Wallrat

Sounds like you need to go find some termites Subtle and untraceable.

Better idea is to get a temp gauge or make one using a meat thermometer. The atv ones sell for anywhere from $30-$100 or so and will take you maybe 30 minutes to install. Meat thermometer will probably cost you about $15 + an hour to make everything and get it installed. Do a search for meat thermometer on here for a break down of what you'll need. I've got a meat thermometer on mine and I warm it up to at least 90 degrees before I ride it, then I take it easy until it hits 100, after that I can ride the hell out of it, but I still keep an eye on it, especially if I'm putting around with a bunch of 4 strokes.

I've crashed plenty of times with a chest protector. They help...a little. Basically the problem is this: When your body smacks into something, all that energy is transferred to you. Putting a piece of plastic between you and a rock/tree/whatever will take some of that energy and dissipate it. The main benefit of that plastic is to keep sharp objects from cutting into the skin. For optimum impact resistance, you'll need something to dissipate as much of that energy as possible, hence the padding. For small projectiles smacking into your body, there isn't much force behind them. Think of a geo metro smacking into a cinderblock wall...aint gonna do much to the wall. Now for larger objects with some mass behind them, it's a different story. Take a semi truck to that same wall and that wall is gonna be dust. Same thing applies when you crash. Your body has a ton of energy cuz of the speed that you're travelling. When you hit something its gonna send all that energy first to your skin, then bones, then organs. Roosted rocks, with little energy, will bounce off. Trees, boulders, the earth...isn't gonna bounce. So all that energy is heading your way. Bullet proof vests work by absorbing the impact of the bullet and spreading that energy out over a large area. Body armor works under the same principle. All that energy is absorbed by the padding and spread out. The plastic on the armor helps add a little insurance and increase its resistance to abrasion. The trade off is that all that padding will limit movement and be warmer. I've got the ballistic armor from rocky mountain, cost is about the same as most chest protectors and it does a perfect job of deflecting roost. Its definately warmer than a chest protector, but its well made and doesn't limit any movement and I barely notice its on. I haven't crashed with it yet, but I know without a doubt that my injuries will be fewer with it vs. a chest protector. Don't believe me? Have a buddy smack your arm with a plastic baseball bat while you hold a piece of plastic on your arm. After the bruise goes away, hold a pillow over your arm and repeat the experiment...you won't feel a thing.

I just read on Mcdonald's website: Mcdonalds Corp has applied for a title change. The new proposed name will be "Blackdonalds"

If you want to ride with people then you should check out Glamis. Pismo is so tiny that once it even starts to get busy the dunes are packed. Even on a holiday weekend at Glamis you can find places to ride/camp all by yourself if you want. Pismo for me is just for jumping. Unless you like to jump tabletops its just not worth going there, especially for me since Glamis and Dumont are only 40 miles further.

http://www.bansheehq.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24001

Ya talk about quality healthcare! I even told him I had insurance!!!

Here ya go:

My wife and I go too. Not bad riding but very small (height and area). I talked to Lopez Lake the other day to see if they'll be letting out water anytime soon since it flows down the beach and can block any access to/from the dunes. As it turns out Lopez is really low on water so unless we get some major storms, there should be no access problems for the rest of the year!

Ok so here's how my past 2 days have gone... Yesterday at work I opened up a drain on the bottom of an oil reservoir to drain off any water accumulation. While the water was running out I walked away to do a few other things. Sure 'nuff, I forgot all about the damn thing and all the oil drained out onto the ground...about 40 gallons worth. So I spent all of yesterday cleaning that one up. Then there was today... We were hoisting a pump out of a sump using a crane. Its a weird setup so I'll try to explain. Basically a cable is fixed to the pump down in the hole. This cable runs up through a stainless steel plate that covers the hole. When they started lifting the pump, they couldn't get clearance to just let the cover slide down the cable due to obstructions in the area. So they rotated the cover 90 degrees and tied it off to the cable using the weight of the pump to hold it. Everything was fine until I stepped in to help guide the pump to solid ground. Once the weight was removed from the cable that 60-70 pound plate came sliding down and grazed me on the back of my skull . Luckily it barely tagged me and I escaped with only a 9-staple gash in the back of my head...and a stack of paperwork. But really if it had been a few inches closer it would've sliced my head in half. So I'm off to buy my lottery ticket now.

4 strokes are a little more forgiving. 4's can lug around a gear high no problem and still pull you through a corner. With a 2 stroke, you'll have to shift more often to keep the rpms up. Maintenance wise a 2 stroke could be considered as needing more, but if you look at the maintenance for a 2 vs. a 4, you'll see that although a 2stroke needs more maintence, its all pretty easy stuff. Replacing a top end on a 2 is a piece of cake. Heck even rebuilding an entire engine on a 2 stroke ain't all that difficult. A 4 stroke on the otherhand... So ya a 2stroke will require you to go into the engine more often, but its a quick 1-2 day fix and your back riding. Your 4 stroke buddies will scoff and laugh everytime you're rebuilding your top end...until their 4 stokes finally take a crap and they spend the next 3 weeks pulling out their hair on the rebuild.

If you still want some security but don't wanna mess with a key then you can pick up a switch at any automotive place for a few bucks. Splice that in and zip tie it somewhere easy to reach, but not easy to find. I've got this setup and feel a whole lot better about leaving my shee out.

Most people stick with +4 degrees. I've got a degree key that advances it 3 or 4 degrees. It feels like the engine has more balls is the best way to describe it. And no you don't have to rejet. What altitude are you at?

I like to sit on my bike making dinga ding ding sounds to check the jetting before I start it. Haven't seized yet!

I'll be in Dumont this weekend (again!). If anyone's gonna be out there, I'll probably be parked over near the small dune that extends from the southwestern dune into the parking area. Yellow Xterra with a big ass, brand new white enclosed trailer (woohoo). I'll be there with a family of dirtbikers and the Mrs.

Lemme get the video camera! That reminds me...how come nobody's done a backflip on a quad yet?? I've seen a vid of some guy doing it on a snowmobile, and that's gotta be harder than a quad simply due to weight and the length of the machine. You can be first Chris - your 15 minutes begins now!

Sorry but without bloodshed, its just a party trick.

If your building a bike strictly for drag then you're probably planning on having as much engine as you can get. Since you're going to be accelerating as fast as you can, you don't want to have to worry about the front end coming up.

Sorry that we didn't entertain you. I myself was a little dissapointed early on in the trip. Like you, I managed to find a way to have a blast. But one thing that I didn't do is come on here and bash everybody that didn't bend over backwards to kiss my ass. Its all about having fun, and people find fun in different ways.

Generally the T5's are prefered for ported engines. If you're not planning on doing any port work, then the t6 will perform better. Either pipe will work great though. There's some argument as to how much extra cooling a cool head will actually give you. I'd look at your radiator first. If you've got a bunch of bent fins, straighten them with a screwdriver and a toothpick. Either that or pick up a slightly used one off of ebay for $30 or so. Also, several companies make aftermarket large capacity radiators for anywhere between $250 - $400 that will really make a huge differance. Also, check ebay for inline coolers. I got an 18-fin for about $20 and it lowered my temp 10 degrees. You can run 2 of these and probably not have to worry about overheating again. Another cheap fix is to get some foam from an autoparts store and fill in the gap around the radiator. There's pictures of this under the tips and tricks forum, in a post entitled "inline coolers - bigger is better". If you're going with a cool head, DLNoss on this site makes some very nice ones (his banner pops up from time to time while your on the board). Dome size is really dependant upon how much power you want, whether you've advanced your timing, and whether you want to be able to continue just using pump gas. Best guess is that at your elevation, you could probably run 18cc domes on pump gas, maybe 17cc. DLNoss is a better person to ask about this. Reeds allow the air fuel mixture to flow into the cylinder, and not back out. The stock reeds are fairly restrictive so some power gains can be had by getting new reeds and cages. Reeds vary in stiffness, so replacing the stock reeds and keeping the cages will effect where the power hits. I believe that a stiffer reed gives more low end, but I could be off on this. As far as the boost bottle goes, its a complete waste of money. If it gives any performance gains, they're so minimal that you'd never be able to tell. Hope this helps and welcome to the HQ

I never really liked chest protectors since they're pretty much useless as protection from anything except roost. I just got the Nemeses Body Armor from Rocky Mtn. and am very pleased. Basically its stretchy nylon with plastic and foam armor in the chest, back, shoulders, and forearms. It feels like it will do a decent job of protecting me if I spill. Walter roosted the hell out of me and I didn't even feel it. Also it wasn't terribly warm either. Roostfest had some very hot conditions and I thought for sure that this thing would cook me. I was warmer than if I wasn't wearing anything, but it did do a nice job of breathing. Sorry but I haven't tested it against a ground impact yet.

Everybody just send your shees to me

I ran Geckos and switched them out for the sand stars. Since there's an argument about this, lemme offer my own opinion: Geckos suck ass. Period. Incredibly heavy tires that spin like crazy. Yes they are easy to slide...but thats cuz you can't get them to hook up worth a damn. Don't stop facing up even a slight incline or you'll just dig a hole and get stuck. I ran the air pressure down at 2 psi and still hated em. The stars on the otherhand, kick ass. Much lighter so it feels like a whole new bike. They hook up great and throw an insane amount of roost. Sliding is no problem as they'll kick loose with a throw of the hips and a blip on the throttle. In fact the only thing bad that anyone I know that runs the stars has said is that on every group ride nobody wants to follow them cuz they kick up so much roost.

I myself was wondering the same thing. I figured that since I ride mostly sand that I should automatically get an extended swingarm. But on my last trip to Glamis I had the oportunity to jump on DUNEDEMON's beast. Sweet bike but to me it just felt like his +4 made the bike stick out too far in the rear. Even with all that power, this made the front end feel a little heavier than I like and the rear tires liked to spin. This past weekend at Dumont I had the chance to ride MrMatt's -1.5. Even in sand I felt like the -1.5 was way better. His bike is mostly stock but I felt like I had a ton more traction and yet the front end was easy to control. Slides were very predictable and easy to execute. I tried gassing it while going up some steep sand and I could get the front end up, but only if I wanted to. I'd say that unless your mostly gonna be dragging, a negative swingarm is a great way to go.

my understanding is that you can use 55w bulbs but they won't be as bright as 35w since you don't have the juice to run em. Also you risk burning up wires due to the added current draw. That said, I've got 55w bulbs on my bike with a stock stator and haven't had a problem yet. I'd like to find some 35w bulbs but have only found piaa bulbs in that size for $50/pair.