I bought the thing for $2000 from a guy who left it sitting most of the time. I can understand since that's why I sold the 600RR. But, I figure the XR is cheap enough I can leave it in my garage for as long as I want.

I had a lot of target bikes, like the DZR-400, WR-450 or -250, CRF450, or really any 4-stroke around 400cc. I just happened to find the XR4 first. Probably a better choice would be the XR-250 for the trails I want to ride, but I've found exactly zero of them used, and I've been looking for a while. If you can get your hands on one, grab it.

So I decided first to give it a full tuneup, since it wasn't running real well.

Parts for the new XR400R

So far choosing parts has gone pretty well. I've gone with K&N for filtration needs, even though I don't really know if they're the best or not. I just assume they are and nobody says they're no good, so let's get them.

The biggest decision, given than I've never had the bike off-road, is the sprocket settings. I'm going to go with a 14t front and 47t rear. The stock is 15/45. So I should end up with a superb amount of pull in low gears and have almost no top speed. If I don't like this gearing I'll buy extra sprockets, they're pretty cheap.

Here's the laundry list as of now: New Oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, spark plug (the old one is corroded and cracked!)

New tires - I'm not sure what kind. I'm going to drag the bike into the shop and just pay the bend-over price. These tires are shot and I know nothing about dirt bike tires yet.

General cleaning - spark arrestor

The Thumpertalk forum is invaluable information! Doing searches on there has turned up answers to all my questions, and the answers are all from 2005 - this year is only 8 months old. Awesome! What did people do for information before the Internet?

I don't know much about spokes but I understand I need a spoke tightening tool and some kind of specification to the torque.

I've not yet inspected the steering head or swing arm bearings. Man I really hope they're OK. The big job will be cleaning the carb and inspecting/adjusting the valves.

That's it for now. And oh yeah, I need new gear. I have no dirt gear!

August 22, 2005
Update - Well, we took the bike apart this weekend and found it to be in pretty good shape all around. The in-tank fuel filter was a complete mess, cracked and had holes etc. I got a new one (had to order it) and had a little trouble getting it installed in the petcock. The trick is to use an open-ended wrench to apply pressure equally on two sides or it'll never slide in. I drained the tank, cleaned it, and removed the carburetor. The jets were clean as a whistle, go figure. I gave it a cleaning. We decided not to mess with the valves since the engine was "just rebuilt" and they're probably OK. We'll see! I also put it a new air filter, the old one was pretty dirty.

Otherwise, the wheels are off and the UPS guy has just dropped of my new tires. I got Michelin AC12 DOT dirt tires in case I have problem with the inspection. They were the only DOT tires I could find that would fit the bike. I couldn't find a word, good or bad about them everybody seems to be running the Dunlop 606's. At any rate, once the bike is plated I'll go back to pure dirt tires, I figure the odds of getting a ticket over tires are pretty low.

Also I got new chain and sprockets (stock 15t front / 45t rear) but I got a spare 14t front to try if I feel like it later. Supposed to add more low torque, but if I'm going on the street it might be best to stay with the stock gearing, per the advice on some forums.

The Trick Dual Sport kit is all wired in, I just have to do the soldering. Once the new tires are on (tomorrow) and the sprockets and chain, all I have to do is put gas in it and start it. If all goes well I'll go ahead with the Trailtech computer/speedo. Also I'll change the oil just for good measure.

I ordered some gear online from motocycle superstore.com. They seem to have good stuff, good prices and good service. I got a full kit minus boots and helmet since I want to try those on. But in the mail today I should be getting a jersey, pants, gloves, elbow and knee guards and goggles. All told it was only about $150 with shipping, and it's not bad stuff.

The two helmets I like are the HJC AX4 (?) for about $130 and a similar priced Fox helmet. You can spend a lot more on a helmet, but what you get is better finish not better protection. Boots will be last. I know they cost a lot but they're probably the most important part, not wise to skimp here.

So, my mission to dual-sport is now complete. Well it's 99% complete. After mulling around what DS bike to get and narrowing it down to the DRZ-400 or the DRZ-400, I of course chose the XR-400. The DRZ is a great bike, but about 50lbs heavier than most dirt bikes. To get them dirtable most people replace the carb, shocks and tires right away, which seems kind of severe.

I was open to just about any 4-stroke but found a nice XR400 first. I should have probably got an XR250 but they proved very hard to find used. They have sort of a cult following, even though by modern standards they're pretty outdated. And for any street-going I figure the 400 to be the bike of choice anyway. Both are famously reliable and run forever.

First thing I did was take the thing apart, replace the chain, sprockets, tubes (both had holes), oil, plug, and filters. I took apart the carb, cleaned it, put it back together, and watched fuel drool all over the floor. So I took the bike to a mechanic and voila, 2 hours of labor and some new float jets and it kicks in 3 trys (one when warmed up). I swear if they ever build a fuel-injected dirt bike I'll be first in line to buy it. Anyway the bike runs friggen awesome now.

For where I want to ride it I needed it to be street legal. So here's the list of crap I had to buy, after consulting with the Oregon DMV:

* Trick Dual Sport kit ($450 mail order), includes horn, front light assembly with blinkers and Hi/Low, small battery, new banjo bolt for brake lights, and all wiring. It installed in about 3 hours, because the instructions were hellacious. Were I to do it again it'd take about an hour. It replaces the stock regulator, you just run the old power cords into the new unit and it feeds everything.

* Folding mirrors, $40

* Rear blinkers, installed into fender $20. They feel real sturdy, should survive a direct hit.

* DOT street knobbies, difficult to find in this size but I did it. $120. It needed tires regardless.

* Reflectors - I went into a bicycle shop and they gave me a handfull of red ones for free. Then I stuck them onto the bodywork with 2-sided mounting tape and hoped they wouldn't fall off before inspection.

* License plate light - I took apart a small pen light an installed the battery-powered bulb on a $10 license plate frame.

So I took the whole thing to Oregon yesterday, met Mom in Law at the DMV with all the paperwork and signed it over. They went out, looked at the bike for about 10 seconds and said "OK." All they did was check the VIN and see that it had blinkers and a headlight. The never questioned why a 5'2" lady would be buying a 3-foot tall dirt bike.

So now all I have to do is install the rear wheel roller bearings, which are mysteriously missing. Also I'm going to put a smaller front sprocket in, which I already have ($15 on the Internet). It's geared kind of high.

That's it! When MIL gets the title she'll just sign it back to me. The vile state of Washington SHOULD then grant me a WA plate, since I no longer have an offroad only title.

SCREW YOU WASHINGTON!