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Only $10 for all 2026 SX, MX, and SMX series.
*2018. I originally had 2018 typed but thought it was longer ago than that.
I just sold my 3 valve 4.6 explorer and had no issues with it over 200,000 miles. Solid engine if it's taken care of, not great for people who try extended oil changes.
I had the same Yellow Jersey, my leathers were black and white!
Times have changed.
Bleeding front brakes after replacing the line and a rebuilt kit for the reservoir. Can’t ever get it back to how it is brand new on the showroom floor. Anyone know the trick?
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DeCal Works Huge Plastic Inventory of UFO and Polisport kits.
Bleed it from the bottom up and throw a zip tie on the lever at about half compression over night. Might have to do it a couple times. Likely never feel exactly the same though.
I have been a Honda registered tech for 32 years and would like to have a word with your buddy, and all his coworkers.
Haha one thing I've never been accused of in my life is neglecting maintenance. Oil was changed every 3,000 miles. I had two F150's with the 4.6. The first one shot spark plugs out of it. The second one bent a valve at about 160,000. Neither having anything to do with oil changes, nor my neglect.
Anyone ever worked on a Ducati Scrambler 250 from the 60's? I bought one back in the 1970's from a shop where it had been abandoned and left for dead. This project was my first full sized dirt bike and I was about to learn a lot. Parts were scarce so I ended up using a Mikuni carb off a Kawasaki triple street bike to get it running. It was pretty exciting to see it run and I thought it was really fast! Had to slip the clutch a lot but then it was hard for this 16 yr. old to hang on to. Turns out it only had 3rd gear and up, couldn't shift down to first or second. Well, that explained a lot - haha! My dad helped me split the cases & diagnose the problem. He fixed it by grinding down one of the gears to allow the transmission to work correctly. This was the first time for either of us at a job this tricky, I thought he was a genius! My old man was never a mechanic for a job but I learned a lot and I became a dirt bike junkie and a full time powersports mechanic for decades.
2004 kxf 250.
The bike would start and run fine for a couple of minutes and then die when it got up to temperature.
Everyone that got some basic knowledge would say electrical related, since it got worse when warm.
Both my dad and me are skilled enough mechanics and swaped parts between my bike and another 250f that I got to borrow.
We changed EVERYTHING electrical, one component at the time and then tested between, and when all the parts were swapped from the flywheel, ignition coil, harness, cdi, sparkplug etc we changed the carb.
Nothing worked, and after that Kawasaki took the bike back and gave me a new one instead.
A year later we talked to a dealer that had a son that raced for Suzuki Sweden and they have had the same problem on one bike.
It turned out that the balance half of the crankshaft got a little crack, causing a small vibration when the bike got hot so the flywheel would wobble so slightly that the pick up ignition coil on the stator would miss the reading and the bike would stop.
Bleeding it bottom up - are you bleeding it through the reservoir or just the brake line?
You bleed from the caliper "up" with a small section of tubing and a syringe. Youtube something like Reverse Brake Bleed MX and you'll find a bunch of videos. Buy the right stuff beforehand though. The right size tubing, syringe, etc all make a difference. Also helpful to have a second syringe to suck fluid out of the reservoir so it doesn't make a giant mess.
Not a dirt bike, but I freshened up my old 07 GSXR 750 and couldn't figure out why my highbeam wouldn't turn off, and my normal headlight would turn on. I spent 3 days and late nights troubleshooting it, multi-meter out, and back pinning harnesses. It was an absolute nightmare and I couldn't figure it out.
Turns out I swapped the plugs for the headlight and high beam and didnt realize it.
Does kicking a 1986 CR125 for half an hour before discovering you left a rag in the airboot qualify? What's worse is I was showing my new bike to some friends at the time.
Another time on my friends beta 125 rr '21 and anyone with a beta around then will know what I'm talking about. This happened after 2 years of owning it.
Get to the track friend warms up bike good goes to take off. Gives it gas and it bogs out n stalls out. Instant reaction was fouled the plug it was 2 years old. Swapped it out and proceeded to kick it over a bunch. Nothing so we start trying to push start it. After about the 6th attempt. Friend was about to give up.
I say it's not venting probably so I just crack open the gas cap to vent. Let it sit a moment couple kicks later it starts up n running fine. Beta had some weird vent system then and the infamous green ball thing inside the cap.
Would fall out and block the cap from venting.
Some of them run forever and some don't make it past 150,000. My 05 5.4 didn't make it far past 150,000.
My 2V 4.6 with 250,000 runs better than my 16 Ecoboost.
79 Husky 390 OR. Would just shut off at full throttle after hitting a series of bumps. Looked for wire issues till while riding one day with no helmet around the yard, I heard metal rattling in my pipe?
They used a double walled pipe for noise reduction or something and it was falling apart inside. The pieces of metal had formed themselves into a perfect ball shape that would block the exhaust where it narrowed at the stinger! But would move when I slowed down I guess.
After cleaning a carb on an old Husky it ran like shit, only push started. Friend spotted my pilot jet on my toolbox and said”where does this go?” I said inside my carb!
I want to know how you get a shop towel past the intake valves. Seems physically impossible.
A couple.
My YZ465, I can't get the chain to line up. I start thinking I have the wheel offset wrong. I'm switching wheels, mickey mousing wheel spacers. This all happens over a couple weeks. I finally look at the swingarm I replaced with it's chain guide mounted and realize the chain guide was bent. Then old chain guide was scratched and dented. The newer one was pretty. A couple of whacks with a dead blow hammer brought it all back in alignment.
Same YZ465, went to start it and it backfired. Would not start, an occasional pop. Went through the whole carb thing, electronics switching because I had all the spares. Towing it to try and bump start. It turns out the woodruff key can shear in a backfire and put the timing off.
My 99 YZ400 had to sit from work and some crash aches and pains. When I went to start it back up, nothing. Went through the whole deal of sparks plugs, check electronics etc., etc. Puled the carb apart 5 times, new jets, diaphragms on and on. Used up a half dozen cans of carb cleaner. Finally took the carb to my dealer which was an old school dealer and let me leave it in their hot tank. A couple day later I go pick it up and the counter guy said when he blew it out a black slime came out. Turns out the fuel line deteriorated from ethanol. I checked the fuel line when I got home and noticed how soft it was. Cut the fuel line in half and can see how gummy it was. I only use Motion Pro ethanol safe fuel line since then.
Pit Row
Think he said one of those microfiber ones, it could probably chop up one of those. I just wanted to razz on those engineers who over complicated the simplest and most reliable ATV`s ever made, just to not use a CVT! Fortunately, this is about dirt bikes, or I could fill the entire thread with nightmares
I’m pretty sure Beta still puts those stupid green things in the tank. First time I took the cap off my 24 300 RX that green thing fell out on the garage floor. Call my dealer buddy where I bought it, he said throw it away. It’s some Euro thing to keep fuel from spilling out if you tump over as we used to say back in Oklahoma.
Glad mine fell out on the ground instead of bottom of the tank.
Replaced crank bearings and seals on the 89 KX500.
When I was about to reinstall the gearbox I fumbled it on the bench and it all came apart.
I have a good manual so I got it all put back together and installed it. Put the whole thing back together and before putting the cylinder back on I decided to check the shifting.
It would shift into first and second and that was it. Back apart. Jacked with it for hours trying to figure out what was happening. Everything looked right and straight.
It was a Sunday, so I gave up for the day. Tuesday I call a buddy at the kawi shop. I barely finished my complaint sentence and he said: "You have the shift forks out of order. 2 are nearly identical but are not".
Well, shit....
When I was prepping my bike and the wife had told me to clean out the shop!
89/90 RM 80's kept having the stator go bad... Quickly. Ended up being the plastic side cover was warped allowing water in. Machined aluminum cover was the answer and no more problems. Only had to swap it back for Loretta Lynn's stock class requirements.
Other was piston skirts cracking. Found out the bore hone being used was slightly out of round.
Worked on a 2007 Crf250r for a buddy who said it was running great and it just shut off instantly like he pressed the kill switch but it wouldn’t start after. He brings it by and it turns over has good compression check the valves clean the carb all the normal stuff. Put it back together kick it and that unforgettable feeling of being shocked by a spark plug. Check the wires and spark plug everything is normal so I try again get shocked. Repeat this process over and over again till I finally reach my breaking point. Buddy takes bike to Honda dealer and they found that the stator had a little break in the wire that was shorting out.
Mine did the exact same thing. Runs mint on the CR PJ carb.
Bought a 1992 KX 250 that was "rebuilt". Looked super nice. Linkage had some play after one ride. All bearings were used bearings with fresh grease. Wheel bearings, linkage, swingarm, steering. All needed to be redone. Shock was the wrong year, reservoir hit the pipe, shaft was rusty. Got that fixed. Bottom end bearing went out. Got that fixed along with a new sleeve for the cylinder. Then the clutch cover had cracked and been welded by the previous guy. Started pouring oil out of the welded repair. Bought a new used cover, no more leaks. Started it up and starts puking coolant everywhere. Forgot a spacer behind the impeller and it wasn't flowing coolant. Rode for half hour and no leaks. I am now scared to race it again but I think I have it all fixed?
This reminded me of another one…
Friend had a brand-new 08 CRF450 that his wife bought while he was overseas for work. Unfortunately it sat with fuel in it for a long time before he got home and the fuel was pretty stale. Helped him flush all the old fuel out and disassembled/cleaned the carb. Got it all back together, bike wouldn’t idle and backfired like crazy. Disassembled/reassembled carb several times, checked jets for obstructions, etc, same results.
This was a brand-new bike and I had disassembled/reassembled the FCR carb dozens of times as I had CRFs from 03-on, so I was stumped as to why it would run that way. Finally, I thought to check the orientation of the floating plate on the slide. The plate is installed upside down if it looks like it’s correct, based on shape. My friend had popped the plate off helping and I had slapped it back on in the position I thought was correct based on shape…which was upside down. Turned it around and the bike ran like it should.
I realized I had made a mistake, when my 86 IT 200 burst into flames…
YZ250F top end. struggled to get the timing correct. a lot of fussing and messing with it. ended up dropping a dowel or something behind the stator or clutch I don't remember. It sent me over the edge and i kicked the bike off the stand and proceeded to keep flipping down the driveway like a tire in a strong man competition. what ever it was eventually came back out and i loaded the bike up and took it to a shop. Yamahas like to fight me with everything. Even putting plastics on that bike turned into a headache VS the KX it replaced.
HaHaHa lapped rider, good thing you learn quick !
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