Dual Sport kit for '99 WR400F

[ArcticWR400]

Hey all;

Been browsing for the last hour and a half and can't find a threat on this already, so I wanted to get your opinions (specifically if you've done this on THIS bike)...

I am looking into getting a Trick Dual Sport kit for my '99 WR400F. It has all the popular low-cost high-power mods (grey wire, throttle stop, YZ timing, top of airbox gone, bottom full of holes, FMF with SA muffler) and I have a few questions...

1. head/tail lights dim at idle. could be because stock HL has been replaced with dual halogen round units. bad for dark trail riding because you need to rev it up to get light, and the trails here are too damn rough (as in 2 foot deep ruts and washouts, muskeg and bog-holes, canadian shield-rock and tree roots, etc...) to ride that fast. Will the battery in the TDS kit fix this or will i need a stator rewind? can i get the BD stator kit and install THAT and also have it work with the TDS kit (i know it replaces stock, but im rediculously new at modding this bike, i just followed the instructions the dealership mechanic hand-wrote for me to do the other mods... and he did the timing/grey wire)

2. Since off-road vehicles (ATVs, snowmobiles, dirt bikes) are street legal here in the NWT i have been getting away without a motorcycle license, but recently found out that i need one since it IS still a motorcycle and it IS still on the road. Should I bother with this kit or just beg/borrow/steal my co-worker's old nighthawk 450 and do the road test on that, and just get a stator rewind kit for the bike to brighten the lights, or what? I'm north of 60° so im in a bit of a unique situation here... rules are a little different. Just looking for an opinion here...

3. I notice a rather obvious rattle coming from the kick-start... is there a spring in there or something to replace to ensure it's FULLY disengaging after i start the bike? At least i THINK that's what it is... or is this common for the wr? I've only had it a couple months, so im not sure. last 2 bikes were 2-strokes and they were bought OLD and RATTY and just ridden until they fell apart.

Just looking for opinions... and BTW its dark about 18-20 hours a day up here in the winter, so all my ice-riding will require lights. We have ice-roads here (roads plowed on lakes... iceroad truckers anyone?) and snowmobile trails that i plan on blazing.

And just a heads-up: fabricating my own kit / piecing one together isn't really an option. I'm not a mechanically/electronically inclined person, it won't work out well for me lol... looking for an easy-install with a few years of reliability and fun without high-maintenance.

[YZEtc]

If you're getting a ratcheting-type noise from the kickstarter with the bike running even after the kickstart lever is back up in the riding position, you'll have to take it apart and fix what's been put together incorrectly and/or busted.

A missing or broken ratchet stopper and/or guide come to mind.

The kickstart lever is returning all the way, correct?

[ArcticWR400]

yes it is returning all the way. where do I find the guide? any links to diagrams or technical info will be helpful... Thanks

[YZEtc]

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/parts/home.aspx

That link will allow you to see the parts catalogue for the 1999 WR-400FL.

The guide and stopper are shown under the drawing for STARTER.

They're located under the right-hand crankcase cover (clutch cover).

[Psycho18th]

The yamaha or clymer manual would be the first stop to figure out how to get down to where the rattle is coming from and diagnosing the noise. I had a '99 WR400 Dualsported up in North Pole, Alaska a few years ago, so I feel your pain with the whole cold/darkness thing. I had the Baja Designs kit on mine. Haven't tried the specific kit you're talking about. I think a stator re-wind would be the best bet to get more juice to the lights when at low RPM. A Google search for "Ricky-stator" should get you in the right direction for that. If you're not worried about road legality, just lights at low RPM, I'd check the Baja-Designs website. They have all kinds of lighting solutions, dualspot kits, etc. I'd just give them a ring with your specific application and see what they recommend. No sense spending much dough on lighting if the bike's going to blow up in a couple hours of riding, so I'd get a manual and look deeper into that rattle first. Good luck! It's a pretty bulletproof bike if it has fresh oil/clean air/adjusted valves. I stillmiss mine at times.

Psycho

[ArcticWR400]

YZEtc: Thanks for the link, ill print the diagrams and start the tinkering process... might take me a while to get it apart then figure out how to put it back together without ending up with spare parts

Psycho: Thanks, I had checked out the BD kits and i have heard both good and bad things about them. IE the multifunction switch (blinkers/hi-lo/horn) tends to fall apart easily (minor i know) and the wiring / installation is more involved on the BD than on the TDS but i guess its just a preference. The test examiner up here has his head so far up his own that i'm sure he won't notice that the flushmount blinkers on the TDS kit aren't DOT approved... nor do they need to be for operating here in Yellowknife, NT. Much less the non-street-legal knobbies. I told him i was running a wr400 and he asked me if it was yellow or orange... sooo..................

Will update you all later, even if it is MUCH later...

[rustyg61]

Hey all;

Been browsing for the last hour and a half and can't find a threat on this already, so I wanted to get your opinions (specifically if you've done this on THIS bike)...

I am looking into getting a Trick Dual Sport kit for my '99 WR400F. It has all the popular low-cost high-power mods (grey wire, throttle stop, YZ timing, top of airbox gone, bottom full of holes, FMF with SA muffler) and I have a few questions...

1. head/tail lights dim at idle. could be because stock HL has been replaced with dual halogen round units. bad for dark trail riding because you need to rev it up to get light, and the trails here are too damn rough (as in 2 foot deep ruts and washouts, muskeg and bog-holes, canadian shield-rock and tree roots, etc...) to ride that fast. Will the battery in the TDS kit fix this or will i need a stator rewind? can i get the BD stator kit and install THAT and also have it work with the TDS kit (i know it replaces stock, but im rediculously new at modding this bike, i just followed the instructions the dealership mechanic hand-wrote for me to do the other mods... and he did the timing/grey wire)

2. Since off-road vehicles (ATVs, snowmobiles, dirt bikes) are street legal here in the NWT i have been getting away without a motorcycle license, but recently found out that i need one since it IS still a motorcycle and it IS still on the road. Should I bother with this kit or just beg/borrow/steal my co-worker's old nighthawk 450 and do the road test on that, and just get a stator rewind kit for the bike to brighten the lights, or what? I'm north of 60° so im in a bit of a unique situation here... rules are a little different. Just looking for an opinion here...

3. I notice a rather obvious rattle coming from the kick-start... is there a spring in there or something to replace to ensure it's FULLY disengaging after i start the bike? At least i THINK that's what it is... or is this common for the wr? I've only had it a couple months, so im not sure. last 2 bikes were 2-strokes and they were bought OLD and RATTY and just ridden until they fell apart.

Just looking for opinions... and BTW its dark about 18-20 hours a day up here in the winter, so all my ice-riding will require lights. We have ice-roads here (roads plowed on lakes... iceroad truckers anyone?) and snowmobile trails that i plan on blazing.

And just a heads-up: fabricating my own kit / piecing one together isn't really an option. I'm not a mechanically/electronically inclined person, it won't work out well for me lol... looking for an easy-install with a few years of reliability and fun without high-maintenance.

I also had a 99 WR 400 F with the Baja Designs DS kit. The battery that comes with the kit is a joke! It's nothing more than 8 AA flashlight batteries wired together & shrinkwrapped! It was barely powerful enough to blow the horn, & many times it would not blow the horn if the motor was off. I think BD used to sell a high output stator for the 400, so you might want to look into that. It was fun riding my bike to the track & blowing my horn at guys as I passed them over the triples! That bike is where I got my signature quote from!

[ArcticWR400]

I also had a 99 WR 400 F with the Baja Designs DS kit. The battery that comes with the kit is a joke! It's nothing more than 8 AA flashlight batteries wired together & shrinkwrapped! It was barely powerful enough to blow the horn, & many times it would not blow the horn if the motor was off. I think BD used to sell a high output stator for the 400, so you might want to look into that. It was fun riding my bike to the track & blowing my horn at guys as I passed them over the triples! That bike is where I got my signature quote from!

I kinda figure that no matter what kit I get, the battery is going to be somewhat of a joke. Particularly the TDS kit as the whole thing is more or less self-contained in that unit and mounted behind the headlight. But I guess I'll have to wait and see... The only thing that concerns me is that if the TDS kit's battery itself is INSIDE the user info box then perhaps upgrading the battery won't be very easy...