mr neutron

Thanks for the good Advice, Squid! Maybe some can learn from my mistakes..... On my 2010, the rear fender is held in place by a molded in lip that slips over the rear end of the airbox. It's further held in place by a stainless steel round head allen bolt/washer combo at the front most part of the rear fender (bolts into a thread insert the airbox, I believe), and had 2 plastic trim panel fasteners towards the outside of the fender, that went through factory holes in the airbox. Well the 2 trim fasteners kept breaking when I'd crash (I've stated before that I spend a little time picking my bike up now & then..... Just to stay in shape.... ). So, per the advice of a well meaning friend, I replaced those trim fasteners with Zippy-Ties. At that point, the molded lip under the fender (hooks on the back end of the airbox) had almost completely split off. So I drilled a couple more holes, and added more Zippy-Ties. And that was probably part of the problem that caused a lot of my airbox damage when my son crashed my bike..... I used too thick/strong of Zippy-Ties, and then too many of them. There rear fender really couldn't move much during a crash, without ripping the airbox up with my not-so-well-thought out modifications. Those trim panel fasteners are probably meant to be used as a sort of "fuse" in the fender/airbox circuit. I'm fairly certainthat those fasteners are supposed to either pull out, or break in the event of a crash, so the fender & airbox don't. Now, I'm using really small Zippy-Ties in only 2 places, and that stainless allen head bolt/washer deal. In my pics above here, it sorta looks like I have another bolt/washer deal in that area, but it actually is a riviet & washer that holds on that plastic muffler guard. At any rate, I'm hoping that the next time I crash, those 2 tiny Zippy-Ties will be the "fuse" & break before the airbox does. Bigger, stronger Zippy-Ties are not what is needed in this application. Unless you like repairing airboxes, hee hee.... Jimmie

Very Cool, Mokwepa!!! Looks like a nice event, and that was well done vid! And you guys have some good riders in that group! Zippy, are you sure the ratio of WGASA consumed beer-to-Bouncy House time would be a good idea???? Jimmie

You're correct; The bigger screw effects tickover (idle), and has no effect on the mixture. More air equals a lean mixture, and more fuel equals a rich mixture. Getting the correct balance is key. I think a slightly richer mix makes the bike a little slower reponding off idle, as in when you just barely open the slide/accelerate. A leaner mix makes them respond quicker. Within reason, if you're reasonably close to that 14:1 (or whatever it is, I forget the "optimum" air to fuel ratio....), being a slight bit lean or rich won't hurt anything. It'll have more effect on throttle response than engine longevity. Now, if your talking mainjet/wide open circuit, this correct mixture is more important (to engine life), and being slightly rich is normally somewhat more desireable than being too lean. My bike has a Dellorto carburetor, which has a fuel screw. The bikes with Keihin PWK Carbs have an air screw I believe. Here's a rough rule of thumb, if you don't know which carb you have: The Keihins will have the air screw closer to the "bell" end of the carb. It will be at the air inlet end of the carb. Screwing that screw out will make the low speed circuit leaner; screwing it in will make it richer. It regulates the amount of air you get for the idle/low speed circuit in the carb. The Dellorto carbs will have the mixture screw "in front" of the slide, sorta, up by the intake manifold. Screwing this screw OUT makes it richer, and IN makes it leaner. Just the opposite of the air screw. It regulates the amount of fuel you get in the idle/low speed mixture. Hope this helps! Jimmie Added in EDIT: I wasn't sure which carb cwill has on his bike, which is why I typed what I did above here. If any of it is not accurate, or wrong/incorrect/stupid, I hope someone will chime in to correct me. It's been my experiences that bikes with a fuel mixture screw tend to have the mixture screw located the way I described (close to intake manifold end of the carb), and carbs with an air mixture screw tend to have that mixture screw located at the opposite end of the carb (closer to the air inlet end). This has simply been my own experience. In life, there's probably exceptions & variations out there waiting to prove me wrong......

Thank You for noticing!!! I think you just decribed my first wife....... Jimmie

Probably not, totty79. The viscosity index ratings given by manufacturers are sorta "vague", or more like a general guideline. One manufacturer's 5wt. is another manufacturer's 7.5 wt., or vice versa.... If possible, I'll try to find a somewhat techinical website, done by a man named Peter Verdonne, or something like that, which had a chart that was a good guidline for viscosity indexes of different brands of oils. You will most likely be able to adjust out any differences you feel with your clickers (adjusters) or the oil level itself...... Jimmie In EDIT: Here's that website with the chart of relative viscosity indexes. it gets pretty technical, but is a good reference of sorts. Scroll down to the bottom for the chart i mentioned above..... http://www.peterverd...ve/lowspeed.htm

Might suggest some stronger springs if the elephant is serious about a ride........

Ya know, I recall seeing those pics before, Andrew, and thinking how I liked that look your bike has. You're obviously a trendsetter, Sir! Again, personally, I can live just fine without the graphics. As far as I'm concerned, it's around $125 (approximately 80 pounds, if I'm converting correctly....) that I could spend on fuel to go riding, or more bike parts, or beer, or whatever....... I won't criticize anyone for going bonkers over graphics; it's their way of making them happy. Just a matter of finances & priorities, I reckon..... Jimmie

Squid, I hope you don't have to use it again either!!! I can imagine both you & the checker had a good case of "Big Eyes & Soiled Shorts" at that moment in time, huh? It is nice to hear it did what it's supposed to do! I got mine (the mag kill switch) from Jack's Cycle in Maine. http://www.jackscycles.com/ That's where I got the deal on the muffler, and would've gotten a great deal on the airbox had I not repaired mine. Stu Preston owns that business, is a very good rider, has always given spot-on advice & help, & has been wonderful to deal with for anything I've needed, whether it be from Gas Gas, or aftermarket. Sadly, I think he's also kicking my butt at our personal weight loss challenge..... Anyway, the kill switch works fine. Stu told me those guys like to take the magnets & "hide" them from the riders of bikes that own them. Just another thing to keep us amused, huh Zippy? I also got the adjustable throttle thing from him, but I'm on the fence about whether I like it or not. It does what it's supposed to do: Limits the amount of throttle rotation, and hence, power. But it feels "different" from what I've been used to, as far as my old stock Domino feels. Like it has an off idle "catch" in it that keeps me from being less smooth than I normally am with the throttle. I didn't seem to be able to get full throttle when I had it adjusted to allow that, which might possibly be problematic sometime. I may need to attack something with some fine sandpaper or a file....... Jimmie

Man, Oh Man, Bruno!!! I hope you're healing well now! I had not seen this thread for a few days, and just saw this! I'm really glad you're not hurt any worse than you are, and am hopeful you heal well! You really have to be careful about what has been inside those barrels, but I guess this is a little late for that, huh? Any word on finally getting your Beta? Jimmie

Zippy, I think I first read about the V-Mar Racing adapter here in this thread, after you got one & posted about it. Having once panicked (spelling?) because I thought I lost that stock rubber adapter, and having fought getting the airbox back on once I found that goofy rubber adapter, your post made a lot of good sense. I have one on order. And Thank You for the Head's Up! on the install of it. It's about time for a good carb leaning anyway, so I figured I'd simply take off the carb to do the install of the adapter...... And actually, I agree with you & Bill, and am not really into graphics all that much. Function is more important to me than looks on my bikes. Graphics seem to help sell a bike, and not much more, to my way of thinking. My wife complained when I took the stock graphics off this bike, and asked me when I was going ot get some more "stickers" to replace them. When I told her that I think aftermarket "stickers" were around $125 a set, with OEM even more money, she backed off a bit, hee hee. Those stock Gas Gas stickers are some of the toughest I've ever seen, however...... Where do you guys mount your magnetic/lanyard-style (Leonelli) kill switches? By the clutch perch/master cylinder, just like stock? Does that lanyard typically go around the left wrist? I've seen some with a coiled cord on the magnet dealie like a Slinky, mounted to the rider's belt, and one of those folks had the switch right in the middle of the handlebars, by the mounts..... At any rate, it's GREAT to be riding again. I missed my 20 minute workouts in my yard...... Jimmie

It got put back together & ridden yesterday! I got a new midbox/silencer for the bike, as well as a new throttle (the one with the adjustment that controls how far it can be opened), and a bunch of other miscellaneous bits & pieces. Still have more stuff coming, but I was thrilled to get it put together enough for a ride! I used a cheap plastic welding kit to repair the rips & holes in the rear fender. Stuck some stainless steel screen in there with the soldering iron/welding tool. Then I attempted to use the filler rod & sorta smooth things over somewhat. It came out uglier than a bucket of buttholes, but it has held well so far. I used the same tool on the airbox, but managed a slightly better looking job, barely. I also used zip-ties & black silicone sealant on the airbox. Since the split airbox & fender now had some ratty graphics, and since I needed them off in a few places to make repairs, I took all the graphics off. I will look into some graphics kits from either S3 or Jitsie sometime in the future. I pretty much now have one of the ugliest 280 Pros in existence, but it's rideable again! The little black deal clamped onto the end of the new exhaust is my spark arrestor, which is needed to be able to ride on National Forest property...... So far, for the one ride I have on these repairs, everything has held together just fine. It's great to be riding & crashing again! Thanks for your help here, Fellas! You guys are truly a metric ton of help/advice, and I appreciate y'all!!! Jimmie Added in Edit: Bill (that's_a_five), I went to Lolo Pass & rode some of the sections from the trial events the two previous weekends. Went with the the guy that took 3rd in the Novice class one day of the PNTA event, a young Intermediate rider, & the Int. rider's father, who rides Advanced. What a tough trial that would have been to ride! Some of those sections were seriously tough for folks of my skill (or rather lack of skill) level. I couldn't believe what they had some of the Int. riders do. I rode a few of those section, but had to chicken out on one. Didn't feel the need to make a run to the hospital quite so soon after finally getting to ride again, ya know? Barry probably would've aced everything!

A couple of weeks ago, my son had a slight mishap on my Gasser while learning the finer points of wheelies: I got a new midbox/silencer & some miscellaneous parts. Repaired the airbox & fender. Have a new throttle, and a new Leonelli kill button with the magnetic lanyard deal. Also should have a V-Mar Racing carb adapter coming as well, but that really has nothing to do with crash damage. This is what my poor bike looks like now: Since I was going to have to "sacrifice" the stock graphics to patch up the airbox & fender, I decided to just take them all off the bike altogether. Will look at S3 or Jitsie graphics kits in the future, but I believe S3 is the only place making them for my old bike that I can get here in the States. I patched up the airbox & fender with a cheap plastic welding kit. On the airbox, I also used some zip-ties & silicone seal as extra insurance. The fender came out horrible (the airbox won't win any prizes either, I'm thinking.... ). I reinforced it with stainless steel screen material, and attempted to fill in the stock holes. I'm just using tiny little zip-ties and the one bolt up front to hold the ugly fender on for the time being. I know the bike looks pretty ugly, especially compared to how it did when I first bought it. But I'm able to ride again, and that means a lot to me. Everything held up well for the ride I did yesterday, so I guess my repairs are successful, so far..... The exhaust has a black spark arrestor on the end of it (from a John Deere Gator; way cheaper than what you can buy from some trials shops here....) that I needed to ride in National Forest yesterday..... Oh yeah, about the throttle: It has a feature that allows me to adjust a stop for the throttle tube, that prevents the throttle from fully opening. You can adjust how far it will open, sorta like what the old YZ minibikes had. This feature will be used when ANY new rider, or my son, rides this bike in the future..... Jimmie

Nice work (again!), Mokwepa!!! Any chance on one of the longer logs that you can hop up on it, and then ride the length of it, and hop off? I have an old maple tree I decided to save from being firewood that I attempt that on. It's close to the same diameter as my front wheel. Makes a nice balance & double blip (to get up on it) practice drill.... Jimmie

Balance drills/practice can be done without even having the bike running. The figure eights, along with the "Circle of Ribbon" are really good turn practice. The Circle of Ribbon is ribbon laid out in your yard, about 10 feet or 11 feet (3 to 3.5 meters?) in diameter. You ride into the circle, and turn 3 complete left hand circles without dabbing, then ride out. Ride back in & do the same thing turning right. If it's too easy, make the circle smaller....... They had us do this at a school event our club's expert riders put on. There were 2 circles; one was REALLY small. That really tight circle they had (all laid out on perfectly flat lawn) even tripped up a lot of Advanced & Expert riders who would normally just start hopping in most situations. And you can practice just riding & stopping and then balancing. There's a knack to that. Front & rear wheel hopping can be practiced in a small area. Really, there's a lot of good help for you that can be done in the back yard..... Jimmie

If you're absolutely, 100% certain that it's only broken ribs, there really isn't too much that doctors can or will do for you, in my experience. If you got knocked out from a crash, and/or felt like you got the wind knocked out of you, along with the that old broken collarbone & rib kinda feeling, and especially if you sound like you're playing a harmonica when you breathe, it'd be a great idea to go see a doctor then. You've got problems from ringing your bell, and a punctured lung from the broken ribs. Have first hand experience on this deal...... Jimmie

Definitely!!! If it ain't fun, don't keep going at until you become even more frustrated. Figure out some way to make it fun, like you just did! Good Job, Buddy! And sometimes, a change of shorts helps also. I find that a pair of shorts with a lovely floral print makes my mood happier..... Or Yoga pants...... Naww, actually, I think Zippy nailed it: It's them dang ribbons!!! Jimmie Added in Edit: Bruno, thanks for posting with Mokwepa's videos embedded! Again, the front wheel hop into the turn & hop over the barrel/tire looks good, Mokwepa! Ya know, I'm trying to learn ot hop, and for some reason, I can't get the bike to go to my right. Only to my left. Wonder why???

Sorry, my post has no value whatsoever. I just have this "8th Grade Level" juvenile humor gene that becomes dominant when I read a funny comment like that...... My wife is actually the photographer in our family. I had planned on showing her this thread for (what I feel is) the helpful advice, but not certain I can do that now..... But to expand some on what Laser1 said: I can recall a photo, taken from very much behind the rider, showiing his roost, and the HUGE rock he was attempting to go up, with his minder waiting up there, & etc.. This was really cool angle that almost put you on the bike, and it was easy to visualize what the rider had to do, and how difficult it was. Nicely done photo that I wish I could recall where it was seen..... Jimmie

Good turn practice drills, Mokwepa!! Keep that up! That looks like pretty tight turning, and you have a bit of uneven, up & down hill terrain to make it more difficult. Cool! To me, your Bunny Hop looks better than what I do. I still have trouble getting decent height out of my Bunny Hops most of the time, and doing them wrong as I do wears me out quickly.... In the Ryan Young video, he breaks it down into the details of a Bunny Hop very well. But that part about jumping forward and kinda pulling the bars with you (paraphrasing here) is where I really screw up. My jump trajectory probably doesn't resemble "an arch" (arc?), as Ryan says it should look. Uncontrolled floundering most likely....... But I can see where getting this technique would be helpful for other techniques, like the Jap Zap maybe. And it is a nice way to clear smallish logs that lay across the trails in between sections & etc.. Jimmie

You hit a Kudu??? Those are pretty "solid" animals, aren't they? Man, I've dreamed of hunting for those, & you guys can simply run them down with your trucks!! Seriously, we're glad you're alright (you must be if you're posting, I guess), and would imagine that a Kudu can mess up a truck pretty good? Jimmie

I too have the Ryan Young video, and as a Novice-level rider, really like it a lot. So does one of my trials riding friends I loaned it to, and who has forgotten it's actually MY video, hee hee.... Another one I (we, if I include my video thievin' friend.... ) like is called "Learning Trial", with Jordi Pascuet. It has an English interpretation for those of us not fluent in Spanish, and it works out pretty well. Again, a decent video for the Novice rider...... Jimmie

Nice work there, Laser1 & Bruno!!! Would anyone compain if it were, say, Sophia Vergara in a flourescent swimsuit? Jimmie

Geez, I'm Sorry, Glenn. when I started this thread, it was because I was told the exhaust was over $800! With an aribox price of $480, a fender price of $168, and other smaller, less expensive parts I don't have prices on yet, I was easily looking at over $1400. I was hoping for a cheap alternative, not to lay a guilt trip on other Dads, hee hee. Was hoping to not embarass my kid, as well..... You all have convinced me to repair the airbox & fender myself, and with the cheaper exhaust, I don't feel so much like I've had my balls kicked as I did a few days ago..... I'm still hopeful he'll want to ride my trials bike again. He was just getting the hang of riding my 6" X 6" X 12' timbers I have as a sort of "balance beam" practice obstacle. He could ride the entire length of it about 50% of the time, and manage to wheelie over it or do a crude Bunny Hop over it. He'd worked on static (no engine) balancing, and then wheelies. Now, about the time he was getting small wheelies down, the bike ran out of gas. This bike does have a "Reserve" position on the fuel petcock, However, it's been my experience that if you need that Reserve to ride back to the truck, your truck had better be close enough to be in sight! We leaned the bike over to the left, watched fuel flow through the fuel filter for a couple of minutes, and decided he could make the distance back to the barn with what was now in the float bowl. After his crash,he said that as he was bending his knees down to load the forks for a wheelie, it felt like the wanted to just "take off" (his description) faster than he wanted it to. I've had bikes begin to run lean from running out of fuel before, and sometimes would start to rev to the moon just before they ran completely out of fuel. I'm kinda wondering if this isn't what happened to my poor kid..... I figure it's one thing for an accident like this to happen, but it's sad if ya can't learn from it..... Jimmie

Old Trials Fanatic, I had to chuckle when I read the part of your first post about "If you break it, you buy it!". Last Tuesday, not long after we figured out that he (my son) was alright, not hurt, & etc., I gave him the "If you ever get a chance to ride one of your friend's bikes, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT do it unless you're prepared to either buy the bike, or pay the $$$ to fix it" lecture. To my surprise, he told me that he had already turned down a couple of chances to ride some of his buddies' "Crotch Rocket" street bikes for that very reason. He said I'd already given him that lecture, and I had forgotten I'd done it..... I doubt that he ever reads anything here on this forum. But I was basically not wanting to write anything that he might take as criticism towards him, or anything like that, if he did read something here. It was, after all, an accident, and that's just the way it is. I was wanting to be "discreet" for his sake..... Anyway, I called the pipe repair place here in Oregon, and they do not work on aluminum exhausts. Largely for the reasons I can see on my pipe. The wrinkled up portion at the bend where the midbox becomes a silencer is too hard to straighten out. I'm not certain the pictures show the wrinkles to their worst...... I sort of wish I hadn't troubled you guys with this now. This deal isn't going to be nearly as expensive as I was originally told. I got an email just today from a dealer about the price of a new exhaust. I guess there's actually been a reduction in price on the complete midbox/silencer setup, from over $800 down to $406! It's cheaper than the airbox! My son has agreed to pitch in for half of it, and still split & stack the firewood I have laying around. I am going to try & patch the airbox & fender, and then there's the throttle. I ordered the throttle housing that can be adjusted for the tube's rotation, and won't allow full throttle. I've also ordered one of those magnetic kill switches that shut the bike off if the rider & bike part company. I'm hoping these will go a ways towards preventing another quick, violent crash that even some of us "experienced" riders can manage to have...... Hopefully, I'll have the parts and be back riding within a month or less. Will keep y'all posted on how the repairs go. I'll likely be riding with part of the grahics gone off the bike for awhile, which I suppose might look a little ugly to some, but at this point, I'd rather ride an ugly bike than not ride at all....... I used to ride almost every evening after work, and I miss it..... Thanks for all your encouragement & help, Fellas! You've no idea how much I appreciate it. Jimmie

Hey, Bill!!! Small World!!! I'm the guy that parked nearby to you & Barry for the Modern bike ride on Sunday (at The Dabber Trial/Karey Krahel's place). Have the big gold-ish colored diesel pickup & the white trailer, brought the wife & dog along that day, & etc.. Barry, after killing us in our class, took some video of the Experts didn't he? He's a very good rider! I did look into the plastic welders last night, for the airbox & fender. I dunno if there are people around here that do that sort of thing, but I did look into the soldering iron/plastic filler deal at http://www.urethanesupply.com/ . I'm on the fence anbout buying all the stuff (that they say) is needed to fix this. It would be cheaper, and probably useful for the future as well, but....... Anyone know if just a regular old pencil type soldering iron, along with the correct filler rod, would do a decent job of welding the airbox & fender? Polypropelene for the fender, I don't know what type of plastic the airbox is made of. Would sealant/glue & zip-ties do just as well? I guess it's time for me to come clean about the rider: He's my son. I'm not going to make a bunch of excuses for him, but I'll say that he's "struggling financially" (goes to college & works a low paying job). He plans on selling his own motorcycle (a vintage 1980 TT250 Yamaha) to cover the costs of repairs for my bike. I actually hate to see him sell his bike, because we ride together. But it's the last thing he owns, besides his pickup, of any value that he feels he can hock to get some money. Meanwhile, I have firewood splitting & stacking service from him for awhile...... Anyway, while he's an experienced big bike rider, I had hoped to get him into trials. Again, so we might do that together. I guess it'll slow down his ability to get a trials bike (or any sort of dirt bike), if he wants one, but that's his problem to deal with......He's a good young man. He felt bad enough to puke in his boots after he looped out the bike. He's not trying to get out of giving me any money; it's just not going to happen overnight (unless there's a sudden, huge demand for old 4-stroke monoshock Yamahas, I guess.....). He has learned a lesson here, I'm thinking..... Jimmie Jimmie

Thanks, Zippy!!! Yeah, it's the first time I've loaned it out that it came back in worse shape than it was before a newbie ride..... I realize that I take a risk when loaning it out, assuming that a crash is always a possibility. I'd just assumed it would likely be a broken rear fender, or bent lever to worry about, or something along those lines. These bikes are amazingly tough, and I'm still kinda surprised at how bent & broke stuff got...... I guess I'll get my chance to help the sport out by buying some high-dollar parts, huh? Jimmie