Atc frame vs motor cycle frame.

[rshanks]

I am trying to get all my ducks in a row..for the winter sets in..I want to build what some of ya'll have done.I want to build a 450 trike..with i would thank the modern day 3 wheeler would look like.I would like your opion on which is the pro's and con's of each..which is the best to start with..I have a lot of ideas really want to crf450..but the trz 450 looks great ..heck i do not no ..just want to no what ya'' think...thanks Russell

[team-red-rider]

do a KAWI!!!!!

[cr480r]

An atc, tecate,or tri-z frame is going to have better trike geometry than a dirtbike frame will...

[Derrick Adams]

The Dirtbike frame is real tall for a 3 wheeler conversion, however if your main use is drag racing or trail riding that would be a great option. Much cheaper and easier than using a 3-wheeler frame.

Most of the 450's on the boards are built with Moto-Cross in mind so we really need the frame clearance. A standard dirtbike frame conversion will give you around 7" of ground clearance at the frame, where-as a trike frame will give you 9-11" (depending on which frame you start with).

The Tri-Z frame and 350X frame have the biggest engine cradles so they are arguably the easiest for the swap. Really the only other frames worth using would be the R and Tecate, but the R has such a small frame cradle it would be next to impossible to do a conversion decently. Never looked into the Tecate frame, but they are a little rare to butcher.

In our experience we found that the YZ engine is by far the most compact of all the 450's. That's why we went with it in the Z frame. The CR engine is considerably smaller than the TRX engine but either will work. The nice thing about the TRX engine is the forward kick. The downfall is the lack of horsepower compared to the dirtbike engines.

No matter how you do it there is ALOT of fabrication and cost involved to build one correctly, so be prepared. I spent alot of extra cash on mine simply because I wanted it MX ready and I wanted as many unmodified parts as possible, for future replacement without further mods. With that said I have about $6000 in my bike with another $2000 worth of parts still to come.

[team-red-rider]

y not try a KXF450 conversion..NO ONE has done anything with a kawasaki.?

[sandpuppi101]

My thought is that if you can go with a trike frame and mod it than your gonna have a easier time fitting everything.The bike frame is gonna be taller and more narrow also,making placement of footpegs ,brake's and swinger an issue by itself.The 350X seem's to be a worthy canidate for alot of mod's,with the motor cradle being bigger and in my opinion more mod friendly.I would suggest the '86 frame though ,they have way more support and don't break as often as the '85 frame's do.On my 600 conversion I was in a pinch as far as the frame because the oil tank is in the frame,I could have went both way's on how to mod it and the 350X frame was sitting there ready to get cut up but after looking at the whole picture ,it was more practical to use the existing XR 600 motor cradle and build the rest of the machine around that.And with the bike frame your neck will most likely be raked out a few degrees compared to the trike frame.
And Derrick is 100% correct,when he built his machine and Jason Hall built his,they knew what they wanted to use it for and that being MX ,so using the trike frame's gave them the height they needed on the bottom of the cradle,and when I built mine with the Bike frame I intended on using mine for mostly drag's,thus my cradle sit's lower and has a 3 degree rake difference even with a 0 degree tree.So you need to figure out what you wanna use the machine for.
I am sure that the other guy's will say the same thing when building these conversion's,it's not like you draw up a blueprint and follow it to a T,but it's more like trial and error,some idea's look good on paper when in reality they just won't work.And it's gonna be costly and then it's gonna be more costly,you can bet on that..There are alot of beautiful conversion's on this site alone and i am sure that when each person started there build they thought it would be alot cheaper than it actually cost when completed.But I would shoot for the trike frame '86 350X and go from there if you wanna ride it on MX and trails',and good luck,I love seeing a beautiful trike conversion.

[rshanks]

Well the winter project,,may have taken a turn for the better or worse..not for sure..depends on if you ask my wife or i..lol.well i have recived two frames.on is a tri z not for sure of yr and 200 x ..complete minus motor..also i have a friend that gave me a 450r swing arm and shock and axle.But when i was talking to the guy with the tri z ..he said i have a tecate that i would like to sell too..my eyes light up..I will go see it next week 86 tecate.minus the stator......250$.fingers crossed...

[ProCarbine2k1]

I would personally love to see a cr125 hybrid, I think one would be VERY competitive on a track. If you are on a budget like most builders, I think putting a cr125 engine in that 200x would be awesome too.

[Billy Golightly]

I would personally love to see a cr125 hybrid, I think one would be VERY competitive on a track. If you are on a budget like most builders, I think putting a cr125 engine in that 200x would be awesome too.

That is my next project

[rshanks]

I have been reading about the 125..and love the idea.very much..i would love to see a 125 smoke a banshee and some of the new 4 strokes..smile

[Louis Mielke]

forget the 125, put a crf250r engine in a 200x.