Don’t Ask!
Go ahead, but if your question is stupid, you’ve been warned…
If you choose to email a question to this forum, then you must conduct yourself accordingly. Therefore, the following rules are in order:
1. Do not write your email to me IN CAPS. If you do so, I will print out your question and do terrible things to it.
2. Do not request a personal e-mail response. Since I get thousands of questions each month, trying to answer them all would cut deeply into my leisure time, which I value more than your current state of confusion.
3. Try to spell at least in a semi-correct fashion. If you choose to mangle the English language, expect no mercy from this quarter. You might be mocked severely.
4. Do not ask for me to send you copies of my many manuals and literature. I am not in the library business, nor do I want to spend the bulk of my day at the copy machine just because you’re too lazy to ask your dealer, or look around a bit.
5. Don’t bother me with truly stupid questions, like how to get 50 more horsepower for a buck and a half
6. Now that you know the rules, think carefully and have at it!
Oh yes … I’ll leave your e-mail unedited, for what it’s worth.
Send your questions to editor@dirtbikes.com, Attn: Don’t Ask, or leave your questions in the comment section below.
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SUBJECT: YAMAHA FENDER SWAPS
Do you think yz400f 1999 rear fender will fit a wr250f 2003? If not is it possible to make it fit?
Cole Heath
Yes, by drilling a few holes you can get the fender to mount, but you’re still going to have to deal with that black thing hanging off the end of the rear fender. If you have some WR250 parts around, you might consider doing that, but it would look a lot better if you put a regular motocross rear fender on it instead of an enduro fender.
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SUBJECT: POWERBAND ADJUSTING TOOL?
Great letters this month! Ken Marrs (#7T) was a “vintage” dirt bike letter. He said a lot about those Golden Ages (1965-1985) of dirt biking. Maybe others will now come forward with letters akin to memories like that. Roland Cannon’s “That Book?” letter? Priceless! Too bad Granny wasn’t reading Monkey Butt. Those additional few hundred pages may have prolonged her life by a couple weeks or so. Burney Mirard has only read Monkey Butt…twice? Someone take his temperature! If he’s only read M/B twice, I’m willing to bet the reading would be “room temperature”!
The half-witted kid with the YZ450F has that problem that I once had with my first TT500….or was it my third..? Anyway, mine also “..took off a jump that is very steep say my fmx ramp mainly on lower fuel” and as a result, I crashed and I crashed hard! It was “bogus, dude”!
I know what the problem is, Rick: His powerband is way out of whack! That would explain why he and his friend almost crash every time they try to jump. I have powerband adjusting tools but don’t know if I have one for a YZ450F. Maybe if you told the kid to remove his powerband and send me a picture of it, I could modify my TT500 adjusting tool to fit. Of course the easiest fix would be to ditch his passenger. Have him buy his own dirt bike!
You recommend the Sears Allstate you once claimed to race. I’d prefer the Montgomery Wards Mojave 360. It has that “Rickman Metisse” look and had a longer lifespan than a 40 watt light bulb in Rosie O’Donnell’s back pocket..
Oh, Mr. “Caveman” would have been insulted at your remark about cave writing. Neanderthal’s brain was known to have been 96 cubic inches compared to modern man’s 93 cubic inches. The kid with the YZ? My estimate would be 49cc’s. He needs a big bore kit. That would be “radical, dude!”
Went to the Rat Rod-O-Rama yesterday. My 1970 Steen’s Taco 99 mini bike didn’t win anything…again. Maybe next year… Check the Yamaha 650 with its750-kitted engine. Looks like it would be a blast in the Mojave! Bike is absolutely beautiful!
Hope all is well with you and yours, Rick.
David “TT500” Fruhling
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SUBJECT: SUZUKI 400 CLUTCH ARM WON’T MOVE
hi
i am restoring 74 tm 400 cyclone the engine has been sitting for a while the piston goes up and down and the shift lever engages all the gears how ever the clutch arm will not move
how can i un seize the clutch arm to make it work again can you help me
thanks
mike lawler
We turned to Keith Lynas for an answer this one. By the way, when you graduate from third grade or so, maybe we’ll teach you how to spell and write.
Hi Rick,
Not much info to work with here, but here ya go!
Hi Mike,
This will require disassembly, proper diagnosis and repair, there is no “quick fix” to solve your problem, is the case corroded near where it exits the primary cover?
The TM400 uses a rack and pinion type release mechanism, if the pinion shaft will not rotate at all it is likely due to corrosion, a bent shaft or it was assembled incorrectly.
Remove the inspection cap, remove the arm, the set screw, pinion shaft and all the case screws, the case should lift off. If the shaft will not come out and case removal is hindered, you will need help from a professional, since there are a few potential reasons for this problem.
As part of the restoration the engine must also be disassembled/restored/rebuilt anyway; never assume it will be “okay as is.”
Take care,
Keith
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SUBJECT: MONKEY BUTT FEEDBACK
A must read, especially if you rode a dirt bike in Southern California during the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. Be prepared, you will pee your pants laughing in parts of the book and get really pissed in other parts of the book.
Bob Holleron
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SUBJECT: NOT EXACTLY A FAN
i READ OFF-ROAD.COM all the time because I have a jeep ….. I also have a dirtbike a honda 450- 4stroke thats only four years old. i hadsome problims with the bike and tried to git an answir from you/. You told me that most of the new 4strokes were junk and that my honda was a han granade. well I quite reading off-roaed.com and went to here. and what do I see but the same ***hole !!!!! Were the hell shoild i go now, huh?
Marty James
californa
I think you should go back to school first and learn how to write and spell. As I look back on your question, I can only bring up the following facts: in the Honda manual it says after 30 hours of operation it’s ready for a rebuild. A rebuild will cost about $3000. Why? Because the 450 that you have makes its power at over 13,000 RPM, which is right at the limit of piston speed. And that is what makes your bike a hand grenade. Now go away.
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SUBJECT: MAICO PRIMARY SIDE CHAIN
I’ve got a 450 Maico and need to replace the primary drive chain, you know, the one on the left side. Well, a friend of mine said that he knew that’s chain some Porsche transmission would fit right in. Is this true or is he just pulling me leg?
Bill Johnson
Yes, this true, based on what a Maico mechanic told me years ago. No, I don’t know which Porsche trans, but I was told that the Porsche chain is horribly expensive.
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SUBJECT: BULTACO METISSE
Hello there
I want to get into vintage motocross racing and have a chance to buy a 250 Bultaco from an old guy who doesn’t ride any more. I heard that Bultacos are fast, but he told me that this particular Bultaco was a Metisse and that it was way better than a stocker. It’s a 1966 and he wants $500 for it. The bike is complete but has not been started for years. So what do you think?
Nick in Dallas
Grab it! I had a ’65 Bul Metisse and it handled great. The engine was not all that reliable, but that bike was fast! My buddy had a BSA 441 Victor and the Bul used to pull him a drag race.
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SHAMELESS PLUG
My new book, THE LAST RIDE, is at now out. It’s fiction and starts in 1969, when an 18-year-old kid just out of high school gets a chance to ride his Yamaha 250 DT1 from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles … all off-road. His adventures are truly amazing. The book then jumps 40+ years where the same person, now in his 60s, wants to get that old Yamaha back in his possession and return it home by riding it all off-road across the country again. The book is $15 plus $2.75 for mail anywhere in the US and for more information, the email is: superhunky@gmail.com
Paypal address: superhunky@gmail.com
Website: www.superhunky@gmail.com
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