8. Try some different shocks. The
SlItWs hydraulicked on the fast
stutterbwnJlS. Gonna try Works Per·
formance. They looked good on a
couple of other bikes.
9. After Boise and Santa Fe, add
another eight horsepower w h i c h
Maico says is no problem to obtain,
keeping approximately the same
bottom end power.
10. Try a triplex primary chain and
clutch basket for more flywheel ef·
fect on dry and bumpy tracks.
What impressed me about the entire
effort from start to finish was that we
took an absolutely dead·stock 490
Maico motocross motor and put a
known racing frame around it, bolted
stock dirt track components onto it
and told a guy to go race it. Without
so much as changing a spark plug (run·
ning Bel-Ray 60:1 pre-mix), our
$1,400 motor and hot·dog rider
changed the- face of National Dirt
Track IT competition. Ask the fans,
if you find it hard to accept that a
motocross name was just about the
biggest buzz word in the stands at
Ascot.
Incidentally, this b.ikl; ,"0\1l41Jl.a!te a"
compeuuve Junior Half Mile bike
since it gets to run against the restricted
twins. And it's quite a bit cheaper to
build and maintain than a Harley.
A fmal caution. Dirt track motorcycles and component parts are unlike
motocrtlS motorcycles and acassllOries
in two major respects. Dirt track parts
are built to order; they aTe not usually
sitting on the shelf just waiting to be
sold. They are also rather expensive
because they are not made in any
production volume. Therefore, you
will have to "pay and wait." Nearly all
of the suppliers I have had experience
with fall into this category. One-off,
hand built parts take a while.
If you decide to build a replica of
this motorcycle, consult the glossary of
parts in this article. You don't necessarily have to use all of the parts I
used, but the suppliers did put their
faith in a dirt track project and backed
it up with pieces.
Don't forget to use plenty of zip-ties,
Loctite, safety wire, closed cell foam,
and common sense in routing wires
and cables. Other than that, good luck
and watch out for the thrust ..
.. .. Djrt. track.ip back1, . ~.'..... '..
I!
