KX Riders
General => Riding Tips & Tricks => Topic started by: oic0 on May 26, 2009, 08:59:16 AM
-
Ok, I ditched the quads, and bought a really mean dirtbike. Hence I am here :D
Bored at work I actually read a newbie guide to riding before my first outing. It told me to sit really far forward. This works. My fat 220 lb arse keeps the wheelies to a minimum. It just spins the tire like crazy and does a little dance if I hit the power band on a less than ideal surface (brand new 120/90 - 19 maxxis desert tire). I am not really sure I could make it power wheelie even if I wanted (except when im turning a little bit, then it seems more wheelie prone?) . It just feels so squirley though. I would much rather have it wheelie happy than spinning the tire everywhere. As it is currently, I dont think I would even be able to tell if the clutch were slipping.
I am currently running 15lbs of air pressure. Is that just way too much? would dropping to 12ish help a lot? I honestly haven't used 4th or 5th gear yet. 3rd feels fast as heck and I haven't yet figured out how to stop it or manuver it very well while going fast. I ran in to a huge thistle at the top of 3rd in a pasture (what, like 55 or 60?) just because I couldn't slow down or avoid it even though I saw it coming pretty early.
Long story short, I need a LOT more time on the bike and I probably need to stop going WOT all the time until I learn to ride properly, but any tips you guys can give would be welcome!
Overall though, I had a good bit of fun on my first outing. I dug a lot of trenches. Got wobbly in the gravel many times. Was bored to death on a trail (only required one gear and no clutch useage lol... felt like riding a fast tractor). Hit a few cow pies and thistles. I am still breathing so things are going good. I haven't even looped it out or dumped it :lol:
-
With an 18 inch rear wheel/tire combo I have ran as low as 8-10psi in the rear tire. With 19 inch wheel/tire combo I stay around 10-12 psi. Just take your time and get use to the power and how to control it. Learn how to use the power instead of just twisting the grip to w.o.t. It takes time and plenty of seat time to get comfortable on the bike. Riding as much as you can while standing will help you learn how to balance the bike and your weight.
-
I'll give that a shot. I don't jump or ride on rocks so I'll go ahead and drop to 10 or 11psi.
I need to replace a couple bent spokes. Rear has about 5 loose or bent, wont tighten. Front has about 3.
I will work on the standing up more thing too. Lord knows I need the exercise to cancel out my desk job. Not sure if I would be able to shift like that though. Ive got cheap boots that just wont break in. They don't shift well even sitting.
-
I need to replace a couple bent spokes. Rear has about 5 loose or bent, wont tighten. Front has about 3.
Check your nipples, I dont mean by licking your fingers and rubbing in a circle. Your spoke nipples and or the hole in the wheel may be shot if they will not tighten.
-
I need to replace a couple bent spokes. Rear has about 5 loose or bent, wont tighten. Front has about 3.
Check your nipples, I dont mean by licking your fingers and rubbing in a circle. Your spoke nipples and or the hole in the wheel may be shot if they will not tighten.
They turn, the problem is the spoke trys to turn with them (threads seized). Fighting it with a pair of pliers was no help either. I thought about putting liquid wrench in em, but wouldn't they be coming loose all the time after that? Maybe liquid wrench em loose, clean it with WD-40, then put it back together? Wonder what my tube will be like if that stuff gets inside lol.
-
None of that will affect the tube. Just make sure that you are not running out of threads and mistaken it for a seizure. It would be best if you took the tire off first though. Then you could inspect the nipple holes better and it would also make trueing easyer.
JFAB