Weight of those converted to dual sport?

[wmassguy]

Hello to all,got chance to grab an 89 gs500 for next to nothing.Also have a great motorcycle guy to help me convert it to a dual sport.Seen some postings and great pictures,but wondered what the weight of some theses conversions ended up at.Believe the 89 comes in around 412lbs wet/stock which is too much for the off road use.Has anyone got one down to around 350? or is that figure even possible? In my case its about the money,cant really afford a whole lot but can put one together over time.

[Erika]

Not sure about the weight, but someone just sent me this link of someone who took on a GS500 "Overlander" project. You might find this interesting:

http://adventure-motorcyclingh.com/2012/05/03/gs500r-overlander-progress-report/

[Blueknyt]

what do you mean too heavy?   Honda transAlp  would be a close equivalant, 650cc vtwin.  218 kg (481 lbs) .  having riden a transAlp, yes its heavy, but damn comfortable and not buzzy on the street.  the GS is alittle underpowered at 37hp, but geared down a tad for off road with 90mph topout on the street should make it alot of fun. in fact, my honda XL250R ran a 17" rear tire, swaping forks from a dirtbike, wheel an all shouldnt be too difficult. just pay close attention to steering stops.

[Janx101]

like this??

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=64492.0

if you ask Nortwestrider im sure he could give you some weight info eh! 

[RedMark]

like this??

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=64492.0

That bash plate is brilliant. I'm making one of those.

[Bluesmudge]

I just took my GS on some logging roads yesterday. It does fine if you don't push it and is a lot lighter than some of the bigger "adventure" bikes out there. The main problem, in my opinion, is that the powerband is in a weird place for dirt riding. I prefer torquey single cylinders offroad.

[Badot]

I fully agree with Bluesmudge. Every once in a while I get an itch to explore a dirt/gravel/wooded area and the bike does fine, but it just doesn't feel quite right puttering along at lower speeds.

Just about any standard form bike should do reasonably in the dirt with proper tires.

[RichDesmond]

As a practical matter, I don't think converting it to a D/S makes much sense. To make a real functional difference in how the bike works on rough dirt roads and trails is going to be difficult and expensive, and it will still never be as good as even a modest D/S bike like a DR650. Far better to keep the GS stock (or close to it) and take that money and buy an older used D/S bike.
And as has been noted a stock GS does fine on dirt roads as long as you don't get too ambitious.

On the other hand, if the challenge of the project is the main attraction, then by all means have at it!!