This could be a fun project!

My buddy and I were on a week long motorcycle camping trip to Canada this summer, sitting around watching caveman TV and drinking good Canadian beer, when he says, "What would it take to turn your bike into a GS?". By this he means a bike similar to a BMW GS. I would like to actually buy a GS someday, just not yet. I have my current XJ750 built and customized just the way I like it. No problems at all in 2000 miles and 8 days of camping and riding.

Yesterday, I picked up an identical and complete 82 XJ750 for $350 that runs, drives, and stops. This will be the project bike.

I've seen posts on some off-road forums where guys have slapped some knobbies on an XS650 or the like and gone into the woods or at least some class 4 highways (non-maintained dirt roads for you city folks). I would like to take it a step further and do it up right. Tubular handle bar (which I already did to mine), brush hand guards, wind shield, wire mesh 0ver the headlight, aluminum skid plate with lots of holes, 1" longer rear shocks, ammo cans for side cases, engine guards, etc.

There are several issues that I see. This is a heavy bike so I won't be doing any real off-road, deep mud type of terrain. I figure I can go up an inch in the back with out stressing the universal on the shaft drive. First gear is really tall so controlling speed in tough terrain may have to be with the clutch and not the throttle. If I do too much slow speed riding, the engine will overheat.

I wonder if there's an off-road model with similar shock tube dimensions that could donate it's front end to the XJ750 GS without replacing the fork clamps? At some point, I'll have to draw the line and say, "This part stays stock and this gets replaced." I've put a total project budget of $1000 on this one so that should give me plenty to do the regular maintenance that's required for our 30+ year old bikes plus a bunch of bolt on goodies.

What do you think?

 

For $1000.00, just go buy yourself a dirtbike and keep some of the cash for other stuff.

dave

 

What he ^ said. Xj's are build for speed (dohc in-line 4).

Gary H.

 

I'd agree with the other two, but for the fact that the original R100 G/S wasn't very far removed from the standard R100, and it proved to be a very capable offroad machine. Have a look at the thread linked below, and consider what a challenge it will be for you. $1000 will not be enough to do the job.
http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=823952

If I were me (and I am) I'd just put a set of Kenda K761 tires on and stick to dirt roads.

 

k-moe,

I was inspired by some of the early heavy bikes that were modified for off-road duty.

I have no intention of doing that much work to this machine. Having already saved one "barn find" XJ as my regular ride, I'm more interested in exploring the "What If" aspect of this build. Anyone can buy a cheap, beat up dirt bike and hit the trails but that's not the point. That's the easy way. I've passed up a dozen under-500cc dual-purpose bikes this summer and I can't stop thinking about this project.

And, yes, of course there's better ways to spend $1000 but I'm gonna do it anyway. All of the mods I'm planning will be bolt-on and won't require heavy modification to the central machine. I'm not looking for a proper dirt machine just one to do a bit more exploration around here in northern New England.

Thanks for the input and I'll post some pics when it's done.

Gary,

With Bridgestone Battlax BT45s and the suspension set tight, I have fully explored the "fast" aspect of my road-going XJ. A little too much, in fact, as my local cop informed me that my speedometer is almost 7mph off (low!) at an indicated 50mph. No wonder I passed everyone on the highway........

 

I raised this question a couple years ago. Converting a 550Max into a adventure/dirt tracker style bike. The inline 4 is better suited for the road although a couple of site members have dual purpose tires on their 750's because they live in rural areas. I think the 750 is way too heavy for off road. A Suzuki S40 with a stronger front end would be a better candidate, but then a dual purpose/dirt bike would be even better.

 

The "dirt" XJ750 build is done. I'll post some pictures tomorrow if it's sunny. Rode it around the muddy farm roads this afternoon and sent some impressive rooster tails into the melting snow banks. Made a mess of my work boots and jeans but loved it! Yes it's heavy but it's behavior in the mud was predictable; I was able to slide it and save it from any spills. Not bad for being out of the saddle for almost four months.

I came out a little over budget at $1200 but it looks pretty cool with the ammo cans mounted on the custom rack. They're a little too big so I got the next size down and hope to have them mounted this weekend. The bike starts immediately and settles into a smooth idle once warm.

I was drooling over a very nice used Honda XR650 the other day at my local bike shop when I was getting the knobbies mounted. They wanted $3k and I almost bit. Then I remembered why I was building the XJ. Oh well.........

Should have it registered and legal by the end of the week. Just in time for more snow this weekend. Yep, still winter in Vermont.

 

This made me smile. I thoroughly approve of your dedication in the face of reason! We all could have shinier, newer, more reliable bikes, but for some reason we choose to go the hard way. Satisfaction at accomplishing something no one thought should be done? I dunno, but it fits here.

 

Well, I don't know about the more reliable part there...........mine have been pretty stone-cold reliable.

Dave F

 

Mine hasn't started yet. I guess I can rely on that!

 

Pics!

 

Some pics are in this post:
What did you do to your Yamaha today?
It looks really nice. I like the ammo cans, do the larger ones contact your legs?

 

I think this is awesome, I'm a big fan of the look of dual sport bikes. If this could even be made reliable for rough dirt roads and crossing flat fields, possibly even some flat trails, could be some potential there. Ground clearance may present a problem off road though