WR200 front end?
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I’m sure it has been discussed already but I was told the WR200 front end with the USDs directly drops in the DTR frame. Is that actually the case or is there a need for adaptors and bearing cup fabrication and all that jazz Calum has extensively explained in the past?
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@GiannisT It may or may not fit.
USD conversion depends what you want from the bike, there's not really anything wrong with the stock DTR front end structurally. 41mm stanchions are only like 2mm smaller than the 200kg+ GSX-R1100 when the DTR was released in 1988.
You can make major improvements to the DTR suspension by running XT600 3AJ fork springs (same size but 20% stiffer) and 15W oil, a relatively cheap fix which means you can spend the money you have left over on an adjustable YSS shock, again a major upgrade for the bike. Doing this made my '98 DTRe jump and resist bottoming a lot better than the 2020 KTM 250EXC I also owned at the time.
You're better off doing this and buying a really good grease gun so you can keep lubing up the swingarm/linkage bearings after every wash/offroad riding session. And fit a grease nipple on the headstock for the same reason (but you’ll need to seal up the slot on the stem for the steering lock for this using heat shrink tube and cable ties, pics below. Don't be tempted to use gaffa tape for this as the grease breaks down the glue).
Another problem with the USD front end swap is, most of them you get down the breakers have had a hard life on MX/Enduro bikes so you really need 3-4 sets exactly the same make/model/year to ensure you have spares (a lot of people "fit YZ bits" not realising MX bikes are updated EVERY year; the YZ125 for example first got USD forks in 1989 so at the time of writing, there are 35 different ones for that bike alone).
Fun fact: when the 1st-generation USD forks appeared in 1989, Kawasaki USA (i.e 7-times US national MX/SX champion Jeff Ward) tested them and weren't impressed; they opted for the 46mm conventional forks to be fitted to all '89 KXs sold in the US which performed better than the USDs by all accounts (Wardy and near stock KX500 beat world champion Dave Thorpe on a ££££ RC500 factory Honda at the '89 MXDN). Even today in vintage MX circles, 1989 KX250s and KX500s imported from the US are very sought after.
USD front end on a DTR looks pretty cool but is potentially a major headache when you could be out enjoying the bike, try and make the stock setup as good as it can possibly be before you start modifying. Do you own a cable oiler and a grease gun? Running genuine clutch and throttle cables, or pattern ones which don't last five minutes? Done an Autolube recon with new seals etc.? Good quality chain and sprockets in good shape? These are all better uses of your time and resources and will improve the bike a lot more than impressing your mates with a USD front end because YZ250.
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Fair enough mate and thanks for that thorough reply. I would just like to make clear that my bike has 17” wheels with street tires and will likely never see any dirt during my ownership. I spent my riding time annoying my neighbours and doing wheelies like an idiot. We can all agree that the front suspension is in great need of some type of upgrade, but would the XT600 springs and heavier oil be in the stock shocks be a suitable or at least sufficient fit for my type of road use?
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@GiannisT No worries
The XT springs/15W oil mod stiffens up the front end quite a bit, to make my YSS shock match the forks I had to up the preload 16mm over the supplied setting and run the rebound on position 29 out of 30. If I'm honest it made the suspension a bit too stiff for off-road (I weigh 145lbs), if I'd had more time I would have experimented with cutting 10mm at a time off the DTR spring spacers to get it just right.I had Michelin Trackers (road legal MX tyres) fitted all the time I ran this setup so can't comment on street use but it's a pretty easy mod to try and it sounds like you're looking for a stiffer front end, XT springs come up for sale quite a lot because a lot of owners upgrade them (too soft for the 160kg+ XT = a good match for the DTR). Would be interested to hear if it's good for Supermoto, plus if you still want to go the USD route it won't have cost you much to try it!
