Making a Skorpion Tour more Dirt/Off Road friendly?

[J-Ball]

Hi all,
I know this is an odd ball subject and perhaps even taboo around here but does anyone have any ideas on making a Tour more capable off road or at least on dirt roads? Is this just wrong all together or viable?

The reason I even approach this is that I live where there are endless dirt county roads to explore and I'd love to make this bike at least a bit more dirt friendly with out taking away too much of it's highway capabilities. I'm certainly not planning on riding it like a motocrosser, mostly just dirt county roads (simlar to fire roads) with the occassional creek crossing etc. If nothing else I plan on trying out a set of 50/50 tires at some point. What about suspension, overheating (due to slower riding) riding position (ie location of foot pegs, handle bar height, steering geometry etc)? Any ideas on this? Check the links below for a bit of insight where my inspiration comes from. I know these bikes are worlds different but not that different at heart.

Check it out.
http://www.terramostro.com/index.cfm
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/first ... index.html

ps... I do have an XT 350 that's made for this kinda thing, but it's not legal, I don't have a title and it sure complains going down the highway over 60 mph. Most of these dirt county roads drop you off 50 miles or more away from home and it takes some street riding to get back. Thanks!

[BlueRidgePanther]

I'd recommend Avon Distanzias. You can get a 150 section rear. I don't know about the front, though, since don't Scorpion Tours have 3 inch fronts as opposed to 3.5 inchers? Your rear is a 4", if I recall correctly, so it can probably fit a Continental TKC80. Look into that, as it's often reported to be just about the best on/off road tire made. Invest in a set of higher handlebars. That should be a simple swap, but you might need longer brake/clutch lines if you go too crazy. Take a radiator fan from a KTM and see if there's a way to wire it so that you can turn it on when you get into the slow stuff. My Baggy only needs it if it's wallowing in mud or crawling along a place with lots of thick undergrowth, so it shouldn't be too much of a priority, really, but it would be nice to have it just in case.

This really isn't that far out. The position on the Scorpion Tour isn't that different from that of old Triumphs and BSAs, and people used to modify them a bit and go desert racing! You don't need a dirtbike to enjoy dirt roads. My father can keep up with me on all but the most rutted dirt roads on his 96 Triumph Thunderbird, which is almost a cruiser. Chalk that up to the fact that he has years of riding experience under his belt.

Since you have the XT, though, how much would it take to make it legal? You can get a salvage title or a rebuilt title or something like that, right? You could always get a new rear sprocket with a couple fewer teeth if you wanted to make it more streetable.

The Terra Mostro bikes are awesome. They remind of the old Cagiva Elephant or the Moto Morini Camel and Kanguro. Speaking of Moto Morini, check out their new bikes here: http://www.cycleworld.com/article.asp?s ... cle_id=656
That scrambler looks a lot like what I think you're going for here!