What are you doing today? Thread

[El Camexican]

You’re an animal Shep!!!

[Shep1970]

You’re an animal Shep!!!

Careful them words may wake up “glamy”

[El Camexican]

Just thought these were too cool not to share.

[Scootertrash]

Careful them words may wake up “glamy”

Try saying "manimal" three times..............

[barnett468]

.

Well here's yet another self serving and pointless update to my racing resurrection.


Friday, amongst some other things, I installed a set of Boyesen dual stage fiberglass reeds in my 1980 YZ250 just to see if they actually do much. I wanted to test them back to back with stock reeds, but with the nearby track being closed due to the rains it isn't possible. After I installed them I rode the bike in my neighborhood for a minute just to see how the jetting was in case I needed to change it because I didn't want to jet it any more than necessary at the race, and it ran cleanly so I left it that way.

Saturday I raced on a track called Cahuilla MX Park, which I hadn't been on before, so I didn't have a known reference point to compare how it ran with the new reeds to how it ran with the original ones, but I figured I would at least be able to tell if it was noticeably slower or the throttle response was noticeably different etc, which it wasn't, so I will leave the new reeds in and ride it at the OTHG National next week where I will have a better idea of how the 2 different reeds compare to each other.

The start at the race Saturday was long and sandy and uphill, which put me at a greater disadvantage to the newer 4 strokes compared to a flat and harder ground start. Fortunately, at this race they let riders do practice starts, so I did several of them, and on the second one my front wheel lifted off the ground a couple inches when I hit 3rd gear, and I thought, holy sh_t, this thing runs good and that new hard terrain tire is hooking up great in the sand.

There were around 18 people on the gate for my race, and when the gate dropped, I nailed it, and half way up that long start straight I could see that I was in the lead, so I'm thinking, holy sh_t again (cuz I think that a lot), I'm gonna hole shot all these guys...and then I pulled the clutch in and shifted into what should have been 5th gear, and when I let it out and nailed the throttle, it was still in 4th friggen gear, so as people are starting starting to pass me, I tried shifting into 5th again and it still wouldn't go. So needless to say, I got a killer....last place start. I then started picking a few people off, but around half way thru the race, my bike quit shifting altogether and got stuck in 4th gear, so I rode around like that slipping the crap out of my poor clutch exiting the turns while occasionally trying to shift it, and it finally started shifting again near the end of the race.

I was hoping to have better luck on the start for the second moto, so I lined up in the same place, and when the backwards falling gate dropped, it fell right on top of my wheel because I was too friggen close to it, so I backed up enough to let it drop (by which point everyone else had left), and then I nailed it, and the sob decided to shift this time and I actually caught up to the end of the pack at the 90 degree turn at the end of the start. I then quickly started picking off people from there, but by then the front of the pack was long gone.

Anyway, it was great weather, and great track conditions and a fun track, and good practice for me, so now the next stop is the National next week where I will be racing 2 days in a row, as long as I don't crash hard and my bike doesn't break.


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Yes, I actually eventually got in front of these guys even after my last place start.

[El Camexican]

I always felt those reeds gave a little more power just below the ‘hit’ and smoothed it out a little, but didn’t do anything up top. So did you open your cases?

[barnett468]

I always felt those reeds gave a little more power just below the ‘hit’ and smoothed it out a little, but didn’t do anything up top. So did you open your cases?

Odly enough, I have never tested aftermarket reeds. I always used stock reeds even in my tecate, with the exception of the aftermarket reed blocks i put on my 84 cr250 and 84 cr125, which came with aftermarket reeds. y guess was that they would't make a significant change so why waste the money.

As far as the installation goes, I just installed them with the reed holder they supply, which replaces the reed stopper as you know, and that was it. i didn't have to change the jetting or needle position or air screw etc which seemed a little odd to me although i may try a smaller main since my plug is still nearly black but this engine is a bit odd. It came stock with a 370 and it was a little rich when i got it, so i put a 360 in it and went up on the pilot it had and it has carbureted flawlessly ever since, but it has always simply refused to kick stat when it is cold.

when i had the reed block off when i first got it, i looked inside the intake to see if i could see any mods to the cylinder because i was curious since it had a dg sticker on the front fender, and had 30 mm added to the head pipe and had the trans oil volume nicely hand stamped on the clutch cover which stated a higher oil level than a stock engine, and this is something i had never seen before. It also had an original white brothers mono shock sticker on the rear shock reservoir and scott performance decals on the forks, and when i took the suspension apart, the damper rods were modified and it had special fork springs, and the rear shock had the white brothers mod and an expensive dual spring mod. So when i looked in the intake, i saw 2 boyesen ports added from the intake to the lower transfer port in the case, so i am guessing that the engine was modified by dg back in the day, and that someone raced this in the pro class, because none of these upgrades were cheap at the time, and were only needed if you were really fast.

from your description of how the reeds worked for you, i would say that, that is also similar to my initial feeling, and maybe i can tell more next week on a track i am more familiar with, either way, they certainly didn't make it noticeably faster, but my main goal was to try and get a little more bottom end out of it without loosing any top end because it is a pipey sob, which makes it really friggen hard to keep in the power band, but i kinda like the challenge even though i would likely go faster on something with a lot more low end and it would be far, far, easier to ride cuz i still have to slip the bejesus out of the clutch in every single corner and off of nearly every single jump, but when it comes alive and hooks up, it is blazing, blazing, fast for what it is, so i have to blaze down the straights at literally wot whenever possible, then go harder into the turns than everyone else, because i will typically be slower coming out of them, which is one reason i often take the inside of the turns when trying to pass, then intentionally drift wide to shut the guy on the outside off so he can't out accelerate me out of the turn, lol. i did this exact thing so many times to lots of guys 2 weeks ago that i was literally laughin to myself while i was doin it, it might be a different story next week because a lot of the gun slingers come out for this particular national, so i may simply get my ass smoked bad...in which case i won't be posting a race report.

[Rob Canadian]

Playing with a 250V Hybrid battery. EX brother in laws 2009 Camry. Corrosion on the bus bars. Code calls for to replace the whole battery assembly. Welp the manual never takes into account of corrosion and the bus bars can be ordered new. I was not going to mess around and soak in vinegar...

Diagnosis for this code. If you have this code replace 'this' ECU... Labour to replace this ECU plus the cost of the part.... Going to say 3 hours(?). Manual. Do you still have this code? YES. Replace Hybrid battery to the tune of $4000.00 just for the part...

I am licking my fingers that this will fix it. Bus bars are coming out of the US.

[barnett468]

Replace Hybrid battery to the tune of $4000.00 just for the part...

FYI - The battery for a 2009 prius costs me $1900.00 wholesale from the dealer and is around $2100.00 retail and this is for a new one. It may be the same battery yours uses if you end up needing one. You can also get used and rebuilt ones on Ebay. I bought a rebuilt one for a 2009 prius 4 months ago and it cost me $875.00 installed with a 6 month warranty. Extended warranty of 2 years was around $150.00 more.
.

[Arky-X]

Playing with a 250V Hybrid battery. EX brother in laws 2009 Camry. Corrosion on the bus bars. Code calls for to replace the whole battery assembly. Welp the manual never takes into account of corrosion and the bus bars can be ordered new. I was not going to mess around and soak in vinegar...

Diagnosis for this code. If you have this code replace 'this' ECU... Labour to replace this ECU plus the cost of the part.... Going to say 3 hours(?). Manual. Do you still have this code? YES. Replace Hybrid battery to the tune of $4000.00 just for the part...

I am licking my fingers that this will fix it. Bus bars are coming out of the US.

Same issue this person had;
https://www.greencarreports.com/news...ot-4000-to-fix

Good luck....and be careful with 250V

[Rob Canadian]

Same issue this person had;
https://www.greencarreports.com/news...ot-4000-to-fix

Good luck....and be careful with 250V

Thanks. It is not something I am comfortable with as it is my first time doing it. Got new bus bars and nuts coming. Most stuff should be here Friday. If you do not hear back from me.......

[barnett468]

.
Besides catching the worlds biggest brown rat today with some Sun Maid Raisin Bread, then driving him off to a field, far, far, away, and letting him (or her) go, I had to pick up some custom tri stage paint I had made, and while I was in that area, I decided to stop in and check out the local Metal Supply store cuz I needed a few things for some projects I am doing, and one thing I needed was a piece of high grade square or rectangular aluminum bar, and they showed me where the remnants were.

After looking at one rack of them, someone came over and asked what I was specifically looking for, and after I told him, he had me turn around and said, here is some 7075 aluminum, and I though "Holy sh_t", cuz, again, I think that a lot, and it was a size I could easily use after minor trimming except that the bar was 6 feet long and I only needed 8 inches of it, so I asked him if there was a minimum price or quantity that had to be met and he said no, so I thought "Holy sh_t" again, so I asked him how much it would be for just 8 inches of it as I braced myself for sticker shock, and he said, it's $2.25 a pound, and I said "Holy sh_t" again, so I then asked if there was a cutting charge, and he said no, and I said...(well, you probably figured it out by now), and asked him for 8 inches of it and walked out happily caressing my new prize...

Anyway, I am going to use it for a clevis on the backing plate end of my fancy new 6061 aluminum swedge tube that I am using for an adjustable rear brake stay arm in place of the heavier original steel one. I will have a nearby machinist mill it to the dimensions I will supply him with, and that might cost me around $25.00. I am also using a 2024 aluminum rod end on the other end. The complete setup will weigh almost exactly .4 lbs less than the original steel one, which is a big weight savings in such a small part, and is more than I expected to loose.

I also found a place that sells Titanium fairly cheap, so if I get some spare time, I may have the axles and swing arm bolt made from it which will save me around 2 lbs, then have them surfaced hardened with a process where they apply high pressure to the finished part with a ball bearing. I am waiting for prices on that process now.


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[DAM shop]

I'm sure glad you didn't share a pic of that Big Brown Rat Barns. It's always a great day when we find a supplier giving us a good deal.. 2lbs? I dont race Barns but does that make that much of a diffrence in the races you run? I know 2 lbs is a lot but have never had any experience in having to shave weight for speed is all.

[Arky-X]

Sprint cars in dirt track racing did not have weight limits for years so the well funded teams started running titanium parts. Started with lug nut (only 1 lug per wheel on these)....then nerf bars....then fastners....rear end parts. They saw the impact it was going to have so instead of prohibiting titanium, they mandated a minimum weight of 1,400lbs. You could run all the titanium you wanted but you better make weight. Took that advantage away.

Some even got to the point of removing the radiator and plugging the block when running their 2-lap time trial. Wouldn't get hot enough to do any damage and saved weight.

Does 2lbs make a difference? It's racing ain't it?

[barnett468]

I'm sure glad you didn't share a pic of that Big Brown Rat Barns. It's always a great day when we find a supplier giving us a good deal.. 2lbs? I dont race Barns but does that make that much of a diffrence in the races you run? I know 2 lbs is a lot but have never had any experience in having to shave weight for speed is all.

We have several wild cotton tail rabbits that we give honey wheat bread and carrots to every night, and we live next to a large field with lots of bushes, so there are a few rats in there as well, and occasionally one of them will figure out there is wheat bread on our sidewalk ever night at the same time and they will sneak up there and steal it from the rabbits while they are trying to eat, so after the rats do this for a while, they get fat and lazy, and when I see a rat out there, I set a metal cage I got from home depot, right near the rabbits food plates then put honey wheat bread in the trap. The rabbits eat all the other bread every night so that only leaves bread in the cage which the offending rat will have to enter if he wants more bread, and I have caught 4 of those sob's this way in the last year. In this case, however, the rat didn't seem to like the wheat bread all that much so we put some Sun Maid Cinnamon Raisin bread in it at night and the next morning he was in the cage and all the bread was gone.

As far as lightening my bike or other race bikes goes, it does make a difference in some cases, but mostly for the higher skill level riders like Bob Hannah etc. He even had titanium brake lever pivot bolts and they were hollow to reduce even more weight, lol. The lighter a motocross bike is, the less effort it takes to throw it around. This doesn't make as much difference in 10 minute races as it does in 45 minute races. The heavier the bike, the faster the rider gets tired. Also, the lighter the vehicle, the faster it can accelerate due to the increased power to weight ratio. Imagine having a 250r engine in a 60 lb mini bike frame. It's the same principal albeit quite exaggerated. Another benefit that can be gained in reducing weight is improved suspension performance, especially if the weight is removed from the suspension.

Also, reducing the weight of the rotating mass on the driven wheels by using lighter rim locks, lighter rims, lighter tires, lighter sprockets, and a lighter chain etc, not only makes the bike easier to fling around, it sucks less hp from the engine. I have basically the lightest locks, rims, tubes, sprockets, chain, and tires available, however, I am still looking for a titanium chain and "affordable" titanium springs. I have the original steel bars on it that I will change for some aluminum ones if I can find nearly the exact same bend, I am very picky about the bar shape for some reason, and if they aren't just right, it disrupts my chi, lol.

Anyway, am I in particular going to go noticeable faster if I take 10 lbs off of a bike...nope, but it does make it a little less tiring to ride, plus removing most of that weight from the wheels helps my suspension a little, and when one gets as old and weak, and decrepit as I am, they can use all the help they can get, but the other main reason I am making it lighter is simply cuz I want to, and want to see how much weight I can shed from it without spending a bazillion dollars and doing anything absurd like making a titanium pipe or carbon fiber rims etc.

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