street legal 2-strokes

[breakdirt916]

700th post!

I can't help myself...I know I should swap that shock...but I just...wanna...ride...





we took a different road that I haven't visited in a couple years....waaaaay smoother than what I usually ride...

just a fire road rolling over the tops of mountains



it's amazing how much the geography changes on either side of the mountain line...this side was more "meadows" while the other side was more forest/rocks



random 690 dude was flying...until he got a pinch flat...bummer



in addition to the shock, basic maintenance, bike felt a little easy to kick over...I wanna check compression and maybe do a tear down soon just to take a peek in there since my rebuild

[breakdirt916]

kinda works...gotta make sure the cable has tension and spools up straight...need better tie down point on bike.

and yeah shock probably tomorrow...



on a light dirt bike, it's faster to just run/push it in

maybe help the vstrom tho...

[csmutty]

If you make one more post that includes "should have done shock"....

[breakdirt916]

so it's getting hot in the desert, ya wanna fight about it?

does that mean dirt riding is done? hell naw...move to the shade in the forests!

summer days mean later sun (until 7:30 already!) after work - alternate week dirt rides in Cleveland National forest after work are back

alsoooo...a friend is going here this weekend:



Pismo Beach/Oceano Dunes

The only beach in California with a 5ish mile stretch that you're allowed to drive/ride on

the forests aren't the only cool places in the summer!

average high temps in summer - 72 degrees!

goal: camp, mount the paddle tire that's wasting away in my shed, ride on the beach, then surf the same spot

[breakdirt916]

with the Vstrom gone, I turned to this ol' girl to get get my riding fix



4th kick!

and holy moly...even with a blown shock, I took this on the same jump as I rode with the Vstrom and got launched no problem...so fun!

my muscle memory is gone though...can't seem to find the low speed balance point at anymore...I want to start riding this weekly to get familiar with this again

gearing was perfect around town...I will soon be spending some time ripping things apart and fixing her back up. I will start with that saggy baggy shock in the rear, then go to the headlight and find a better way to mount it than the fork straps. The whole thing is in exactly the wrong spot for the brake line to get snagged on it

Edit:
-bike makes an engine rpm tapping noise...I want to tear it down ASAP to see
-the only functional lights are R front blinker and tail/brake light
-talked to my mechanic and he is willing to do tear down inspection in preparation for LAB2V...so a I will work on the outside stuff for now
-kick stand is sketchy AF - afraid to park it near other cars...need my WR swinger swap asap
-want a dummy ignition key mounted to the bars and hidden kill switch

[breakdirt916]

Sitting in traffic in an 01 F150 drives me absolutely insane...on a 6 day work week commuting 1hr35 mins on one of those days reminded me the daily therapy of moto commuting.

”Brappy” July



Since moto commuting is out until I get another street bike I am going to try and work on making this more road legal (starting with a working headlight and and re-add rear signals) and riding this 2-3 times per week to the gym to get some saddle time...alternate weekends after work for fire roads, then October/November desert day shakedown runs for LAB2V

And umm...it will 4th gear wheelie when the gas tank is less than half full

[breakdirt916]

Wow, wow, wow...finally added new DRC rear signals, fixed my front headlight and left turn signal to pickup rent checks on a 70’s temp night ride and WOW




Feels like my original days...night cruising, low traffic, 2 stroke screaming into the night, with good weather is such a high...reminds me of my 2014 days when I first got the bike. This is what a plated bike is for...run all your errands, go to the gym, grocery shop, cash checks...the fun way. Ride almost daily...get to know her inside out.

Still re-learning the bike (now with a the wide ratio transmission) and it is most fun to accelerate to 5th as early as possible using the torque explosion as it gets on the pipe

[typeone]

time for a proper Maico/Zabel swap, stretch dem legs

[Imbeek]

Fix the shock already wtf

[Kurlon]

time for a proper Maico/Zabel swap, stretch dem legs

Look up BRC Racing's KTM 500 kit... 67hp, 51ft/lbs with a 38mm carb and there is more on the table.

[breakdirt916]

ATK with the Maico power plant 78hp with 230lbs dry

No thank you...43 hp is plenty!

As a matter of fact, a Mo-Betta porting for power all around would be best suited for trails and street

And yes, shock likely next

[breakdirt916]

Good news - you don’t have to take out the subframe to get the rear shock out

Bad news:



Well, I was going to send my shock to Factory Connection anyways...Just going to hand clean it, order a pivot works bearing kit, a new lower shock bolt (it actually just threads into the linkage...no lock nut...which sketches me out in case I over tighten or cross thread it...going to add loc tite blue and use a torque wrench)

hope they don’t take 2-1/2 months and “lose my order in the shuffle” again

May try to fleabay the shock but wtf is it from? Rather just give it away

[Kurlon]

That's a 92 shock.

[breakdirt916]

dammit

you want it??

may fit an '91 too

and what else do I do?

was planning to:
-clean it
-mail it to FC
-order the pivot works shock bearing kit
-set the sag and clickers when it comes back

edit: a LAB2V rep recommended ESP in la crescenta/glendale/LA area

edit 2: good reviews on yelp - I may call tomorrow for pricing and turn around time, and maybe bring it to them on Thursday

Edit 3: if the shaft is still good they quoted roughly $300 for a service and re-valve!

Edit 4: a pitted shaft is like a saw slicing through a seal. Not sure why shocks don’t come with boots or covers

[breakdirt916]

Got it over to the shop...driving all the way past downtown LA sucks...traffic galore. Wish I had the Vstrom for these medial tasks



Good news: shaft is in good shape! No need to get a Ebay shock and guess the condition again...the mud flap though is important and mine is torn up...I will get a new one

$330ish services the whole shock

Weird thing is he did not recommend any change in the spring rate or re valve. Pretty much a new seal, oil, recharge, clean up and call it a day. He said setting it up for MX is not so great for dual sport. I will admit that whatever Factory connection did on the forks made it stiff...but I never bottom out anymore...not sure what I want anymore. Oh well...just try it and see how it goes...he also reminded me that all this work was no good without linkage bearings replaced and greased

Their estimate was Wednesday

[Kurlon]

You were there when I had my 92 WR re-sprung, IIRC FC didn't change the valving but re-springing made that bike MUCH MORE BETTER both in the woods and at the track. And I agree with them RE bearings.

[maxim_X]

This might not be the thread, but my wife got her motorcycle license and I bought something for her as a gift. You might know I’ve had a pattern of buying bikes for her and taking them, but this is really for her. And it’s a street legal 2 stroke.

1972 TS185

[gregp]

This might not be the thread, but my wife got her motorcycle license and I bought something for her as a gift. You might know I’ve had a pattern of buying bikes for her and taking them, but this is really for her. And it’s a street legal 2 stroke.

1972 TS185

With a more modern front end??? Those are not the stock 1972 forks/brake.

[maxim_X]

With a more modern front end??? Those are not the stock 1972 forks/brake.

It has a fork from a TTR125. The swap isn't quite right, but I'm working on making it better. The spacers aren't good and it needs to be resprung.

[breakdirt916]

This is exactly the right place, that thing is rad!

My friend had one in high school and he used to jump the S out of it haha

Welcome to the smoking club

@kurlon - should I just ride it after the service then ask for a re-spring later if I am using up a lot of the stroke? Do you remember how much you went up? I weigh 145

Edit: based on what I am reading, the spring just holds up the weight of the bike and the rider...the valving controls how the suspension behaves. At 145lbs I can’t imagine the stock spring can’t hold me up. The mechanic said he knew the guy that designed that shock and said it was set up for 175lb ish rider.

[typeone]

^ on the shock, what rate spring is on it now? check your sag numbers (static + race) as it currently sits then report back.

[breakdirt916]

Not sure...I will have to call the shop and ask them to measure it...then when the service is done, re install with new bearings and measure the sag

Bummer too...weather is semi good and I want to go street mob

Got my shock bearing kit...I realized it is just the shock bearings and seals. I also need the linkage bearing kit.

Edit: man the R&R adds up:
-$330 rear shock service
-$40 - shock bearing kit
-$100 - linkage bearing kit

Man just touching the thing is over $470 bucks lol...not even including a spring or re valve

Edit 2: @Kurlon, if I go to a WR swing arm, do I also need to use the 18” rear rim? Can I fit the 19” YZ rim anymore?

I want to hit up pismo sand dunes this summer and glamis this October...my paddle tire is a 19”

And right before LAB2V I want to throw the WR swing arm so I can use a working kick stand.

[Kurlon]

On my 92, WR / YZ wheels use the same hub and spacers so just swap as you want. The only thing the WR swingarm gets you is 'snail' style chain adjusters and a place to bolt a side stand to. If neither of those get your heart rate up, keep the YZ swingarm.

On the spring, run it, if you feel you need more spring they're easy to swap.

[breakdirt916]

Excellent...I want the kick stand

then I will likely swap the swing arm and the bearings...run the 19” paddle tire for pismo and an 18” tractionator hard terrain the rest of the time

Man I should have just gotten a plated WR250 that I saw for $3,500 a couple years back

[breakdirt916]

full honesty, the last time I had linkage bearings done was....

...by Peter Kates at GMD on my RM disaster bike...like 8 years ago

I don't have a bench vise...or bearing push/puller kit...or a garage



I can smash on the linkage bearings with a steel hammer and sockets but may actively destroy something on the way

opition 1: remove linkage, clean, drop off at shop with parts to properly remove/seat new bearings.

option 2: it has been half-sentence mentioned in Eric Gorr's 2-stroke guide that a 1996 linkage is similar to a DeVol linkage...it's $14.99 on ebay...so is it worth buying the linkage, comparing the fit against the 1994 linkage, and having the bearings pressed into the 1996 if it fits? thumpertalk is inconclusive

edit: actually the shock bearings also require a press...probably just going to drop off all the parts for swapping.

edit 2: thumpertalk's suspension tuning guide - 15-20 min warm up, set the sag, set the clickers all the way out, ride it. Click them all the way in, ride it. Go back to the middle and ride it one click at a time. If it feels better, keep riding/clicking until it feels worse, then go back. Done.