Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Frame and accessories -- -- - Figure 2 The ch ro me-moly frame should be checked for cracking around welded joints, especially where the front down tube splits into two smaller fram e members. The right foot peg frequently co mes loose, so keep the bolt tight and chec k it often. A sure cure is t o drill straight thro ugh the frame and foot peg, t he n weld a 7/16" x 214" aircra ft b olt to the frame from th e inside. Slip the foot peg o ver it and fasten with an elas tic st o p n ut - or weld the whole dam n fo o t peg in pl ace to be really sure. The o nly penal ty for doin g t his is that the cl u tc h co ver will be h arder to rem o ve. Th e sta mped steel ch ain deflector found on the in side of th e fram e will eve n tu ally fail, all o wing th e rear frame tube to be eaten through by th e chain . Before this happens, wel d a piece of steel t o that fram e tub e to deflect the chain. Th e stock 1.8 gallon tank has a practical range o f no more than 45 mile s, so a three and one-quarter gallon Vesco skinny-fat tank (S5 4 ) is a go o d investment. If th e stock tank is in go od shape, you may be able to sell it for enough to pay for the Ves co tank. Onl y Extra c lip & springs on lower side be ch ecked occasionally for buckling or weld separations. For those with more cash , AI Baker m ak es a stronger swingarm fo r $ 14 0 , and will custom- fit S&W shocks an d springs fo r another $ 100. A lay -down ki t is ava ila ble from DC for $ 1 10 , plus welding. Dick Miller has used this set-up on his super 12 5 Elsinore, in co nj unc t io n with the Cirling gas-oil shoc ks off t he 19 75 Husqvarnas. Th e bro nze swingarm bus hi ngs devel oped by Tom Sawyer Ho nda ($ 13) arc go o d in surance agai nst swin garm wob ble, an d are vi tal if any m odifications ar e made to the suspe nsio n. The basic desert set-up for the fro nt fo rks is t o lower th em in th e trip le-clamp s until j us t the cap scre w sho ws - t his gives yo u maximum rake and trail and , thus, t he greates stability . Either ATF o r lOW fork fluid seems t o work well in th e deser t, and suspension travel is adequate as-is, Stock fork seals work as well as any , but it is wise to put on a set o f rubber for k boots for t h ree reasons - first, t he seals will last a lmost in de fini tely ; second , the fork oil will remain cleaner ; and third, rocks will not ch ip th e fork tu bes. Mon tes a o r AI Baker fork boots (app roxim ately S8 /pair) work very well and do no t rub on a wide front tire . If yo u fa ll down (if you are a Beginner or Novice, ri ght ?) chec k th e forks for bendin g, as they are lo n g and so ft. re comme nd o nly two We m o d ificat ion s to make the forks wo rk a lit tl e better. First, if you notice the front end gettin g stiff at th e end of a race, it is likely that ai r is being trapped inside the forks. Che ck this by releasing a fork cap and noticing if air escapes. The cure is t o vent the fork caps so air can bleed out very slowly as you ride. Vented caps can be made fo r under $2 using either of the methods sho wn [Fig. 5) . Plastic tubing abo ve th e needle val v e or grease fittin g will catc h any small amount of oil t ha t escapes. Do no t t ry to drill a small hole in the fo r k cap s for this purpose, as we have foun d that no hole Can be made small enough to keep the flu id in. Second, if you switch to long-travel rear suspension , th e fro nt fo rks may no longer seem "as agile as they were before . The eight in ch travel kit developed by Baker and S&W will smooth out t he front end for $6 0. Special S&W fork springs are also avail able fo r S1 5, but are no t abs o lut ely n ecessary. Figure 6 SMART GEAR Smart mo torcyclists have more fun by riding protected, It 's smart to use the proper gea r ; to us e a helmet, gloves, boot s and pro pe r eye protection. Th ese provide cove rage that helps you have more fun while you r ide saf ely. r- Figure 4 Rea r tank mo unt Move up Cu rn utts & ch ain gu id e brace problem with th e Vesco tank is that th e rear mounting arrangemen t on the bike was never m eant t o handle twice th e normal fu el wei ght. It is almost guaranteed that th e st o c k bolt will she ar off . Fix the mount [Fig. 6) an d the Figure 5 Grease f itting (remove springll Model ai r plane engi ne Needle valve Air br eath er ho le Methods fo r venting fork caps Figure 7 Add 2 foam under 00 stock seat cove r - --- - Figure 3 .--.. - tank will Cause no problems . Runnin g a lon g o verflo w hose down t he fron t fram e t u be will ke ep the bike much cleaner and yo u can put it to use as a siph o n in case yo u guzzle up all th ree and one-q uarter gal lons. We have fo und t hat re sh apin g t he seat an d rais in g t he bars will make it easier to kee p body wei ght over t he rear wh eel . By adding t wo inches o f foam [ Fig. 7 ] under t he front par t o f t he seat cover, yo u will no longer be jiggled onto th e tan k. Mary 's Foam will do th e whole thin g for $14, or y ou can buy foam and ad he sive for abo ut S5 . Th e result is a much more co m fo rtable sea t that hold s y o u in position . Bars wit h ab o u t five - six inc h es o f rise will fi t riders and the Inter-Am average aluminum jo b s ($ 14) h ave been crash-tested without an y sign s of be nding. Wheth er you change bars or not, remove th e silly three-position kill swit ch and put on an honest kill b utton. Th e stock MX tires are not really ade q uate for desert use, and they should be replaced if yo u Can afford it. A 3 .50 x 21 front tire will eli minate the "h untin g" t he fron t en d does in deep sand. The rear ti re is OK , b ut a 4 .50 or 4 .60 six -ply will keep y our speed up in deep sand. The bigger tires also will protect the rim s from roc ks better than thin motocross tires. The last piece of advi ce is to Loc tite and /or use "yellow goop " (3 M Weatherstrip adhesive) o r anything that can move but sho uldn't. Find an understanding welder, and y o u can co rrect most of the potential trou ble sp ots be fore yo u go racing. After that, all y o u have to do is hang on and Elsie will take yo u home every tim e. Just as im por tan t in this list of sma r t ge a r is the AMA mem bersh ip card. Bas ica lly , it is the same as you r helmet, boots and g loves. It provides protection and makes motorcycling mo re fun. Joi n to day. r I I I I I P.O. lox 141, Wn NrYiII. , Oh,o 4301 1 I want to join th e AMA. , h. re In t he f un and be e lig ib le for . 11 mem bership be nefitL I . g ree to comp ly w ith AMA ru les for san ct ioned mo tor evcle ac tivit ies . 1 understan d t ha t my benefita eceeve upon reo ce ipt of my AMA ca rd an d th. t $1 .00 of my competitor or en thu sias t dues i, for my mo n thly AMA Report. I o ENTHUSIAST $8 For road and stre e t riders and the ca sua l trail rid er . I o CO MPETITO R $10 For youth , I competition. amat e ur I o I I I I I I l t MEMB ERSH IP APPLICA TION Motorc y cl. Auoci.rion A,"~ie-n or sem i-p rofess ion a l ASSOCIATE $6 For wives and ch ildr en (und er 16) no t in· terested in emeteur or semi.p rofe u iona l competition . Name Stree t Cit y - -- - - ' - Sta te o 0 Zip - - Thi, is a ne w membership Th i, is a ren ew a l AMA Number (rene wa t, on ly ) Mail t his ap pl ica tio n w ith you r remi tta nce. I I I I I I I I I I I I I I ..J RAPE ttHE LANDe And w he n t he re's nothin q l eft , .. side foam (inside cover) Sealing air box you 'll k now who Seat padding to b la me. 53 .

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