19 kx450 dual sport build

kb228
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kb228
Edited Date/Time 3/7/2022 8:30am
In light of outrageously high gas prices ive decided to park the truck and get a street ohv kit and ride my 450 to work. My commute is entirely on 35mph roads. Im looking for some guidence on engine life on the road and if im lucky some pics of their latest gen kawis converted
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Miniman
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Miniman 3/5/2022 7:56am
3/5/2022 7:56am
How far is the commute? I'm not quite willing to fully commit to my logic here, but I think you may be surprised that even since your mpg will be higher on the bike, you will pay a fair amount in tires and other maintenance... depending how many hours you're going to put on your 450 motor.
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kb228
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kb228 3/5/2022 8:49am
3/5/2022 8:49am
Its 4 miles each way. Your logic is what im trying to factor in. I was going to go with tires that look to be a middle ground between full on street tires and dual sport tires. The engine is my only worry. Tires and chains are pretty cheap in comparison
Miniman
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Miniman 3/5/2022 9:11am
3/5/2022 9:11am
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save any significant cash on a 4 mile commute.
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blaze 57
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blaze 57 3/5/2022 9:25am
3/5/2022 9:25am
When I had a three mile drive to work I bought used Suzuki DR 200 and it was perfect for the commute.
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Bromley686
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Bromley686 3/5/2022 9:28am
3/5/2022 9:28am
Miniman wrote:
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save...
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save any significant cash on a 4 mile commute.
He’s right. Just drive the truck. At 8 miles round trip, it will take you a year in gas savings just to pay for the street conversion kit. Let alone tires, chains, oil changes and other maintenance/wear and tear.
Miniman
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Miniman 3/5/2022 10:49am
3/5/2022 10:49am
Any seat time is a good time, so go for it if you want!
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Timo
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Timo 3/5/2022 11:41am
3/5/2022 11:41am
At only 3 miles I would just ride a bicycle, your mpg will be off the charts!
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wildbill
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wildbill 3/5/2022 2:32pm
3/5/2022 2:32pm
Perhaps y'all are missing the point here. Dual sporting a KX would be an awesome way to justify the added expense to your significant other. Just show the mpg's, not the cost to arrive there.
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nytsmaC
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nytsmaC 3/5/2022 2:49pm
3/5/2022 2:49pm
I’m guessing that MPG’s will be disappointing on a motocross bike. There are street bikes that will get 60-70mpg, I bet you’ll be lucky to be at half of that on the KX

I’d use it as an excuse to buy another bike instead. My T700 will get 60mpg, a new dual-sport Kawi or Honda 300 will probably be close to 80mpg.
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motorick5052
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motorick5052 3/5/2022 6:26pm
3/5/2022 6:26pm


NystmaC is correct!
Get ya something like this and ride the wheels off of it!
I threw down my deposit on the new 300, put a Race Tech spring kit on and use it for whatever mood strikes!
Getting 80+ mpg unless I ride it like my race bikes!

Fun friendly little scooter that won’t break the bank!😎
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kb228
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kb228 3/5/2022 7:35pm
3/5/2022 7:35pm
Miniman wrote:
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save...
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save any significant cash on a 4 mile commute.
I did the math, its almost $1000 cheaper per year to ride the bike. Whats not accounted for is trips to places other than work - like the track. As a matter of fact its even cheaper still to buy a 3500 sport bike to ride around since the MPGs are better.

Im not struggling for money because of gas prices but being in ohio, $3.80 is outrageous and its only going up. If i can save a significant amount of money then i want to try..
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Dimblewambie
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Dimblewambie 3/6/2022 8:45am
3/6/2022 8:45am
nytsmaC wrote:
I’m guessing that MPG’s will be disappointing on a motocross bike. There are street bikes that will get 60-70mpg, I bet you’ll be lucky to be...
I’m guessing that MPG’s will be disappointing on a motocross bike. There are street bikes that will get 60-70mpg, I bet you’ll be lucky to be at half of that on the KX

I’d use it as an excuse to buy another bike instead. My T700 will get 60mpg, a new dual-sport Kawi or Honda 300 will probably be close to 80mpg.
To my surprise, my YZ450F gets over 50mpg when dual sporting.
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yak651
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yak651 3/6/2022 3:42pm
3/6/2022 3:42pm
4 miles ride a bicycle, take the truck on rain days
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nytsmaC
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nytsmaC 3/6/2022 3:50pm
3/6/2022 3:50pm Edited Date/Time 3/6/2022 3:52pm
nytsmaC wrote:
I’m guessing that MPG’s will be disappointing on a motocross bike. There are street bikes that will get 60-70mpg, I bet you’ll be lucky to be...
I’m guessing that MPG’s will be disappointing on a motocross bike. There are street bikes that will get 60-70mpg, I bet you’ll be lucky to be at half of that on the KX

I’d use it as an excuse to buy another bike instead. My T700 will get 60mpg, a new dual-sport Kawi or Honda 300 will probably be close to 80mpg.
Dimblewambie wrote:
To my surprise, my YZ450F gets over 50mpg when dual sporting.
I never would have guessed that. I guess being on pavement makes a huge difference compared to trail riding.

I’d still rather keep my MX bike track ready and get a second bike for the street if finances allow.
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Langhammx 3/6/2022 4:20pm
3/6/2022 4:20pm
Miniman wrote:
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save...
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save any significant cash on a 4 mile commute.
Agreed !

You’d be way better off buying a used Zuma scooter and then sell it when gas prices come down.

Shit.. we are up to high $5’s and even $6 a gallon here in California. I drive 30 miles each way, usually in traffic. Sometimes it takes me an hour and a half to get home.

I’m not understanding your concern if you’re only driving 5 miles each way. Laughing
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kb228
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kb228 3/6/2022 4:49pm
3/6/2022 4:49pm
Miniman wrote:
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save...
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save any significant cash on a 4 mile commute.
Langhammx wrote:
Agreed ! You’d be way better off buying a used Zuma scooter and then sell it when gas prices come down. Shit.. we are up to...
Agreed !

You’d be way better off buying a used Zuma scooter and then sell it when gas prices come down.

Shit.. we are up to high $5’s and even $6 a gallon here in California. I drive 30 miles each way, usually in traffic. Sometimes it takes me an hour and a half to get home.

I’m not understanding your concern if you’re only driving 5 miles each way. Laughing
The concern is its a cost savings of over $1000 a year on work commute alone. Double that for things other than work like track days which use up 1/2 of that $135 tank just to go there.

I doubt youre driving a pickup truck 30 miles a day in california without looking at ways to cut the cost.

The entire problem here is expenses are going up on everything and income isnt.

Ive decided to buy a sport bike for 3-4k and ride it for several years. Will pay for itself in less than a year and i dont have to put hours on my kx
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1911
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1911 3/6/2022 5:14pm
3/6/2022 5:14pm
blaze 57 wrote:
When I had a three mile drive to work I bought used Suzuki DR 200 and it was perfect for the commute.
👍👍👍👍
Langhammx 3/6/2022 7:05pm
3/6/2022 7:05pm
kb228 wrote:
The concern is its a cost savings of over $1000 a year on work commute alone. Double that for things other than work like track days...
The concern is its a cost savings of over $1000 a year on work commute alone. Double that for things other than work like track days which use up 1/2 of that $135 tank just to go there.

I doubt youre driving a pickup truck 30 miles a day in california without looking at ways to cut the cost.

The entire problem here is expenses are going up on everything and income isnt.

Ive decided to buy a sport bike for 3-4k and ride it for several years. Will pay for itself in less than a year and i dont have to put hours on my kx
Well… I guess I’m in the minority, but the cost of gasoline / diesel, isn’t going to change my life. It’s unfortunate that the price of fuel has gone up so much, but it will not dictate how much I drive or where I’m going to go.
I sold my ‘05 Dodge diesel a year ago and bought a Honda Accord to cut down on fuel costs, but I bought a new Sprinter van that I use on the weekends and it doesn’t get that great of mileage. It hurts to put $120 in it to fill it up, but I don’t dwell on it and it make it less of an issue to spend $60 to fill up my Honda Accord.
I bought a street bike back in ‘08 to try and save money and time, driving to work everyday. But in California, we are allowed to split lanes and with everyone on a cell phone theses days, it was like rolling dice on when I’d be going down. So I sold it and just eat the fuel costs….
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kb228
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kb228 3/7/2022 6:22am
3/7/2022 6:22am
kb228 wrote:
The concern is its a cost savings of over $1000 a year on work commute alone. Double that for things other than work like track days...
The concern is its a cost savings of over $1000 a year on work commute alone. Double that for things other than work like track days which use up 1/2 of that $135 tank just to go there.

I doubt youre driving a pickup truck 30 miles a day in california without looking at ways to cut the cost.

The entire problem here is expenses are going up on everything and income isnt.

Ive decided to buy a sport bike for 3-4k and ride it for several years. Will pay for itself in less than a year and i dont have to put hours on my kx
Langhammx wrote:
Well… I guess I’m in the minority, but the cost of gasoline / diesel, isn’t going to change my life. It’s unfortunate that the price of...
Well… I guess I’m in the minority, but the cost of gasoline / diesel, isn’t going to change my life. It’s unfortunate that the price of fuel has gone up so much, but it will not dictate how much I drive or where I’m going to go.
I sold my ‘05 Dodge diesel a year ago and bought a Honda Accord to cut down on fuel costs, but I bought a new Sprinter van that I use on the weekends and it doesn’t get that great of mileage. It hurts to put $120 in it to fill it up, but I don’t dwell on it and it make it less of an issue to spend $60 to fill up my Honda Accord.
I bought a street bike back in ‘08 to try and save money and time, driving to work everyday. But in California, we are allowed to split lanes and with everyone on a cell phone theses days, it was like rolling dice on when I’d be going down. So I sold it and just eat the fuel costs….
I was out i cali a month ago going between sacramento and fremont and i totally agree on not riding a bike there. I dont think that area is very traffic heavy compared to most parts of california.

My town has a little over 100k people and nowhere near the traffic issues that cali has
steve.hackler.1 3/7/2022 7:51am
3/7/2022 7:51am
Interesting article. Curious as to what kind of life you could expect out of a modern 450 engine on the road. I suppose gearing would be an issue as well. MX wheel bearings last at extended high speed intervals? MX brakes up to par?
MPJC
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MPJC 3/7/2022 8:19am
3/7/2022 8:19am
I would think that putting down the road at 35 mph a 450 engine would last pretty much indefinitely.
wydopen
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wydopen 3/7/2022 8:30am
3/7/2022 8:30am
Miniman wrote:
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save...
Dude, 4 miles. Just drive your car/truck. If you want to ride your 450 for the enjoyment go for it. Otherwise you're not going to save any significant cash on a 4 mile commute.
Langhammx wrote:
Agreed ! You’d be way better off buying a used Zuma scooter and then sell it when gas prices come down. Shit.. we are up to...
Agreed !

You’d be way better off buying a used Zuma scooter and then sell it when gas prices come down.

Shit.. we are up to high $5’s and even $6 a gallon here in California. I drive 30 miles each way, usually in traffic. Sometimes it takes me an hour and a half to get home.

I’m not understanding your concern if you’re only driving 5 miles each way. Laughing
Yup $5.99 for diesel. Just bought another diesel truck yesterday also. And used diesel prices are through the roof
Shredder
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Shredder 3/7/2022 9:26am
3/7/2022 9:26am
If you're getting a new set of street wheels, get a cush rear hub, your tranny isn't meant for the constant grip that you get on the street. Cush drive is much easier on it.
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