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Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:18 am**

Now that i have a job i have money, But i want to spend some on my bike and don't know what to buy. Looking to upgrade performance and spend no more than 200$.

What do you think about the 428 conversion kit?

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:26 am**

Check with gal8x. I think he just put in a Coeshow camshaft and felt a nice improvement. He did the 428 conversion and didn't like it.

gal8x?????

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:37 am**

How hard is it to install a camshaft?

And how much $?

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2007 11:55 am**

Yes I like the Coeshow cam. It gave me a definite increase in power, add an 11:1 piston and she is not a CRF230“F” anymore.
You will need a blank (new stock cam or a good used, to be shipped to Mike with payment) about $70.00+ shipping $10, Cam $135.00, Rockers $17.00ea = $34.00, tax $13.10, shipping & handling $10.00, Total $272.10. I have my old cam if you’re interested.
Changing out the cam and rocker arms is very easy I can talk you thru it but you will need to get a service manual.

If you want low-end torque then the 428 conversion is a good choice. I don’t think it takes advantage of the 230’s six-speed transmission. I find myself running out of gears on a long strait. My new Renthal 428 conversion is for sale too.

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:24 pm**

How much are you looking to get for the 428?

Posted: **Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:03 am**

Stay with the 520 as they do wear a fair bit better than the 428.

Having had bikes with both types of chain, you will spend less time adjusting the 520.

Posted: **Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:28 am**

Glad you like that cam.
A couple years ago a buddy who wanted to get into dirt bikes wanted a suggestion for what to get for a first bike, and I suggested he buy the CRF230, which he did and it's been a great bike.
We've done a lot of the "Project CRF230" mods that Rick Sieman did to his and they've all been a big sucess, the gearing, the power-up jetting, the airbox, the exhaust insert, etc. The bike runs great.

I find myself running out of gears on a long strait.

In particular, Ricks suggestion of using either a 14 or 15 tooth countershaft sprocket with stock rear is an amazing improvement. First will still climb about anything instead of being a useless "granny" gear, the ratios are just great 1st thru 6th. This will fix the feeling of running out of gears I guarentee it.
Now he wants a little more out of it and he called Powroll, who sold him their cam which we'll be installing this weekend. It's supposed to use the stock springs and everything else and just drop in, so we'll see and I'll report the results. Along with it we'll be installing a BBR pipe.
So, a 230 cam install is pretty straight forward on the 230, just follow the service manual ? That's good news.
gal8x, can you think of anything to watch for/ be careful of in particular you can think of ? I'd appreciate any heads up. Thanks,Doug

Posted: **Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:48 am**

P.S.-Here's what Rick had to say about gearing the 230.
It sure worked out great for the 230:

We turn our attention to the chain and gearing on Project 230. Why? Because from day one, we felt that the CRF 230 was geared all wrong. In fact, we read all kinds of stuff from CRF 230 owners where they actually dropped the size of the countershaft sprocket. Many owners went from 13 teeth to 12 and some even went lower!
Many of these owners rode in the woods and felt they had to have some real grunt down low to navigate around the tight trees and to handle the mud they would encounter. Also, many of these riders were not very good. Savvy woods riders learn quickly that the best way to get around the tight trees is to use second gear whenever possible. Learn to use the torque and roll the throttle on.
CRF 230 with stock chain and gearing
Inexperienced riders panic out and think they need a creepy-crawly low gear when they go slow. All this does is make the bike harder to ride. The power comes on in a big burst and the rider finds himself fighting the sudden lurches. To further the problem, as the bike suffers from uncontrollable bursts of power, the rider uses the clutch and usually forward motion becomes erratic at best, and often results in stopping, or stalling.

Think about it: you have a six speed box, nicely spaced, and you cripple your bike with ludicrous gearing.

The next time you get to observe at a real enduro, listen carefully as the really fast riders go through the tight woods. Their engines are working at low or mid-range, and they're maintaining some sort of speed. They are not fighting their bikes.

If you live in the West, or in an area where you have open spaces, the stock gearing is wrong. Low is so low that it's almost useless. Second will take you up, over, or through most anything. Where I live (in Baja), you're always searching for another gear when blasting down a fire road. On a typical trail ride, your engine should be loafing at mid range in top gear while you're cruising. It should not be screaming its guts out.
The 14 tooth c/s really helped and the spread of power was longer and more usable in each gear. Low was still low … too low. A 15 tooth was then tried and this was just about perfect. Top speed was increased by about ten miles per hour and the spread of power was a pure joy!

Recall how the re-jetting and opening up of the intake and exhaust really helped the bike and made it come alive? Well, the same feeling was realized just by replacing the 13 tooth c/s with a l5 tooth! No kidding, the change makes that much difference. If you're strangling your bike with the stock gearing, or are one of those poor souls who have put a smaller c/s sprocket on, then you owe it to yourself to try a 15. Your eyes will be yanked open and you'll realize just how much potential your 230 has

Now Rick lives in Baja of course with more wide open spaces riding than we have here in Ohio, so in this case since we do a lot of woods riding the 14T worked out really well, we still got better ratios and a healthy boost in top end speed. Doug

Posted: **Wed Jun 27, 2007 8:41 am**

[email protected] wrote:gal8x, can you think of anything to watch for/ be careful of in particular you can think of ? I'd appreciate any heads up. Thanks,Doug

Not really. Changing the cam was very strait forward. There were three areas of concern for me.
1] The coeshow cam needed new rocker arms. Getting the retaining plate screw out was a pain. For those who do this I recommend a #3philips and a manual impact driver.
2] The engine nuts require low torque settings; a good torque wrench is a must.
3] After assembly I manually turned the engine over, there was an alarming nock. It turned out to be the timing chain tension/guide. I adjusted the timing chain tensioner with a screwdriver and the nock vanished, there is no mention of this in the service manual I was using.

also i used a straw to fill the oil reservoir under the cam after i remounted the engine. run the motor for 10-15 min at a high idle, then change the oil to flush out the molly you used during assy. your clutch will thank you.
you will probably need to readjust the valve clearance after one or two rides. your ears will tell you when.

luck.

the 15/51 ratio is a blast. i have power and control in the woods and gullies, and this baby has got some set of legs!

Posted: **Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:27 pm**

gal8x wrote:
[email protected] wrote:gal8x, can you think of anything to watch for/ be careful of in particular you can think of ? I'd appreciate any heads up. Thanks,Doug

Not really. Changing the cam was very strait forward. There were three areas of concern for me.
1] The coeshow cam needed new rocker arms. Getting the retaining plate screw out was a pain. For those who do this I recommend a #3philips and a manual impact driver.
2] The engine nuts require low torque settings; a good torque wrench is a must.
3] After assembly I manually turned the engine over, there was an alarming nock. It turned out to be the timing chain tension/guide. I adjusted the timing chain tensioner with a screwdriver and the nock vanished, there is no mention of this in the service manual I was using.

also i used a straw to fill the oil reservoir under the cam after i remounted the engine. run the motor for 10-15 min at a high idle, then change the oil to flush out the molly you used during assy. your clutch will thank you.
you will probably need to readjust the valve clearance after one or two rides. your ears will tell you when.

luck.

the 15/51 ratio is a blast. i have power and control in the woods and gullies, and this baby has got some set of legs!

Posted: **Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:37 pm**

whoops sorry, i guess i need a lesson in using the quote feature.... :lol:

I also read Ricks article about changing the front sprocket to a 15 and leaving the rear stock (50), a ratio of 3.33.

I also see that gal8x likes a ratio close to this...."3rd mod sidwinder tri-moly 15f/51r = 3.40 I like this ratio best"

My question is this:

If I leave the front sprocket stock (13), can I simply change the rear to a 44 and effectivly achieve the same results? I know that will actually be a ration of 3.38, but it's close.

Thanks so much for any and all help!

Posted: **Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:53 pm**

As far as I know the ratio is the ratio… it does not mater how you get there.
The only concern I have is the lower chain guard. How high will the chain want to ride in that guard? I would think it would be fine.

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