MXtech
- Lives in:
- Laguna Niguel, CA USA
- Member since:
August 26, 2006
About Me
I've been in the industry for about 16 years, the last 12 have been at Kawasaki. I started at Team Green, helping guys out at the track. Moved onto Research & Developement for about 6 years. Now I'm working with the magazines setting up the bikes for intros and shootouts. My wife and kids all ride and are extreme fans of the sport. I try and help out all of the "mechanically challenged" when ever I can. Especially now with the complexity of today's 4-strokes, some need the help. I will blog some general tips, but if you have a question, let me know.
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View All Blog Entries- Adjusting Your Spokes
Every bike needs regular adjusting to keep the spokes tight. Using the proper technique will keep your wheel true, while keeping a uniform tightness of all of the spokes. You can't just start at one point of the wheel and tighten each spoke down the line, without giving your wheel a serious wobble. It's best to have a spoke torque wrench, but not everyone will have one of those.
Start at the spoke next to the rim-lock (good reference point). Tighten the spoke to moderate tightness, but never more than one turn. Now skip two spokes and go to the third spoke that pulls on the other side of the hub. Tighten that spoke to the same moderate tightness. Sometimes the spoke will be tight, or too tight. You may want to back it off to the same moderate torque as the other spokes. Continue on until you come back to the rim lock spoke that you started with. Now tighten the next spoke past the rim-lock spoke. Do the same procedure until you have made 3 full revolutions of the wheel, all off the spoke should have been tightened with hopefully the same torque on all of the spokes.
Next you need to check the run-out of the rim or how true the wheel is. Take a pencil or dry-erase pen, brace it up against a solid part like the fork or swingarm with the tip close to the rim. Spin the wheel and slowly move the pen closer until it touches. If you are trying to true an old wheel, there may be some sharp bends or dents in the rim that you might not be able to fix. We are trying to minimize the overall side to side wobble. To true the rim you must loosen spokes on one side and then tighten the spokes on the other side. So loosen 2 or 3 spokes about a half of a turn on the side with the pen mark on it, then tighten 2 or 3 spokes on the other side to pull the rim to the center. Spin the wheel again and repeat the truing process. Once it is relatively true, you may want to go over the 3 revolution tightening process again to find if you have any loose spokes.
Once again, the goal is to have all of the spokes with the same torque while your rim is true.
- Front Axle Alignment
One key mistake that I see out at the track is improper front axle installation. Believe or not this makes a big difference to how the suspension works. Although one would think this is very simple procedure, front suspension action will suffer if the proper steps are not taken. Here are a few simple tips many people out at the track could use to ensure proper fork alignment.
First, with the wheel off, check to see if the shouldered end of the axle will slide freely through the right fork leg. If the suspension has been serviced by a shop, it is possible that they held the fork by the axle clamp in a vise. Occasionally, the axle clamp surface gets slightly compressed and the axle will not slide freely through the clamp. If the axle does not move freely in the clamp, the axle clamp must be de-burred with a file or sandpaper.
Once the axle slides smoothly in the axle clamp, place the wheel between the forks and the brake disc correctly between the brake pads. Apply a thin coating of Redline Assembly Lube to the axle. This is a thin grease that is used by most pro mechanics. Pro Circuit sells the same type of lube. Insert the axle and tighten the axle nut. If the axle spins while tightening the nut, hold the opposite side with a 19mm allen tool or lightly tighten one of the left (brake caliper) side pinch bolts. Now bring the nut up to the proper torque. Torque both of the left side pinch bolts.
With the right side pinch bolts loose, center the right side fork leg on the axle. Some guys do this by compressing the forks repeatedly or by spinning the wheel and abruptly pulling the brake lever. I prefer to grab the lower right fork leg and just move it side-to-side to center it. The end of the axle is generally flush in the lower right fork leg. This will ensure that both fork legs are parallel as they go down in the stroke. Now, torque the remaining right side pinch bolts.
The key to this process is having the shouldered end of the axle free to center itself in the right fork leg before you tighten the right side pinch bolts.
- Air Filter Cleaning
Proper cleaning of your air filter is essential for keeping your motorcycle engine as fresh as possible. I have cleaned hundreds of filters and I have found an easy, but proper way to get the dirty job done. I’ve seen many guys that just clean their filters in only gasoline or solvent, and they end up with premature engine failures. First off, this method is for the more common petroleum based filter oil, not the new type (No-Toil) filter oil.
Start out by going to your local hardware store and buy 3 or 4 gallons of mineral spirits, rubber gloves, and a five gallon bucket with a lid. It should cost you about $15-20, but it should be able to do maybe 50 filters. Empty the mineral spirits into the bucket, and now you can start cleaning. With gloves on, dunk the filter into the bucket, agitate and squeeze the filter multiple times to get the majority of the dirt and oil off. Looks clean, but it’s not yet! You must now wash the filter with soap and water to finish the job. The mineral spirits cuts the oil and some of the dirt, but the soap and water get the rest of the dirt out of the filter. A liquid dish washing soap or Simple Green will work fine. You will be amazed how much dirt will come out of the filter. It may take a few applications of soap and rinsing to get all of the dirt out.
Now you can hang the filters or set them on some cardboard to dry. In a pinch, you can re-oil the filter, even though it is wet. Just make sure you completely saturate the filter with filter oil. Then squeeze off the excess, the oil will displace water and force it out. Now blot the excess oil with a paper towel and massage the filter to evenly distribute the oil over the filter. The filter is done and ready to install. Now remember you can re-use the bucket many, many times even though it looks bad. It’s just to cut the oil. The important part is cleaning the filter in soap and water.
- Modern 4-stroke Motocross Bikes
With 4-stroke motocross and offroad bikes taking over today’s racing, I figured give some advice and tips to keep your bike running strong. First and foremost, these bikes aren’t like the dependable and bulletproof 4-strokes of the 80’s and 90’s. These bikes do need maintenance, and you’re always one small mistake away from engine failure and a possible $2000 rebuild.
So here is a list of stuff that I figured you should know, so you don’t regret your change from the trusty ol’ 2-stroke:
They run hot! – You can’t just start your bike and let it idle for 5 minutes without losing some coolant out the overflow. It’s not the bike’s fault that there is no air moving through the radiators. 4-strokes don’t need to be “cleaned out” like a 2-stroke. There is no need to constantly rev the bike on the start line creating more heat and possibly puking coolant all over the cement in front of your rear tire! You only need to warm the bike up enough to warm the oil to operating temperature.
Don’t bounce it off of the rev limiter – I see this far too often, and it drives me nuts. Instead of up-shifting down a straight, guys leave it in a lower gear revving the piss out of the motor. All this does is create more heat and less power. Unlike a 2-stroke, the 4-stroke power curve is more broad. This is good, but it’s also hard to feel when the power curve starts to drop off. Consequently, a lot of riders ride in the range between peak power and rev limiter. They should instead be in the range just below and above peak power. This is just something they need to adjust and it will improve their results and reduce the maintenance costs. Also, don’t hold the bike wide open in the air bouncing it off of the rev limiter, it’s just dumb.
Check your oil – Most bikes today have relatively little oil in them , which reduces the drag on the motor and creates more power. Remember these are race bikes, they require constant attention. Most 4-stroke engines need to be started for a short period in order to check your oil level, so refer to your owner’s manual for your specific bike for the proper oil checking procedure. Proper oil level is your number one defense from getting that unexpected engine failure.
Check your valve clearance - Don’t be freaked out, it’s not hard to do. To check your valve clearance periodically, it honestly may take you ten minutes each time. So don’t be scared, pull that tank and valve cover off and check the clearance. Follow the instructions in your owners manual, and check the clearance with a set of feeler gauges. Now if you are out of spec, then maybe you will need some help. But honestly you should be able to check your valve clearance on a regular basis and you will see when the clearance start to tighten up, then you can schedule a valve adjustment with a shop or knowledgeable friend.
Easy on that clutch – It seems strange, but many guys toast the clutch more on 4-strokes than they do on 2-strokes. This is mainly due to the temperature of the oil. The oil just doesn’t lubricate as well when it’s so hot. Some guys are hard on 250f clutches, while other guys are hard on 450f clutches. The 250f guys may just be slipping the clutch too much coming out of corners, while the 450f guys may be controlling the power with the clutch rather than the throttle. Either way they need stiffer clutch springs. Most stock clutch springs won’t stand up to that kind of abuse. Also the more they slip the clutch, the more heat they make. So not only are they toasting their clutch, but they may also be harming other vital parts of the engine.
Love ya