Bench Racing - What's your worst "great idea" ever?

7/14/2010 5:28pm
Wow, yall make me feel like a damn MMI certified tech. Hahaha.

Agency399: I think just about everyone has done that at some point. I had my YZ85 nearly rebuilt before my dad decided to check on me and sure enough I had it in backwards. From then on he drew arrows on the top of the piston just to annoy me.

Lucero, that's hilarious simply because you knew you were doing it wrong.

viking24
Posts
287
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
SEPA, USA
7/14/2010 5:44pm
Titanium shock bolts. Broken top bolt lost me a top 5 in first moto at Budds Creek 500 National in '91.
7/14/2010 6:14pm
TriRacer27 wrote:
It happens to all of us. We see an "issue" with our bike and decide to take it into our own hands and get creative with...
It happens to all of us. We see an "issue" with our bike and decide to take it into our own hands and get creative with fixing it.

I was bench racing last night and remembered my greatest ideas:

1. Armor All to make my bike shiny and new looking. While I'm at it, give that seat a nice shine to make it last as well. Next time I rode the bike it felt like a bar of soap.

2. Ran out of WD-40 to lube the throttle tube but oh, what's that, some Bel-Ray all purpose waterproof grease? It says all purpose, so it should work....

3. If some is good then more is always better right? Well, this does NOT apply to locktight apparently.


Though my dad takes the cake when he and his buddies blew a header gasket on his '77 Mazda RX3-SP and figured they could make some out of leather. Unsure


I'm sure some of you have better ideas than these though.
Seat bounce wasn't even invented in 1986... was it?
Chris_ONeal
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1273
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5/14/2009
Location
Essex, CT, USA
7/14/2010 6:36pm
I'm just going to do one more lap!

Famous last words of many before heading to the clinic!

The Shop

Anonymous (not verified)
7/14/2010 6:47pm
Had a 150cc BSA Bantam, some how i ended up with a 175cc top end, so we all know that 25cc is going to make a world of difference so it has to go on, the only trouble was the gudgeon (wrist??) pin that fitted the piston wouldn't go into the little end bearing of the original 150 conrod so i installed the pin direct to the con rod, worked out well.....................yea right, mind you i was only about 10 at the time.
plowboy
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Location
Norwich, KS, USA
7/14/2010 11:33pm
When yer 12 yrs old...vaseline seems like a trick way to install new grips...electrical tape should patch a leaky tube...forks should be filled with oil all the way to the top....a pair of pliers is all you need to tighten a flywheel nut...30wt should work just as good as that expensive klotz stuff...gettin' yer buddy to weld a footpeg back onto the frame with coat hangers.....Blush
crf250pilot
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2131
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4/1/2008
Location
Manning, OR, USA
7/14/2010 11:56pm
Wagging my finger in a rider's face after he took me out in a moto, and finding out shortly after that I was dealing with a...
Wagging my finger in a rider's face after he took me out in a moto, and finding out shortly after that I was dealing with a US Marine who didn't take threats very lightly.
Are you sure it was a Marine or maybe just a Navy Seal looking guy with a KTM350.
robkinuk
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4283
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Location
Ashbourne, GB
7/15/2010 3:47am
Boiling my chain in one of those solid grease tins in the 80's , getting a phonecall and forgetting I'd left it on Mom's stove.
Reached such a high temp it exploded, showering kitchen in hot black grease!
Mom not happy!
FGR01
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USA
Fantasy
7/15/2010 6:04am
Buying a 91 KX125...

7/15/2010 8:42am
Wagging my finger in a rider's face after he took me out in a moto, and finding out shortly after that I was dealing with a...
Wagging my finger in a rider's face after he took me out in a moto, and finding out shortly after that I was dealing with a US Marine who didn't take threats very lightly.
Are you sure it was a Marine or maybe just a Navy Seal looking guy with a KTM350.
Hahahaha!
motomike137
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8180
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4/22/2010
Location
Fenton, MI, USA
7/15/2010 8:46am
Lowering the forks in the clamps as far as I could in my 1979 YZ250 because I thought it looked cool. It handled like a Big Dog chopper and spit me off and chewed me up like one too!
lucero10x
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Las Vegas, NV, USA
7/15/2010 8:48am
Lowering the forks in the clamps as far as I could in my 1979 YZ250 because I thought it looked cool. It handled like a Big...
Lowering the forks in the clamps as far as I could in my 1979 YZ250 because I thought it looked cool. It handled like a Big Dog chopper and spit me off and chewed me up like one too!
How could that have looked cool?
motomike137
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Fenton, MI, USA
7/15/2010 9:05am
Lowering the forks in the clamps as far as I could in my 1979 YZ250 because I thought it looked cool. It handled like a Big...
Lowering the forks in the clamps as far as I could in my 1979 YZ250 because I thought it looked cool. It handled like a Big Dog chopper and spit me off and chewed me up like one too!
lucero10x wrote:
How could that have looked cool?
long travel!... lol!
motomike137
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Fenton, MI, USA
7/15/2010 9:10am
I once fashioned a front mud flap for my 125 Can Am out of a chunk of roofing shingle. It looked cool but snapped off the first time I dropped the front end hard after doing a wheely down the driveway.
peelout719
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Ogden, UT, USA
7/15/2010 9:19am


Fleece192
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506
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4/1/2008
Location
Equinunk, PA, USA
7/15/2010 9:24am
Leaving 5 gallons of gas in the garage that I just took out of the truck, so I could go to work. I came home from work and saw knobby tracks outside the garage. I ran inside to see the faces of two gloomy kids. KX60 and a KX80, seized bottom end on both.
I didnt put any oil in the gas, they used to call me before they rode. Not this time.Sad
hacker 522
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79
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6/13/2010
Location
Orangeville, PA, USA
7/15/2010 9:39am Edited Date/Time 7/15/2010 9:40am
Propping up a running kx 500 and using the rear sprocket to "mill a little off" of a clutch lever so it would work in my buddies bike. We were at about 12000 ft in Co so we really had no choice. Funny part was it worked. Still really dumb in retrospect.
moto
Posts
51
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7/18/2008
Location
Oakley, CA, USA
7/15/2010 10:13am
Putting my airbox and all my plastic in the dishwasher to make it shine....ummmm.....motorcycle plastics are not dishwasher safe.

Got a load of about ten filters and figured I would just throw them in the washing machine with some solvent to clean them...mom was not happy about that one at all...or, since she said I couldn't use the washing machine, I figured the dryer would be ok...NOT
peelout719
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2507
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Location
Ogden, UT, USA
7/15/2010 10:17am
having an opponent in my racing class weld a hole in my pipe. looked like a bird shit on it.

straightening a bent clutch lever with a crescent wrench, always went just a little too far

in the 80cc beginner class i grabbed my front disc after a moto to see how much i used the front brake to find it cold, so i grabbed my rear to compare, ended up with badly burnt fingers and thumb
ocscottie
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69092
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Redding, CA, USA
7/15/2010 10:26am
plowboy wrote:
When yer 12 yrs old...vaseline seems like a trick way to install new grips...electrical tape should patch a leaky tube...forks should be filled with oil all...
When yer 12 yrs old...vaseline seems like a trick way to install new grips...electrical tape should patch a leaky tube...forks should be filled with oil all the way to the top....a pair of pliers is all you need to tighten a flywheel nut...30wt should work just as good as that expensive klotz stuff...gettin' yer buddy to weld a footpeg back onto the frame with coat hangers.....Blush
".vaseline seems like a trick way to install new grips.."

Funny shit!
MickeyMeanie
Posts
245
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3/25/2008
Location
Frisco, TX, USA
7/15/2010 10:34am
Armourall on the seat of my KLE125 as a teen.... that thing would wheelie forever... and it did pretty well on it's own after it spit me off the back... The best thing was I was wearing shorts and on pavement. Left a nice patch of road rash on my left butt cheek...

One last lap in July 2006 = Left ACL reconstruction in August 2006
7/15/2010 10:46am
I had the cool amateur suzuki graphics on my RM85. The ones with the all white seat.
I figured if i got close enough with the power washer it would be nice and clean again.
Ended up ripping a hole straight through the cover and foam.
dad was PISSED
7/15/2010 10:46am Edited Date/Time 7/15/2010 10:47am
RACEGUY
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1893
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Location
Moncton, CA
7/15/2010 11:07am
Dumping an ounce of methyl into my usual avgas and bean oil because we were ice racing. Put that mixture in a glass jar and see what happens.

Thinking the "soft" wooden jaws in the vice would "protect" my outer fork leg from crushing when rebuilding my forks.
pie8man
Posts
634
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4/1/2008
Location
Loveland, CO, USA
7/15/2010 11:53am
86 250R three wheeler, complete engine tear down for broken 2nd gear. On reassembly the only thing I got wrong was the counterbalance timing one tooth off. One ride and it cracked the engine mounts on a beautifully powder coated frame. Fixed the timing issue, welded the tabs and rode all weekend. I think I was about 19 when this went on and this was my first complete motor rebuild. I go it re powder coated, that bike is still in the family and runs like a top.

OCS, I tried the grease thing on the throttle tube once.... It is amazing how well it does NOT work!! DOH At least you know it is an issue while its still on the stand.

I tried RC's bar position from his early Honda days.... Proves that kid can ride anything no matter what the bike is like!!

Removed the graphics from my 1984 RM 80 with a razor blade and totally hacked the gas tank to shreds. Fortunately it still held gas, I was about 14.

I let a friend try to weld an aluminum radiator and all he did was burn bigger holes where the crack was.

My 99 RM 250, the chain adjuster bolt seized and snapped off in the swing arm. I ended up freeing the remaining bolt but it still would not come, I attempted to clean up the threads with a tap but the tap hit the bolt piece and ran it in falling into the hollow of the swingarm, I put in a new bolt and went riding... That whole day it sounded like someone tapping a hammer on the swingarm every time I hit a bump or jump. I ended up drilling a hole in the bottom of the swingarm and fishing the piece out with a magnet and had the hole welded shut.

Same 99 rm 250 I did a ring service (about the 10th one on the bike) went out for a race and blew the bike up on the first practice lap. The o-ring that separates the water jacket from the compression area in the head did not stay in its groove and got pinched, it spewed the radiator fluid on the ground through the overflow hose and she blew up. At least I got a whole new top end outta the deal.








peelout719
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Location
Ogden, UT, USA
7/15/2010 12:02pm
anybody ever buy the shit you put in your gas to make it smell like root beer, strawberries, etc?.... ummmm... yeah me neither.

how about pressure washing the splattered mud off your foot... that one hurt
7/15/2010 12:50pm
peelout719 wrote:
anybody ever buy the shit you put in your gas to make it smell like root beer, strawberries, etc?.... ummmm... yeah me neither. how about pressure...
anybody ever buy the shit you put in your gas to make it smell like root beer, strawberries, etc?.... ummmm... yeah me neither.

how about pressure washing the splattered mud off your foot... that one hurt
Didn't know they made that. Should make your career as a firebreather easier though.

But I did get powerwashed by my dad once. Not just the boots but pants and jersey too. It hurt like hell and he just kept yelling at me to stand still. Damn thing washed the color right off my pants and I was left with a welted ass and a brand new pair of Thor gear with white lines all over it.
shaner708
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631
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5/27/2009
Location
Export, PA, USA
7/15/2010 2:56pm
peelout719 wrote:
anybody ever buy the shit you put in your gas to make it smell like root beer, strawberries, etc?.... ummmm... yeah me neither. how about pressure...
anybody ever buy the shit you put in your gas to make it smell like root beer, strawberries, etc?.... ummmm... yeah me neither.

how about pressure washing the splattered mud off your foot... that one hurt
My friend used to run that root beer shit! We made fun of him to no end but it didn't phase him, he always did have a passion for food.
wet paint
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404
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Location
Chesnee, SC, USA
7/15/2010 3:28pm
I had a 74 TM125,by brother was in the navy and had a TM250. Being 14 I decided to ride his bike one day(he was on a ship somewhere) so I lubed everything and added gas. Noticed the front brake cable mounted in front of the #plate rubbing it, decided to move it behind the #plate. I took off up the road heading for our local field and pulled a wheelie in about 3rd. When the front end came back down I realized why that cable ran in front of the #plate.
When the front forks compressed the cable came up high enough to hang on the handlebar bolts,as the forks tried to come apart it pulled the front drum brake. Nothing like a 14 year old kid doing a 50ft tank slapper at 40mph in the road. It almost broke both my shins beating on the foot pegs. I was also stuck in the road and had to drag the bike to the side with the front brake locked. I was`nt strong enough to compress the front and get the cable off, so I laid the bike down and walked to a house pulled up a driveway reflector walked back and pried the cable over the bolt. I did put the reflector back(straighted it the best I could)and road back home. I never got on that bike again.
MXinOC
Posts
201
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5/29/2010
Location
Anaheim, CA, USA
7/15/2010 3:32pm
Parents finally agreed to let me race my first race... at Corona Raceway... I was 12 with a stripped Honda SL100... filled my forks to the top... cuz they were low ya know... hit the first jump off the start... kicked me hard right... right into the center of the small lake that was 4' deep... Hoo-YA! Crowd loved me already! lol

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