Messages

31

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Four Stroke is two too many for Maico.

« on: August 05, 2010, 09:41:27 PM »

One thing I'd like to say about Jimmy Lewis is after subscribing to Dirt Rider for about 28 yrs. is that I've realiized how much of a hypocrite he is.For instance you say that  he said if he could only have one bike it'd be a 125 MXer but in a 2009 issue of his mag he quoted that 2-strokes are dead yet in the very same issue exactly sixty four pages later he praised the KTM-250xc 2-stroke going as far as saying that the 250xc is his favorite one-bike-does-it-all! That certainly is'nt the first time ol' Jimmy has contraindicated himself when it comes to 2-strokes & 4-strokes.Trust me I beleive you when you say that he would go with a 125 MXer but Jimmy has said alot of different things & just can't seem to truly make up his ADD riddled mind...!!!

Yeah, I felt he kind of did a cop out when he said that, I didn't even ask him lol.

I asked why he put this together (the KTM150SX vs 250SXF) and what when he expected to have the results published, not that I was complaining and he went on about the "crazy 2 stroke guys" and kind of went on a very short rant and tried to assure me that he was for 2 strokes but that ship had sailed... All a bunch of information I never even asked for or even cared to know about. It was as if he was trying to reassure me of something I could care less about or didn't even ask for haha. Then of course at the very end he threw the whole 125 mxer thing in.

I've gotten straight answers from other editors in DirtRider in person, and even more from MXA editors but Jimmy seems to change his answers to what he THINKS the person he's talking to wants to hear, which in my case was way off base and not even really something he needed to go and try to explain to me.

32

Technical / Re: Overtightened and torn 2 cyl head bolts. Please help!

« on: August 05, 2010, 08:49:10 PM »

Why do people ask for advice and not listen? 

I agree. Lots of people ask advice and when it's not what they wanted to hear they either argue or ignore you totally. That happens a lot on thumpertalk.

Yep, though most of the time it's kids on Thumpertalk that do that...

33

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Anybody use a gripper seat?

« on: August 05, 2010, 05:51:10 PM »

I personally like how grippy my Honda seats are, and the Yamaha stock "sand paper" grip seats. I know on my RMZ450 the stock seat was slick as heck so I bought a Factory Effex grip seat cover and loved it.

34

Technical / Re: Jd Jetting kit

« on: August 05, 2010, 02:19:26 PM »

ok, ok, I know some say it's the easy way out.
But, I wanted to find out how many of you out there use this kit and what kind of luck you have had using it.
I havent rode my new 07 cr125 bike yet (temps have been in the triple digits) so I dont know what issues with jetting I am going to have.  I pulled the plug and it is wet from the dealer checkout at purchase.  I do know that, I, at least need to change the main jet due to current temperatures in my area and I know many say that from the factory these bike come wet from the begining.
I had a terrible time with my 06 cr125 before with fouling plugs and I am tired of that bullshiet.
I have since educated myself on the brass side of things, as well as anybody should when owning a 2t.
I have heard that the Jd kit's needles are tappered and are a step up from factory and really are an asset to help with dialing the bike in.
In the next few weeks some 4t brothers have invited me to go to the mountains to ride, including some trails and some open space riding.
It will be up around 9,000 feet, so to have a hassel free good time I need to be dialed in to make sure my 2t represents our kind in good fashion.
These guys have been giving me a rough time verbally since they found out I bought another 2t.
St, redridermx2 & scotty dog in particular, what are yous guys thoughts on this subject?

Thanks in advance for any advice/experience/thoughts.

After doing the PWK swap on my 2006 CR250 I tried multiple needle / mj and pj combos and was never happy (NE3W needle that came in it, a 2000 CR250 needle, and a couple others (DDK and the like) and I just couldn't get the magic combo that made me happy.

So I bought the 2000 CR250 JD jet kit. Installed the blue needle and the recommended PJ and MJ and it was perfect from the get go. Yeah, I took the "easy" way out, but really the needles in the kits are pretty nice (the MJ and PJ are the same you can buy anywhere), for the 02+ CR125s and CR250s I hear the JD kit with a modified head cure most all jetting issues these bikes tend to have with the Mikuni carb. Worth a shot IMHO.

35

Technical / Re: 144cc stroker

« on: August 04, 2010, 06:07:53 PM »

Wow, that's a lot of stuff into a 125/ 144. Would a Stroked 125 with a port job run like a 144? Would it run better than a 144?

Yes.

From my understanding the KTM 150 (144) is just a stroked and bored 125... Cases and everything else are off a 125 (same with the pipe, CDI, etc...). So honestly, people saying it is a purpose built 144 isn't too correct.

Big bores give you the low end power but don't rev like the stock 125, stroked 125s give you the revs at the sake of low end a big bore only gives you, bored and stroked give you the best of both worlds (this is true in 2 strokes as it is in 4 strokes).

A stroked 144 with porting would be just like the KTM, which is already a Mid - Top bike (it has more low end than the 125 it replaced but not much more). This is why the GYTR and Athena kits and some other 144 kits for the Yamaha/CRs/KXs/RMs don't have similar power outputs the KTM has (big bore only kits).

36

Non-Moto / Re: So,what's going on in your part of the world right now....

« on: August 04, 2010, 04:22:25 PM »

I get the "don't you get sick of looking at that stuff"  yes all of my porn sites are all motorcycle related.  twostrokemotocross, ktmtalk, thumpertalk, yamaha vstar forum, etc....

Mine are similar though I have LS1Tech, MustangForums, ChargerForums thrown in.

Tons of news sites too, especially since I'm stuck here with a busted tibia from the other week. Bah! Bored beyond belief here.

37

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: AMA Petition

« on: August 04, 2010, 03:47:09 PM »

In my opinion, Dirt Rider stands above MXA and Dirt Bike any day. Jimmy Lewis is one of only a couple of companies that has replied back to me time and time again.


FYI
The petition is up to 1220

I have to agree with this, beyond his stand offish demeanor he does listen to his readers more than MXA. Though, I do tend to lean towards MXA more for unbiased MX bike reviews, and dirtrider for the rest. I've gotten along with the test riders from both camps very easily, and have had pretty quick replies and conversations with Jody from MXA, plus he doesn't come off as cocky as Jimmy Lewis does (Jimmy is a nice guy, but he does have that going for or against him however you look at it... Ignore it and keep talking with him and he's not too bad. I believe most people just get intimidated and walk off).

DirtRider is smart and knows their reader base is far less impressed by the marketing than the customers than the other magazines, and they include their readers in a lot of the testing (this last testing session with the 150SX and KTM 250SX-F is a prime example). Kudos to them on that one, not many magazines would take the risk of allowing some random person to test equipment that isn't even theirs, with no waiver even. They definitely earned another subscriber just from that whole event, a nice companion for my MXA subscription.

38

Non-Moto / Re: Gas Milage

« on: August 04, 2010, 03:18:27 PM »

I can go around ~30 miles from around 900 or so feet in elevation to 3k feet in elevation through heavy sand and pretty tight trails, though most of it is WOT riding.

That leaves me pretty low on gas and I'm sure I could go farther but I usually throw the 2 liters of gas into the tank and it fills it back up again for more riding.

I can get around 40 minutes on a hard moto (on a track like Glen Helen) or longer on tracks like Milestone and Starwest / Racetown.

39

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Four Stroke is two too many for Maico.

« on: August 04, 2010, 02:32:12 PM »

Maico (VIncent Page) is one of three companies that has emailed me back personally to say that he supported this petition and twostrokemx.com 100%. Spy and ProMotoFan were the others. I will post a list of all the ones I have contacted tomorrow. I think we should all send it to as many companies as we can think of.

I'm surprised FMF hasn't replied back yet, they're about the only ones for aftermarket pipes that still support the 2 stroke (PC is about as pro 4 as they come).

Also, do you happen to have the link to the DirtRider blog Jimmy wrote? In my conversations with him he was pretty adamant about being on the 4 stroke band wagon beyond saying if he could only have one bike it'd be a 125 MXer... (I tried keeping the conversation neutral and cordial, but he did mention that people are being too militant about 2 strokes...). I had a much more positive conversation with Pete Peterson, he was more open minded and you could have an intelligent conversation without all the self absorption getting in the way (I will give it to Jimmy that he was pretty busy but not knowing the guy or reading his stuff up until meeting him I got the impression right away...).

Edit: http://blogs.dirtrider.com/6671560/editorial/promote-the-two-stroke/index.html

Found it.

Also, who @ MXA did you e-mail? Jody is the one to hit up there... John Basher is a quick second.

40

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: What silencer works well with the FMF narly?

« on: August 02, 2010, 06:45:22 PM »

I like the 'Q' series because they are quiet and have a spark arrestor. If you are only racing the shorty's are nice, but loud.

+1

The FMF shorty is not loud... (At least it hasn't been on my 06 CR250 or 2010 250SX... sounds stock). Now the PC304 shorties ARE loud, stupid loud actually (they sound like the packing is blown out brand new!), but not the FMF shorties from what I've experienced.

41

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Hondas NOT so surprising anti 2-stroke stance.

« on: July 24, 2010, 11:24:57 AM »

I agree that it is damaging to the cause however there are a few problems (actually, the pro-4 stroke isn't damaging to the other side since its currently the norm).

Now, I wouldn't care if they produced 4 strokes.  However, I would never buy them.  It would then be great if they made both 4 strokes and 2 strokes and you could choose.

There are several problems though:

1. Can they justify R&D for both 4 strokes and 2 strokes for the off road market?  Off road racing?  How high of a verticle is this market, what's the ceiling?

2. Once both bikes are out there, wouldn't one of them eventually outsell the other and the market itself would probably push one of them off.  I won't speculate as to which one, but likely that would end up with only 1 winner in the end anyway.  Unfortunately, this isn't why 4 strokes are currently here, they didn't win fairly in the market.

3. Isn't it true that different types of MX tracks benefit different bikes?  So, could we have a mixed track or would we end up with 2 different nationals?  Or is just keeping the current tracks and allowing 2 strokes of equal displacement enough?

1) Depends on the companies size. But realistically, with how much they have dumped into R&D for the 4 strokes it's doubtful many will do much to their current 2 stroke lineups beyond BNGs (Yamaha), or very minor tweaks (KTM). Though with DI already a reality in 2 strokes (some older SeaDoos had DI (99-2003?) thanks to Bombardier.

2) Of course, see number 1 for why they really won't push for many changes in the 2 stroke side of the house. Currently we have a situation that at best will provide us with the same bikes unchanged for hopefully a long time to come. With the current shift in the world economy (especially back here in the states) we might get to see a shift towards 2 strokes again but not ever at the level it used to be.

3) Yep. Glen Helen is a prime example, as is Racetown, Piru, Hangtown, Milestone, etc... All favor the 4 strokes to some degree, others more so (Glen Helen's shift to the GP style track destroyed it... it used to be pretty neutral in design but not favors the 4 stroke outright). But honestly, you can't blame the tracks too much. They design the tracks for their customers, which happen to be mostly 4 strokes right now. The best route is to go back to the way Glen Helen had their track setup before they sold out to the GP mantra of track design, really their old track was awesome for both 2 and 4 strokes. Everyone was happy.

42

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Hondas NOT so surprising anti 2-stroke stance.

« on: July 24, 2010, 10:20:24 AM »

Not sure that you guys really get the impact of what would happen if only one manufacturer would release a DI two-stroke... it would quickly become an orphan, similar to the CRF150 and unfortunately the KTM 350

The rules would change so fast that it would make your head spin.

No manufacturer wants to release a bike that will be choked off and killed before it has a chance to prove that it's viable.

As I've mentioned before there is much more to this then meets the eye.

The ONLY real way of changing this negative impact is to continue to support two-strokes and to help others see the benefits. Not by calling four-stroke fans names or being militant or by saying negative things about Honda. That line of thinking will put the entire movement into the fringes where it will be promptly ignored by anyone that has the power to change it.

If you think this is the wrong path to follow I'd love to hear constructive ideas.

I agree that being militant about 2 strokes is a complete turn off to most people. One of the 1st things Jimmy Lewis mentioned to me was how he viewed twostrokemotocross.com as a fringe 2 stroke nut group, I was quick to point out it was no different than ThumperTalk and told him most people into the 2 stroke resurgence aren't hard-line anti-fourstroke nuts, me being one of them (I own and like both, but enjoy riding the 2 strokes). His biggest thing was how people were doing the whole 4 strokes only, 2 strokes only extremes and said if he could only have one bike it would be a 125 MXer, then we went off into conversation about the suspension changes they threw in on my little brothers test bike haha. (I think he was a bit surprised I didn't go off on the 2 strokes rule 4 jokes suck routine I'm sure he gets a lot of).

At any rate, I really don't see DI getting penalized if it's introduced. It's no different than FI on the 4 strokes, if anything it'd get others to jump in on the craze. The 150R/350SXF are niche bikes (one was pushed by Honda to kill off the 85cc class, the other by KTM to waste time and money lol), a DI bike is neither, it's just an improvement to an existing bike.

Also, as a side note... Heard some rumors of Suzuki bringing the two strokes back to the U.S (only issue right now is them having troubles with pre-selling them to dealers... Heard of a shop here in SoCal that has been pushing hard but Suzuki won't bring them in unless more pony up... Sad.)

43

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Hondas NOT so surprising anti 2-stroke stance.

« on: July 23, 2010, 07:37:45 PM »

   


As for KTMs 2 strokes, well we'll see. They were quick to fight the 250 2 strokes racing in the pro class against the 250Fs, they aren't any more a friend of 2 strokes than Honda is, they're just business savvy and want to take advantage of the vacuum created by the other manufacturers pulling out (Suzuki, Kawasaki and Honda). They are in the same boat of the other manufacturers in having spent billions on development and advertising how technologically superior the 4 stroke is, in fact they just spent a ton of money developing a 350SXF that honestly is a dead end competitively (much like Honda's 150R), when they could have pushed out DI powered 2 strokes instead completely turning the industry on it's head...

  I have to strongly disagree when you say KTM were quick to fight the 250 2-strokes racing in the pro class against the 250f's & that they are'nt any more a friend of 2-strokes than Honda is.When KTM was looking into a direct injected 2-stroke they were going to use DI on the 250SX until the EVIL AMA changed the rules!Look on this site & you will find this quote: "The 250SX could have a bright future but it depends on what happens regarding the rules & regulations. KTM wants them to be introduced to MX-2 to allow teams that don't have millionaire budgets to compete against the 4-strokes.For the 2-stroke the injection is ready & this would provide a cleaner & more precise power delivery.So it's NOT KTM like alot of people think it's more likely due to the AMA,FIM and the economy in general,and I believe those reasons are also why Yamaha has'nt improved on their 2-strokes very much.But that's better than Honda! They don't have any 2-strokes on the market & probably never will again!

KTM is on the AMA board... Just like Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki. And yes, they were very quick to fight the introduction of equal CCs in the classes and threatened to pull their riders out of the series if the rule was passed.

Also, how did the AMA stop KTM from introducing DI? It's no different than the FI on the 4 strokes, and honestly the economy thing would have ruled out them introducing FI on their 250F and dumping a lot of R&D type implementations on their red headed stepchild of a brand Husaberg.

44

General Two Stroke Talk / Re: Dirt Rider needs test riders

« on: July 23, 2010, 04:47:48 PM »

Well, Dirt Rider has certainly gone up in my book. Especially above MXA, who never once contacted me back. Jimmy Lewis said that he would start posting updates on the website soon about the test.

Post the link up once you get it. Dude never responds to my e-mails lol (Jimmy Lewis), he was a nice guy to talk to but was a bit stand-offish. I ended up talking quite a bit with Pete, he was more approachable and easy going. Plus he loves two strokes so we talked about them for quite a while.

45

Non-Moto / Re: You stay much cleaner on a Jet Ski

« on: July 23, 2010, 04:39:40 PM »

I love my 97 Yamaha 1100 triple... Bought some boyesen radvalves (x3 ouch!) for it, carb rebuild kit and new topend. I've put 240 hours on it since 1996 and now it's finally due a rebuild lol. (Oh, and a new prop!)