The Poor Man's DIY Barely Legal DS kit.

This year I picked up a 1998 XR400 and decided to get it plated. Not wanting to spend the $400+ for a DS kit out of the box I decided to make my own.

First thing, find out what is the minimum requirements for your state. In my case, Texas.

Texas' minimum requirements are:
Headlight with high / low beam, and high beam indicator
Horn
Brake / tail light (only has to be actuated off one brake: front or rear, not both)
Mirror (only one required)
DOT tires (though many inspection stations won't check)

Other notable items:
Texas does not require speedometer or odometer
Turn signals are also not required, however if you have them they must work.

The Headlight:
The stock head light for the XR400 is a single filament bulb, however it can be converted to a dual filament (high/low beam), with a trip to the autoparts store and just a few bucks.
I purchased a bulb to fit the stock housing that had a dual filament. I also bought a generic bulb socket for a dual filament. I gutted both the stock and generic bulb sockets and replaced the single filament wiring, with that dual filament wiring out of the generic socket.
(I took some pics of this, but not sure if I deleted them or not)

Now I have dual filament, but I need a switch and an indicator. For this one I decided to spend a little bit of money, $60 IIRC, and picked up a universal handlebar switch. IIRC I bought mine from Dennis Kirk, but you can find them several places.



This one is handy as it has a horn button, turn signals (I didn't use) and high / low beam switch with an LED indicator on it.
(you can see the LED light in the pic on the top, just above the switch)

The Horn:
This was the easy part.
I picked up a cheap generic 12v horn from Dennis Kirk, for $8. The XR400 being kick start and no battery puts out AC power, and I've read that these horns don't like AC power at all. However I wired mine up to a 9v battery, and through the handlebar switch. The battery is zip-tied in the headlight housing.
For mounting, I put the horn being the headlight / number plate. I mounted it to the triple tree, with the factory odometer.

Brake / Tail Light:
For the brake light to work you first need a brake switch, I went with a hydraulic type one. IIRC I bought mine from Baja Designs. These install pretty easy, it just replaces the banjo bolt on the brake lever or pedal. I installed mine on the rear brake.



I originally rewired the stock tail light as a brake light, but I found a good look MX style rear fender for the XR400 and was able to use the Baja Designs LED brake / tail light with license plate holder. I like this look much better.



These wired up pretty easily, using the stock tail light wiring and running the wiring for the switch.

Note: The XR only put outs DC power, but it wasn't a problem for the LED tail light, as the Baja Designs unit come with a built in rectifier.

Mirror:
I just went with a cheese $9 universal handlebar mount mirror. Its pretty much worthless, but passed inspection.

Even though a speedometer isn't required, it is nice to know close to how fast you're going. I installed a $10 bicycle speedo that works with in a few miles.

I'll post some pics of the finished product and any pics I can find of the rewiring of the stock headlight unit.

I hope this helps someone.

Thanks Poser!!!

A few questions maybe for someone with experience doing this on a DRZ.

How hard is it to wire the switch into the headlight? Do the wires run straight from the switch to the headlight or is there a main harness?

Is the stock taillight "dual mode", as in can it run at normal brightness and then get brighter when the brakes are applied?

For me wiring the switch to the headlight was easy, as there was already a conection right there for the headlight to plug into the harness. I just routed my switch between the light and the harness. I would imagine the DRZ would be pretty similar

Looks like you missed a couple requirements:
license plate light
red rear reflector (now you know why shops sell those red reflector license plate bolts). I have claimed that my red tailight lense is reflective and got passed.

Also I believe if your bike came from factory with turn signals as standard equipment then you must have them and working. Of course this doesn't apply to your DS conversion but worth mentioning.

_

SilverBullet said:

Looks like you missed a couple requirements:
license plate light
red rear reflector (now you know why shops sell those red reflector license plate bolts). I have claimed that my red tailight lense is reflective and got passed.

Also I believe if your bike came from factory with turn signals as standard equipment then you must have them and working. Of course this doesn't apply to your DS conversion but worth mentioning.

_

Click to expand...

The factory has nothing to do with it. If they are on the bike they have to work. You are not required to have turn signals on the bike.

Drumboy said:

Thanks Poser!!!

A few questions maybe for someone with experience doing this on a DRZ.

How hard is it to wire the switch into the headlight? Do the wires run straight from the switch to the headlight or is there a main harness?

Is the stock taillight "dual mode", as in can it run at normal brightness and then get brighter when the brakes are applied?

Click to expand...

My handlebar switch had a harness, color coded of course, with instructions. The headlight bulb in my green E was dual filament, but used only one in the original mode. Wattage is only 37.5 each but the lighting pattern is different. No prob for me as I don't ride at night.
The stock tail light on the DRZE is not dual mode. I used the Baja fender/light kit as did the OP. It has both low and high powered LEDs to work with tail and stop modes.

Cuchara Red said:

My handlebar switch had a harness, color coded of course, with instructions. The headlight bulb in my green E was dual filament, but used only one in the original mode. Wattage is only 37.5 each but the lighting pattern is different. No prob for me as I don't ride at night.
The stock tail light on the DRZE is not dual mode. I used the Baja fender/light kit as did the OP. It has both low and high powered LEDs to work with tail and stop modes.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what I did. I used the BD switch and wired it up to my stock headlight and a BD tail/brake light.

To revive this thread, what paperwork did you take to the tax office to get a "offroad only" title changed to a street legal title? Do you need more than proof of inspection?

Transfer the title first into your name if it's not already because you don't have to pay sales tax. Then take proof of insurance and the 'Green Form' (not green) that you'll get when you get it inspected. I think it says something about 'Out of State Inspection' on it.

Just a note, if you use a bicycle computer for a speedo then get one that is wired and not wireless. I tried a wireless one on my ST1100 and there was too much electromagnetic interference from the engine to allow it to work properly...they are handy, though!

And the inspection stations I go to don't really check for a license plate light...

Cheers! M2

I got my 07 DRZ-250 Enduro licensed a couple of weeks ago. Needed a copy of insurance, state inspection papers, title, & a photo of the bike. I had already transfered the title to my name but they wanted their $$$. So they made me re-title it as a dual sport not off road. $170.00.
I was in the process of moving & had Jason (CT90RR) do all the work to the bike, I supplied the cash. He did an excellent job & everything functions as it should. Thanks again Jason.

Bryan, glad you like it. Seems to be holding up well!

I took the Sherpa down to the river the other day. That place is a mess, all the kwads have really torn it up.

I did some exploring back behind the house this weekend & found some real nice trails that run along the river. Some pretty big loops with some nice scenery. Looking forward to showing you around a little more, you'll love it. Guaranteed! I find it almost impossible to do a ride, come home & not blast down the hill for a few laps on my track. After some mild pace trail riding it is fun to push it a little. Over did it a tad Sunday in the heat & am still not feeling well.

Yeah, the heat will do that to ya. Hows the bicycle spedo on your bike holding up?

Oh yea the spedo is good to go & working fine. I really put it through some tight woods with nothing hanging up.

Someone asked about the tail lamp and needing a license plate light, the LED light from Baja Designs has white led's at the bottom inside the light and they will light up your license plate just fine. I know that turn signals are not need (in Texas), but I always wonder if the driver of the cage behind me knows what hand signals are when I give them.

John

but I always wonder if the driver of the cage behind me knows what hand signals are when I give them.

I know what you mean. I wonder the same thing. In fact I usually don't even bother with hand signals. Most folks have no clue what I'm doing.

Hand signals.... we don't need no stinkin hand signals.

Oh yea, there is that universal one that is called for as a last resort.

I took the plunge today, Spent a whopping fifty five dollars to make the Ktm street legal. I was really surprised that the headlight and taillight were dual filament. I ordered a mirror, light switch,and hydro brake light switch.