280 lbs. wet no gas,.. crf450 suspension wheels and brakes,.. Ohlins shock. Sorry only one exists....... wake up Honda and build these!!

This is not just a front end conversion or wheel swap. I actually had the entire 450 rear suspension grafted on after a week of work, then decided to go farther and eliminate the weight and maintenance of the linkage with a custom Ohlins PDS style shock. Many other trick parts such as a luggage rack weighing 1lb 5oz, low mount steering damper that tucks in tight, removed heavy restrictive airbox etc,.. This is not new, I've been riding it for a few years and still can't understand why Honda won't make one since its all honda parts!!!

You can see many more photo's here. http://s116.photobuc...yaker43/CRF650/

I posted it a couple years back and got a lot of interest. Sadly it has to go on ebay tonight to make room for future projects. Now that I took more pictures I thought I would leave them on my photobucket page so others can get some ideas and hopefully go further with it. The venerable 650R had so much untapped potential.

This is a unique approach,... instead of farkling it up to 350lbs with shiny catalog goodies, I went the other way and dropped 25 lbs while improving the suspension. See how many changes you can spot?

My new ride is a 183 lb XR218.

Edited by woodsryder, 29 July 2012 - 02:41 PM.

Didn't see your original post, glad you gave another look, great work.  Let's see some pics of your XR218!

Looks factory, nice work!

Here's a link to the thread on my other bike.  http://www.thumperta...0-183-lb-xr200/

Imagine what it would feel like to ride a bike that's 115lbs lighter than a stock 650R. I kind of lost interest in the big red pig but I'll sure miss it.

Edited by woodsryder, 30 July 2012 - 07:30 AM.

What year was the 650 originally? I'd like to get a 650R one of these days.

It is a 2004 I purchased in late 2004. They are all the same anyway.

Sorry,.. its a 2002 bought in 2004

Don't know why it won't let me edit my own posts??

very nice bike with a ton of work
and please post some pics of your xr218? what else has been done to that hot rod?

 smv ryder, on 30 July 2012 - 01:22 PM, said:

Here's a teaser but the full thread is at http://www.thumperta...0-183-lb-xr200/

woodsryder, I am drooling over your 218, looks like the ultimate trail bike to me, wish I could come across one. BTW, do you participate in any of the GLDS rides? And by any chance do spend your winters in the Ocala NF?

Creeky, you must be psychic..!!

I am hoping to get the little bike plated for dual sport, it actually cruises pretty well down the road with the wide ratio 6 speed. Haven't done a GLDS ride for a while but have done many. Yes, I spend 5 months right in the center of the Ocala national forest,.. did we run into eachother?

woods ryder you have style and you think when modding...

this is something you see not so often these days!

you did to the brp what I would of wanted to do as I weigh exactly the same as you and Im 1 inch shorter than you...

I tried to take wieght off my xr600...and have taken off maybe 5lbs or so...(crwheels, spokes, axles, etc...cr250 suspension...smaller tires and tubes...)

for an xr600(88) im light but not enough to make me super nimble...Im at 287 wet, no gas

anyways

I am really interested in your pds style no linkage shock...

I hate ktm's but love the no linkage shocks...they are massive, overbuilt and huge compared to our style bikes...and they are very common down here...

how does this shock setup compare to a revalved xr650r shock or hybrid cr500 shock if you have tried them?

is it as dramatic as a simple respring and revalve?

how does it takes hits compared to stock and did you gain any rear travel by eliminating the linkage?

my gut instinct thinks so...jejeje

again congrats on your projects...

I like your style

that xr218 would be the bees knees for me man, damn the things I think I could do with it makes me mad! jajajaja

christian

Edited by elsalvadorklr, 31 July 2012 - 07:37 AM.

The problem with stock Xr rear suspension is the high leverage ratio short travel shock and small shock body. On a heavy bike that works the oil way too hard. In Michigan we can have miles of deep sand whoops and the shock will fade and start dancing but will be fine for the first few miles. It just couldn't keep up with MX type bikes. I think the CR500 shock has a bigger piston which helps some.

By going linkageless I dropped several pounds, eliminated about $120 worth of bearings seals and spacers. So i mostly did it for the weight savings, less maintenance. and simplicity. There's no more travel but the Ohlins shock has a steel body for less wear and oil contamination plus a bigger bore and longer stroke so it never fades when pushed hard. Now it tracks straighter through whoops, has a supple ride and never changes.

Thanks for your comments,.. the little 218 is a proof of concept effort to see what something that light feels like. Its just magical and was full of surprises. The smaller size is a huge advantage, just ask any xr200 rider, yet the lighter weight lets it ride on top of sand. It has the sand manners and stability of a full size bike but at half the rider effort. Its nimble like nothing else available and much less effort to ride. It can let an old guy hang with the kids on their 450's and that's priceless. I'm currently working on the next generation and hope to have frame kits ready next year.

 woodsryder, on 31 July 2012 - 04:59 AM, said:

Could very well be that we have crossed paths. I have done a lot of riding in the Ocala NF over the years, 4 Dixie Dualsport rides, and quite a bit in MI, rode the 6 Days several times and have ridden several GLDS events over the past 4 years. I am hoping to attend the Ted's Chandler Challenge this month, but might have a conflict, will know in a few days.

 creeky, on 31 July 2012 - 09:17 AM, said:

I did a few Dixie events including the 2 day cross Florida ride on the 650 a few years back. 480 miles of sugar sand makes Michigan look easy.

 woodsryder, on 31 July 2012 - 09:33 AM, said:

Know what you mean about sugar sand. I took my son's 650R to FL a few years ago, rode for 5 days, last day I was just hanging on and let the bike do what it wanted, took 2 days to recover.

I'm just curious if anyone else has attempted a weight reduction on a 650R? Seems like most people just farkle them up another 25 lbs.

 woodsryder, on 05 August 2012 - 10:25 AM, said:

Yea Woodsy I've taken quite a bit of weight out of mine.
I've got a CRF450 front end, CRF450X headlight cowl,no speedo nor cable,no chain slider, no thermostat( light weight Y piece) or mid pipe mount, or bottom tank mounts,Staintune pipe and a Giannelli muffler,light weight control fasteners heaps of other stuff but can't think of it all right now.
I like the rear end of yours , do you know how much weight that saved?
Cheers.

Edited by weskc35k, 06 August 2012 - 11:30 PM.

Thats a sweet looking ride man.  I've always wondering how something like that compares to the stock piggy with revalved and resprung suspension.

I was wondering how you made the airbox work, and I looked at your gallery and noticed that you made your own kind of custom intake.  I also noticed you added an extra spring to the clutch lever on the engine, was there a reason for that?

This pic was on here a number of years back, maybe combine your bike with this one?

Edited by Thumpmeister, 07 August 2012 - 03:58 PM.

I don't know how much just the rear end saved but its about 25lbs total and most of that is unsprung and/or rotating weight.

The original clutch return spring broke so I added a new one.

Its way more than just better suspension action, its significantly less weight in all the right places. Its a lot more capable bike now, especially if you need to keep up with buddies on MX bikes. The big XR has always been a great trail bike but when the going gets rough its like driving a UPS truck. Now its like a real sporty station wagon