Buying a used bike

Wouldn’t it be sweet if, every year when the new line of bikes came out, we could just roll down to the local dealer and pick up a new bike right out of the crate.  Then as soon as we get it home, go to MotoSport.com and load up on all the sweet aftermarket parts to trick it out!  And while we’re at it, might as well order up some matching new gear to go with the bike. Then after you’ve ridden it for a year, dump it and get a new one.

Some of you may have jobs or businesses that generate the income to allow you to have the latest and greatest ride every year:  Rock on man!  But the rest of us have to balance other life expenses (like food) with our love for riding, so when it comes time for a new bike, it’s usually a “newer” bike that we are in the market for.

I have found that a good strategy is to buy a bike that’s one or two years old, in good shape, ride it for a year or two, then sell it and get a newer one. This strategy has several advantages

1.  You're able to take advantage of new developments and technologies that come out (suspension, engine, etc), albeit a year or two later, and it also means...
2. You can research on those new features and get feedback as to which new ones work well, and which ones are duds.
3. You get good riding time out of a machine before the major systems wear to the point of needing a total rebuild or replacement (shocks/forks/engine/brakes).

It is a little more risky, because you can get burned buying a bike that looks fine on the surface, but has hidden mechanical issues.  But you can also find that jewel, a bike that’s in great condition that you will be happy with for several years.  Wading through the market to find the bike that is right for you can be a daunting task, so here is how I approach getting a newer bike, and I hope it helps. (click below to read the entire article)

Thrills and Spills

A good friend of mine recently said “with the thrills come the spills.”  Legit words, as I whip out this post in my hospital room with two broken bones in my right leg (hopefully this post makes sense, me being all knocked up with very powerful pain meds...) Yes my summer has come to an abrupt end:  We were out at a local track yesterday, I was coming out of a dry, hard-pack clay corner, got on the gas, the rear end went wide, the bike went down, and my foot was in the wrong place. I knew it was broken the moment it happened:  The cracking nose, coupled with my foot sticking out 90 degrees from the rest of my leg, my foot  flopping around when I kicked off my boot  – these are all bad signs.

It was ironic in a way.  My eldest son had gone down earlier in the same manner, and I had given him some advice, explaining that he needed to use a little finesse when applying throttle out of those hard clay corners to keep the rear end in check. I should have listened to my own advice!  After an ambulance ride to the local ER, some X-Rays, and I am now scheduled for orthopedic surgery this week.  I have two broken bones below the knee: The fibula and tibula. The doc said it’s a “spiral fracture”, which means I am going to have some shiny new titanium plates screwed to my right leg bone.  I would rather have a titanium exhaust pipe.

So now I have some time to “reflect.”  I’m one of those over-analytical guys that has to find some truth or principle to apply from an experience. (click below to read the full article)

Keeping Your Motocross Parts Budget under control

Keeping Your Motocross Parts Budget under control

If you are a racer with sponsorships, you probably aren’t interested in this article.  If you are like the other 99% of riders that enjoy the sport, but have to balance the never-ending need for parts with other necessary life expenses, like eating, read on.

Riding is expensive.  Just ask my wife. She just doesn’t seem to ‘get it’ that our bikes are always needing some part or repair. But we have an ‘agreement’.  She drives a really nice car and gets a spa treatment whenever she wants.  I get to ride. It works.

Keeping your bike in parts could be as easy as putting the local bike shop on speed dial, and calling them every time something breaks.  But take it from me, as much as I like the guys at my local store, I’ll go broke letting them be my exclusive parts supplier (or at least I’ll ride less). I want the most bang for my buck, without having to resort to fabricating parts in my garage.  So I’ll share a few principles that really work for me.

click below to read the entire article

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 – Suspension Bearings

 How to inspect, maintain, and replace suspension bearings

Suspension Bearings
Ahh, my favorite maintenance item - rear suspension bearings! I once bought a KX-85 for one of my sons, and when I took the linkage apart to inspect the bearings for the first time, every one of them were dry and shot.  I literally had to replace every bearing on that Kawi.  I will cover “costly mistakes when buying a used bike” in a later post. The fact is that these bearings get a lot of abuse, are subject to the elements and power washing, and all together they are expensive to replace.  Keep them clean and lubed and your bike will perform better, and you will have more money to spend on that aftermarket pipe you want. So to keep things in good working order at the back of the bike, I inspect and grease the suspension bearings about four times a season. This article will show you how to inspect, clean, and replace the bearings if necessary.

click below to read the entire article...

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 – Steering Head Bearings

How to inspect, clean, and replace Steering Head Stem bearings

Steering head bearings are easy to overlook, until you have to replace them.  Mostly with dirt bikes the main culprit of bearing failure is lack of grease from lack of service, and corrosion because water has gotten into the bearing from power washers. The great news is that steering head bearings are easy to keep maintained, and with attention should last as long as many of us keep a bike (a few years, that is).  This article will show you how to inspect, clean, and replace if needed.


click below to read the entire article

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 – Wheel Bearings

How to inspect, maintain, and replace wheel bearings
A well-greased bearing gathers no rust… OK that is a lame version of the “rolling stone” truism, but it is true nonetheless.  Another area that often gets neglected on bikes are the bearings.  Granted, it is no fun taking the linkages apart and dealing with those little rollers.  But once you let bearings get dry and start corroding, you are going to spend a good chunk of money and time replacing them.  Better to spend some time a few times a year to clean and grease the bearings, and you’ll get longer life out of them, not to mention better wheel/steering/suspension performance.

There are three sets of bearings to maintain on a typical dirtbike:  Wheel bearings, steering head bearings, and swingarm/linkage/shock bearings.  I’ll deal with them separately, with some info on maintenance, then replacement.  This article will show you how to inspect, clean, and replace the bearings if necessary.

click below to read the entire article

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 - Chain and Drive

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 -How to care for your chain

Probably the most ignored aspect of regular maintenance is the chain.  Most people just spray a little lube now and then, then wonder why their chain doesn’t last.  Think about what your chain goes through:

• It is under tremendous torque most of the time, undergoing rapid power and drag, over and over.
• It is exposed to dirt and grime. All those little particles can work their way into the links and rollers, and are like sandpaper.

But the biggest reason to take care of your chain is realized if you have ever had one fail under power, like going up the face of a big jump and suddenly your chain breaks. Either you lose power and face-plant on the landing, or your rear wheel locks up and you face plant on the landing.  Not to mention the damage it may do to your rim, swingarm, cases, or leg.  (OK, lesson on why to take care of your chain is done).  This article will show you how to take care of your primary drive mechanism.

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 - Filters

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 - how to care for your air filter

In my last post I preached that you should change the oil every ride.  The premise is that oil is cheap, engines are expensive, so it’s a no-brainer.  The same goes for keeping your air filter clean and oiled. A tiny amount of grit getting into your engine is VERY BAD.  Trust me on this.

As with the oil, a few basic rules:  Clean and oil the filter every ride. (Ok that was one rule, even better).  Maybe if you go for a little spin, and it’ not dusty, and the filter looks just as clean as when you started, then fine, you can let it go for one more.  But the general rule is to clean it every time you ride.

click below to read the entire article

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 - Oil

Basic Dirtbike Maintenance 101 - Oil

There are a million things to worry about on a dirt bike.  It’ll drive you crazy.  But if you take care of the basics, you can save yourself a lot of time and money.  But it takes some discipline.  We are not ‘race every weekend’ riders, but we do ride 2-4 times per month, for a good 4 hours each time.  Here is what we do. This first post will cover oil.

I am a serious “change your oil” person, with all my vehicles.  I figure it this way:  Oil is about $5 per quart, an engine rebuild is $1500 or more.  Enough said.  When it comes to our bikes, I have two rules:

1. Change the oil every ride.
2. Use motorcycle oil.

What do I bring to the track?

What do I bring to the track?

Ever get to the track, start riding, and suddenly need something that is sitting on your shop bench?  It happened the other day, my son pulled off after two laps and started waving frantically at me.  Rode over to check it out, and both of his seat bolts were loose. No problem, except when I went into my tool kit, there was not an 8mm socket to be found.  I had this vague recollection of tossing it into a parts bowl as I finished up my last job… and NOT putting it back into the socket rack.  I’ll cover “benefits of putting your tools away” in another post, but it also pointed out that in our hurry to get out the door, I didn’t check my “RIDE LIST”.  (the pic is my son hitting a corner at the local track)

My ride list is a list of stuff that I like to have with me at the track, things that I need from time to time.  I post the list in the garage where I will see it, and I check it off every time we go out (well, almost every time).

So here it is, my RIDE LIST.  Feel free to add your own items, but it might be a good start: