biteme

Why the XR?

The XR is a proven long distance runner that needs minimal maintainence to keep the thing running.

Yes the XR has faults, I new that going in!

I can jump on the XR and run 250 miles on Saturday and turn around and do it on Sunday without changing the oil and shimming the valves.

The CRF line needs maintenance every 12 hours of operation unlike the XR which can go 40 hours with only an oil change.

I can go out and buy any new bike I want, but I wanted to get my hands dirty on this build and it was simple economics.

I build the bike to run without having to wrench on it after every ride.

I bought the bike for $300, I sold both rims, forks and triple for just under $1000.00 on ebay and this was the starting cash for the motor build.

Here is what she looked like when I got the XR, it did run but had a bad rod so I pulled the motor and shipped out the crank for a rebuild.



I turned around and put that money into performance mods for the engine.

426cc wiesco piston set, X-Rods Crank, Stage 2 Hot Cam, Edelbrock Pumper carb, FMF Power Core Header, Kibble White Valves and Springs, 3 angle valve job, ported and polished head, 200 watt Ricky stator and a High Rev CDI.

Here is what the motor looked like after my first build, all powder coated and pretty.



I performed all the engine work myself except the crank build, porting and valve cutting.

I have been buying bikes and parting them out on ebay to pay for the Sumo project which has gotten quite expensive towards the end of the build.

Over the past year I have been doing a whole bunch of reading on the XR400, finding out what works and what does not and I tried to put the best of the best in the motor and suspension.

The bike is still a work in progress and I thank you for all of the kind words on the build, I have a few more tricks up my sleave for this bike and I will show them to you when there done.

Thanks again!

tigmaster

Oh.... I didn't realize you were the one who built this. I have a very high level of respect for you and this bike. It was finely done. And yes gscx, trying to use a 450r as an engine for around town use would destroy it. Think about highway driving where it is at just one constant RPM for an hour. Seems no good to me. Ya, it may be faster but not worth the repairs.

Like I said before, great job with the inverted forks. It really makes it look perfect. Any other details you want to share?

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tjscott2012

good job i have always loved xrs and supermoto bikes, youve put them together!

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wr250f95

I had a feeling that it was you! welcome sirr1

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"LIFE'S JOURNEY IS NOT TO ARRIVE AT THE GRAVE SAFELY IN A WELL PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN SIDEWAYS, TOTALLY WORN OUT, SHOUTING'...HOLY S**T... WHAT A RIDE!"

this, is why I ride.

tigmaster

With the 400ex bottom end, I assume... I have a few questions. How did gearing treat you? I know that the final ratio (including tires) is fairly similar to a dirt bike (I did the math once). Anyway, how did transmission gearing work out? I see you have a pretty small rear sprocket. Final ratio is? How is the top speed, seeing as most dirt bikes top out around 85mph, I assume it is faster.

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tjscott2012

where do you get those little mud flap things?

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wr250f95

the mud guard for the shock?

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"LIFE'S JOURNEY IS NOT TO ARRIVE AT THE GRAVE SAFELY IN A WELL PRESERVED BODY, BUT RATHER TO SKID IN SIDEWAYS, TOTALLY WORN OUT, SHOUTING'...HOLY S**T... WHAT A RIDE!"

this, is why I ride.

turtlemann14

ya, i need to make one....

you must have a lot of time on your hands cuz it looks great

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biteme

Thanks guys and yes it's SIRR1....

I was lurking in the shadows checking out the responces and I had to join this forum, cool site!

I had no idea this was here, lots of great info, I have been reading all the different forum posts gaining knowledge, thanks for letting me in!

Tigermaster, the bottom end is XR400, here is how it came together.

You take the 400ex crank and counter ballancer and installed them into the XR4 center cases, using the XR4 internals, transmission gears, shifting drum, shifter shaft, center gasket and bolt her up.

The clutch side is all XR4, I did have the option to add reverse from the TRX400ex bottom end but I would have lost the XR4 kick starter, so no reverse.

The left side of the motor or stator side is where the 400ex parts come in to play.

I installed the complete 400ex fly wheel assembly on to the 400ex crank.

I then installed the 400ex stator, starter gears, starter and stator cover.

The only modifications needed to the entire motor build was to drill and tap 2 holes for the starter to mount on the right center case.

Naturally I used all new bearings, seals and gaskets on the build, and I did update the transmission from 1996 to 2001 XR4 gears, shifting drum along with the stronger 2001 kick starter shaft, which fixes all of the internal problems on the older XR4's.

The motor went together really really easy, I had read all of the horror stories on how hard and how expensive the build would be and I totally blew away both fear factors.

What I did was to search ebay for the parts needed to build the e-start motor, I got lucky and picked up a 2005 400ex complete bottom end for $390.00 shipped to my door.

This bottom end had all of the motor parts needed for the build and what parts were left over like the center cases, transmission, clutch, XR transmission and kick starter shaft all were sold on ebay to help recover the cost of the build.

Since I built the motor I have seen on ebay several other bottom ends priced under $500.00, i was in a hurry and wanted the parts now, I could have been patient and saved some cash but spring was here and I wanted to ride the bike.

I did have to purchase on ebay a few 400ex parts to make the electric start work as it did on the 400ex.

400ex wiring harness $20.00, voltage regulator $40.00, High Rev CDI $60.00
after market starter / headlight switch $50.00, Solenoid $50.00, Battery, $50.00, CBR600F1 battery box $10.00

Right now I have the total E-Start build down around $400.00 and I still have a new XR400 Hot Rods Crank to sell yet that I never used on the original XR400 build.

Wow sorry for rambling, I love talking motorcycles!

TJscott2012 you mentioned little mud flap things?

I am sorry I don't get what your talking about....please get back to me so I can figure out what you mean.

Thanks again for all of the kind words on my Sumo and thanks for letting me into your forum.

SIRR1/Biteme

JThompson

This is a great project. Keep up the good work and keep us posted. You are going to need to get some mototips.com stickers for your bike . Welcome to the forums

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