Finally

I have had this itch since I first rode the my XR and over the years have modded the standard forks, most recently adding a damper and on the whole feeling the bike is far better than it has ever been for the type of riding I do.
Still witha set of CRF forks in the garage for 12 months I've finally had to scratch the itch a shortish ride this weekend will show if it has done any good.

Yeh, a dampers on my list as well. What did you buy?

I had the Scotts front damper fitted.
Currently removed when I have fitted the CRF front end but it will be stage 2 to re-add the damper if the forks work well.
The top yoke will need a small amount of machining before it can be fitted.
It a bit like Christmas eve. I really dont know what I am going to get. A wonderful front end or something disappointing.

Hew wrote:It a bit like Christmas eve. I really dont know what I am going to get.

Lol Hew, yer going back to your childhood days hmm?

Hope you've been a good boy - and do tell us about that swap, this is what interests me as well.

A quick road test today and all is well. On the dirt tomorrow.

Hew wrote:A quick road test today and all is well. On the dirt tomorrow.

Nice looking Bike Hew! what year CRF front forks did you use as i am looking to convert mine and did they bolt right up or did you have to do some modding?

The 2005 -? seem to be good to use as the steering stops on the bottom yoke/tripple tree are a match.
You will need the complete front end including wheel and spindle. You will also need the Crf brake hanger but the brake caliper is the same.
The one area that does need a bit of modding is the steering stem. I pressed the CRF stem out and pressed the XR stem in using the standard XR steering head bearings. The only problem with this is that the CRF top clamp is thicker than the XR and there is only enough threads showing for the top nut to go partially on. If the ride today is successful then I will have the top yoke/tree machined to the same thickness as the XR one in bearing area as part of fitting the steering damper. It is possible to use the CRF stem as its longer but I understand that this needs a different bearing but I did not investigate this so dont have the details.
A couple of other things to bear in mind. It is the CRF R moto cross forks that are most common and these will be very harsh for trail/enduro riding and will need revalving to be really good. Front mudguard did need a couple of washers on the back mount to tilt it away from the rads but a nice new CRF one should be fine.
Nearly time to go and play

Well all good on the first ride. I will need to tweek the clickers a bit to fine tune it but stage 2 is also completed now.

My Front end being admired on the last ride out.
Merry Christmas.

Thank you for posting that picture Hew......... which, as the saying goes says more than a 1000 words.
It proves it is time I should have a proper conversation with my GF, I probably again will have to tell her not to talk to strangers too nicely - even when they own a nice bike!

Happy 2017 all!!

Love the cheeky pic... How are the forks going? what have you done to them to make them work nice? I only have CR500 forks to fit until I get my hands on a set of decent CRF forks.

I will be fitting these soon.

https://gatosbros.com/shop/products/xr650_conversion_clamps/

Will do a write up once I get started, they are nicely made and Robert was excellent to deal with. I also brought this from him for my CR500 to mount a Scotts steering damper.

https://gatosbros.com/shop/products/universal_stabilizer_mount/

Some trick parts in this kit make it fit any width handlebar clamps, I'm very impressed with the quality of both the items I have brought and his customer service top notch so check out his website.

I had the forks revalved and new springs. It was a good job for me as they had come off the R version and had been previously revalved to Chamionship MX standard. This was a long way from the plush feel I am looking for.
It is still early days but they feel much more positive. The ground on the last couple of rides has been sloppy mud with little grip and I am sure the forks make the big pig more managable. Although the forks feel firm they seem to smooth out the ruts and I was surprised to find I was having no problem keeping up with a good rider on the new KTM350 so I'm more than happy with that.
Interestingly I have just bought another set of CRF forks, this time specifically from a 250x and I am sure that I will swap these in for a direct comparison at some stage. Before you start thinking that I have a fork fettish the original CRF forks were meant for another bike but I just had to scratch the XR itch, I am just replacing them.
With the pumper carb and front forks all that I need now is an electric start and the bike would be perfect. At £1000+ that aint going to happen

Good luck with your conversion

Nice work! Once set up I can't see how they are not a massive improvement over the stock forks. I have an old electric boot, turned the bike over ok but holy crap it's massive. No battery fitted in this pic it sits on tray above front sprocket. I haven't ridden this bike yet, previous owner did a number on it. Its in bits now waiting patiently for my time.  

I'll eventually get two sets of CRF forks or similar, one set for the dirt wheels and one set for the motard wheels. Let us know how you get on.

Hew,

I know, this is com-ple-te-ly off topic plus it contains a dilly colour, in fact I'll have to curse even.... so Focker will chuck me off these pages, Mauser for the first time will strip - but I'll wager it still: how's that KTM350 according to you?
A 450 is too big for me (this must sound loony coming from an R owner perhaps.... ) and I have a (hotted up!) CRF230 already, so a 250 (sigh, yes, an unfair comparison to my 230 but still..) ain't for me - but that 350 may just be 'a' or 'the' ticket?

BuRP wrote:Hew,

I know, this is com-ple-te-ly off topic plus it contains a dilly colour, in fact I'll have to curse even.... so Focker will chuck me off these pages, Mauser for the first time will strip - but I'll wager it still: how's that KTM350 according to you?
A 450 is too big for me (this must sound loony coming from an R owner perhaps.... ) and I have a (hotted up!) CRF230 already, so a 250 (sigh, yes, an unfair comparison to my 230 but still..) ain't for me - but that 350 may just be 'a' or 'the' ticket?

Keep taking Money seem to have come up with a winner with the 350 as it seems to appeal to all types of trail ridiers.
Ones that once rode the 300 2 stroke love it it's even given the old club chairman, whose now over 70, a second lease of life and he's riding harder than ever. Light weight, more torque than the 250 but not the balls out power of the 450 seems to be the opinion.