1987 Elite 50 (SE50) to DJ1 Conversion Guide

January 23, 2024 TJ Mimura

While not as drastic of a difference between the North American and Japanese variants, your North American SE50 Elite 50 also requires replacing a handful of parts to make it look like a DJ1 sold in Japan. Requiring less plastics than a Tact conversion to an Aero 50 there are still a handful of pieces that you will need to source in order to complete this which are as follows

Necessary Parts

DJ1 Complete headset:

The minimum to complete a DJ1 headset is the front and rear headset plastics, headlight, turn signals, and gauge cluster. Between the different variations and special editions of DJ1 there are multiple headlight/turn signal/ and gauge cluster options to choose from when sourcing these parts.

Note that while not 100% necessary to this swap, we do recommend also purchasing the DJ1 handlebars, hand controls, and wire harness to aid in completing this conversion.

Rear Center Garnish:

This part will replace where the SE50 taillight was originally mounted, making a smooth transition between your rear plastics above the DJ1 taillight.

Tail Light:

Likely the most obvious difference when comparing the two scooters, the SE50 taillight assembly is much larger than that of the DJ1. When purchasing this part be aware that there are 2 different variations, one accommodating for the 8in wheels found on standard DJ1 and the second for 10in wheels from the DJ1R and DJ1RR.

The easiest way to spot the difference is the profile of the center lens, with the 10in taillight featuring a protruded brake light lens compared to the 8in variant.

*In order of appearance, DJ1 8" Taillight, DJ1R/RR 10" Taillight

When purchasing your taillight, the 8in variant will require you to also purchase the associated inner fender to utilize all of the taillights stock mounting points.

Optional/Recommended Parts

While not necessary we do recommend including these parts in your conversion. Due to the size of a scooter vs a car, these small details can add up much quicker and affect the overall aesthetic of your build.

Handlebars:

The handlebars found on the SE50 are slightly taller than found on DJ1, considering this the gap between the headset and the plastics below will be slightly more than found on DJ1 if you don’t opt for this part.

Hand controls:

The biggest difference between the SE50 and AF12 hand controls is the stock kill switch found on the SE50 (due to DOT regulations). Opting for the controls found on DJ1 will remove this, providing a cleaner look overall. Where the kill switch used to be is then replaced with a headlight on/off switch.

There were 2 different hand control finishes, the standard chrome found on DJ1, and the darker grey variant for the DJ1R and RR (both with brake levers that correspond with the finish on the controls).

Wire Harness:

While it is possible to repin/rewire most of the harness to complete this swap, purchasing the OEM harness from DJ1 will allow you to plug in the controls, gauge cluster, headlight, turn signals, and tail light without needing to modify the harness. That said depending on the stator found in your AF05e engine some modification may be required (colors should match, the only difference being the connectors themselves).

Seat:

While the difference between the Elite and DJ1 seat is minuscule compared to Aero and Tact, there is a difference here (notice the angle of the back of the seat in the following photos). A very small detail but worth mentioning for those who want a scooter identical to a DJ1.

Top: USDM seat

Bottom: JDM seat

Inner plastic:

Where the stock SE50 turn signals mount to the inner plastic leaves holes not found on the DJ1 inner plastic. These can be left open or can be filled with a little work as they are the only difference between the North American and Japanese version of the scooter.

DJ1 part variations in Japan:

In Japan there were multiple variations of the DJ1 which are the DJ1 (AF12), DJ1R (AF12), DJ1L (DF01), and DJ1RR (AF19).

About the DJ1L, this model is the most uncommon of the 4 different variations of the DJ1. This scooter features a different model ID than the other 3 (DF01 chassis and DF01e for the engine) as it was sold with a 56cc motor, falling under a different license requirement than the gentsuki classification (under 50cc). Visually this model is closest to the standard DJ1 with 10" wheels but features a speedometer that reads up to 80km/h to account for the increased displacement.

Side Plastics:

While the SE50, DJ1, and DJ1r all share the same side plastics, the DJ1RR introduced ducts on the side plastics.

Floor board “pegs”:

The DJ1R and RR both had the option of "pegs" or foot holds on the back of the last inner plastic.

*In order of appearance: DJ1R then DJ1RR.

Note that while most DJ1RR can be seen with the foot pegs, this seems to be much less common on DJ1R.

Bonus: The SE50 rear inner panel comes with the starter holes to mount DJ1R foot pegs.

OEM Undercowl:

Available on both the DJ1R and DJ1RR, these models came with an OEM undercowl made of plastic (rather than fiberglass like all aftermarket aero). While not sitting nearly as low as the different fiberglass undercowl options, this could be a great option for an extremely low DJ1 build.

Headlight:

Introduced on the DJ1RR is a dual bulb headlight, where the rest of the models utilize a single bulb headlight

Turn signals:

DJ1 received standard amber colored turn signal lenses, where the DJ1R can be found with a “smoked” lens or clear lens, and DJ1RR received clear lenses.

Clusters:

Below are some of the different clusters found between all of the DJ1’s sold. All of these clusters feature the same basic readings, with the DJ1L cluster being the only one with an increased top speed of 80km/h.

Suspension covers:

The DJ1 features suspension covers which match those found on SE50 Elite, the DJ1R (PA-SUS) and DJ1RR (HR-SUS) feature different suspension covers as part of the suspension upgrades included with these models.

Note that DJ1RR was upgraded to an integrated shock in the front fork (similar to that of a Dio) and that DJ1R utilized a different mounting point for the suspension cover, meaning modification will be required to make either of these fit a stock fork.

Green: DJ1RR

Blue: DJ1/SE50

Black: DJ1R

Front Fork:

As mentioned under Suspension Covers, the DJ1RR received an integrated strut in its front fork (similar to that found on Honda Dio's). Named "HR SUS" as indicated on the suspension covers.

Wheels:

The stock wheels found on DJ1 are 8in wheels, DJ1R had the option for 10in wheels referred to as “Shurikens”, and DJ1RR wheels have been nicknamed “Cool Irons” (as they resemble stock 10in wheels but look slightly more “sporty”). Both DJ1 8in wheels and Shurikens will bolt up to your stock configuration without any modification.

A part of upgrading the front fork on the DJ1RR also introduced a larger brake which mounts differently than the one found on previous models. Considering this Cool Irons will not bolt up to the stock SE50 front end without a brake swap.

^DJ1 8" Wheel

DJ1R Shuriken (also offered on AF09 Fullmark S)

DJ1RR "Cool Iron" (on Dio AF18)

Note regarding DJ1 8's: While the DJ1 8" wheels are a direct swap onto SE50, the decrease in overall diameter will change your top speed slightly, to accommodate for this the Japanese DJ1 came fitted with 10:1 gears. The Elite 50S came with these gears (despite being fitted with 10" wheels). Considering this, you can utilize 10:1 gears to either help correct gearing on 8" wheels or increase top speed on 10" wheels. With that said it is difficult to source these gears as auctions never include photos to correctly count gear teeth.

Bonus: The term "Cool Iron" was coined by Akira (@s14queeeen on Instagram) paired with the following graphic. He sells this graphic as a sticker or Tee/Hoodie HERE

Exhaust:

While the base model DJ1 came fitted with a very similar exhaust to the USDM Elite 50 (biggest difference being different heat shields), the DJ1R and RR received an upgraded exhaust which features more volume to increase performance over the standard exhaust. Note that DJ1R utilized an AF05e making this part interchangable with your stock motor however the DJ1RR came with an AF18e (similar to AF18 Dio). This means the DJ1RR exhaust will not be a direct swap. If purchasing this exhaust take careful note to purchase the correct one for your application.

Bonus:

You may be wondering what the hole on the rear inner plastic (below your seat) is, in Japan, DJ1 utilized a manual petcock for fuel vs the vacuum petcock found on SE50, despite this our plastics have the hole for this..

Not Included:

While this article covers all the differences in parts for the many models of DJ1, this excludes the many optional OEM parts and the different colorways this scooter was sold in. Parts that have been excluded include OEM inner and outer wire baskets, plastic inner cubby, "winter package" featuring hand guards, etc. Along with that some notable colorways/special editions include the Vivayou and Wing special edition.