I'm living in Thailand and have recently acquired a 98 AR, with only 4,000kms and a single small dent in the expansion chamber.

It seems the bike hasn't done much time on the dirt, which is good because the air filter was in a shocking state.

I plan to use it mainly off road, I find it a touch heavy and am also worried about damaging the plastics, which are pretty intact.

Over here labor is cheap, a custom made expansion chamber less than $100. These are made form very thin steel and are extremely light. Switching to one of these pipes would save a lot of weight and I could keep the original pipe and silencer intact.

Converting step thru scooters to dirt bikes is also popular. There are companies that make kits including seat, side panels, tank, shrouds and mud guards.

Below are pics of 125 scooters converted for dirt riding.
Before
[img]http://www.thaisecondhand.com/view/prod ... n1.jpg[img]

After
[img]http://www.thaisecondhand.com/view/prod ... n1.jpg[img]

Before
[img]http://mybikeshop.files.wordpress.com/2 ... ue.jpg[img]

After
[img]http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php ... =94590[img]

So I was thinking of adding a CR tank and then using the plastics from these conversion kits. This would require building a new sub frame, which would be lighter than the original. I would also remove the speedo, indicators and replace the headlight with an light aftermarket one that straps on (no need for the heavy brackets).

The bike would then be lighter, with a narrower tank and flatter seat.

Any thoughts on this idea? With all these changes could the weight distribution be uneven?

It appears the images aren't showing, not sure what I did wrong.

Hopefully the photos will show now.

Below are pics of 125 scooters converted for dirt riding.
Before
[img]http://www.thaisecondhand.com/view/prod ... n1.jpg[img]

After
[img]http://www.thaisecondhand.com/view/prod ... n1.jpg[img]

Before
[img]http://mybikeshop.files.wordpress.com/2 ... ue.jpg[img]

After
[img]http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php ... =94590[img]

No luck for me either Tried to edit my first post but must have been a second too late.

Where abouts in Thailand do you live?

I'm living in Bangkok.

I'll try again.

I lived and worked in Bangkok for year in the 90's. I bet it is as mad as ever.

I can't access the last one as I don't have permission.

Eddie,

Bangkok is still crazy, don't know if you follow the news, but things got really wild about 6 weeks ago.

Here's one of the companies selling the conversion kits. Buying all the parts together is about 80 quid, they can also be bought separately.

I'd be interested in ppl's thoughts on the idea in my original post. I bought a 98 AR in excellent condition for less than 1,000 quid. It's only done 4k. I love the power, but it's a touch heavy and I'd hate to see the plastics etc. gradually deteriorate as I'm bound to come off.

Others say they save about 2 - 2.5kg with a new pipe and silencer, I think I can save much more than this because the customs ones here are wafer thing and very light.