Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125686
c By Rod Breaker A safety· precaution and time saver is to safety-wire your spokes together at the crossing points. This is so that if you should break a spoke, it won't be flapping around or getting caught in the chain. On the 250, the fifteen tooth countershaft sprocket is a little tall on gearing, but the fourteen is about right for the average rider. The 14-tooth is supplied with the GYT-KIT and makes the gearing about right, as the 5-speed gearbox gives a wide range of running speeds. Many riders only carry a master link for the chain. This is only good if you lose a mater link or if the master link breaks. If you break the chain, you'll need a repair link. This consists of two masters and a roller block. Just clip it on the machine where it will be handy, on the cable is good because it is up out of the dirt and sand. Having led the bandwagon with their 250cc Enduro model, Yamaha has followed it with more of the same in different engine sizes, 125, 175, 360 etc, all of them proving to be big selling models and all being branded as . 'enduros' (with the exception of the MX models). Although it is true that these machines could be taken right out and ridden in an enduro, the $IIIat:t rider will make a few preparations and changes of his own to get it ready. If you are the owner of a new 'enduro' model, be it Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, etc., and you are contemplating the challenging sport of enduro riding, here are a few hints that you may find l\elpful. When you enter first enduro, take a look at the equipment of some of the old pro's. Youll fmd all sorts of novel ideas that. they have come up with to suit their particular needs, and you may want to adapt some of them for your own use. If you see something on a rider's machine and you don't know what it's for, ask him, most of the experienced riders will be glad to share their knowledge with a new rider. We could fill reams of newsprint with enduro-izing suggestions, but these are bu t a few of the less expensive ones that will come in handy. Although they can be applied to any machine, we used a Yamaha DT-l for the photographs but it could just as well have been a Zigler Zepher. (Sorry about that, I just checked and the Zigler Zepher doesn't make an Enduro model.) Although it is rumored that Harley-Davidson has patent rights, a little baling wire wrapped around the handlebar or someplace on the machine will sometimes come in real handy. The mirror is an optional thing, but I would recommend removing it as a good crash will probably do it anyhow and it could smart if your leg smashed into it. If you are going to be running in the desert or in sandy soil, an oily chain will pick up the sand and really chew up the chain and sprockets. First wash the chain clean and then lube it with Dri-Slide. This product is very good, as it has excellent lubricating qualities, yet it is actually dry on the chain and will not If uQlM~ 9' These front number plate mounts are made out of old mirror brackets, but the same thing can be made up out of some straD steel. Althou~ the headlamp is easily removable, it is wise to leave it in as you never know when you might need it. (New enduro riders seem to have a talent for losing the trail and groping in the dark is no fun.) As fine grit may get by the rubber wipers on the forks and chew up the front fork seals, install a felt ring under the cover to catch it before it gets to the seal. This works out very well and works well on all the Ceriani-type forks. If you are the real serious type rider, you will forget about how 'tough' the forks Look and put on some bellows-type fork boots to cover the whole exposed tube. That's just a few ideas, now get out your Big Bean and go enduroing. If you are an enthusiastic rider who occasionally loops it on the hills, the taillight assembly is easily removed with two bolts and unsnaping the cOnnectors on the three wires under the seat, which hinges up when the latch is unhooked. The reason for the three wires is the fact that the taillight unit is rubber mounted so one of the wires is a ground wire. If your model only has two wires, don't panic over the third one that isn't there as it probably grounds through the teDdes.