ssanddemon

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& I like to use grease on the gaskets to ensure a good seal. Makes em reuseable cuz they come off without sticking and tearing, too.

After you chop the pegs, look on ebay for 'Tricklicks'. They make a badass adjustable shifter, anodized in ur choice of colors, like $30. I got one, it's cool.

I would definitely weld your crank. If you are at 145 now and going up in compression soon, it should be welded. The crank on a shee is multiple sections that are splined and press- fitted together. With a built motor, the sections can tear out the splines, and the crank can come apart. All they do to weld the crank is to TIG several tack welds where the sections join, this keeps them locked together. It really does look like a minor amount of welding, but the smart money is to send the crank to a banshee engine guy for welding. They will know exactly the amount of heat to put to the crank, and will true it afterward, usually $50 to $75.

The KFX is fast but not quick. It weighs something like 125 lbs more and has a centrifugal clutch. Apples to apples riders= not even gonna be close.

I bought a cheezeball old style (nonrebuildable) PEP on ebay for $20. I can't imagine not having one now! That and a good set of front shocks make a HUGE difference in how the bike rides and handles.

Klotz Benol @ 50:1. Did a top end for sh/ts & giggles this year to get in some better pistons (Wisecos). Cylinders, pistons and rings looked flawless even with big hrs of 90% powershifting in the dunes. Benol smells so good, I run my leftover gas mix in my mower and streetbike. Ahh, like being in the dunes all the time!

I wouldn't ride it at all til I pulled the cap and made sure there was something in the radiator. Any kind of hole in the hose to the bottle will keep it at the same level while the radiator goes dry and you smoke the motor.

If it was ported, you'd know it. You're talking about the kind of fuel economy a stocker gets.

I didn't even know they made metal ones. I have one, never had a chain break, but the plastic is that real slippery nylon stuff, I can't imagine a broke chain being able to hook into it at all. Plus it totally fills the cavity.

I haven't been into a steering head yet, so I can only give the general stuck bolt litany: heat, penetrant, repeat. Heating with a torch (even propane if it's all you got) will make the metal expand. Put a wrench to it while it's still hot, and you may bust it loose. Keep in mind that you don't want the bolt to expand, but rather the nut, frame, whatever is holding it; don't heat up both parts. Soaking in penetrant is nicer for the bike, but takes a long time, since that penetrant needs to soak in, often a day or 2 if it's real stuck. Combining heat (not too hot) and penetrant is a good thing to try as well. Heat helps the oil to get into where it's needed. Sometimes a judicious smack with a hammer will shock stuck stuck fastners into compliance, but be careful not to get too crazy!

Relocated pegs are the only way to go! They put your feet under your butt like a dirtbike. It's way much more comfortable to ride, rather than having your feet out in front, Harley- style the way they come stock. I have been running blaster pegs for a year and I love 'em!

Yep, spark plug wires is what I mean. Usually you can snip off 1/4" or so then screw em back on, but I have seen them arcing thru the insulation lots of times, probably be easier just to pick up some new wire (use solid core like the bike comes with). It should only cost a coulpla bucks. For stator output, you are looking for is somewhere around 13 to 15 volts to the coil when kicking it over. If you have a hot blue spark, you should already have that though. If new wires don't fix the problem, I would throw a new coil at it.

And remember you can swap almost everthing from side to side including carbs (block the choke tube nipples). This is the easiest way I have found to pinpoint this stuff.

First, the lighting side and ignition side of the stator are totally seperate, so whether or not the lights work is irrelevant. It sounds for sure like an ignition problem, first thing to do is to set jetting back to where you had it initially, then leave it alone. -I have had similar type problems in the past where I screwed around with something, then found out it was something else, but forgot to reset the first thing I messed with; then after I found and fixed the real cause, had a new problem based on my initial screwing around and had to chase my tail around yet again. VERY FRUSTRATING! So that's the first thing. If you just had the bike apart, you may need to look and make sure all the connectors are good- unsnap em and inspect for bent pins, burned, or etc. then snap together again. I would definitely swap out the plugs. You're probably gonna find it's the ignition wires, the symptom sounds right. They will sometimes give a good spark on a visual check or at idle, but the spark will break down under load. It's definitely not the CDI, they just die completely. Coils can break down under load, but they're a lot tougher than plugs and wires, I would look at that last. Good luck, hope this helped!

Silcone, YUK! I really, REALLY like Loctite 515 for engine cases. It stays gooey until it's put under pressure, then sets up fairly stiff, like plastic. It's especially designed to seal machined surfaces. The bit of sealer that squishes into the case when the halves are bolted together stays gooey but never dissolves in oil and won't come off to get into the gears; but it's a real plus on 4- strokes with an oil pump pickup. I have seen an awful lot of motors with silicone bits plugging up the pickup screen, lemme tell ya! The real beauty of this stuff is that it stays wet until the cases are tightened, no rush to get it done before it sets. The crank seal direction is easy. It has one side that is smooth and another that is raised with several notches. The notches face in. I have replaced the seal on the stator side on my bike without splitting cases, but it was a bitch. I ended up drilling two small holes opposite each other into the side of the seal toward the crank. I then ran a sheet metal scew into each hole and walked the seal out by pushing off the side face of the crank by turning the screws in. Putting in the new seal was easy, just smeared it with 515 and drove it in. The 515 set up and locked the seal into place while also filling any marks left from the old seal removal. It was a pain in the butt, but waaayy easier than splitting cases.

I'd like to know too!

If I was gonna put some real money into my motor, I would DEFINITELY get it set up on a dyno. A few bux spent there will be worth a lot of jetting hassle and you'll know what kinda HP you've got on tap. Plus, you can smoke him on your first ride. What kinda power does this guy have, anyway? I would think you could get some pretty good power and torque out of a 450 if the sky were the limit. It would give you something to aim above on your mods. Although I would expect something in the 80 horse or above range for what you wanna spend. He'd be maybe 2/3rds of that if he's lucky!

The rings have nothing to do with trans oil usage, period. The only connection between the crankcase and the trans is the crank seal, it HAS to bad. Unless the case havles are leaking trans oil into the crankcase, seriously very remote.

How's the tranny oil? I change mine very often (but I ride the sand, bigtime stress on the trans). If you haven't changed it in a while, why not see what comes out? Trans is most likely OK, but it's nice to be running clean oil at all times. Clutch slippage due to wear is usually a slow process. If it started slipping all at once, I'd be looking at the cable hanging up. To do this, go down to the clutch arm at the case and make sure it's not rock hard. You want just a slight bit of play there when the clutch lever is out. Same thing at the lever, just a little play there. As far as brands go: I like my Toomey clutch, but it's real grabby & agressive. I probably wouldn't buy one for dirt riding.

Thanks BB. Good post yourself: a case saver is one of the first mods anyone should consider. Guys should weigh $20 and 20 minutes of work to install a 'saver versus a detonated case if the chain ever breaks.

And did you install ALL the stiffer springs? Most guys don't do it unless it's a really big horsepower motor. I just run half and half, it's not too stiff but never slips.

Oh, and I never lube the chain, it just attracts sand. I run a good quality o-ring chain, and spray it down with WD-40 after washing to prevent rust. Edit: here's something else- if the sprockets look good, why do you think the chain is worn out? A stretched chain causes sprocket wear, the two go out together. As the chain wears, there is more space between rollers, causing the sprocket teeth not to be adequately spaced apart; they will then wear in a cup shape to match the excessively long chain spacing. Even a very tight chain will do this if it's worn out. Conversely, it's easy to spot a chain that has been run loose, as the sprocket wear will be high up on the teeth, with the tops bent over in extreme cases. And if the rollers and block look good, just install a cascade slider. The swingarm pivot roller is just a bad joke, but the block and rollers seem to hold up well.

The 'popping' you experienced is pretty common, especially in wet sand. I thought I had broke something the first time as well, but a veteran soon set me straight. It is from sand getting sucked in between the chain and sprocket as it goes around. Nothing to worry about, I had 2 1/2 years and lots of rides thru my first chain, never seemed to hurt anything. I finally replaced chain & sprockets due to normal wear (sharp teeth). I found out right away in the wet Oregon sand to pull that skidplate off. It's no big deal in the dry since the ruts flatten out right away, but when it's wet, those ruts get DEEP and the bike would high center like a bastard! Pulling the skidplate lets the brake rotor and sprocket dig right down to china, keeping your tires hooked up. I wouldn't ride dirt trails with no plate, but in the sand, it's the way to go.

Depends on how/where you ride. I weigh 165 and went down a tooth (shorter) in the front to boost the transition between gears. I wouldn't have done this for trails, but the sand demands a little extra. You just gotta ride the sucker to see if it hits not as hard as you want/ or if you have way masive power but have to shift constantly and it wears you out. Either reason is a good one for regearing, but there is no set answer- it's your bike, set it up to work best for YOU! 14-41 is factory, that's a good baseline to see where you're at now.