Wheatchex

Here's another blackeye for the ATV industry. I'm surprised Ozzy can even swing a leg over the saddle. He probably wasn't wearing a helmet either. Fortunately he didn't kill himself, but I suspect the Anti ATV people will be using this incident on us. Wheatchex This also shows that money doesn't buy smarts.

Sarcastic mode on: Why not try a dogsled with a shovel? It's cheap and will get you through the snow plus with the shovel you can clear a path if you need to. Sarcastic mode off. Where do you live that gets so much snow that you need a big truck? Most cars will get through quite a bit of snow. SUV's and anything with 4wd or AWD would work too. Wheatchex

Since you want an all round bike, look to the four strokes vs a two stroke. I still stand by my reccomendation to avoid the 125 twostrokes. If you seriously run MX then you will be doing top end jobs very frequently. The other thing is when you race them, you pretty much run them wide open all the time while fanning the clutch to keep them up in the power. Wheatchex

Why would you want to go to work when the roads are closed? I'd be taking the day off and doing something fun. Wheatchex

Just wondering if anyone was playing ATV Offroad Fury 2 online with the PS2? I've been playing some. If you happen to be on look for "Wheatchex". I typically am in the race room. Too bad there is no way to see who all is on. Any other games you all play online with the PS2? Wheatchex

I've not had any probs changing disk brake pads on the banshee or on cars. The trick on the banshee rear brake is to first loosen and back out the parking brake screw on the side of the caliper. The best bet would be to get rid of the parking brake altogether and put on a block off plate but I digress. Anyhow once you have the parking brake adjusted out or off, remove the caliper and take the old pads off. Take a C clamp and set it on the caliper so that the frame of the C is contacting the caliper side which holds the piston. You want the screw part of the clamp to go through the caliper so it rests squarely on the piston. Turn the screw slowly to force the piston back into the caliper. You need to have the piston edge flush with the surface of the caliper. Don't damage the seal or get the piston cocked in the piston bore. You may also have to take a little bit of brake fluid out of the reservoir. Watch the level in the reservoir as you push the piston into the caliper. Once that is done, you should have enough space between the pads once they are installed to fit the caliper between them. If not, you may have to remove the pads and press the piston in further. Take your time and don't force anything. Once you do this a couple of times it gets easier once you understand how it works. Pump the pedal a few times to get the piston out to where it needs to be and you are finished. The fronts work exactly the same but with out the parking brake. Don't be tempted to use channel lock pliers as the posibility of cocking the piston in it's bore and getting it stuck is great. Wheatchex

1. Land 2. Tolerant neighbors 3. No Environmental impacts lest you become targeted by the greenies. 4. Liability Insurance 5. A comprehensive liability waiver for each person that sets foot in your park to sign. 6. A good Lawyer The big probs are going to be the tolerant neighbors, the finacials for the lawyers and insurance.

I currently have a 99 RAM 2WD Sport, a 97 Town and Country Mini Van, a 75 Chevy Cosworth Vega (for playing and cruising in the summer), and a 76 Chevy Cosworth Vega (being restored currently). For those that don't know what (GM's best kept secret) a Cosworth Vega is see this site: Cosworth Vega BigBlue: I'm always on the look out for ideas on ghost flames, what color is your truck and flames? I haven't pulled the trigger on putting ghost flames on my truck yet so I'm gathering ideas. What I really am looking for is something that is invisible but just visible under the right light. If anyone has pictures or ideas PM me. Wheatchex

Most likely you got a short somewhere. I don't recall the exact wiring diagram for the lighting side, but if you check your clymer manual it will be in there and fairly easy to trace. Another possibility is he coil on the stator could have gone bad. You will need to check for the appropriate resistance value for the lighting coils. Wheatchex

Welcome to the world of spare parts. I see it's 10 times the cost of a built machine. There are several reasons for this. 1 parts cost money to inventory and have around. 2. inventory that is not sold is money spent that can't be recovered untill it's sold so in order to get a return on the investment they need to price it higher. 3. Everyone in the supply chain has to get their cut of the money, ie mark ups from the supplier to the dealer. 4. Honda has a price adjusting practice that every year the parts prices are subjected to a cost increase percentage across all parts. That means that parts for last years model has 1 price adjustment while parts for a 10 year old model has 10 price adjustments on them. Honda is extremely good about keeping spare parts in stock for older models but they cost a fortune. 5. Dealers need to make money as well and will mark prices up accordingly. 6. If you were to take a brand spanking new bike and compare it's cost to building one yourself out of parts, you would find that it will be two to three times more expensive for the parts not including the labor to put it together. Most companies make some profit on the original item, but make the big money in spare parts and service. Wheatchex

How are you planning on using it? MX, Trails, Dunes, Desert, Hillclimbs...? Avoid used two stroke 125's like the plague. I would suggest avoiding two stoke 125's all together if possible. A lot of maintenence is required for them as well as a supply of topend parts. Wheatchex

Yes the clutch needs adjusting. You can check visually on the top of the case where the clutch arm goes in to see if the notch/arrow on the arm lines up with the arrow on the case. I would suspect they are not lining up. I don't have my clymer manual in fornt of me right now so I can't explain how to go about doing it. I do believe you will have to remove the right side cover to get to the adjuster bolt. I'm sure some one else here can explain it better. Wheatchex

Ok, here goes... The airscrews adjust the amount of air from idle to about 1/4 throttle opening range. This screw in conjunction with the pilot jet effectively work from 0 to 1/4 throttle. What you want to do is set the airscrews at 1 and 3/4 turns out from just snug. You will adjust them about 1/4 turn at a time to get the best throttle response off idle. Don't wack the throttle open from 0 to full. Go from 0-about 1/3 to 1/2. Turning the screw in richens the mixture and turning it out leans the mixture. If you get to either 1/2 turn out from snug or to 2 1/2 turns out from snug it's time to change your pilot jet. if it's in to 1/2 try the next size larger pilot. if it's 2 1/2 then try the next size smaller. Yes the screws could affect the starting of the bike but mostly operation off idle. The pilots and choke have a bigger impact on starting. Make sure you have good compression, good spark plugs and no air leaks before adjusting your jetting. Wheatchex Also check this website out for info on carb operation: Carb theory 101

I had this happen to me once. It turned out to be a spec of dirt no bigger than a grain of sand which caused the fuel inlet needle not to seat. I would reccomend taking your carb bowl off and checking the fuel inlet needle and the needle seat for any dirt or sand. Use a strong light and a magnifying glass if you need to. Reset your float to between 20 and 22mm. There is a distinct possiblity that the needle and seat will have to be replaced if you can not find the offending piece of grit. Also check your floats for free play and no binding while you are in there. Wheatchex

Make sure if you take the parking brake cable off to get a parking brake block off plate. They can be had from just about anywhere that sells aftermarket parts. Most are billet aluminum and all will bolt onto the rear brake caliper in place of the parking brake mechanisim. The TORS is needed in case of stuck throttles, the boxes on the carbs each contain a switch and the thumb throttle has one as well. When a stuck throttle is sensed, the engine is shut down. You can get the TORS elimnator kits which include new carb caps, idle screws and a new cable. However you need to be aware that you are now very responsible for the maintenence of the throttle cables and throttle mechanisims. If you don't take care of them the bike will bite you or some one else and it will not be pleasant. Lube the cables regularly and check for fraying and binding. This maintence should be done whether you have the TORS eliminator or not. Toomey racing website has detailed instructions on what goes into the tors elimination. Toomey Racing Wheatchex

Alright here goes... First the moderator issue: mods like them or not are needed to maintain the focus of the forums and to uphold the forum to the standards by which they are governed and were created. If it offends someone that their post was removed or editied, they must have posted something that did not meet the standards set by Lee. Being a moderator is a tough job lest it becomes one of personality conflicts and the losers being the rest of us. So give them some slack. Second the issue of newbie's: I remember back when I was on and I knew a little about the bike. I got answers by asking and helped where I could. I gave and still give answers that are based on fact or sound reasoning. I may not have the exact answer but at least the one I give will help point towards the direction of the correct answer. Because of this I earned respect from the other members. Over time I gathered a lot of knowlege through reading answers and by research on my own. I did this because I am interested and want to know more. Now it seems as though those that have gone through the same process are forgetting what it was like being the new guy. Give the new people a chance to ask their questions and help them out. Yes the search engine is available, but sometimes you may not get the correct wording to get the answers you are looking for. Help them out by either posting a link or by giving them a good answer. They will keep coming back and will help others. The worst way to keep people interested is to ignore them or give them mean or shitty answers. I personally have answered many of the same questions over and over again. Yes it gets tiring so I've slowed down quite a bit. A lot of the issues you guys are having is because of the growth of the number of people here on the board. I remember when there were less than 1000 people registered. Now it's over 10000. Not everyone is active nor will they be if they are treated badly. Third the issue of "assholes": Everyone has the right to express their opinion. And you may disagree with it, but name calling solves nothing other than more disagreement and bad feelings. If you disagree then state it plainly and give your reasons why and hopefully a meaningfull discussion will result. Sometimes its just best to ignore them and they will go away. Some people like the attention they get by stiring the pot, ignore them and they will go away to some other forum to get their attenion fix. Don't get wrapped up and take things personally here. Life's too short to worry about things you can't control like other people's opinions. Try to see things from their side if possible and don't just attack because their opinion differs from yours or you don't like them. You may never know that they could have more in common with you than you think. Fourth punctuation and spelling: At least make an effort to make your posting legible and use good grammar and punctuation. You won't look like a dumb/illiterate/punk and people will take your question more seriously. I am guilty of disregarding threads where punctuation and spelling are poor only because I don't want to wade through the gibberish to determine whats being asked even though the question is probably a valid one. Make an effort at least. There are some guys from other countries than the US that have a better grasp on the english language than a lot of you. While it may seem to be cool to use slang and caps or symbols mixed in with the words, it makes reading the questions and answers very difficult and your thread/post will attract the attention it deserves. Fifth The younger crowd: It's great to have the teenagers here, but show some respect to others. This goes for some of the adults too. You do not automatically get respect, it is earned and given to you as you show it. Don't expect to gain anyone's respect by name calling, by flaming posts or by giving stupid or antagonistic answers. Incorrect answers are acceptable if you learn from the correct ones. And those that do the correcting need to do it in a manner that teaches rather than is antagonistic. In time you will understand patience and tolerance (by the way everyone needs to learn this). Sixth The forums in general: What I've seen lately I attribute to the growth of the HQ. It is unfortunate that there are those who have come here lately and not respected the original intent of the HQ. As you all are aware, once the forums become overloaded with trash talking and flames and basic crap, the people that really have things to contribute, and are here because of the information exchange, will leave and find another forum where there is very little of the BS that ruins forums. You all know of forums where this has happened and have left because of it. The HQ has been pretty fortunate until recently to be free of the BS that kills forums and sends people away. On the occasions where problems have occured, Lee has squashed the problem and decorum was restored. Well if I have any more I'll post it here. But for now, I'll put on my asbestos undies and wait for any responses good or bad. If you disagree with anything I've said dont hesitate to call me on it, but do it in a reasonable fashion otherwise I'll give it the attention it deserves. Wheatchex Waiting for the flames to start.

According to US law a helmet at a minimum has to meet the current DOT helmet standard. These are revised about every 5 years. Now if a helmet is Snell rated it has better protection than a plain DOT rating. Snell tests to a higher standard than the DOT standard. Snells standards are revised evry five years as well. Helmet manufacturers must meet the DOT standard but are not required to test to the Snell standard. The Snell testing is completely voluntary. Personally I would always buy a helmet that has the Snell approval on it as it will give you the most protection. Also there is a sub catagory for helmet ratings, the M and SA ratings. M is basically for motorcycling. The SA rating is for motorsports where flame retardancy is required and will cost more for the same helmet due to this requirement. Other than the flame retardancy they basically are the same as far as protection goes. Typically pricing has more to do with the construction of the helmet (how light it is typically). Also helmets are made for one incident only. Once it has been hit hard the helmet should be destroyed. Dropping a helmet can substantially reduce it's protection capibility. So take care of your helmet and it will take care of you. You should also replace your helmet every so often as wear and tear will take it's toll on it. Wheatchex

Since you have a single carb, and you are saying that the left side is ok or at least implying that its ok, your jetting should be fine. If the octane was too low you should be seeing the same problem with the left side as well as the right. So now we've eliminated two potential problems although the jetting may need to be dialed in better once the problem is solved. Anyway, this leads us into finding out why your right side cylinder is running lean which would explain the melted electrode and fractured insulator. Since the left side is "ok" there has to be an air leak some where after the carb and the carb intake junction. Check all the junctions between the intake and the cylinder. Another potential problem area is the cylinder base and case junction. Have you had the cases apart? If so there could be a problem with the seal between the case halves on the right hand side. I don't think the crank seal is the problem as someone else correctly pointed out you would be drawing transmission oil into the right side. Have you checked the head for a good seal? Also what did the engine builder reccomend you jet at for your particular engine set up? Hopefully this helps. Wheatchex

To everyone in US and those who are serving in the armed forces, Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Wheatchex

Try the Blue Ribbon Coalition website for info. They are one of the big players in the fight for responsible off road use and wise use land issues. Here is their website: Blue Ribbon Coalition Wheatchex

Thanks Screamin. Wheatchex

I assume you held the throttle wide open when you ran the compression test. Even so, I'm surprised that it runs at all. At a minimum the compression should be around 100 psi. Assuming that it still runs, it is very apparent that you need to have the top end bored to the next size, new pistons, and rings (new gaskets are a given when ever you take the engine apart). While you are in there check the reeds for any cracks or chips in the petals. Once you reassemble the engine, break it in easy for the first few tanks of gas to allow the rings to seat. Then have fun. Wheatchex

Good Grief! Will it never end? Wheatchex

First off I'd run a compression check. Next clean the carbs good. Check the jets for the specific sizes. Next set your airscrew to 1 and 1/2 turns out from just snug. Basically what I am reading into your post is that once you get the engine spinning fast enough you can get the bike started. This suggests that your compression is low and that it can't develop enough compression at low RPM's until it's spinning fast enough. Also once it has warmed up, will it kick start ok? I suspect that this is the case. I'm thinking that you will probably be into a topend job, hopefully you can get away with rings and a hone job on the cylinder otherwise its new pistons, rings and a bore job. Wheatchex

Theeechozen: While I appreciate your response, I don't feel that it's appropriate for newbies, or anyone for that matter, to mix drinking and riding. ATV's are dangerous enough without adding alcohol into the mix. By drinking and riding you are just creating more image problems than we are already have with the anti-atv groups. Ultimately you have to decide if the risks are worth it and then you need to take responsibility if you do decide to take those risks. Just remember that any ATV accident will be used against us by the anti-atv groups to help them reach their goal of a complete ban on atv's. My main goal with this thread was to create a resource for those who want to join the ranks of ATVer's with out the normal BS associated with some threads. I don't condone drinking, just drinking and riding. Wheatchex