Membership Has Its Privileges

This is kind of a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" type of thing. As bloggers and/or website owners/administrators we, at the very least, want people to read and appreciate at least some of the content we create. Return traffic, comments, and other feedback from visitors are ways to know what content is being read and appreciated, and an effective way to let readers get involved and add a different perspective to the site.

Google friend connect has provided a few really cool ways to do this that I've tried to incorporate on this site. Most are probably aware of the "following" feature that allows visitors to publicly or privately "follow" a blogger blog. This allows people to stay updated on their favorite blogs very easily by placing a snippet of the post on their blogger dashboard. All followed blogs are also added to google reader, which is my preferred way to easily follow blogs and websites. It also lets everyone know that they are a fan if the owner decides to incorporate this into the site. This in itself is really cool, but there's a lot more little things to play with too. I found this top ten members widget that rates members by # of visits to the site. The only catch is, you have to be signed in to google friend connect for the visit to be counted. It lists each member and the # of visits to the site and links back to the members profile. This way the top ten members can be assured of more traffic to their own site. ALL current members can always be viewed by clicking the link at the bottom right corner of the page. This is another way to help build a community as well, letting bloggers link together and share traffic, ad clicks, comments, whatever.

Another really cool feature is the ability for members to "like" a post. Under each post is a box that asks the question "did you enjoy this post?". By clicking the "like" button, you essentially are recommending this post to other visitors. This is done by adding this recommendation to the sidebar under "popular posts". This benefits me by letting me know what people like to read most, and benefits you by putting your stamp on the post, again with a link back to your site, and gets the best content of the site within easy reach whenever you visit. You can see an example of either of these by searching through the site, or click on the pictures to zoom directly to each section.

These features are fairly new to this site, so many of you may not have seen them before. This may be a little bit of an incentive for you that read the blog through a reader to drop by and check us out! I gotta be honest, I'm not that into the facebooks, twitters, or the like. Facebook is a great way to connect, but beyond that, blooger seems as good or better at doing most other things. Having a blog or website seems much more fulfilling to me as well, especially when we get the ad revenue instead of facebook! Having the ability to "like" posts, and chat is something many people find appealing with facebook and something that I like as well. As I've already mentioned, most of this can be added to a blog or website by using google friend connect and/or feed readers. The final piece to this puzzle that I have used on this site is the "chat box". This is a way for members to post comments not related to a specific post, share a video, connect with other members, or just say hi. Of course this also leaves your mark with a link back to your site as well. Below is a preview of what this looks like. Click anywhere on the picture to see this in action on the site! I also find this helpful to post videos, notes, things that are going on etc. instead of having to do an entire post when an entire post may not be warranted, so check back often for new stuff. The "social bar" on along the bottom of the page alerts readers to new posts to this area and gives a "comments" link on the bar that pops up a window to view the content quickly when clicked. I think it's a good way to enhance the site and maybe the only way for members to post up something original or really connect with each other on the site. Another use of this is to ask a question that can be seen by everyone. That way, you can ask a question that may not be related to a specific post and/or poll everyone that visits. Of course the normal commenting is still the best way to converse about a post topic, and top commenters are listed in the sidebar. If you have a non-blogger blog or website, this is a perfect way to make your presence known and leave a link back to your site. There are many different options including adding a name and a direct link back to your site, and if you do it often enough you'll be listed as a top commenter with a direct link to your website.



So, if you haven't joined through google friend connect, be sure to do so! Click the "Sign in/Follow" link at the top of the site. This button sometimes says "join" or "follow" or something else, but they all do the same thing essentially. You can sign up with google, yahoo, or open ID. Every time you sign in to "like" a post, "chat", or just drop by you'll also automatically be ranked higher in the top members! Of course if you just want to "follow" then that's OK too, just don't sign in when you visit. Even if you don't have a blog or website of your own, you can still have a google account or sign in with another id, make comments receive updates in your reader, whatever. Ain't this stuff cool!

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Are 60% of Utahns Really This Stupid?

An environmental group is waving a new poll that shows a majority of Utahns support the so-called "Redrock Bill" in Congress that would place wilderness restrictions on more than 9 million acres in the state" says KSL. According to a poll conducted for SUWA(Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance), over 60 percent of "respondents" think these lands should be protected as wilderness! As KSL continues to say "The poll runs counter to sentiments of elected officials. Utah's entire congressional delegation is on record as opposing the bill." After reading through the comments in response to this article it's obvious that most Utahns really aren't this stupid. Most understand what SUWA's agenda is in designating more wilderness. Wilderness has it's place, and has had it's place in the past, but we do not need more, the concept doesn't apply to new closures. The content of this poll simply shows what lengths SUWA is willing to go to reach it's agenda of LOCKING UP UTAH LANDS. They sell this idea of protecting and preserving our lands, which the majority of Utahns obviously want to do, while hiding the fact that their absolute goal is to shut us out! They say they are "protecting it for our children"? Sounds like a great idea doesn't it? How are they protecting it from our children by making 9 million acres into wilderness area? How many of us hike our kids or grandkids more than a mile or so into the wilderness areas that now have restrictions on them? SUWA is a greedy special interest group that caters to the few. This poll was certainly limited to their interests and nothing more, and it also makes me wonder how this poll was worded?. A legitimate poll of Utahns asking them if they want to be shut out of our own lands might have produced different results..Do ya think?? They likely conducted this poll on their website, or to a select group in bigger, select cities with careful(deceitful!) wording. The fact is that the majority of Utah does not want to be locked out of PUBLIC lands. The state is going to continue to lose a lot of revenue if they keep allowing areas to be closed to atvs etc. Money to improve state parks and recreation areas comes from ohv licensing. Much of the clean-up is done by 4x4 clubs and organizations such as the Utah 4-Wheel Drive Association. I sure don't see registration fees for mountain bikes, or back packs currently. We need to be supporting organizations like the Blue Ribbon Coalition , who's goal is to "PRESERVE OUR NATURAL RESOURCES FOR THE PUBLIC, INSTEAD OF FROM THE PUBLIC". We should be supporting multiple, responsible use of our lands, not extreme special interest groups. Unfortunately organizations like SUWA have a lot of backing from people outside of our state(and a few idiots in the state) that don't understand the real issues, have never used the land, never plan to use the land, and have no idea how to protect the land. So, what do they do?, They blindly give funding and support to SUWA, and they are funded very well! Obviously this means that we have to double our efforts to educate people about how to really protect our lands, after all, if we close it off, then it may as well not exist at all. After the land is closed, it is very hard or impossible to EVER get it back! How much more of this crap are we going to take? This is OUR PUBLIC land, not the land of SUWA and their liberal democratic supporters. I would be very interested to see what percentage of Americans use the wilderness areas, and to what extent. It seems I read somewhere that it was less than 2% and even then most of the time less than 2 miles into the areas. This is the definition of "special interest" and "catering to the few". I don't think this bill is going to happen, but let's be on our toes and make sure it doesn't!

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Our New Traxxas Revo 3.3

RC vehicles are yet another way to simulate the thrill and adventure of the real thing at a safer level and lower cost. With much of the same features, but a smaller scale, these little rigs are really a thrill(on a smaller scale of course). They combine the sound and smell of a real gas engine with impressive speed and can travel across rough terrain that would be impossible to achieve when scaled up. A number of years ago a friend of mine had a T-Maxx that I thought had to be one of the coolest little machines on the planet. 4-wheel drive, gas powered, fast and strong. He was jumping off of the 4 foot loading dock without a worry and pulling wheelies when he accelerated. While the T-Maxx is still available, the Revo is the new bad boy on the block, and the 3.3 is yet another step up from the 2.5 Revo. We looked at some electric powered vehicles because of their simplicity, but finally decided that for what we wanted to use it for, the gas power and larger tires of the Revo 3.3 would suit us much better. The 3.3 produces %50 to %60 more horsepower than the 2.5 and reaches a top speed of 45mph. The suspension on this thing is a real thing of beauty though and is what really sets it apart from the older T-Maxx. It uses rocker arms and the springs are mounted horizontally allowing travel that is not limited by the length of the spring. The stance is wider and has a lower center of gravity as well. All the components are really top notch including a 2 speed forward and a reverse gear transmission, disc brake, sealed drivelines and much more. It is really impressive to hold and realize just how big it is too, the tires are tall and the suspension offers a full 120mm of travel! Unfortunately we have not been able to drive it much yet because of the break-in time needed and the charging time required on the batteries. The shop we bought it from stayed late and did the initial break-in for us which consisted basically of running one tank of gas through at no more that 1/4 throttle with varied rpm's. A full break in takes 5 tanks of gas increasing the throttle and speed each time. They claim a full break-in can be done between and hour and an hour and a half, so a tank of gas goes pretty quick. We'll run the final 3 tanks through tomorrow and then get some drive time somewhere before we take it down to Moab/Caineville in a week and a half and give it some real action. I have a feeling it will be a fun way to kill some time between rides. Here's a few pics we took while it was still fresh out of the box.

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Jetting a Suzuki DR-Z / KLX 110

re-jetting any dirt bike or any carbureted engine for that matter is critical to getting it to perform and it can be a very simple process if you know what you are looking for. All carburetors work on basically the same principles and once those are understood you can begin to understand the process of re-jetting. The purpose of the carburetor is to provide a satisfactory fuel/air mixture to the engine throughout a variety of changing conditions. This is done through a jet, or a precise opening that allows only a certain amount of fuel to pass through it. Most often a number of different jets, needles, passages etc. are used to accomplish this task. Jetting Basics is an article I put together when jetting my 2001 CR250 2-stroke and will explain this in more detail and describe the process of re-jetting a bigger / 2-stroke bike.
The bike we are working with here is a 2004 Suzuki DR-Z 110 with an aftermarket Leo Vince Exhaust. With the exception of the exhaust, everything is stock. The DR-Z is a KLX 110 with suzuki plastics on it, so everything here would apply to the KLX 110 as well. When re-jetting this bike there are basically 3 different things you can look at as outlined in red in the diagram. They are, the main jet, the pilot or slow jet, and the jet needle. If you are working with a stock or close to stock bike, these 3 items should be more than enough to get the bike to run very well at a variety of different elevations assuming everything else is set and working properly.

1- The Main Jet - provides proper fuel at high rpm, above 1/2 throttle

2- The Pilot/Slow Jet - provides proper fuel at idle to approx. 1/4 throttle

3- The Jet Needle - regulates the flow of the main jet as the throttle is opened, 1/4 to 3/4 throttle.(raise the needle/drop the clip to richen, drop the needle to lean)

The stock jet needle on these bikes are NOT adjustable so they will only have one groove for the clip to go into as opposed to the various groove options shown on this aftermarket jet needle on the left. For a stock bike, the stock needle should be sufficient, but an adjustable needle will give more tuneability and could produce more power where you need it, especially if a bigger bore etc. is being used. With 3 different adjustments to make, taking one out of the equation is not a bad thing, so unless you really feel the need just work with the stock needle. The purpose of the needle is to block or partially block the main until you roll on the throttle lifting the needle and allow the main to come on. Adjusting the needle can change the "hit" that a bike has as can the other components to some degree. Our bike was running fairly well at 4,000 feet in elevation with the stock setup (80 main, 38 pilot) When we took it up to 9,000 feet however, it started to exhibit more sputtering that before was only barely noticeable. The main thing that stood out was the sputtering from idle. The bike would sputter, but at full rev would clear up and run OK. It was also hard to keep the idle consistent. We only needed to come out about an eighth turn on the air screw and often the idle would not return to normal level immediately upon releasing the throttle. We had to set the idle high, then it would idle high and then very low and sometimes die. Jetting the main is usually done by plug chop, ride the bike at full revs loaded in say 4th gear,hit and hold the kill switch in till the bike rolls to a stop. Look for a milk coffee colour on the porcelain, use a used plug that has already colored up, Grey or white plugs are too lean, black coffee is too rich. Ours was definitely black and far too rich. To remedy the problem we simply went down from the stock 80 to a 78 on the main. This made the bike run perfectly at the 4,000 feet we normally ride the bike at. We've kept a 75 in the pack in case we need to reduce it again at the higher elevations. We found these jets for a few bucks at rocky mountain atv. To change the main jet, the fuel bowl will need to be removed. I decided that it was easiest to remove the entire carburetor to do this, but I'm not sure if it was necessary. The main just unscrews with a flat head screwdriver, then the new one can be screwed back in. I also cleaned the carburetor and all the ports to make sure everything was good.

We did not need to mess with the pilot jet at all, however just by changing the main, we were able to go out a little more on the air screw and the idle would return to normal very consistently, and the sputtering was gone. Sometimes problems that seem like idle, or the pilot jet are really to do with the main after it comes off the main and onto the idle. It also screws with your plug after a while making it run even worse after a while. Before doing a main jet change, however, it's important to make sure all the other stuff on the carburetor is adjusted correctly and in good working order including the floats, float level, fuel shut off needle, air screw etc. Start with the stock settings in good working order and fine tune from there. Look at your plug and be aware of what conditions make your bike run better or worse to know which way you need to go on the jetting. Use common sense too. If your bike is still running with stock jetting and your at 4,000 feet, chances are you'll need to at least go down a bit on the main. If it's not running perfect and the plug looks black it's confirmation that your not getting the best performance. Don't be afraid to experiment a bit, but keep an eye on your plug and make sure it doesn't get too hot(white). These bikes seem very forgiving, so a little rich is better than a little lean. It will run good not perfectly jetted and still keep you at a safe level.

Here are some good rules of thumb when jetting for different conditions.

Higher temps=lower air density=richer condition

Colder temps=higher air density=leaner condition

Moist air=lower air density=richer condition

Dry air=higher air density=leaner condition

Higher altitude=lower air density(less pressure)=richer condition

Lower altitude-higher air density(more pressure)=leaner condition

So...
Hot, Moist, and High would need leaner jetting
Cold, Dry, and Low would need richer jetting

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Custom Vinyl Flaming Trailer Stickers

Over the weekend my awesome wife surprised me with some custom vinyl stickers of our website address to go on the trailer. Take a close look and you can see the intricate flames cut into each letter. This flame pattern was one of many text styles available at the shop that made the stickers. A size of about 3 inches was chosen because the cost went up dramatically for the bigger text. The size fit perfectly on the front and back of the trailer. The red flames were tossed in for free with the purchase of the 2 bigger stickers. I think it adds a nice touch to our ever changing toy haulin' beast. As I've said before, one way that we have managed to keep the cost of our outings down quite a bit is by having a very functional trailer that may not look too fancy, but gets the job done. It allows us to spend more money on our toys and allows us to get out more often. Still, it's fun to spruce the thing up a little every now and then. Apparently we need a new cover for the spare tire sometime soon too...and we need a new fence, dang.

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I Believe Golf Courses Should Be Motocross Tracks

Hopefully this won't offend too many golfers out there, but when I first saw this saying on a t-shirt a few years back, I thought whoever came up with it really understood the addiction of riding dirt bikes, and maybe somehow even my personal dislike of the sport of golf. I think this extends beyond dirt bikes and into all types of off-roading as well, but those who ride will really know where I'm coming from when I say that wherever I go, often all I see are the possibilities of a perfect lip, or a nice gap to jump, or a killer climb. Until recently I thought that I was a little more over the edge than most, but I really think that if you love riding dirt bikes it gets into you in a way that's hard to describe. My son and I were recently looking at a painting on tv and he surprised me when he said, "dad, I like that painting". It wasn't anything great, it had a dead tree in the foreground and that was about all I saw, then he said "yea, look at all those hills(in the background) I could ride my dirt bike on!". It was a proud moment for a father, and a realization that maybe I'm not so crazy after all!
You would think that with this type of addiction I would be able to understand people's addiction to golf. I can't tell you how many times they show golf on tv instead of a supercross or motocross event, so I know there must be something to it for a lot of people, but this is an off-road site, not golf digest, so you're going to get my biased opinion. There are plenty of events that could and should take a front seat to all these golf games shown in luscious HD on Sunday! I get a little upset when I set my dvr to record the X-Fighters Moto-x freestlye competition while we are out riding only to come home and find that it has recorded golf instead! The channel that use to have this type of format was removed from my choices "for my convenience" so they could add even more useless HD programing. I have to laugh a little when some of my younger friends say they just had a killer game of golf..really? Come on man. The only thing killer about a game of golf is walking from hole to hole when there are no carts available. When they decide to get really crazy, they walk even when there are carts available! Honestly though, I suppose I should be glad that what we do is not so main stream. That's really part of what makes it so glorious. Even if golf courses were motocross tracks, they couldn't hold a candle to natural terrain and the feeling of freedom that comes from being overwhelmed by the landscape and the ability to at least partially conquer it, but at least now you have a little bit of an idea why I believe that golf courses should indeed be motocross tracks!!

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Powder Mountain Motocross, Full Race Results

Since we posted up our limited coverage from our attendance of the Powder Mountain Motocross event, I'm sure you've all been wondering what else went on here!? As I mentioned before, Jeremy Mcgrath took the win on Saturday in the 450 pro class. As it turns out, he also won on Sunday making a clean sweep for this event. This was the inaugural event at Powder Mountain, and was one of the largest motocross events ever held in Utah! Powder Mountain is planning a repeat performance for next year! We will definitely be keeping our eyes open for this event in the future. We all had a blast and the kids were talking about it for sometime after. It was a well attended event, so it was crowded and sitting was a bit limited without tackling the rough slopes as we did to get a better view. Below the video are the results from both days as posted on powdermountainmotocross.com. Tanner Krahenbuhl, was the young man killed when his motorhome rolled coming down the mountain on Sunday after the event. You can also view our coverage of the event via VIDEO or PICTURES that we took while attending the event.




Results:

Saturday
Open Amateur
1st Justin Vierra Millville, UT
2nd Tony Westbay Las Vegas, NV
3rd Justin Vierra Millville, UT
Amateur 25+
1st Gabe Birrer Lehi, UT
2nd Boe Krahenbuhl Henderson, NV
3rd Derek Voth Smithfield, UT
Supermini
1st Brandon Leith Eagle Mountain, UT
2nd Zane Johnson Etna, WY
3rd Amanda Maheu Cinton, UT
PRO 30+
1st Jeremy McGrath
2nd David Pingree Temecula, CA
3rd Ryan Rozinski Dillon, CO
450 Intermediate
1st Tanner Krahenbuhl Henderson, NV
2nd Dylan Bauer Spring Creek, NV
3rd Justin Vierra Millville, UT
250 PRO
1st Cole Siebler Eagle, ID
2nd Gray Davenport Lehi, UT
3rd Zach Ahleen St. George, UT
250 Novice
1st Justin English Riverton, UT
2nd Dusty Humphries St George, UT
3rd Gage Putnam Auburn, WY
Amateur +40
1st Eric Behrens Boise, ID
1st Erich Sagers Eagle Mountain, ID
1st Scott Bell Murietta, CA
2nd Shaun Freeman Idaho Falls, ID
2nd Robert Werschey Las Vegas, NV
2nd Mike Petersen Bluffdale,UT
3rd Justin Dattage Millville, UT
3rd Brett Satterthwaite Farr West, UT
3rd Rodney Kade Murray, UT
250 Intermediate
1st Tanner Krahenbuhl Henderson, NV
2nd Blake Savage Washington, UT
3rd Zachary Fussell Las Vegas, NV
85 CC 7 - 10 years
1st Mccoy Brough Kaysville, UT
2nd Henry Roten Park City, UT
3rd Ethan Lemmon Bluffdale, UT
85CC 11 - 12 years
1st Brandon Leith Eagle Mountain, UT
2nd Zane Johnson Etna, WY
3rd Tristen Maycock Rock Springs, UT
85CC 13 -14 years
1st Weston Daley Benjamin, UT
2nd Fischer Curry Pocatello, ID
3rd Seth Snyder Morgan, UT
Schoolboy
1st Zachary Fussell Las Vegas, NV
2nd Blake Savage Washington, UT
3rd Keaton Ward Bozeman, MT
Amatuer +30
1st Jason Zimmerman Moab, UT
2nd Jim Maxfield Washington, UT
3rd Keith Padgett Nipomo, CA
Women
1st Amanda Maheu Clinton, UT
2nd Jessica Goodman Salt Lake City, UT
3rd Cassie Webb Lehi, UT
450 PRO
1st Jeremy McGrath
2nd Cole Siebler Eagle, ID
3rd Mike Steeter Temecula, CA
450 Novice
1st Dusty Humphries St George, ID
2nd Ky Zundel Rigby, ID
3rd Casey Bronson Bluffdale, UT
PRO 40+
1st Victor Sheldon Vista, CA
2nd Brad Bolton Murray, UT
3rd Troy Johnson Alpine, WY
Open Amateur
1st Justin Vierra Millville, UT
2nd Tony Westbay Las Vegas, NV
3rd Justin Vierra Millville, UT
Amateur 25+
1st Gabe Birrer Lehi, UT
2nd Boe Krahenbuhl Henderson, NV
3rd Derek Voth Smithfield, UT
Supermini
1st Brandon Leith Eagle Mountain, UT
2nd Zane Johnson Etna, WY
3rd Amanda Maheu Clinton, UT

Sunday's Results
250 Novice
1st Wesley Parker S. Jordan, UT
2nd Dusty Humphries St. George, UT
3rd Justin English Riverton, UT
Amateur +40
1st Scott Bell Murietta, CA
2nd Tom Shivers Brigham, UT
3rd Stephen Olson Provo, UT
250 Intermediate
1st Blake Savage Washington, UT
2nd Zachary Fussell Las Vegas, NV
3rd Keaton Ward Bozeman, MT
85 CC 7 - 10
1st Austin Jorgensen Thayne, UT
2nd Brighton Parker Heber, UT
3rd McCoy Brough Kaysville, UT
85CC 11 - 12
1st Brandon Leith Eagle Mountain, UT
2nd Zane Johnson Etna, WY
3rd Josh Bisco Moab, UT
85CC 13 -14
1st Ty Christoffersen Ogden, UT
2nd Weston Daley Benjamin, UT
3rd Fischer Curry Pocatello, ID
Schoolboy
1st Zachary Fussell Las Vegas, NV
2nd Keaton Ward Bozeman, MT
3rd Dylan Bauer Spring Creek, NV
Amatuer +30
1st Keith Padgett Nipomo, CA
2nd Jason Zimmerman Moab, UT
3rd Brett Downey Payson, UT
Women
1st Amanda Maheu Clinton, UT
2nd Jessica Goodman Salt Lake City, UT
3rd Cassie Webb Lehi, UT
450 PRO
1st Jeremy McGrath
2nd Cole Siebler Eagle, ID
3rd Mike Steeter Temecula, CA
450 Novice
1st Dusty Humphries St. George, UT
2nd Nathan Hale Draper, UT
3rd Ky Zundel Rigby, ID
PRO 40+
1st Victor Sheldon Vista, CA
2nd Troy Johnson Alpine, WY
3rd Brad Bolton Murray, UT
Open Amateur
1st Ozzy Jamieson Roy, UT
2nd Gus Butters Pleasant View, UT
3rd Brett Buckland Shelley, ID
Amateur 25+
1st Patrick Davis Salt Lake City, UT
2nd Josh Clifton Roy, UT
3rd Travis Clifton N. Ogden, UT
Supermini
1st Brandon Leith Eagle Mountain, UT
2nd Kenneth Gustafson Loveland, CO
3rd Zane Johnson Etna, Wy
PRO 30+
1st Jeremy McGrath
2nd Victor Sheldon Vista, CA
3rd Ryan Rozinski Dillon, CO
450 Intermediate
1st Tanner Krahenbuhl Henderson, NV
2nd Dylan Bauer Spring Creek, NV
3rd Ryan Kester Bountiful, UT
250 PRO
1st Cole Siebler Eagle, ID
2nd Gray Davenport Lehi, UT
3rd Brandon Brower Sandy, UT

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Clarke 3 Gallon Tank Install, Drawbacks And Benefits

When you own a motocross bike, you tend to be a little limited on the range that the gas tank will provide. This is fine if you tend to do short rides, ride at a track, and/or something similar where a large supply of gas is not needed on the bike itself. If you do chose to do longer rides, there are a number of different options available. The option I decided on is the Clarke 3 gallon tank. This adds an additional 1 gallon over the stock 2 gallon tank, and is the same size as many off-road style 2-stroke bikes currently in production. This extra gallon of gas really goes a long way on a dirt bike. I have seen tanks as big as 3.7 gallons as with the IMS tank, but for me the extra .7 gallons was just not needed and to get the extra capacity I would have to deal with a giant top section that in my opinion really ruins the look and some of the functionality of the bike. The Clarke tank uses the extra space available, but doesn't do so at the cost of bulking up the narrow feel of the bike so much that it makes it much harder to move around on, and/or make the bike feel and act much less nimble.



You can really see the size difference of the two tanks and where the Clarke tank gets it's extra capacity. There are different color options available including a "natural" color that is slightly transparent. The natural color allows you to see the fuel level in the tank from the outside of the tank. This color will discolor over time. The white will tend to hold it's color better and look better over time. You can still open the cap to see the fuel in the tank which is something that was very hard to do on the stock black tank once the level got low. Since the shrouds cover most of the tank anyways, the natural color would kind of lose it's purpose in my opinion.



You must re-use many of the parts of the old tank including the screws, the petcock/filter, and the bushing that will go into the rubber grommet. The hole on my tank needed to be enlarged slightly with a round file before the petcock would fit. The o-ring will still make a seal, so don't worry if you have to enlarge the hole a bit. The less you have to remove the better, and take care to keep the hole round for the tightest fit possible however.



Since the tank does extend down further than the stock tank, the fuel line will most likely need to be shortened. I only needed to take off about a half inch from the top of the fuel line to get a good fit with no kinks.



The fit is very tight in some places! The fork actually hit the tank slightly on mine on the right side, but just barely, then it bottomed out on the stops once the tank deflected. The area over the radiator cap is much smaller too and the tank extends up about 2" or 3" above the stock tank in the gas cap area. It's also harder to get to the spark plug, but not much. These drawbacks are worth it for the extra capacity if you need it! The bike feels basically the same on the trail with the exception of the higher gas cap. The shrouds still feel narrow and allow for easy movement and control, and the extra weight of a full tank is barely noticeable. These side by side comparisons show the differences. I was afraid that the new tank would ruin the look of the bike, but it really didn't. I really like the way it turned out. The fit of the tank was great, everything lined up right and the install was very easy.

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