Sorting my Tecate

[ccdhowell]

I've owned my Tecate for about 7 weeks now and things are shaping up nicely. This week I installed an 11-tooth from sprocket from Sidewinder and took it out for a trial today. My father-in-law has 40 acres where I do most of my riding. It is nice, he has woods, a pond and muddy spillway, rolling small hills to climb/jump and a long flat straight area, maybe 1000 yards long. Well today I decided to try my hand at draging the old Tecate for the first time. Mind you this is a pasture, dry grass and I hooked up really well no spinning.

I don't know how long drags are supposed to be so with plenty of room I practiced take-offs and sprints up to fifth gear then let off. All I have to say is awsome. It's been quite a while since adrenaline hit like that and the Tecate hit even harder. Off the line it was hard to keep the front end down with so much traction and I easily pulled the front wheel in the first three gears. As a rookie, I found it hard to tell when to shift, especially in the lower gears, it seems to wind-up really fast and hard in 1-2&3 and then settle down and pull strong all the way to fifth gear. I have nothing to really judge speed or acceleration with, the only other atv was a Sukuki 250 quad that I easily dusted.

Tell me one thing Tecate riders, is it okay to shift the transmission with out clutching when drag racing. I did and it shifted smoothly and firmly, but I don't want to tear it up, especially when it runs so well.

I've really got to find a drag strip that I can trailer to in a reasonable time and try this thing out.

Anybody use a handheld GPS to tell speed? It occured to me that that would be a good way. I have no idea how fast I was going today, really quick for a beginner, at least it felt fast.

Thanks for reading guys, I hope my enthusiasum doesn't seem childish, but I've been a quad rider for too long, I'm just glad I took the plunge and bought that old Tecate when I did, I didn't know what I was missing.

[Aussieduner]

Quote,
Thanks for reading guys, I hope my enthusiasum doesn't seem childish, but I've been a quad rider for too long, I'm just glad I took the plunge and bought that old Tecate when I did, I didn't know what I was missing.[/QUOTE]

Childish........HELL NO ! i just got my Tecate two weeks ago and i LOVE IT:w00t: .. im looking forward to rebuilding it back to its former glory ! Dont forget to post some pics as you go.

Cheers
Aussieduner

[mdunn]

I had a '86 Tecate I used to drag all the time back when they were new and let me tell you, the clutch was only used on take-offs. Never had a problem with it. Most of my real drags were in the sand with paddle tires. The key there was to leave in second gear with the revs high and get the wheel speed up immediately. The Green Machine was a hard one to catch then...of course I was about 180 Lbs then also....:p either way, you need to slightly let off the throttle and match those up shifts to release some of that force on the gears. But finally, it's drag racing...there are other things you could be doing other than this to make sure it stays together.:)

[scooterroo]

why did you go with an 11 tooth? 13 is stock, are you using it mainly for drag? i am going with a set of 12,13,14 on front and a set of 38,40,42 in back, just so i can try out different gearing setups. i have heard that 14, 40 was a good set up.

[ccdhowell]

I surely don't know how to set-up a trike, but this motor seems too high strung for the slow-speed trails I normally run. I went with 11 to gain some slow-speed torque on woods trails and some grunt to get me out of ravines with big 4-stroke quads.

The gearing change seemed to really help, I'm even thinking of going to a 44 or 45 on the rear to lower the final drive ratio even more, perhaps to accomidate larger rear tires.

Where do you run that 14,40 is a good set-up? Seems you'd have no bottom-end at all, but hey, I'm a novice and without another Tecate to compare to, mine may actually run like junk and I don't even know it.

[scooterroo]

im not just going to have the 14 and 40 tooth, i am getting the three different sizes of both front and rear just to try out different combos

[BigGreenMachine]

I bet the 11 tooth really makes that thing snap when you open the throttle. I tried a 45 tooth rear on mine but I had the stock 13 on, made a world of difference but the bike ran out of top end speed really fast. I'm now running a 14/38 setup and its just fine with 20 inch tires. I also do a lot of woods riding.

[ccdhowell]

Yeah, tires, I just ordered a new set from Interco, 22s. I will need all the gearing I can get to turn these babies, they're 12.5" wide.

With the 11 tooth sprocket, the engine is very rev-happy and it does snap when you grab-er open real fast. On level ground now, if you slip the clutch, you can get it rolling and clutch all the way out without even touching the throttle, this low gearikng is cool stuff. Wonder what a 44 tooth rear would do to it now?

[BigGreenMachine]

You'd have a tractor with a 45 tooth rear on it with the 11. Top speed would be in the 40mph range too.
LOL ...but hell it would be great for the type of riding you do, slow and technical.

[moose 53]

Tecates were never meant to go slow ,they are happiest when screaming in 3ed or 4th gear .4 strokes really do better at slow technical ridding:Bounce

[ccdhowell]

BGM, moose, you guys are right and I know it, but it's so much fun getting something to do what it wasn't meant to do. It does seem to heat up some without much air flowing through the radiator. I've been aware and have taken it on high-speed runs to cool the engine.


Tractor, sounds fun, just may try it.

[darrel632]

14/44 with 22's will give you 65+ mph on the top, and enough on the bottom for everything but tight single track, with the 12.5X 22's you might not have much fun in mud though, My12's are a little under 12 and the performance is more than sufficient with the 14/44 combo

[moose 53]

If you really want a 2 stroke tractor then put a KX500 in your tecate and gear it down a little .You get the best of both worlds gobs of torque on the bottom and more top end then you should use.You will never get the same thrill out of a 250 again.It really does ruin you for smaller motors.There is just something about 1/4 throttle burnouts with dirt slinging everywhere:Bounce

[BigGreenMachine]

I tried my 22x12.5x10 inch mud tires with the 14/38 gearing and I have yet to be stuck when I run them. Roost and clumps of mud a good 10 feet up in the air..these things do just fine in the trails and mud.

[theonlyjosh]

post up some pics dude!!! i wanna see it. i been readin the post and now i don't see pictures...

[ccdhowell]

Maybe I'm down on compression or carberation, but I can't get mine to work well in the lower rpm range. Seems fine, even great geared like it is now though.

Here's a pic in the driveway, sorry, I'm not the picture taking in the woods type. I usually am having too much fun to take pictures.

I ordered TSL ATV tires in 22x12.5-10 cosmetic blems direct from Interco for a real bargin. I haven't gotten them mounted yet. That'll probably take the place of riding next weekend, that and cutting the grass.

[going4broketecate85]

You gotta love the way a Tecate hits!!! When you hit the gas it just go's and go's!!!! I run a 14 front tooth and a stock rear! Has more than enough starting(can't keep the front down!)(but I have it cranked up a couple of notches and a plus 2 swinger) but still wanting more top end!!:Bounce good luck man, once you ride one nothing will every compare!!!!!!!:beer

[BigGreenMachine]

Heres mine with the mud tires mounted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/BigGreenMachine/PHOT0003-1.jpg

[ccdhowell]

BGM, that's a great looking Tecate. What front tire is that? Goodyear Tracker? Are those 20" rears? Do you run a swingarm skidplate?

[BigGreenMachine]

Thank you ccdhowell. The front is a 22/11/10 ITP AT489, 3 ply and pretty durable. The rears are 22/12.5/10, same size as what you ordered. They are ITP Spidertracs and are 4 ply and pretty heavy. No swingarm skidplate yet. I hear the Honda 250X skidplate fits with some mount modifications so I'll be trying that Christmas time. Wish I had one now as I ruined a rear brake rotor not long ago by hitting a rock.

[BigGreenMachine]

Forgot to ask, are you using the stock carb? What pilot jet is in it?

[ccdhowell]

22s on the rear, the perspective of the photo had me thinking they were 20s. I concidered the AT489 for my rears before I purchased the Intercos. Yeah, you red in one of my first posts about the skidplate. That's the most important undone thing on mine. It's just a matter of time before I ruin a rotor too, or sprocket.

As far as the carb goes, it was on it when I bought it but don't know if it's the stock carb or not. Being new to these things I took the carb to a local Harley dealer, managed by my brother-in-law, and one of his mechanics rebuilt the carb for me. He didn't do a very good job and it still leaks fuel from the bottom of the bowl. I bought a rebuild kit off of ebay yesterday and when it comes it I'll give a go at rebuilding this carb myself.

One more thing on the carb. Seems I read on the homepages of this site that a 1985 Tecate came with a 34mm Mikuni. Well the guy that rebuilt it for me told me it was a 38mm Mikuni. I'm trying to learn to ride and repair this thing. It sure is fun to ride so I need to learn more about the repair.

I just noticed you're from Newfoundland. I can only imagine what grandeur you must ride through up there.

[ccdhowell]

Also, can't see the stock airbox in the photo, are ou running one or something else?

[BigGreenMachine]

When you remove the carb to rebuild it, snap a few pics and I or someone here will figure out what it is from the pics.

If you really want a snappy woods machine I'd suggest finding a used Honda 250R 34mm flatslide and having it jetted to Tecate spec.

I run the stock airbox and find it to be alright. Gets dirty in there real quick so I assume its not sealing right for me. Will be building an aluminum airbox pretty soon to go with the 500 swap. My motor and materials should be here sometime today.

James

[darrel632]

my T-3 with "claws" they only measure 11.75 side to side, I love 'em

[ccdhowell]

Good luck on the motor swap. 500 seems excessive, but sometimes excessive is the most fun. I have a 300 Winchester Magnum pistol that I love to shoot. Gets all kinda looks at the range, most can't understand why, but 3-wheeler riders would understand perfectly.

I already have a 34mm Mikuni, brand new, I was gonna mount it, but then I couldn't figure what to do about it being too little for the carb holder. Clue me in and I'll mount it and see for myself what it does.

Darrel, how hard is it for you to spin those when say moving at a walking pace? What gearing are you using?

[BigGreenMachine]

Too small to mount in the carb boot? Don't know what to tell you.

A 300 Win Mag pistol? The old man has a 300 Win Mag rifle and that thing kicks pretty good!