We made some strides today. The CRF230F front end is off and the XR250 stem is pressed back into the bottom triple. These are some things you need to know if you plan on doing this conversion:

-You have to disconnect the keyed ignition. Take the tank off and unplug the four connections. Then there are two tabs on the underside of the ignition housing that need to be pressed in. The ignition will slide right out of the hole in the CRF triples. I plan on getting a custom bracket made and will show you when it's finished.

-The brake line guide bracket will now be too small for the XR250 triple holes. I'm working on a way to make it work, so stay tuned.

-The brake line clamp on the forks will need nuts since the XR250 clamp is threadless plastic. That's an easy fix.

Here are some pictures of today's work. The next batch of pictures will be the installation of the front end and the finished product. I can say right now, the stock CRF230 forks are like jello compared to the XR250 forks when compressing them side by side.

Also, I got a chance to ride very briefly with the Hlebo shock before loading the bike in the truck today. It feels like a whole new rear end! (That's what she said).







The ignition is pictured below. I'll use the left bolt on the top XR250 triple to hold down a custom bracket for it. Also, look at the brake line clamp at the bottom of the picture--it just needs a pair of nuts for the 8mm screws. In the back you can see an XR250 fork and both CRF230 forks. Big size difference! Those gold washers are going to be drilled to a 1-inch diameter and used to space the XR250 triples onto the CRF230 frame.

Edited by Professor XR, 28 January 2012 - 01:47 PM.

Mission accomplished!

I took five 5/8-inch washers and had them drilled to 1-inch IDs for a perfect fit.



Two of the fender bolts were too long, so I found shorter hex head bolts and replaced them. You could use a bunch of washers though. The bottom CRF230 caliper bolt will also be too long, so you'll have to swap it out for a shorter one--there was a fair amount of bolt swapping throughout this project.



Then came the steering stop issue. On one side, the bottom triple was hitting the gas tank. I attribute that to faulty factory frame work. A little weld buildup by my friend Stan Gardener at GRC in Ellsworth, Maine solved that problem.



It's not pretty, but who's going to see it?



You'll need nuts for the brake line clamp bolts.



Speaking of which, the brake line will now be too short. I plan on ordering a longer stainless braided line--probably that repackaged Galfer from Tusk. Also, check out my ignition bracket made by the machinist who drilled the washers.



The brake line guide bracket will also not fit the wider-spaced XR250 triple bolts. The easy fix is to lop the top half of the bracket off and just fasten it to the bottom bolt.



All the pieces have come together.

Edited by Professor XR, 31 January 2012 - 04:11 PM.

oh yeah!!  nice.

you are going to need to relocate that stock rev box thingie (thing behind the number plate) for your headlight to fit.

i put mine under the gas tank,  there is a spot in the frame that it fits exactly.

What's next?   

Looks great...

You didn't happen to measure before and after ride height did you? If so how much did you gain?

150ron, on 31 January 2012 - 04:58 PM, said:

Thanks for the tip, man! I'll also check out your headlight thread for help on wiring.

230Fstroker, on 31 January 2012 - 06:03 PM, said:

What's next? Selling the 230F front end to recoup some of this cash I had not planned on spending.

The ride height is about an inch taller from stock, and the bike definitely feels taller--I think it's almost the perfect little trail bike now!

Now about that headlight...and skid plate...and hand guards...and those wheels...

Professor XR, on 31 January 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

I'm thinking suspension project next.
Now that I have the Pro Circuit exhaust, rejetted and Uni-filter the bike gets up out of it's own way.

Time to start thinking about improving the ride.

Great thread with pics..

230Fstroker, on 01 February 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

Yeah, I was getting ready to find a 250X or XR250 before Gabe came to the rescue and convinced me to go this route. Just riding the bike around in the yard, it felt noticeably stiffer and smoother, so I can't wait to flog it on the trails. The great thing about the XR250 forks is that they're adjustable. I'm going to play around with the settings later, but will definitely report what I find. Also, I forgot to post a price list:

XR250 front end shipped: $170.93
Daystar Fork boots: $38.40
XR400 Kickstand, spring, bolt and nut (Ron Ayers Dealer prices, didn't need nut and bolt): $39.11
CRF150F Linkage (Ron Ayers Dealer Prices): $55.64
Revalved/Reworked Hlebo stock shock plus shipping: $216.75
Ignition bracket and drilled 5/8 washers, including labor: $50
Kayaba Fork decals: $20 shipped
Braided Brake line from eBay: $30 shipped
**Powdercoating and shop help was free--I have nice friends!

TOTAL: $620.83

I plan on selling my CRF230F front end for around $200, so for just a little over $400, my bike has totally upgraded suspension for advanced trail riding. That's well under the cost of a Works shock!

DAMN that thing is sexy now! A lot of people are going to be super jealous of your bike now, you can trust me on that one

For the brake line holder I didn't completely cut off the top hole, just ground out the opening to make it a "U" so that it could still be clamped by the upper bolt. For my fender I went the washer stack route LOL

My steering stops ended up stopping before crashing into the tank and my linkage didn't have the clearance problem that yours does (by two hundreths of an inch!) so I didn't see those coming for you. Sorry about that. Anyway, that thing is a beast now!

Professor XR, on 01 February 2012 - 12:04 PM, said:

Looks like you didn't break the bank thats always a good thing! Does anyone know what happen to Reger Engineering? Seems they lost there web page. I sold my 230 with the kit I got from Reger. Now I have another 230 which needs the Hlebo and Reger touch to get her dialed inn!

I had the XR forks. Found them too heavy up front for my taste. I felt CRF150r USD forks were just as strong as the XR250. And a human leg lighter. With the cartridge forks, rebound damping is never an issue that isn't easily solved. One would think USD 37mm would be comparable in flex as the stockers... This is far from the case.

Can anyone tell me why the USD 37mm feel as strong or stronger than the XR250, when in fact the XR's are heavier and larger?

I just visited Reger's site and it seems to work fine:
http://www.regerengineering.com/

ramz, on 02 February 2012 - 01:14 PM, said:

Works for me too...

230Fstroker, on 02 February 2012 - 01:40 PM, said:

The site works for me too,  but when you click on products,  and then i just clicked on crf230f,  my AVG started popping everywhere and a anti malware reported shut down the page,  saying that site had malware,  so i just shut it off right away.

I just checked Reger's site again and clicked every link I could - all works fine.

I use Firefox on an iMac and MacOSX is largely indifferent to malware and viruses, so don't know what to say or do about your bad experience.  I'll shoot an email to the Reger's and give 'em a heads up to these posts - perhaps they'll check it out.

You can call and leave a msg and they'll call you back, although they go to races a lot and sometimes you hafta wait a while for the call back.

You could also go to the local library and use their computers......


I'm not a business partner of the Reger's, nor do I get freebies or deals from them.  Just a satisfied customer lookin out for a good CRF dealer.

YMMV

Hey guys, it's been a while, but here's a ride report. It's a whole new bike. The rear shock work by John Hlebo is unreal and the XR250 forks are a huge improvement over the stock forks. I did a little gravel pit riding and the bike was like a dream--suspension was the only thing missing and now it's finally fixed. Hellelujah! The real test will come this Spring when I ride that rocky ass trail through the blueberry fields again, but I know it's going to be a much smoother ride. Here are a couple pictures from Mudfest 2012:

Looks like a different bike..

Bump

man o man o man!

beauty Professor!

project would probably cost me a little more.. :S

canada doesnt get GREAT shipping deals..

definately going to start pricing out this concept though.

again, beautiful!

is there specific years of forks that will / will not work?

reason i am asking is there are some nice forks for decent price on ebay, but all mid / late 80s

not too many 96-04 or whatever on ebay..

thoughts?

BrandonPley, on 23 April 2012 - 07:15 AM, said:

You definitely want to get the 96-04 forks. Honestly, if you plan it right, this will only cost a few hundred bucks. I'm OCD hardcore, so I had to get new fork boots and specialty parts made, but it can be done for next to nothing. Selling the front end had me break even when I bought the XR forks. In fact, I actually made 20 bucks!

By the way, I shed a few tears for your Canucks the other night.

i dont wanna talk about the canucks...

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

i will keep searching for a set of 96-04 forks and triple trees

or a KTM 300 XC-W

which ever comes first..

and whichever i can afford first