In our first installment of MotorcycleUSA's Mini Moto Project we found out from our president that the four respective teams were going to receive one XR50 and $2000 to hop up the bike any way we saw fit.

Being connoisseurs of multifaceted functionality, the content department decided to build a bike that would be an all-around solid machine. We forewent the desire to build the biggest possible engine and instead decided to invest the majority of our money upgrading most of the components on the bike.

The little 50cc engine designed to propel 50-lb kids around grandpa's field was the first component to get a makeover. Extra power was in order, but going too far would put an inordinate amount of strain on our budget. After viewing all of the available choices we opted for a Kittico 88cc big-bore kit.

The new engine came complete with all the fixins to make the little motor go from timid to tenacious in just a couple of hours. In addition to a larger piston and new cylinder head, the kit comes with all of the necessary equipment including gaskets, camshaft, and a 20mm carb kit. The installation process took us about two hours.

Once the bike was running, we noticed a slightly odd mechanical sound emanating from the engine. The bike didn't seem to run poorly, in fact it was pretty peppy. Turns out, the unusual "clicking" noise was caused by the lumpy high-performance cam, and the noise lessened the more we rode the bike.

One of the keys to making more performance out of an engine it letting it breathe easily. We added a 35mm K&N air filter for more intake flow and slapped on a Pro Circuit T-4 exhaust system to efficiently extract burned gasses. Our bike not only runs better now but also sounds like a true performance machine. A dead spot on the bottom of the powerband was dialed out by tweaking the jetting.

Several companies offer beefy aftermarket frames for adult mini-moto duty, but we chose to put our faith in Honda's stocker and save some of our budget for other components. Ultimately, it proved to be a wise decision, as the money we saved allowed for investment in aftermarket suspension parts. A Sik50s swingarm and Works Performance rear shock raised the rear end of the XR and gave us more suspension travel to suck up hard landings.

Up front, a Sik50s billet fork assembly soaked up the whoops and hits with ease, adding to the exceptional stability of our bike. After riding some of our competitors' machines, it was obvious that our fork kit wasn't as solid as the Sano or BBR kits, but it nonetheless performed pretty well and ultimately was a good value. Overall, our suspension proved to have the best balance.

We added a Sik50s MX Bar Conversion kit to the top of the fork so we wouldn't look like Quasimodo on two wheels. The kit included the necessary longer cables, and the addition of the billet throttle assembly toughened up the look and durability of our machine.

We added enough extras to make our bike look different than stock and also added a few goodies that made our bike more rideable. We enhanced the bodywork by adding some Acerbis Plastics and slapping some Factory Effects Honda graphics on.

The addition of a long shifter lever helped us wedge our big feet underneath the shifter. A larger rear sprocket to give us more torque and faster acceleration.

Ride It!

Overall, our theory on rounding out the bike's performance proved to be a winning combination. It was solid on the track and was easily the most stable going over the table-top. Some of the other bikes had a few problems because they had an aftermarket fork kit, but no upgrade in the shock. That left many of the machines with an unbalanced machine and, subsequently, they were less stable in the air and going over jumps.

At the end of the build, the Content-department-built machine was a success. We accomplished our goal of a versatile and capable mini, and we were one of the few teams to actually stay within shouting distance of our original budget. 


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