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So I'm thinking about dual sporting my bike

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Sirceficus

Sirceficus

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Gladewater, Tx
Here's the deal. I've got an 04 250 EXC. Yes, it is in fact a 2 stroke. The original owner had it plated and dual sported with it in Colorado a bit, so all the legal mumbo jumbo doesn't worry me. What I'm curious about is if any of you have done this type if thing with a 2 stroke? And if so, how did/does it do? Pretty much the furthest away I'll ride it on the road is 20-25 miles(work is about 11 away, and Barnwell mountain is about 22.) I'm planning on gettin a 450 or something of that nature for a permanent dual sport/commuter/town terrorizer, but I really don't have the funds for another bike yet.

Thanks for any input you guys have.
 
I started riding enduro bikes back in the late 60's, that's what they called them back then, not dual sports. My first was a Kawasaki 175, then to a Suzuki 250, rode them everywhere and thought life was great. Now today some 45 plus bikes later I can still remember those days and what fun it was, changing fouled sparkplugs was just part of riding motorcycles and we always had spares. I personally don't think I would want to go back to a 2-stroke today for that type of riding, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work. Then again I'm not too familiar with KTM two strokes and how well they can hold up under highway riding conditions. I do have two riding buddies that have KTM 250 two strokes and they truly love them for off road, but they also have KTM 690E's for their dual sport riding, I know they wouldn't even consider riding their 250's on dual sport rides. Try in for two weeks, you will soon know if it works for you or not.

John
 
greeneggs&ham has a plate on his 200 and Electrified has a plate on his 250. There are several plated KDXs hanging around also. They will do ok on short trips like you describe. They can go long distance you just have to prepare for it. Gas stops take longer and you have to carry pre-mix. The jetting needs to be spot on and gearing choice can make or break them on a longer run. I say go for it until you can add another bike.
 
Biggest problem for me was mixing gas at gas station. You'd have to carry along at least a 1-gal container. Mixing 1-gal at a time. It's slow process. And it's messy...gas splash everywhere cuz the small container. Maybe if you can strap a 2-gal jug somewhere, it wouldn't be as bad. You get oil all over your cloths and bags. Your hands smell like gasoline and 2-stroke oil all day. And the guy in the cage waiting for your gas pump is staring at you wondering what the **** you're doing. Also, if you're too slow, the pump turns off automatically. And I'm sure it is illegal to mix gas in a gas station in some jurisdiction (fire risk and vapor release). I think Yamaha's had 2-stroke enduros that have oil-injection so you don't need to mix gas. That would be ideal. The other big problem is nobody makes big tanks for 2-strokes. If not for the problems, I would be dualsporting a CR-500.
 
About a year ago, Motorcyclist Magazine ran a 1-page article about a guy who toured widely on a 1972 Yamaha 360 RT1 enduro bike. That said, the Japanese two-strokes of that era all had oil reservoirs, so you didn't have to mess with premix. You'd have to work out some sort of strategy for fueling.

I had an RT1 when I was stationed in Germany in 1976. It was fine for day trips and overnighters as long as I kept to the secondary highways; the bike's comfortable cruising speed was about 60 mph, and I would have been a major road hazard (or a speed bump), had I tried to take it on the Autobahn. But Germany, much like Colorado, has a fine network of smaller highways on which I was right at home without ever having to break 70 mph. I carried a pocketful of NGKs which I cycled & cleaned regularly - like trainman said, swapping plugs was just part of a day's ride.

If you pick the right routes and aren't in too much of a hurry, and if you can work out the fueling logistics, I think it would be a fun alternative. On the other hand, I wouldn't ride a 250 2-smoker all the way from Texas; I'd trailer it to where the fun stuff begins.
 
See I'm so old I plum forgot about the oil thing, but I think that they had an oil injection system on the bike I had and I just put the oil in the reservoir tank.:doh:

John
 
Well, I don't believe I' have a problem with fueling, my bike has a large tank on it and if I were going far enough to run out, I'd most likely trailer it. I think my main worry is how the engine will hold up. I have no plans of riding it much over 55mph for any extended period of time, especially because I've geared it down some. I really don't want to lose dirt-ability with it, so I won't be regearing. It's jetted pretty much to factory settings. Not planning on riding it daily unless it works flawlessly, but I would like to ride it a few days a week.
 
I own a plated KDX, works great for zipping around town or bouncing from trailhead to trailhead but not so great for long distances for obvious reasons as stated above. Another thing to consider, you get that thing wound up to highway speeds and the gas mileage plummets.
Once you get used to owning a plated dirt bike, though, you'll never look back. I can trailer it to the Sam, for example, unload it and I'm free to go anywhere I want (beer run :party:). It's like removing a ball and chain. :sun: And insurance, even full coverage is cheap cheap cheap!!! ;-)
 
Rman of 237 said:
I own a plated KDX, works great for zipping around town or bouncing from trailhead to trailhead but not so great for long distances for obvious reasons as stated above. Another thing to consider, you get that thing wound up to highway speeds and the gas mileage plummets.
Once you get used to owning a plated dirt bike, though, you'll never look back. I can trailer it to the Sam, for example, unload it and I'm free to go anywhere I want (beer run :party:). It's like removing a ball and chain. :sun: And insurance, even full coverage is cheap cheap cheap!!! ;-)
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Have you put a battery or anything on it to stabilize the amperage to the lights? Mine has factory lights, but I'm unsure as to really how effective they'll be without a battery of some sort.
 
Sirceficus said:
Have you put a battery or anything on it to stabilize the amperage to the lights? Mine has factory lights, but I'm unsure as to really how effective they'll be without a battery of some sort.
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Yes, most dual sport kits come with a small battery pack similar to this one.

http://www.bajadesigns.com/ProductDetail?ItemNumber=120315

On both my XR4 and KDX I wrapped them up in a zip-lock bag and stuffed them in the air boxes.
Not sure about KTM but on both my bikes the stators had to be rewound to support the wattage required for the additional lighting. This is easy to do, just send your stator to Baja Designs or Ricky Stator and they'll rewind them and send them back in a few days. Some folks even rewind them themselves. The hi-low beam headlight will run off a/c directly off the stator (only while engine is running), all other lights, horn, etc will run d/c through a rectifier that's tied into the battery pack.
 
DSCF0461.JPG


If you just want to ride to a trail head and blast, great, doesn't get any better. Not for a two hour ride to find dirt. I did this after my buddies :roll:, took my out to Cloudcroft and then Sam Houston N.F. trails, me on my 690R. It did fine, but I was whooped! Not as young and agile as I used to be, and had forgot why I quit racing big XR Honda 4 strokes back in the 80's.
So "necessity is the mother", maybe Plato rode a 2 stroke???
I have not carried extra gas with me, I do as JT does on his KDX, I carry 2 small bottles, about 4 ozs. pour the mix in the stream of fuel of 2.5 gallons. That's 40 to 1, I mix a little rich with oil when I expect to be road riding. Then turn the air screw in or lower the clip on the needle if I feel a need to compensate. It just makes me feel better when I am zipping the little motor down the Hwy. Just me, please lets not get into a 2 stroke mix Rich/Lean discussion. :thumbd:
Come to think of it, my buddies have not asked me back since I did this, :ponder:

Sam
 
greeneggs&ham said:
DSCF0461.JPG


If you just want to ride to a trail head and blast, great, doesn't get any better. Not for a two hour ride to find dirt. I did this after my buddies :roll:, took my out to Cloudcroft and then Sam Houston N.F. trails, me on my 690R. It did fine, but I was whooped! Not as young and agile as I used to be, and had forgot why I quit racing big XR Honda 4 strokes back in the 80's.
So "necessity is the mother", maybe Plato rode a 2 stroke???
I have not carried extra gas with me, I do as JT does on his KDX, I carry 2 small bottles, about 4 ozs. pour the mix in the stream of fuel of 2.5 gallons. That's 40 to 1, I mix a little rich with oil when I expect to be road riding. Then turn the air screw in or lower the clip on the needle if I feel a need to compensate. It just makes me feel better when I am zipping the little motor down the Hwy. Just me, please lets not get into a 2 stroke mix Rich/Lean discussion. :thumbd:
Come to think of it, my buddies have not asked me back since I did this, :ponder:

Sam
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So, you think that 15 minutes each way to work on back roads would do good? That is the ultimate purpose, besides doin some fun dual sport riding. I have a few places to ride that require road usage, and usually just cruise on them anyway, until the sheriff shows up haha.

But like I said before, I'd like to be able to successfully ride it back an forth to work, and around town a bit. Nothing much over 55mph or about 30 miles.

The fuel idea is basically what I was thinking to do, so we're on the same page with that.

Also, just for grins, what kind of light setup do you have? I know your bike looks new enough to have e-start on it(feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken) so you have a battery I do not possess.
My idea for mine is to leave the original lights running off of the stator as they already do, and putting a 12 volt rechargeable battery pack to run turn signals and horn(separate from the rest of the electrical system, something more or less to charge when I'm home at night or whenever)

I really appreciate all of this info you guys.

And by the way, that is a very sexy bike greeneggs
 
No battery, just a capacitor to take up the voltage surges. No electric start. Thanks for the complement, :thumb: but it's a 2008 with a lot of enduro miles, and even more pleasure rides behind her. It was a Baja Designs kit from T.J.'s here in Austin. Because it's less than 200cc's it does not require a High/low switch. :sun: It is considered a scooter? :lol2:
About the short rides, I watch my plug close when rding on the street. Use a great, not adequate mix oil. A little lean going down the road and you can smoke an engine real quick. I have a buddy with a 250XC that swaps a cooler plug for the road and changes back when he gets to the trail head. Great idea, but a real pain on a KTM with a big tank. Thats a 3.5 gallon in the picture, I have averaged around 25 with the street step up on and about 80% dirt. I also add a tooth to the counter shaft gear just to keep the RPM down a bit. It's a XCW so it has a high 6th gear.
If you are interested in doing the leg work to get it right, you will be very pleased with the results.
Barnwell mountain, I think in 2010 was the 200's last enduro. Maybe if I can get some interest down here, several of us will come up there, camp and you can show us around. All I have seen was the trail that one year. lots of fun!

Sam
 
I'll tell ya, barnwell is a blast. Used to ride there all the time a few years ago, loved every second. Nowadays, I go out there quite a bit with my 4x4(got a few friends that have rigs), so I always see the mc stuff but never get to go blast on the bike anymore. That's kind o my reasoning behind the dual sport idea, let me get on it more often. I think the main thing I'll have to do is experiment with the setup until I get it right for me. Heck, who knows, I may love it so much I just go ahead and turn it into a supermoto bike haha, but either way, I think it's gonna be a blast. I mean, no one around here really rides a dual sport around, and absolutely no one rides a 2 stroke!
 
greeneggs&ham said:
Because it's less than 200cc's it does not require a High/low switch. :sun: It is considered a scooter? :lol2:
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For real? Dang, my KDX is a 220! :doh: :lol2: Is it any cheaper to register it as a scooter?
As for lighting on a plated dirt bike regardless of the required minimum, I'm much more comfortable riding with a real bright :sun: hi beam and blinkers, too many Sunday drivers out here in the boondocks. :eek2:
 
So out of curiosity, how difficult is it to get a trail bike D/S plated if you don't have the manufacturers build cert?

I was thinking about working up one of the trail bikes on the cheap for D/S action but bought them all second hand without the paperwork from Craigslist
 
sharky nrk said:
I was thinking about working up one of the trail bikes on the cheap for D/S action but bought them all second hand without the paperwork from Craigslist
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Are you sure they are not stolen? Even dirt bikes have titles.
 
Nope could be stolen, I have no clue. I bought them second or third hand and not running and fixed them. In both cases of running bikes, they are two bikes that are complete and 100%made from multiple non runners lol
 
I've found that about half of the dirtbike out there are titled and the other half aren't. As to what you'd have to do to get a title, I'm not really sure. It woul probably have to have the vin inspected and a lot of paperwork filled out and a lot of time spent doing it. Just my guess
 
You can apply for a "bond title", if you can prove you didn't steel the bike. LIke a bill of sale. The gubermint will send you a title with the word "bond" on it, and you get to apply for a license plate. But if they found the bike has been reported stolen, then I dunno what happens. Maybe the sheriff shows up to take your bike away and take you away in handcuffs?
 
If it's stolen, the bonding company pays a claim on a stolen bike. That's what you're paying the bond for.
 
lol sounds like too much work I think by the time the hassle is done I would be better off just getting a titled d/s lol and keep the ones I got for pasture abuse
 
Rman of 237 said:
For real? Dang, my KDX is a 220! :doh: :lol2: Is it any cheaper to register it as a scooter?
As for lighting on a plated dirt bike regardless of the required minimum, I'm much more comfortable riding with a real bright :sun: hi beam and blinkers, too many Sunday drivers out here in the boondocks. :eek2:
Click to expand...

C'mon Rman, sorry couldn't help myself. :loco:
We dirt riders just head for the ditch when grandma comes out to go to the store. :lol2:
I am never on the road that much, and I try to keep Vinny on that red Gas Gas in front of me. She is sure to see that big red bullseye and head for him instead of me. :flip:
I don't know if it is any cheaper to register a scooter, mine still shows motorcycle, but under 200cc's doesn't need a switchable high beam headlight. :nana: Blame the scooter lobby.

Sam
 
I really enjoy having my 2st plated. I have ridden it for 50-60 miles at a time on the street with no ill effects. I did add 1 tooth to the front sprocket and put in a JD jetting kit per Sam's suggestion and have not had any problems. I have a 5.3 gallon gas tank for it but have never used it because I haven't done any extended road trips with it. Mostly just connect trails or construction sites.
 
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