Hi Sean91,
I haven't tried the bike as a motard yet, so that was my main motivation to try this and do it without spending a fortune. I was always keen to be able to use it on dirt or tarmac.

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Hi Jompy,
Glad you like the work. Never underestimate what you can do, even with hand tools. The most important thing is to have a go.

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I made a new sidestand that was a little bit shorter.

I ordered a banjo bolt to blank off the lower port on the caliper. Excellent looking piece, M10 x 1.0 but then I was confused because it wouldn't screw in. Had I tapped the wrong thread size? The original fitting screwed into both ports, did I measure it wrong?
Nope, I used a M6x1.0 (standard metric size) to check the thread pitch and it was wrong. Somehow there was a 3/8" banjo bolt inside the M10 x 1.0 packet.
Just waiting for the correct part to arrive now.

Trying to get photos up but having trouble at the moment.

Started with a rusty lump of steel and some tubing for the side stand


Used the mill, hand file, angle-grinder with flapper disc and linisher to shape the mounting boss








All the bits ready for welding


The foot tack welded on for testing before being fully welded


A bit of black paint to make it look good


The front brake and brake hose fit nicely

Nice work

Your lucky to have lathe and milling machine to make such parts (and know how to use them!!)

Thanks Andrew,

It's one of the perks of work.

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Finally got the right banjo bolt and blanked off the lower port.
Took a while to bleed the brakes from bone dry. After an hour or more I finally had the pads biting with a soft lever feel, so I tried the Motorcross trick of strapping the lever in with some Velcro (a cable-tie is normally used) then left it overnight. It feels fairly solid now but there is a bit of give with the stock CRM brake hose expanding. It would be worth investing in a new hose or braided line.

So far I've only given it a quick ride up & down the driveway (~30m).

Ive noticed quite an improvement in braking on my bike since i replaced the stock hoses for new braided ones. Id say they would be well worth the investment

Sean91 wrote:Ive noticed quite an improvement in braking on my bike since i replaced the stock hoses for new braided ones. Id say they would be well worth the investment

Hi Sean, I replaced the brake lines when I had my Fireblade with braided lines and hardly noticed any improvement but that was because the original lines were still in good condition. On the CRM I can easily see the hose expanding under pressure.
A lot of people have installed braided lines to replace old worn out brake hoses and assumed that the braided hose is the reason for the improved braking. They are certainly better than the standard hose but if the original hose is in good condition and you're not going racing, the extra cost isn't always worth it.

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The little mountain-bike speedo I ordered finally arrived so I can get out and test the moto on the road. This is just a temporary setup, If I like how it all handles then I will invest in good tyres, proper speedometer, and braided brake lines.

Making a little bracket on the 3D-printer to mount the speed sensor, it will attach to the lower part of the fork guard. The magnet will be attached to one of the brake disc spokes.

And I was finally able to get out and ride the bike.



The gearing was about right and the cush-drive, although it had a slightly strange squishy feeling in the drive, made the engine a lot smoother on the road and took away the jerkiness.
The bike turned in a lot quicker, almost dropping itself into the corners and sitting up quickly coming out of turns (this may have been influenced by the flat section on the tyre from the previous owner doing a burnout). And of course the brakes were more than sufficient.

It makes an excellent motard.


But I'm in the process of changing it back to dual-sport trim for the rego inspection and may leave it that way.
Anyone interested in buying the motard wheels?




My reasoning - although this makes an excellent motard it is also a great dual-sport. I was riding a Megelli 250R that I fixed up for my wife but have now sold, there are plenty of good motards already and for me I like having a fairing if I am doing mainly road riding.
Still haven't made my mind up completely yet.

Unfortunately (for me) I have come to the stage where I have decided to sell the bike and the motard conversion, either separately or in a package.

I love riding the bike and think it is also an awesome motard. I still want to do EFI on it but I can develop that on just a motor by itself then put it in a bike once it is sorted. Probably better to do the testing of road.
I like riding it off road but don't need a registered bike for that. Most of my riding is limited to the odd commute to work.

I'd still like to try riding a AR model too, to compare it to. I think with EFI it would be able to run like a AR (with better electronics) and be smooth in the low range with better emissions.

Anyway, it is now for sale.

Where abouts in NSW are you?

Sent from my HTC Sensation XL with Beats Audio X315b using Tapatalk

Hi Mekros,

I'm in the Sydney region.

The bike sold yesterday but I still have all the motard gear to sell seperately. That includes;
* Front and Rear 17" Aprilia wheels (tyres are on them but down to the wear indicators),
* Front four piston caliper,
* Front brake caliper adapter,
* Chain to suit (if using 14 tooth front sprocket),
* Side stand,
* Also have the Aprilia master cylinder & lever if needed.
Doesn't work with the stock speedo drive.