typeone's Beta build (200RR)

[typeone]

X strip forks, inspect upper tubes for wear, send out for hard coat if none
X install MXT Lucky inserts with fresh seals/bushings when tubes are back
- inspect + grease steering bearings
- inspect + grease wheel bearings
- inspect + grease linkage and swingarm bearings
X inspect + grease axles
X inspect wiring for chafe, see if i can remove more
X inspect rotors + pads
- repack PC shorty silencer (carbon Scalvini is kind of a PIA)
X install Quad Flow Torque Wing in carb
X T-in and reroute carb hoses
- check compression
X might try RK Tek head insert or thinner base gasket
X install longer shift lever, i lost 20mm distance to peg compared to 250
X install XTrig preload adjuster
X clean filters
- fresh plastics + graphics

[Kurlon]

Want to come up to Maine and work with me on my 2016 at the same time? Based on what I've seen I'd suggest pulling the frame guards and checking for trapped dirt wearing the paint off or eating the subframe aluminum there as well.

[typeone]

Want to come up to Maine and work with me on my 2016 at the same time? Based on what I've seen I'd suggest pulling the frame guards and checking for trapped dirt wearing the paint off or eating the subframe aluminum there as well.

would love to, this one will go quick

yes, good point on frame guards. they need to come off for swingarm access anyway. i like to apply a layer of clear Gorilla tape under them to help combat wear. do the same under the tank where it meets the frame ... but this bike seems to have less contact there.

[nhbubba]

I'm honestly just here for the photos...

[Kurlon]

Hrmm... hadn't heard the tape under idea, maybe I'll do that instead of switching to stick on wear panels?

[typeone]

yeah, provides a bit of added protection and holds up well. could even double up the Gorilla tape if you get a lot of movement. cheap solution.

EDIT: to be clear, i apply the tape to the frame, not the guards. that way the guard + dirt can still exist while keeping frame paint intact.

[typeone]

a bit of fondling tonight.. .

to revisit what i was working through over the season for a sec, other than suspension tuning, it took a while to get used to the smaller chassis. i'm not that big/tall of a guy (5' 10", ~175lbs, ~10-11 boot) but the 125 chassis definitely felt smaller and a bit cramped in places, like the shift lever to peg distance i mentioned. even with sag dialed, i was still feeling like i was hanging off the back too much making me focus on either humping the tank or scooting forward a lot.

i left my bars in the stock position, like the 250, and didn't think about it until i read some reports about moving the bars forward. duh. the Beta's have 4 levels of adjustment, three holes front-to-back in the triple and the clamp itself is also offset.

i tried moving the bars up a hole which gave me +15mm forward, then clamp in rear position which prob netted a +10mm change from where i was at ... MAGIC. totally different feel. i'm way more centered now, especially when standing, which brought a more balanced feel overall. crazy how a tiny change can make a difference like that. major improvement.



swapped the shift lever to the longer one, crap pic but i gained +10mm, half of what i was looking for but want to test before going further out



when i popped the lever off i saw it's been making contact with the case. lame. the old Moose lever always came loose on both bikes. hoping the Hammerhead stays tight



also found the Scalvini is making contact with the subframe and rubbed a hole through the carbon, def going back to the PC shorty. the Scalvini has been a PIA since day one. looks + sounds awesome though. (sad clown covering my gnawed off thumb)



and a follow-up on the SKF fork sliders, def dig these things. moved from the 250 to the 200 which has constant guard contact and they still look new. that green ECOPUR polymer is some durable shit



shock preload adjuster next.. .

[breakdirt916]

so cool that it made that much difference...I totally get the feeling of being far back or the rider compartment is too small

[typeone]

so cool that it made that much difference...I totally get the feeling of being far back or the rider compartment is too small

yeah, i was really surprised it made that much of a difference. way more balanced/comfortable ... along the ergo lines, i also kept the older '13 bars because they went wider and changed makers on the '19, love the width and bend of the older ... can't believe those things aren't trashed by now, super stout.

[Kurlon]

I've been told I need risers / move the bars forward... need to sit down with an MX ergos expert and get dialed in.

[typeone]

I've been told I need risers / move the bars forward... need to sit down with an MX ergos expert and get dialed in.

just give it a try and see how you feel.

there is a school of thought that woods guys run their bars too high, not sure about MX but i assume lower is better there as well. with how much i stand in the woods, i didn't like the hunched over feeling of the stock Beta setup ... been running those red 10mm risers for 6 years, perfect height with stock components for me but can feel a tad high on track.

[Paul_E_D]

MXers definitely tend to ride lower, more pulled back bars. When you sit hips forward, shoulders a little slumped for aggressive cornering you want your arms bent so you can maintain feel for what the front end is doing. Too much reach is not good. Also in the whoops you need to get your butt out over the rear wheel and still have those arms bent. Only time you stand tall in MX, the wheels aren't on the ground.

Woods is totally different. Standing tall is common to reduce fatigue or deal with rocks, etc. getting forward in this position means bars up and forward. I have left my setup closer to MX, but it's what I'm used to, and I'm short, so it's not uncomfortable even standing. I should probably try moving things around a little now that I'm mostly doing woods.

[typeone]

^ great explanation, makes sense ... i rarely ride track anymore but i should try removing the risers next time i do.

[typeone]

got the preload adjuster installed. may need an extra collar to take up some slack. reset spring to previous length but it's not very secure feeling. i'll have to see how sag shakes out



also did a compression test as a baseline, seems she blew ~152 PSI or so but i forgot to hold the throttle open. i'll do another test after the other work is done



plug color looks decent, nice mocha brown but maybe a tad rich (wet), which is fine, bike runs crisp. i'm running the slightly leaner JD settings

[Paul_E_D]

FYI. You can't really read plugs at anything but WOT pulls starting from a new plug. fuels, oils, and the wide range of throttle openings just discolor the plug in a pretty random and meaningless fashion. How the bike behaves is what you are tuning for and that could be rich, lean and any combo of the two depending on your preference! Don't tune a dirtbike to plug color, you will chase your tail. I know you are just checking it as a reference. I'm just speaking in general for the 2 stroke crowd.

We were able to get useful info from plug chops and piston burn patterns on the GP125 road racers because we ride them WOT 90 percent of the time and at the end of the straight you could see the benefits of optimum jetting. Dirt is so dynamic that part throttle behavior is what you are focused on. optimum burn is not going to happen.

[typeone]

FYI. You can't really read plugs at anything but WOT pulls starting from a new plug. fuels, oils, and the wide range of throttle openings just discolor the plug in a pretty random and meaningless fashion. How the bike behaves is what you are tuning for and that could be rich, lean and any combo of the two depending on your preference! Don't tune a dirtbike to plug color, you will chase your tail. I know you are just checking it as a reference. I'm just speaking in general for the 2 stroke crowd.

We were able to get useful info from plug chops and piston burn patterns on the GP125 road racers because we ride them WOT 90 percent of the time and at the end of the straight you could see the benefits of optimum jetting. Dirt is so dynamic that part throttle behavior is what you are focused on. optimum burn is not going to happen.

yes, just a general peek. good info

[typeone]

more disassembly last night.. .

rear axle looks good, front has rust already. lame.



i wasn't diggin' the 4mm of slop in the spring > XTrig lower collar fit so i grabbed a Race Tech adapter. much better fit now



breaking down forks next for inspection

[typeone]

hmm, left fork is still draining nasty black, right looks better but this oil has maybe ~4-5hrs of use ... hope to inspect the upper tubes tonight

[breakdirt916]

can the front axle be cleaned up w' some light hand sanding?

did not ever think to inspect fork fluid between left and right simple monitoring step so the seal may not be doing its job?

I am always here for the pics

[typeone]

can the front axle be cleaned up w' some light hand sanding?

did not ever think to inspect fork fluid between left and right simple monitoring step so the seal may not be doing its job?

I am always here for the pics

yes on the axle clean, but sucks i'm getting that much water in already. they're SKF seals, too. i guess i rode some pretty wet days though, after one ride my front tire/rim was leaking a pool of water out of a spoke for an entire day.

nasty fork fluid is most likely the anodizing shedding from the inner surface of upper tubes. my last set did the same thing. Beta is now replacing tubes for free if there is wear at the lower clamp. brake side fork has been pretty dark every few hours. no bueno. that's why i'm getting another set hard anodized to stop the shedding + contamination.

[R7]

Fapfapfap

[typeone]

yup, the anodizing has worn away on the brake-side upper tube, i can clearly see a silver/smooth spot right at the lower clamp. right leg i don't see any wear.

i carefully torque the clamps to 17Nm upper, 12Nm lower which is OE spec ... after first few rides, i went 9Nm at lower clamp on advice from tuner

contacting my dealer today for replacement tubes from the Race Edition forks, those will go directly out to be hard anodized before installation.

[Paul_E_D]

Why not DLC? Much harder than anodizing.

[typeone]

Why not DLC? Much harder than anodizing.

DLC is for the inner, lower tubes (chrome) ... my issue is outer, upper tube wear on the internal side. T3 hard coat is extremely hard and durable although you can't control the color. you get what you get based on the type of alloy used for the part your coating.

i looked into Kashima but read that it can get brittle and it's way more $$$.

[Paul_E_D]

Ooooh, right, I forgot about that issue. I think something like this was happening on my well worn RS125 forks. I just changed the oil frequently.