thai kids.. Plated of course.. and the 2 strokes often bored and ported and low geared so for off road for 60 or 70kg guys makes an OK dirtbike on the cheap.

Sundays especially I see them around the island out in packs and hitting the goat trails.. Also a few unregged ones and assorted off roaders running the gauntlet too.

Edited September 25, 2009 by LivinLOS

[mixed]

Dunno what those scooters cost, but instead of sinking all that money into trying to make a scooter into a dirt bike wouldn't it be better to just go buy a KLX250 for 149,900? Road legal and 2 year unlimited warranty.

....and apparently has 18-19hp and weighs 126kg.

In comparison a 150 raider has 16hp and a sonic has 13.5hp and both weigh less than 100kg. They can be rebored and worked to produce much more power. The raider can be rebored up to 200cc. Parts are cheap and if you break down in a small village they can fix it for peanuts. Either of these bikes with plates can be found for around 10k

Then there's the two strokes, I don't know the HP of these but I'm sure even the 125 dash would be well over 20HP as a standard. I'd guess the KR 150 would be around 30. With a bit of work and after market pipe, the HP will increase quite a bit. Either of these bikes are 5-6k with plates.

[Richard-BKK]

Scootercross is indeed a trend in Thailand, especially at the teenage rural population... For more information you best can search Google with "scootercross Thailand"

Hopes this helps ....

[LivinLOS]

I hadnt heard it called scooter cross before.. And google searches come back with sort of auto step throughs with off road tyres which isnt really what I see the Thai kids doing.

[mixed]

Scootercross is indeed a trend in Thailand, especially at the teenage rural population... For more information you best can search Google with "scootercross Thailand"

Hopes this helps ....

Thanks, there is also the Super Cup, which is limited to 125cc scooters, but these bikes are seriuosly modified.

[knortyboy]

Then there's the two strokes, I don't know the HP of these but I'm sure even the 125 dash would be well over 20HP as a standard. I'd guess the KR 150 would be around 30. With a bit of work and after market pipe, the HP will increase quite a bit. Either of these bikes are 5-6k with plates.

I think you're being a little optimistic with the BHP figures.

Without any tuning work a good standard 125cc two stroke would be putting out 15 or 16 BHP.

[mixed]

Then there's the two strokes, I don't know the HP of these but I'm sure even the 125 dash would be well over 20HP as a standard. I'd guess the KR 150 would be around 30. With a bit of work and after market pipe, the HP will increase quite a bit. Either of these bikes are 5-6k with plates.

I think you're being a little optimistic with the BHP figures.

Without any tuning work a good standard 125cc two stroke would be putting out 15 or 16 BHP.

The figures for the four strokes come from manafacturers specs. I don't think my estimation was that out, for example a KR 250 produces 45hp, so it's possible that a KR 150 would produce around 30. The last model CR 125 were producing 40hp, so I imagine the watercooled Dash 125 could easily produce 20+. With work a dash drag bike can do 400m in 12 secs.

The two strokes are fast, light, easy and cheap to work on, I think they'd be a lot more fun than the KLX250.

There is Super Cup 125 and Super Cup open. I'm not sure what the limitations, possibily the bikes must have been made in Thailand?

[mixed]

Actually, the KR 250 86 - 89 models had 55hp, here's the specs specs

[FTB]

The bikes you are refering to are classed in groups called, as you said, Supercup. Another class is Underbone - due to the fact that the frames only run under the motors as most scooters do. These classes are the true backbone of most Thai racing (roadracing, Enduro (offroad), and motocross), and harbor the true spirit of the sport in my eyes. When I race Enduros the most fun guys are the ones thrashing about the Supercub bikes.

Drag yourself out to a local motocross or enduro in your area and you'll see the majority of participants flogging these style bikes around. Always friendly and if you're in the market for one you'll have a variety of people offering theirs for sale. Their advantages are obviously that they are cheap to maintain, low wieght, and low center of gravity. Downsides are their suspension even when modified, is subpar, when tuned to the hilt like a lot of Supercup bikes are reliability becomes an issue, and no gas tank to grip with your knees makes riding them quickly off-road a strange phenomenon if you've been raised on traditional off road machinery.

Best of luck.

[imaneggspurt]

I hadnt heard it called scooter cross before.. And google searches come back with sort of auto step throughs with off road tyres which isnt really what I see the Thai kids doing.

I think richard lost the plot there, these are not finos with knobblies on ! i race enduro in thailand and some of these converted 125s are really quick, a klx250 wouldn't get a look in ,.

[LivinLOS]

http://fuseracing.com/

This is a Thai site with off road conversion stuff for the mini bikes..

[LivinLOS]

All 3 of them in the 20 - 25k range baht..

Sure they would be small for a large farang.. but its small money for a bush basher and if I am honest I have fun riding any old thing.. hel_l I have dragged my old step through up through the rubber tracker trails for a laugh many a time.. Off road on a cheer cant get any sillier.

[Richard-BKK]

I hadnt heard it called scooter cross before.. And google searches come back with sort of auto step throughs with off road tyres which isnt really what I see the Thai kids doing.

I think richard lost the plot there, these are not finos with knobblies on ! i race enduro in thailand and some of these converted 125s are really quick, a klx250 wouldn't get a look in ,.

[LivinLOS]

Yeah those are what scooter cross searches came back with..

I think the pics above are what most people mean by the nova / dash conversions..

[mixed]

Downsides are their suspension even when modified, is subpar

How bad is the handling if the bike has had proper off-road suspension? Upside down forks, good swingarm etc.

Sure it may not be as good as the latest KTM, but how would the compare with an XR or similar model?

I had a look at some bikes in a workshop and was pretty impressed. The owner had a heap of trophies. He recommended I get a KR150 for casual enduro, because it's a larger more powerful bike, so I wouldn't need to get it tuned too much and it would remain reliable.

He was the first person to tell me the KRs could be converted, most ppl say they can't.

There was one in the shop, I wasn't able to ride it, but sitting on it felt like a proper MX bike and looked the part to.

There was a lot of work done to the frame, bits cut off, pegs moved and I think the angle of the forks was changed. New plastic tank, mudgaurds and seat. All electrics and auto lube removed. Had proper upside down forks and MX swingarm.

Apparently it belonged to a farang who was racing it. I was pretty impressed and am looking to do similar myself.

[mixed]

Below is a pic of a converted Raider in the Super Cup open cup. I think this class is for Thai made bikes of any size. The pic comes from a Thai magazine and there's an artilce listing the work done to the bike, which includes proper suspension, engine protection and KX forks.

A bike like this can be remain registered, I'm sure if you went riding around town there could be problems, but I've seen some with plates and don't think you'd have a problem on dirt roads. Even if you did, a small fine would sort things out.