Dual Sport

[amac]

Hey there,
I was just wondering if anyone has any info on what the Alberta Gov requires for me to ride my 400 exc on the roads. I know I will need the kit with Signals, Tail light, mirrors etc. Not sure what's required to register and make it legal. Thanks

 

[teeroy]

when you get your lighting kit on, just go to registries and tell them you want to register it for street use. a few friends of mine had that work (XR 400, and Kawi KLX(?) 300), they didn't even look at the bike. worst case scenario you will have to get an out of province inspection by a dealer, and then present that when registering. you will need functioning horn, hi-lo beam headlight with hi beam indicator, speedometer, mirrors, signal lites and tail/brake light, as well as DOT approved tires. I just went through all this last year with my '06 crf 450x, I ordered a dual sport kit from Baja Designs for around $450. I took the NVIS paper to registries and lucked out getting a young girl that did the registering. she had to hit some kind of override to get it to go into the system, I've since been told it was because the off road designation is somehow in the VIN on new motorcyles, atv's and snowmobiles. the only hang up I've been told about was that dual purpose bikes have to have a steel fuel tank, so if you do have to get the out of prov insp done make sure the dealer is cool with it (or doesn't notice). on a side note, the dealer that I got the bike from started selling Aprillia dual sport bikes, a couple guys had no problem registering them, but one guy had grief and it somehow got red flagged in the system and he can't get a plate for on road use. don't know if it was the plastic tank issue or not. hope some of my rambling helps....good luck.

 

[teeroy]

a pic of the bike with the kit on

 

[amac]

Nice ride. Hope it works good on the KTM.
Thanks for all the info, you pretty much covered all my questions. Will post a pic of mine when done. that won't be til xmas though. Wife told me thats when I can have it and she's the boss.

Thanks again.

 

[teeroy]

no problem, glad to help. once you get on the highway with it, you might find that a bit more gear helps keep the rev's down. mine was a little frantic at 110 km/hr, changed from 13/51 to 14/46 sprocket combination.

 

[Waxy]

Teeroy pretty much covered it, it's not that difficult.

Here's a few pics of my dual sported '07 KTM 400XCW.

 

[teeroy]

wicked looking Katoom Waxy, nice ride. once I learned that these bikes could be plated, it didn't take long to dump the ol' XR650L.....it was a tank compared to the CRF. riding a true off-road bike on the street gives me a thrill I haven't had since I was a kid doing it illegally......

the ol' six fitty....

 

[Waxy]

Thanks Teeroy.

I like those Hondas too, I was always a Honda fan when I was younger, still am.

My brother had an XR350 that was just indestructible.

Waxy

 

[Veedy]

Had I known how easy it was to DS a bike and register it, I wouldn't have bought mine ( 2008 KLX250 ) but all in all it's a fun little bike, but needs more jam. I considered modding it ( pipe, cam, etc. ) but I think I am better off selling it and DSing a KX450F or buying a new KTM.

 

[Waxy]

Had I known how easy it was to DS a bike and register it, I wouldn't have bought mine ( 2008 KLX250 ) but all in all it's a fun little bike, but needs more jam. I considered modding it ( pipe, cam, etc. ) but I think I am better off selling it and DSing a KX450F or buying a new KTM.

I definitely think you'd be better off spending the money on upgrading bikes rather than pouring money into the KLX250. I saw lots of guys spend more money on mods for their DRZ400 than the bike was worth, and they still weren't as good as the stock KTM, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda, etc... 450s with minor mods.

I've got a cousin with the KLX450 that absolutely loves it. IF you could find a KTM 450 or 525EXC in the crate somewhere, or even used, that would be my recommendation. The new 450/530s are pretty sweet, but somewhat unproven and a little harder to maintain due to the new valve system. Other options are the Husky and GasGas, or maybe the Husaberg.

Waxy