SUPERCROSS 2010, Round 4, San Francisco

Another exciting installment of the 2010 AMA Monster Supercross Series! With Ryan Dungey(#5) on top of the points lead, he planned on putting more distance the other riders today. Dungey came out strong in his heat race, but had a rare crash coming off a jump and hitting a barrier. He was able to gather himself, right his bike, and get back on the track quickly however finishing in the top of the pack to secure a place in the main event. Dungey got the hole shot in the main and immediately started to add distance, running away with the lead with Josh Hill in second and Ryan Villopoto(#2) in third. About halfway through lap ten, on the same jump that he wrecked on before, Dungey cross rutted and sent the bike nose high into the air off the jump. With the bike out in front of him, he landed hard on both legs on the ground. Amazingly, he was able to jump up and get back on his way without loosing the lead! Unfortunately the clutch lever on the bike got twisted around the back on the crash making for an awkward reach. He was passed by Hill, Villopotto, then Millsaps, but was able to finish 4th to salvage his points lead for the series. Villopotto got his first win of the season and made up some distance in the points. With James Stewart out with a broken wrist and Reed still out with a broken hand the young guns are taking advantage. This type of crash may well be a testament to the Nike 6.0 Boots, it seems as though Dungey escaped injury free.



This video shows the wreck, pretty lucky to escape without injury. It seems as though he did a good job of rolling with the hit to disperse the energy.

Supercross Results:.

1. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
2. Josh Hill, Yamaha
3. Davi Millsaps, Honda
4. Ryan Dungey, Suzuki
5. Andrew Short, Honda
6. Justin Brayton, Yamaha
7. Ivan Tedesco, Yamaha
8. Nick Wey, Kawasaki
9. Tommy Hahn, Suzuki
10. Michael Byrne, Yamaha
11. Kevin Windham, Honda
12. Kyle Chisholm, Yamaha
13. Jason Thomas, Suzuki
14. Cyrille Coulon, Kawasaki
15. Fabien Izoird, Kawasaki
16. Chris Blose, Honda
17. Manuel Rivas, Kawasaki
18. Jesse Casillas, Kawasaki
19. Jarred Browne, Kawasaki
20. Kyle Partridge, Kawasaki

Supercross Overall Standings:

1. Ryan Dungey, 90
2. Josh Hill, 79
3. Ryan Villopoto, 77
4. Andrew Short, 68
5. Kevin Windham, 61
6. Davi Millsaps, 57
7. Ivan Tedesco, 57
8. Justin Brayton, 56
9. James Stewart, 51
10. Tommy Hahn, 42

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How To Break In A New 2-Stroke Top End

Doing a top end rebuild on a 2-stroke motorcycle is easy and fairly cheap to do, but if you skip the break in procedure your probably missing out on some of the performance gains. It's tempting once you get that new piston in the bike and start it up to go out and see what it can do, especially when you hear the engine run for the first time with the new components. If you resist that urge, at least for a little while, you'll be much happier twisting the throttle later on.

The first thing you must do is CHECK everything to make sure you don't have any missing parts laying around. Look around your work area just to make sure nothing is left. You'll want to make sure the air box is clean and it has a clean filter, you don't want to start out with any chance of dirt getting into those new parts. Fill the radiator up and make sure the fuel is properly mixed with a good quality 2-stroke oil.

Now, start the bike and listen to the engine running. Take it really easy at this point, no quick blips of the throttle to warm it up. Once it's warmed up start making passes back and forth at about 1/4 throttle for about 5 to 10 minutes on level ground. I found myself going through a few gears, but only at idle to 1/4 throttle. Try to keep it in 2nd or 3rd and just slowly accelerate and decelerate when needed to turn around etc. no quick revs, nice and smooth. Some will say to let it cool down after this first cycle, some say it doesn't matter. I let mine cool and then on to the next step.

Next, start making passes 1/4 to 1/2 throttle for about 10 to 15 minutes. After this is done, take a look at your bike and make sure everything is still good, listen and make sure it sounds normal. If everything seems ok, go ahead and start making 1/2 to full throttle passes for about 5 minutes. Listen and make sure everything sounds good, there shouldn't be any abnormal sounds or any excessive heat.

The last thing to do, is a so called "super secret magic" part that really makes the bike run great. I found this online, and I'm not sure exactly what it does, but it came from a good source and it really seems to get the bike working better and gets it the right heat etc. to set the rings. On this part you'll still be making 1/2 to full throttle passes, but shift up a couple gears to where your dirt bike is starting to bog even at full throttle. Keep it pinned even while it is bogging and hold it until it cleans up. Do this about 15 times and your done. You'll have better compression and a longer lasting, more reliable top end.

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SUPERCROSS Round 3, Anaheim 2

What a battle! This was one of the most intense races I've seen in a while. Stewart raced hurt, which really slowed him down, but he put up a fight. Stewart has always been a checkers or wreckers kind of guy, and he continues to be as he battled the pain of a hurt wrist. Dungey got off to a great start, but Stewart charged ahead followed by his teammate Josh Hill on the 2 Yamaha's. Stewart led for 6 laps until Hill made the pass with Dungey close behind in 3rd. These 3 battled for the lead for most of the race until Ryan Dungey made the pass on his Suzuki and put the hammer down on lap 14. Once he got out in front he was flying. Stewart seemed to run out of gas and began to drop back, basically unable to hang on anymore. Hill was able to hold onto second while Stewart managed third. The action was intense with Stewart trying his normal stunts, wheelies through the whoops, clearing massive jumps with spurts of speed, but then fumbling, struggling to hang on. Dungey maintains his points lead on the series, but Stewart was able to stay in the hunt. It should make for some very intense action this season. Round 4 will be aired on CBS next Sunday. Dungey looks fast, it will be interesting to see if he can hang with a healthy Stewart, if he's able to get things fixed up. He was basically carried off the track after the final. Something is definitely not right.



Anaheim 2 Supercross Results:

1. Ryan Dungey, Suzuki
2. Josh Hill, Yamaha
3. James Stewart, Yamaha
4. Andrew Short, Honda
5. Kevin Windham, Honda
6. Justin Brayton, Yamaha
7. Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki
8. Davi Millsaps, Honda
9. Michael Byrne, Yamaha
10. Ivan Tedesco, Yamaha
11. Kyle Chisholm, Yamaha
12. Tommy Hahn, Suzuki
13. Nick Wey, Kawasaki
14. Jason Thomas, Suzuki
15. Chris Blose, Honda
16. Grant Langston, Yamaha
17. Fabien Izoird, Kawasaki
18. Manuel Rivas Gomez, Kawasaki
19. Justin Keeney, Kawasaki
20. Austin Stroupe, Suzuki

Supercross Overall Standings:

1. Ryan Dungey, 72
2. Josh Hill, 57
3. Ryan Villopoto, 52
4. Andrew Short, 52
5. James Stewart, 51
6. Kevin Windham, 51
7. Ivan Tedesco, 43
8. Justin Brayton, 41
9. Davi Millsaps, 37
10. Tommy Hahn, 30

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Build Your Own Dirt Bike Tire Changing Stand

Changing a tire on a dirt bike isn't rocket science, but it can be a lot of work. A few of the right tools and a strong tire changing stand can make it much easier. This video shows how easy it can be if you know what your doing. The type of tire can also make a difference however, so don't be too disappointed if it takes you longer than the 5 minutes it takes this guy! The first time with my new stand took about 45 minutes for me with a much stiffer desert tire. At least one large spoon is a must along with either another spoon and/or tire iron. I did the entire job with a large spoon, a smaller tire iron, and a wrench for the valve core and rim lock. I found that my tube had been chafing, so I made sure to use some powder containing talc in the new tire to help avoid this. I also used a 50/50 mix of dish soap and water in place of tire paste to help the new tire slide on and to aid in setting the bead when aired up.

To build my tire stand, I took advantage of my tubing bender base that I already had bolted to the cement garage floor. I wanted to make it so the bender could easily be re-attached so I used a plate that would mount up the the holes on the existing plate.



I had a piece of round steel that was just the right size out of sheer luck. I also had a roll of rubber laying around that I picked up at the army surplus store. By tracing the pattern on the rubber then cutting a hole in the center, I could slide the rubber over the shaft and it will stay in place to protect the rim from damage while the rim is on the stand. This is obviously a very simple design for a stand, but it doesn't need to be fancy. Having a stand such as this allows the work to be done at a comfortable level instead of crouching over on the ground. It also provides a way to hold it while you pry on the tire. Having it free on the stand lets you easily flip it over and work very quickly. I chose to use a rather small diameter shaft so I could use the stand on many different wheels. The shaft is about 3/8" diameter and is the minimum you would want to go for strength. Having a hardened steel shaft would also provide better strength.



This stand looks and works great and turns a back breaking job into something that can easily be done in a half hour without sore knees and a sore back.



The tips in the video proved to be a huge help. Normally, I would remove the rim lock completely, something that really isn't necessary. Also, lining up the valve stem and installing the nut with a few threads made sure the task of lining up the valve stem was out of the way while it was an easy task. With practice, the right tools, a sturdy stand, and these tips anyone can learn to change tires like a pro.

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Swingarm Buddy Install, Chain Adjuster Bolt Repair

What do you do if you break your chain adjuster bolt off in your swingarm? The first thing I did was panic, then I tried an easy out. After that didn't work I had to temporarily thread a nut onto the stud in order to have enough adjustment to be able to shave down my axle block and get the chain tensioned correctly for a trip I was going on the next day. I had heard about the "10 minute permanent fix" for my problem called the "swingarm buddy", but I put it off because my temporary fix was working. In order to do sprocket changes and/or replace the chain, I knew I was going to have to have a better solution, so I decided to put this fix to the test. I can say that for me, it was not a 10 minute fix, but I think the bolt was heat hardened from me attempting to remove the bolt with various methods before. After dulling and re-sharpening many bits, and wandering out of center from the bolt a bit, I was left with something that would have worked fine, but wasn't really what I had in mind. The adjuster bolt would stay in place if tension was on it, but it would fall out when the axle was removed. Also, it was hard to keep the plate from moving when adjusting the tension. A quick and easy fix was to drill 4 dimples into the swingarm to match the nubs on the plate to keep it from spinning and then secure the plate with JB Weld. This was a fairly easy and inexpensive fix, and one that I think I can live with now.

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Supercross Round 2, Phoenix

Ryan Dungey takes round 2 in Phoenix, his first career AMA Supercross class victory and takes the points lead in the process! James Stewart had a scary crash in his heat race and came back to race in the last chance qualifier with visible signs of the pain he was in from the crash. Stewart took the last chance qualifier and went on to the main, but it was Dungey who jumped out to a lead and maintained this lead for 20 laps of the main event. Stewart found himself buried in the back of the field alongside rival Chad Reed. Reed attempted to pass Stewart on lap 5 causing a collision and a crash for both riders. Reed failed to finish for the second week in a row while Stewart was able to finish 15th. Jake Weimer took the win in the lites and maintained his points lead. Dungey currently holds a nine-point advantage over Villopoto in the AMA Supercross standings while Weimer leads Morais by eight points in the AMA Supercross Lites Western Regional standings.



AMA Supercross Class Results: Phoenix

1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
3. Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha
4. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
5. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
6. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
7. Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Suzuki
8. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
9. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
10. Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki


AMA Supercross Class Season Standings

1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 47
2. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 38
3. Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha, 35
4. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda, 35
5. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 34
6. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 32
7. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha, 31
8. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 26
9. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 24
10. Tommy Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Suzuki, 21


Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results: Phoenix

1. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
2. Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
3. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda
4. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
5. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha
6. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda
7. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
8. Tommy Searle, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
9. Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Suzuki
10. Phil Nicoletti, Bethel, N.Y., KTM


Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Season Standings

1. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki, 50
2. Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki, 42
3. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda, 38
4. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, 36
5. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda, 34
6. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha, 31
7. Tommy Searle, Murrieta, Calif., KTM, 27
8. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda, 22
9. Robert Kiniry, Holland Patent, N.Y., Suzuki, 20
10. Jeff Alessi, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 19

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Traxxas Revo 3.3 and RC Nylint Rock Crawler Snow Fun

Our boys have been getting more interested in RC vehicles lately so we fired up the Revo 3.3 and got it out in the snow a bit today. We also dug out a couple of our old RC trucks to see if we could make some repairs and get them working. Our first attempt of our radio shack hummer and 18 volt cordless drill battery was really fun until it went up in smoke, not surprising since it was barely usable anyways. Our old Nylint rockcrawler took a lot of work, but by making use of the same 18 volt cordless drill battery and a total cleaning of all the working parts we got it working quite well. I'm not sure if these ever took off since they became popular way back when, but when ours started to loose power, we thought the worst and kind of lost interest in it. They use a small belt inside each axle that were covered in grime on ours. Taking the bottom cover off each axle allows access to the motors, belts, and gears. We cleaned it up with soap and water, added fresh grease and that's all it took. The original 12 volt batteries were left dead so long they wouldn't hold a charge though. The 18 volt power hasn't been too much for it yet, and I'm fairly confident it won't be a problem. It has 2 speeds that can be shifted from the controller and the axles are locked, no differential. It will flex pretty well when needed as well. Here's some video footage of the old Nylint and new Traxxas Revo 3.3 on a snow bank out in the yard.

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Nike 6.0 AIR MX Boot Makes Its Appearance

When I first saw these boots I knew they looked a little different. These high tech boots are made by Nike, but they aren't for everyone. In fact, as of now, there are only two individuals "privileged" enough to sport these boots. That's because they are made specifically and exclusively for James Stewart and Ryan Dungey. The goal of these boots are to take everything that is needed in a motocross boot while leaving off everything that is not needed to obtain the lightest boot possible. Whether you like the look of them or not, it's hard to argue that they wouldn't give some sort of advantage with the weight savings they offer assuming that they still offer the needed support. Another goal of the boot was to enhance the feel of the rider to the bike. Do they work? After the first race in Anaheim, Stewart finished first in his class and Dungey finished second. All that can be really said is that they aren't a total failure. I'm not sure how these would hold up in the real world, but if they're good enough for these guys, they must be pretty good. It will be interesting to see if other pros follow suit.

Here's some pics from Anaheim Supercross, Stewart in the red and Dungey in the black.

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SUPERCROSS 2010, Anaheim 1 Eye Candy

Supercross 2010 starts up right where the 2009 season left off, with James Stewart on top of the podium! Last year came down to the wire between Stewart and Reed with Stewart coming out on top. Reed had to pull off the track on this first race of the 2010 season leaving the door open for Stewart. Supercross comes to Salt Lake City, Rice Eccles Stadium May 1. It won't be easy to catch the fastest man in Supercross with a head start. Josh Grant was still hurting from an injury and did not compete in the final heat. Grant won last year's opener, and should be one to watch as the season progresses.



AMA Supercross Class Results: Anaheim 1

1. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha
2. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
3. Kevin Windham, Centerville, Miss., Honda
4. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda
5. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
6. Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha
7. Ivan Tedesco, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
8. Justin Brayton, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha
9. Davi Millsaps, Murrieta, Calif., Honda
10. Grant Langston, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha



Western Regional AMA Supercross Lites Class Results: Anaheim 1

1. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki
2. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
3. Ryan Morais, Murrieta, Calif., Suzuki
4. Blake Wharton, Pilot Point, Texas, Honda
5. Wil Hahn, Decatur, Texas, Honda
6. Broc Tickle, Holly, Mich., Yamaha
7. Tommy Searle, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
8. Josh Hansen, Elbert, Colo, Kawasaki
9. Max Anstie, Hemet, Calif., Yamaha
10. Jeff Alessi, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha

Weimer took the Western Lites win as well as the $1,000 SPIKE Holeshot Award.


Supercross Schedule

Anaheim, CA 01.09.2010
Phoenix, AZ 01.16.2010
Anaheim, CA 01.23.2010
San Francisco, CA 01.30.2010
San Diego, CA 02.06.2010
Anaheim, CA 02.13.2010
Indianapolis, IN 02.20.2010
Atlanta, GA 02.27.2010
Toronto, Ontario 03.13.2010
Dallas, TX 03.20.2010
Jacksonville, FL 03.27.2010
Houston, TX 04.10.2010
St. Louis, MO 04.17.2010
Seattle, WA 04.24.2010
Salt Lake City, UT 05.01.2010
Supercross Shootout Las Vegas, NV 05.08.2010

More Info

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What Ever Happened To The Lead Ban On Kids Bikes And ATVs?

Apparently the answer is nothing has happened. The sell of youth OHVs is still technically illegal, although there is a "stay of enforcement" in effect set to expire in 2010. It appears as though nobody argues the fact that OHVs should NOT be included in this ban. The question now is how to exclude them so that youth dirt bikes and atv's can continue to be sold and operated by kids trained to do so. This is a bill that should never have passed the way it is. The word "any" should not have been used and there should have been some exceptions written in. It seems even the lawmakers that passed it didn’t anticipate the lead ban happening, but it did, and now it needs to be changed. There are some changes taking place, but this has the potential to be simply forgotten about like so many other things. I think with so much at stake to so many, it will be changed, but the industry can't afford more setbacks right now. Since we have kids that ride, this issue is especially important to us. To read more specifically about this issue and what is happening right now, read the CPSC Lead Ban: Ed Moreland Interview. at motorcycle-usa.com

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Retro Honda CR Graphics With a Custom Touch, 2001 CR250

In my search for a new look for my old 2001 CR250, I wanted to try to keep somewhat of a retro look, but also add a custom touch. I decided that instead of getting a pre-packaged graphics set, that I would take a few that I liked and create my own look. The shroud graphics came from Rocky Mountain ATV and are made by Factory Effex There are many options, but the option I ended up with was to actually take a 2002 CR250 graphic and trim it up a bit to fit on my bike. I think it looks killer and the quality of the graphics are really good. For the rest of the bike, I chose to use Attack Graphics. These are sold through Rocky Mountain ATV and allow you to choose from a few different styles and a bunch of different color combinations. These are actually sold as number plate backgrounds and can be ordered with a number of your choice pre-printed in your choice of style and color. I chose to leave them blank with the exception of our website address printed on the front number plate.





These graphics look great and really are reasonably priced. I was super happy with the way it all turned out and I think they will hold up quite well. For the rear fender, I got a new black fender with a One Industries Fender Graphic. I chose black because the white was getting discolored by the exhaust to frequently and it was hard to keep clean. With the fresh shock rebuild, top end, new reeds and a recent bottom end rebuild, it should run like a new bike as well as look like a new bike. In case you're wondering, the side plates have been trimmed a bit on the rear of the bike. It was an experiment that I ended up liking, so it stuck.

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