Spark plug cleaning, save ole sparky for another day

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Hard core racers change spark plugs before every race to insure that they don’t have a DNF from a simple inexpensive part.  But for the rest of us that cannot afford to throw a plug away after every ride or race.  Especially because some of our machines require those iridium style plugs that can be up to $14 each!  Here is a nifty tool that can make worn or carbon fouled plugs new again, or at least new enough to be a spare back up plug to carry in case of emergencies.  The tool runs off of air with some abrasive that “blasts” the plug to remove deposits to allow the fouled plug to fire again.  It only takes a few blasts of air to clean a typical carbon or oil fouled plug, so you could do this with a portable air tank.  This makes it possible to bring it (with air tank) with you in your tool box.  Now obviously this will not fix plugs that failed because of cracked insulators, eroded electrodes, or other physical damage.  Best part about this tool is it can be had for under $10, well worth the price to extend the life of a plug that has electrodes that are in good shape but just is fouled to the point that electricity will not jump the gap.

A Diamond in the Rough: Christmas Valley Sand Dunes

MSRP on a Honda TRX 450R: $6,999.  Enough gas to make it there and back: $200.  11,000 acres of windswept, untouched sand beneath your paddle tires: priceless!  For one sleepy little town in central Oregon, Christmas lasts all year long.  At least for the ATV enthusiasts that live there that is. [Read more]

A Look Back At 2008

We here at ATV Sport often have to keep the throttle pinned even when we aren’t riding. You see, in the magazine industry, you’re always faced with a deadline and always thinking about the future. It’s such a regular occurrence that we often forget to look back and review the past year. For this year, we decided to skim through our own mags and highlight a few things from each issue. Enjoy.

2008 March
Big Feature: 450cc Class Woods Shootout
Racing Highlight: Racer of the Year
Hot Product: Elka System 3 Dampener (www.elkasuspension.com)
Funny Line: In answering the question, “What does your racing contract with Yamaha involve?” Brandon Sommers answers, “Letters, sentences and paragraphs. He he!”
On The Cover: 450 TEST (450cc sport models)

’08 April
Big Feature: Speed Freaks – Big-bore Woods Shootout
Racing Highlight: Off-road Birthday Bash – Baja Turns 40
Hot Product: Epic Racing Products Fun Fueler (www.epicracingproducts.com)
Funny Line: On describing Mike Cafro’s scamper in his underwear in Baja, author Jesse Wozniak wrote, “At this point, Cafro said he stripped down to his underwear, slung his gear over his shoulders and ran back to his 450.”
On The Cover: Feel The Power (Open class trail quads)

’08 May
Big Feature: Honda’s Hero – 400EX Revitalized
Racing Highlight: Built To Last – WBGO’s excellent coverage of 6 endurance quads and what makes them tick.
Hot Product: LEATT Brace (www.leatt-brace.com)
Funny Line: “He must be OK folks, he’s waving off his mother.” Cody Anderson describing the announcer’s post-race comments at a local race.
On The Cover: Ride For Fun (Honda 400EX)

’08 June
Big Feature: Building XX – In –depth look at Honda’s 700XX
Racing Highlight: Happy Go Yokley – In-depth interview with GNCC racer William Yokley
Hot Product: Steering Stabilizers Buyer’s Guide
Funny Line: When asked, What new things will we see on your quad this year? Yokley answered, “A rider with no belly handing over his belt, and the National Guard as my title sponsor.”
On The Cover: Sexy Quads (Yamaha YFZ GYTR)

’08 July/August
Big Feature: Sport Quad of the Year (Can-Am DS 450)
Racing Highlight: And They’re Off! Glen Helen AMA Pro ATV Opener
Hot Product: Youth Quad Buyer’s Guide
Funny Line: “Notice I said ‘race photo.’ Nobody wants to see a picture of you and your nerdy sister eating cake on your 5th birthday,” said Number 87 columnist Cody Anderson in his “The Sponsor Game” column.
On The Cover: Big-Bore 700XX (Honda’s open-class sport model)

’08 September
Big Feature: Big-bore Open-Class shootout
Racing Highlight: Super Cool – ATV Supermoto outside of Las Vegas
Hot Product: Dual Exhaust Buyer’s Guide
Funny Line: “When I first started racing, I wore jeans, a jean jacket, a helmet and combat boots,” explained GNCC veteran and multi-time Vet class champion John Gallagher.
On The Cover: Big 5 Shootout (Open class quads)

’08 October

Big Feature: 2009 New Models Previews & Tests (Kawasaki/Can-Am/Polaris/Yamaha/Arctic Cat/Suzuki
Racing Highlight: The Farr Side: Team FRE KTM

Hot Product: Hit The Dirt (Trail tire Buyer’s Guide)
Funny Line: “If I was a tomato, I’d find the first jalapeno and kick his spicy little ___! I get blamed for his salmonella outbreak— stupid!” Editor Jerrod Kelley said in his column.
On The Cover: Battle-Ready Quads from Can-Am (DS 450 X xc & X mx)

’08 November

Big Feature: 2009 New Model Previews & Tests (Yamaha/Arctic Cat/Can-Am/Polaris/ Suzuki/KTM)

Racing Highlight: Local Talent – AWRCS series by Amy McConnell
Hot Product: Iomega eGo Portable hard drive (www.iomega.com)
Funny Line: “We all know General Mills’ Lucky Charms is an tremendous cereal — incredible taste performance, high-quality packaging, brightly colored marshmallows and that awesome leprechaun. Did you know, however, that the generic Malt-O-Meal knockoff, Marshmallow Mateys, delivers almost the same sugary enjoyment for a fraction of the cost?” Contributing editor Tom Kaiser led off the off-brand 450cc four-stroke model story with this quote.
On The Cover: Built To Win (KTM SX quads)

’08 December
Big Feature: 2009 Yamaha YFZ450R

Racing Highlight: Three Men & A Cat

– Fines Double Racing Team’s Arctic Cat Thunderc

at & Racing The Vegas to Reno event.

Hot Product: DRD Raptor 250 Exhaust (www.dubachracing.com)
Funny Line: “Just figure out what is going to be in the path if you go straight, because you’re going to be there, and you’re going to hit it, whether it’s a barbed wire fence, rock, a cow, an abandoned car, a ditch or a cliff,” said Danny Prather about the Honda 700XX’s handling.
On The Cover: New YFZ450R (Yamaha’s new 450cc four-stroke)

Quick tip, installing hand grips

If your like me and you go through hand grips almost once a season, installing grips is one of those jobs that is so easy, yet sometimes frustrating that you dread doing it. You know the drill. You get all ready to install them and fight them on the bars, and then after all your muscling, you come to find out that after one ride they just spin allowing your hands to slip of the bars. Well in this article I will outline some good practices that will ease the installation and increase safety.

First remove the old grips and ALL the old glue or what ever adhesive was left behind. A little trick to removing old grips is to score with a razor knife a few times down the length of the grip. Then just peel it off the bars. A 50/50% mix of rubbing alcohol and water will make quick work of the left over adhesive. This same procedure can be used on the throttle side as well regardless of the type of throttle your using (twist or thumb), although I recommend removing the twist throttle housing to prevent breaking the housing.

Installing can be aided with use of some heat from a heat gun, a hair dryer I have found ineffective as it fails to get hot enough. Just be careful to not to overheat the grips, just enough to soften them a little. Likewise I recommend installing on a twist throttle housing with it removed.

Adhesive choices: lots of debates can be had on this subject, I personally follow the recommendations of the grip manufacture that I am using. For example, Pro-Grip brand grips, use Pro-Grip brand glue, Renthal grips, Renthal glue, and so on. Now some see this as a marketing ploy, and its possible, but in my experiences different grips are made of different compounds and various percentages of natural and synthetic rubbers, thus different glues react differently. My theory is Pro-Grip branded a formulation that best adheres to THEIR grips, likewise with Renthal ect… I have also heard people using spray paint as a grip glue. I have had mixed experiences with the spray paint method so I don’t recommend using it as the only means of affixing the grips to the bars.

Safety wire: regardless the method you use to secure your new grips I suggest using safety wire as an added protection of grips breaking loose, slipping or turning. You can use a light gauge mechanics wire or places do sell wire labeled as “safety wire”, ether way I highly recommend getting a pair of dedicated safety wire pliers as it makes the whole job easier of wrapping and twisting then cutting the wire.

Use these tips and your grip will not only be better but safer.

Looking back, my 1973 Kawasaki F11

For most of us the winter weather interrupts our riding adventures and forces us to burrow ourselves into our garages and ultimately onto our computers. It also allows us to have more time to think about past events, rides, and even machines. I spoke briefly about this in an earlier post http://www.atvmagblog.com/2008/12/02/reflections-of-machines-gone-past/ As I was writing I thought to myself, everyone has some stories about their machines, past and present. Well this is my story about one of those bikes in the collection.

The bike I chose for this blast from the past for this week is the 1973 Kawasaki F11 (250cc).  First off just a little bit of history on the bike when it was new.  The bike itself was not really a revolution in motorcycling.  Loosely based on the frame and engine of the KX250 works bikes released the same year, the F11 was the “enduro” or dual purpose version of the KX.  For those too young or ignorant to read up on the evolution of offroad motorcycling, motorcycles in general sold in the US had to have some street legal prowess to even be considered by most potential buyers, partially because of the oil embargo of the 70’s.  At the time public perception was that if the bike was “offroad only” it was not a good value because you had to have a means of transportation to the track or trail, at a time when pickups were strictly for work or utility and the sport ute was 20 years away.  The F11 was a bargain with a MSRP of $495 compared to say a (superior) European offroad only race bike had MSRP’s of $1,000 or more and were not street legal.  This was also at a time when the term big bore machine meant 250 and 350cc machines.  Designed to compete head to head with Yamahas DT1 it fared well with the “green streak” modifications (similar to Yamaha’s GYT-kits, pronounced “git-kit”).  The F11 was a departure from Kawasaki’s traditional rotary valve 2 strokes being a more typical piston port machine.  The F11 only had a production run of 2 years before it was dropped and the KX250 was the only bike that filled the 250cc single cylinder spot.

Ok with a little background on the bike out of the way here is my experience with the bike.  I didn’t acquire the bike new of course, and I was not necessarily looking for that particular bike, lets just say it found me.  Back in the 90’s my family always took vacations around the country, with regular trips back and forth to Denver from our home in south central Nebraska.  One trip back from a vacation we stopped by an old Kawasaki dealership in a town of about 7,000 total population, (McCook,NE).  From time to time we would stop in to “shop” their back lot and storage room, well this time they had acquired a 1969 H1 500cc triple (street bikes we collect) and as we dickered on the price of the for the 500, the dealer asked “Is there anything else you want back here?”  I had spy-ed the F11 sitting way in the back under a good layer of dirt. ”I said what do you want for that?”  The dealer replied, “Well I will just give you that since your already buying the 500, anything else you see that you would like to take off my hands?”  We also came home with a DT175 that had been hit by a car, but that’s another story.  We paid for the 500 and a day later I made a trip back to the dealer for the 3 bikes. 

After getting it home and doing some preliminary cleaning and adjustments, I proceeded to try to fire the bike.  Everything was in spec, carburetor, ignition points set correctly and in time, but it just would not fire and run.  Upon a compression test revealed very low compression, I kinda suspected it in the beginning but I have made bikes in worse shape run and run well, so I didn’t think a whole lot about it. A tear down for a top end was in store.  Now I found out why the dealer gave it away with the other bike, the piston had a small piece missing on the crown near the edge of the ring land.  Ok not a big deal, I have done top ends before, no biggie.  Sourcing the parts was the real challenge and probably the reason the original owner abandoned it at the dealer years ago.  The piston, rings, and wrist pin were obsolete from the OEM and Wiesco.  In the days before Ebay and the Internet, my only shot was either find a bone yard bike/engine that was in better shape that I could rob the parts out of (not my first choice) or find some NOS (new old stock) parts.  Through many phone calls to dealers spanning the country, I got a tip of a guy that buys up dealers parts inventories when they go out of business.  I thought SCORE!  Well this was a mixed blessing as the guy only has the parts cataloged by part number on micro-fiche.  So without an OEM part number he could not tell me if he had the part(s) or not.  With some digging on some old micro-fiche parts diagrams I got my numbers, and sure enough he had all the parts I needed NOS.  Fast forward a month or two later I had basically a “new” 1973 F11M. 

Many good memories were had on that bike.  I hate to fathom how many hours I put on that machine.  At the time it was all I had for a motocross bike, even though it was not a true mx bike.  The thing was heavy hovering around the 300 pound mark, and suspension was sub-par even for its day, 4 inches in the front and about 3.5 in the rear with little to no damping to control the springs.  I felt I handled the bike well considering its drawbacks and ultimately I believe made me a better rider for the future when I would update my equipment.  I am a firm believer that ANY rider should cut their teeth on a vintage or lower performing bike for a while before they go head first in to one of these cutting edge machines.  Below is a link of me and my friends riding these bikes back in the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9O1pdW1o4g

Goin’ for a test ride

My first opportunity to work as a test rider for ATV Sport Magazine was nothing short of spectacular. Back in July, ATV Sport Editor and chief Jerrod Kelley contacted me about participating in this new blog. I was ecstatic for the opportunity to be considered for the position and set out immediately in hopes of making an impact on our sport.

[Read more]

Would You Rather - ATV Style

OK, I posted this on our MySpace page roughly a year ago. I figured it was time to get some new feedback. Share your thoughts.

Would you rather ride a utility quad or a sport quad?

Would you rather ride a two-up quad or drive a UTV (Rhino)?

Would you rather beat Bill Ballance or Dustin Wimmer?

Would you rather be hit on by a moto ho or a stripper?

Would you rather eat track food or fast food?

Would you rather race MX or GNCC?

Would you rather race in the desert or dirt track?

Would you rather try an ATV backflip or a 200-foot-plus jump?

Would you rather race with a twist or thumb throttle?

Would you rather get beat by a girl (woman) or someone 10+ years older than you?

Would you rather be on the cover of a magazine or be on the local news?

Would you rather ride naked with a helmet or ride in MX gear without a helmet?

Would you rather crash in the whoops or on a jump?

Would you rather race the Baja 1000 or Dakar?

Would you rather poop in a port-a-potty at the track or in the woods?

Would you rather sleep in a tent or in a $29.95 motel?

Would you rather eat a hot dog or a Snickers bar?

Would you rather drink Monster, Red Bull or Rockstar?

Would you rather ride in deep mud or dense fog-like dust?

Would you rather be hit from behind by a trophy truck or hit a tree at full speed?

Would you rather be on a factory race team or fully sponsored by the aftermarket?

Would you rather ride without gloves or without socks?

Would you rather be married to a women’s ATV champion, a supermodel or a professional cheerleader?

Would you rather see a story about yourself in a magazine or on the Web?

Would you rather race for a living or be retired?

2009 YFZ450R First Ride

ATV Sport 2009 Yamaha YFZ450R First Test

We rode the 2009 Yamaha YFZ450R at LACR in Palmdale, Calif. The video features ATV Pro Jason Dunkelberger and ATV Sport Editor Jerrod Kelley. The still photos are from Jeff Henson, managing editor.

Holiday Shopping Guide

Holiday Shopping Guide
by Scott Lukaitis

As the parts and accessory manager at Freehold Honda the holiday shopping season is upon us. Mostly due to the current economic situation it seems like people are starting their holiday shopping earlier than usual. With that in mind here are some great gift ideas that have come across my desk in the last couple of weeks.

One of the popular gifts that we have seen already this season is the Go Pro Hero Wide angle Camera At $199.99 this unit is a self contained video recording masterpiece. Used this season by the Yamaha Factory motocross team as well as many privateers the kit comes ready to use for your shot at You Tube Fame.

Another popular gift this season is the Club Brace by Leatt Brace. This helmet for your neck has become a requirement for racers and play riders alike as safety has become more and more inmportant to the riding commiunity. Leatt braces are worn by many top professional riders and at $395.00 it is money well spent.

Some less expensive holiday gifts that have been popular so far are the latest DVD’s recently released. Every year around mid-November the latest batch of Quad DVD’s hit the shelf. Quad Jockeys 2, The Fallout: Reloaded and the ever popular Huevos series, this time with the eleventh installment, are due daily. And who can forget about the latest from Travis Pastrana and his friends. Nitro Circuis 6, Thrill Billies hit the shelves this week and as they say the rest is history. Another great video from the Nitro Circuis Crew.

Another trend we are seeing this season is the gift of preventative maintence. Although unwrapping a case of oil or a box of oil filters on Christams morning isn’t as exciting as an Xbox, the thought behind keeping your quad running is a practical one.

And last but not least keep your expensive quad battery healthy all winter long with a Battery Tender.  This important piece of winter maintenance is often over looked and by doing so can cost you. Save money this spring with a little winter maintenance.

Hopefully this will help you with your holiday shopping. So take some time and stop in your local friendly ATV dealer and let them help you with your holiday shopping needs.

Happy Holidays!!!

If you would like more information on any of the items listed above please email me at parts@freeholdhonda.com or comment below with your own ideas.

A Word with the Champ: Dustin Wimmer

I recently asked Dustin Wimmer, 2008 AMA Pro Grand National Champion, if he would be willing to catch up for a few minutes about his successful 2008 racing season.  He graciously accepted and I picked his brain for a few minutes about his racing career and what life is like after winning the championship.

 

 

[Read more]

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