Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

(Above) Waterproofing. obviously is a necessity in some runs, (Bel ow ) One of the most important "keep clean" items is your air filter, You 'll become familiar with your new mount , and the care and treatment you give it during those first hours will have a lot to do with its performance and reliabilit y later when it's op erated at high speeds and under extremely bad conditi ons . The engine and transmission , particularly, need th is break-in time so moving parts ca n get a natural polish from each other and seat properly . Follow the owner's manual you got with th e bike. Usuall y, it gives exp licit instructions to follow during break -in , often including an increase in the oil mixed with fuel during this period. With a bike that's not new and may have gone several months and a lot of miles since break-in or overhaul , you 'll p robably want to check the top end for cylinder and ring wear and at least to decarbonize the top of the piston and inside of the head if they need it. Even with just new rings , you need to ta ke it easy for a few miles, bu t if you ge t a rebore and new piston, p lan to break it in again much like you wou ld a new engi ne. T ry to put on 100 m iles at modera te speeds before you start out on an enduro. In th e riding you've done breaking in the bike or preparing yourself for your first endurance run , you 'll get an idea of how much gas you use and whether the fuel tank is big enough or not. AMA rules require gas stops no more than 55 miles apart , so if you can go that far before refueling you may think you 're all set. But even the manufacturers get fooled once in a while about how far a-particular motorcycle can go , even if it's designed specifically for cross-cou nt ry use . Trail conditions are often worse than anyone could predict, and they may stay that way for a larger percentage of the total miles in a run than was figured when the tank size was decided. You have to allow enough extra capacity for the increased gas consumption of extended low-gear operation in extremely rough going, poor traction in m ud or snow , getting stuck or ta king a wrong trail. Be sure you r tank is la rge enough. If it isn't , put on a slightly bigger one. A skid p late shou ld be insta lled if you' ll be riding in an a rea with a lot of rocks. It p ro tects the engine cases from damage that's likely to be serious and expensive and prevent you from reaching the finish . ' Most enduro bikes come equipped with one, b ut if yo ur's doesn't , there are accessory skid plates designed for a lmost all dirt bikes, or you might want to make one yourself out of heavy aluminum sheet. The ones projecting out from the frame on each side of the bike do the best job of protecting the sidecases. To keep underbrush from jamming between the shift and b rake levers and the sidecases it's a good idea to instal) brush cables or chains from the forward end of the levers to the frame downtubing or to the front corners of the skid plate. Do n't m ake them too heavy, and leave enough slack so the movement of the shifter and the rear brake pedal aren't restricted. More and more off-road motorcycles are coming eq uipped with a folding shift lever and a bra ke pedal mounted very close to the sidecase. This just about eli minates the need for brush cables or guards, so you may want to go that way. H i-Point has a universal foldi ng lever, whic h is welded onto the stock shift or bra ke lever after th e origi na l rigid tip has been cu t off , as well as complete foldi ng shift levers for severa l brands of bikes. It's one of the best ways to prevent serious damage. Flat-proofing your tires is a m ust if you haven't already done it. There are several brands , including one called Flat-Proof, and what they do is coa t the inside of the tire with a sti cky , puncture-sealing compound that o Championship Enduro Preparing Your Bike Before the f irst enduro 24 Assuming you have a motorcycle which is basically right for enduro, either one of the all-out enduro bikes or a fast trailbike , motocrosser or dual-purpose machine modified so it fills more closely the needs of cross country competition, there are still , things to be done to it before it carries you on its first enduro . If your b ike is new, put some miles onit. Break it in the way the manufacturer suggests. kee ps the air inside when it hits something sharp. All you do is let the air out of your tires , remove the va lve cores from th e stems and pour ha lf the bottl e of Flat -Proof into each tire . Then you screw the valve cores back in and inflate a little higher than usual to help spread the compound evenly. Some manufacturers claim their product will also balance the wheels if you ride your bik e right after putting it in , but the important feature for enduro rid ers is the prev ent ing of most flat tires on the trail. Also before you first enduro you 'll want to install everything you 'll need to compete or be required to have. You'll need a front number plate (side numbers are seldom used, except in reliability tria ls) on whi ch you can stick your riding number . It also protects any enduro instrume nts moun ted to the rear of it. Yo ur speedometer, enduro pilot , computer, ro ute sheet ho lde r and clock sho uld be mounted if they aren't already in p lace , And so should all t h e eq u ip ment that is mandatory for ' a particu la r run , lik e head lig ht, taillight, license plate, ho rn , rearview mirror and fire extinguisher. Some riders leave most of this gear on all the tim e , but you may want to take it off between runs to lig h t e n yo ur motorcycle for play riding and to keep the equipment from getting damaged . Preparation for each run Your bike should have been washed soon after the last enduro and the chain lubricated to keep it from rusting. The cover over the magneto or CO l should have been removed after the washing, and the inside wiped out and dried , If it was a muddy run , the brake shoes and linings should have been cleaned. All this prevents deterioration of the bike prior to the time you start preparing it for the next meet. And it makes it easier to work on and to find parts broken or needing re pl a ce m e n t , tightening , straightening or adjustment. W hen the next enduro is a couple of days away and you won 't be riding your b ike anymore before the event, you can start preparing it. Begi n by cleaning the air filter a nd a ir box. T ake out the fo am element (you should be using a Twin-Air or ot her high-q ua lity foam e lement that doesn't permi t water to pass through) , an d clean it thoroughly in solvent, then hang it up to dry . While you 're waiting wipe out the inside of the air box until all dirt and grease are gone, being ca reful not to let any dirt fall into the carburetor air intake hose . Bett er stuff a clean rag into it before you begin the cleaning operation . O nce the air box is spotless , coat all inside surfaces with a fairly heavy coat of light grease , patting it with your fingers to stipple the surface and make it able to catch more dirt before it reaches the filter. The foam element sho uld be dry by now , so coat it , completely with filter oil and then squeeze it gently until the oil works all the way through the foam and the excess drips off. Be su re to re move any rag you m ay ha ve used to block the carb intake before you rep la ce the filter assembly, and it's best if you grease a ny edges where air might lea k past withou t bein g filtered, T h e grease in the ai r box is very important. Pieces of weeds and grass and large particles of flying d irt and sa nd a re tra pped on the grease before they reac h the filter element. This " Championsh ip Enduro. " co p vr rgn r S' 1977 bv SIeve Booth and Brian Palormo , i's av a ila bl e d i rect f rom t he publish e r , Pa ra gon Pu bli ca t ion s, 3 106 S wee rb r ie r , La favene , CA 945 49 for $5 ,95 pos tp aid. 'Ca lifo rn ia resid en ts add 6% sa les ta x ,

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