Baja Designs Dual Sport Conversion Kits
by Alan Klumph

Want to make your off-road motorcycle more versatile? Have you considered making it street legal? Didn't know you could? Well you can and an easy way to do it is to install a Dual Sport Conversion Kit. Baja Designs is a local San Diego company that specializes in products for dual sport and off-road motorcycles and they make conversion kits for a wide range of dirt bikes. I recently had the opportunity to install one of their kits on my 1996 Honda XR400R. The Baja Designs kits are very good and I highly recommend them. With one of these kits installed on your dirt bike you will have a street legal bike that is much more suited to the dirt than one of the factory dual sport bikes that are available.

The kits come complete with all the electrical components needed to make your bike comply with federal and state regulations for street legal use. This includes headlight, taillight, turn signals, horn, wiring harness, voltage regulator/rectifier charging system, light weight battery, switches, the necessary brackets and detailed installation instructions. The complete kit only adds 7 pounds to your bike. The only extra items you need will be a rear view mirror and street legal (D.O.T. approved) tires which are available from Baja Designs also.

I am a technically oriented person that prefers to work with and use high quality items and I was very impressed with this kit. They use some of the best components available, like Acerbis headlight/taillight assemblies and OEM switches. Baja Designs custom manufactures the wiring harnesses and they have the stainless steel bracketry fabricated to their specifications. With the attention to detail that is evident you should be assured of many years of satisfaction with these kits. A number of my friends have installed these kits on different years and models of XRs and they all have said they were very happy with them because of the easy installation and quality of the parts.

Each kit is specifically designed for the year/model motorcycle it is intended for including the custom wiring harness and the detailed step by step instructions for removing the existing stock equipment, installing the new components and routing, securing and connecting the wiring. Installing the kit only requires the normal hand tools used to maintain your bike plus a power drill and takes about 3 or 4 hours. The wiring is all color coded, uses the same bullet connectors the factory uses and there is a complete electrical schematic diagram and trouble shooting section (should you need it.)

Instructions and the forms needed to complete the DMV street legal registration process are even included with the kits for your convenience! Before you go to the DMV you will need to have the bike (with everything installed and working) inspected by a dealer or inspection station to certify compliance with the requirements for lights, etc.

Baja Designs has these kits available for most of the Honda XR, Suzuki DR and Kawasaki KLX models, recent KTM and Husky 4-stroke models, Husabergs, Suzuki RMX 250 and KDX 200/220 models (which require a stator rewinding for an additional $75.) Custom kits and generic kits are also available for certain other models not listed. Prices vary from $385 to $430 for the specific kits listed above. The Husaberg kit is $470, but if you can afford a Husaberg then... These prices are actually quite reasonable when you consider the engineering, design, fabrication, quality of the parts and the experience behind them. You could hardly buy all the pieces for those prices alone. Besides the dual sport kits they carry a complete line of high quality components and accessories for the two wheeled off-road enthusiast.

If you are interested in more information or a catalog you can contact them at:
7558 Trade St., San Diego, CA 92121
Phone: (619) 578-9111 Fax: (619) 578-9011
E-Mail: bajades@bajadesigns.com Web Page: http://www.bajadesigns.com



Check out the turn signal mod to help prevent busted signals.

To modify your turn signals before or after the flexible part of the mounting post gets broken:

• Trim off the protruding tab at the base of the mounting post to make it the same shape all the way down.
  
• Cut a piece of inner tube to the length of the mounting post from base to light housing and long enough to wrap around the mounting post 1 and 1/2 times.
  
• Wrap the inner tube piece around the mounting post, with the double layer at the top, and secure at both ends with hose clamps, tie wraps or tie wire. Hose clamps, the narrow ones if you can find them, work best because you can reset the turn signal easily if a fall knocks it loose.
  
  
  
  
  Last Updated February 26, 1999