Is motorcycling allowed?

[Andymann]

Definitely - the moment she starts pinning it with the hotter plug you are going to get some issues again.  When I was at Yamaha we had such an problem trying to convince men not to buy their wives and girlfriends YZ85's just because they rode YZ125's and YZ250's.  85's are such temperamental things - hell they literally change with the weather.  Have you ever felt how well a 2-stroke goes when it's really cold and the air is nice and dense?  Or when it's just about to run out of fuel.  There's an old saying - a 2-stroke will run brilliantly just before it blows up!

We used to try our best to recommend TTR230's in place of YZ85's because they are just perfect for recreational riding, but they just weren't cool enough with the styling and the old drum brake at the back.

Put in a hotter plug and let her ride it and then take the plug out and check it - it's not strictly the right way to do a plug check, but it will give you a very good idea of what the engine is doing.

 

[Andymann]

10 hours ago, Mongooser said:

Awesome thanks the makes a lot of sense, Will try a 6 in my sister bike. and run 40:1 in the 85, 

Is detonation at all a risk if she runs the bike with a hotter plug or does that only happen if your using the top end of the bikes rev range and riding the snot out of it? 

Rode with a 8 this afternoon in the yz125 and didn't seem to get a fouled plug.  just starts bogging if i dont ride it fast and keep the motor hot 24/7. 😂guess i should stick to my 300 for slow riding as its made for lugging around trails.

Thanks again for all the info

 

 

 

What does the manual say the premix should be for an 85?  I would go with that

[sawystertrance]

Slightly off topic but still two-stroke related. A while ago I passed a groupf of two-strokes stopped at a coffee shop. Great selection of bikes with RD 350s, a coupla Suzuki triples and even a Suzuki rotary. When I walked past about 30 mins later the guys were leaving and some had run out of patience and weere already gone while 3 of them were kicking away like crazy trying to get their bikes started. Man, it reminded me a of the old days... Stragely, though, I started out biking with a Yamaha 360 RT3  and can't remember ever even changing the plug. Lucky for sure.

[Andymann]

All my DT's run with normal B8ES NGKs and they are fine.  It's the highly strung bikes that tend to be a but iffy.  The one thing that we have seen over the years though, is the number of plugs that just die, or actually spark normally when they are tested outside the cylinder, but fail under compression.  We have a very interesting talk at our Club a while back about NGK and how to spot the ones which are not made in Japan.  There's certain markings on a Japanese NGK that aren't on the ones made around the world.  Crazy as it sounds, but I actually order all the plugs for my bikes off the Yamaha Part number, to ensure I get the Japanese ones.

We also have one of our old race bikes that will absolutely not run properly on anything other than BOSCH plugs.  It's the craziest thing and I initially wouldn't believe it, but put in an NGK and two days later you will be standing next to it cursing.

[Spokey]

On 10/28/2022 at 11:38 AM, Andymann said:

All my DT's run with normal B8ES NGKs and they are fine.  It's the highly strung bikes that tend to be a but iffy.  The one thing that we have seen over the years though, is the number of plugs that just die, or actually spark normally when they are tested outside the cylinder, but fail under compression.  We have a very interesting talk at our Club a while back about NGK and how to spot the ones which are not made in Japan.  There's certain markings on a Japanese NGK that aren't on the ones made around the world.  Crazy as it sounds, but I actually order all the plugs for my bikes off the Yamaha Part number, to ensure I get the Japanese ones.

We also have one of our old race bikes that will absolutely not run properly on anything other than BOSCH plugs.  It's the craziest thing and I initially wouldn't believe it, but put in an NGK and two days later you will be standing next to it cursing.

This is very interesting, thanks. I have a little DT125 arriving tomorrow. Seems in fine fettle. My brother went to check it out for me in Centurian whilst I was in Saudi. Plan to teach my wife and daughter to ride, initially around the garden………………

[Spokey]

So, I arrived back from the Middle East sandpit on Thursday evening, Friday discovered a leaking fork seal on the Big Katoom. Of course a phone call to my preferred bike shop would have sufficed , but I had to head on down…….discovered that The Buffalo Rally was on this weekend. Very little info the net regarding the program so I trundled along on Big Zed on Saturday arriving in time for the mass ride and back to the rally site in Hartenbos. Was cool, peeps very friendly, music was good, hamburger less so. Beer remained tempting but off limits to this day visitor. If I am around for next years Buff I think I will head on down for an overnight.

Yes, the gloves were safely stashed in the back pack, slow mass ride and very hot…….

[mazambaan]

10 hours ago, Spokey said:

So, I arrived back from the Middle East sandpit on Thursday evening, Friday discovered a leaking fork seal on the Big Katoom. Of course a phone call to my preferred bike shop would have sufficed , but I had to head on down…….discovered that The Buffalo Rally was on this weekend. Very little info the net regarding the program so I trundled along on Big Zed on Saturday arriving in time for the mass ride and back to the rally site in Hartenbos. Was cool, peeps very friendly, music was good, hamburger less so. Beer remained tempting but off limits to this day visitor. If I am around for next years Buff I think I will head on down for an overnight.

Yes, the gloves were safely stashed in the back pack, slow mass ride and very hot…….

Lucky the ride was saved and cool to see the Buff; again.  BUT what is it with WP forks and seals; or is it just them?

If I don't bleed my forks (Husky 701 & 501) religiously after a ride they can start to weep. Park the bike a bit funny and the oil goes onto the front brake pads; oh, oh moment incoming.

[Andrew_Smith]

Awesome day out with BMW for training at Anura Vineyards.

[sawystertrance]

Nice but I can't see the photos. Can you post them as jpgs if possible?

Edited October 31, 2022 by sawystertrance

[Andrew_Smith]

13 minutes ago, sawystertrance said:

Nice but I can't see the photos. Can you post them as jpgs if possible?

Sure, here you go. Sadly no photos of the manoeuvre or such. A GoPro would have been helpful on that.

Level 1 training:

- Safety regarding your clothing
- LOS (Look Up, Open Up (be loose on the bike), Stand (for the technical stuff/when it gets scary)
- Setting up your bike for off-road riding
- Balancing (walking around your bike keep it up with one hand)
- Picking up your bike
- Take offs
- U-turns and figure of eights.
- Emergency braking (with locking of the rear wheel)
- Escape your "kopwurm" as Oom Neels said (stop blaming your bike/tyre setup/controls) and RYB - Ride Your Bike!

Edited October 31, 2022 by Andrew_Smith

[sawystertrance]

Very nice, thanks. If I may ask, how much was the course? 

[Andrew_Smith]

43 minutes ago, sawystertrance said:

Very nice, thanks. If I may ask, how much was the course? 

The costs was R650 for non-members and R550 for BMW Club Members.

We started meeting from 08:00 for coffee and muffins. 13:00 we got lunch at Anura Restaurant (which is included with the course fee). We finish with the training just after 16:00.

So I feel you got your money's worth and I'll definitely do it again.

[sawystertrance]

Well done and it's something I shoulda done long ago but didn't. I'm sure you're a better rider now that you've done the course. 

[Spokey]

16 hours ago, mazambaan said:

Lucky the ride was saved and cool to see the Buff; again.  BUT what is it with WP forks and seals; or is it just them?

If I don't bleed my forks (Husky 701 & 501) religiously after a ride they can start to weep. Park the bike a bit funny and the oil goes onto the front brake pads; oh, oh moment incoming.

Was a surprise on the fork seals. I did not have a problem previously with this bike. However I do ride it hard offroad and in all weather. Turns out that the seal retaining circlip is very rusted and the rubber dust seals are  beyond help. I did see this as I was drinking all the bike shops coffee at the time! So, I have ordered the entire units, bummer as Big Orange is parked up again…….but the 690 is ready to rumble!!!!!

[Spokey]

Picked up my new to me DT125 today. A quick blast around the garden and she parked alongside the XL600

Edited November 2, 2022 by Spokey
Finger trouble!

[Andrew_Smith]

On 10/31/2022 at 3:57 PM, sawystertrance said:

Well done and it's something I shoulda done long ago but didn't. I'm sure you're a better rider now that you've done the course. 

Thanks for the vote of confidence, it was a humbling experience realising I cannot properly ride a bike - a lot of technique goes into it.

I struggled a lot with the figure of eights, counterbalancing with my body to avoid the bike from tipping over. Something I'll have to practise in my own time, I see there is an empty field spot where I can pack out the cones to train, and if the bike drops, it is at least on grass and not tar.