Saturday. Already?

Hmm.
Even though yesterday was known as "black Friday", I didn't see this guy all day. :)

Not much to do at jerk, yesterday, so, I stood there for just long enough to label a few bottles of oil for the oil display racks, updated the incoming parts orders with some important info, then left.
As I was pulling out of the Ghandimart gas station in front of our building, though, I immediately noticed the 2009 WR-250FY in the back of a pickup truck heading toward Motorsports Nation, your source of motorcycling elation.
I assumed this was the bike we sold just the day before to some lucky guy, and I say lucky because, don't forget, the Yamaha WR-250FY is the bike I ride out in Pachaug.

I followed the guy to the back of our building and watched him unload his bike on the loading dock for the Service Dept., and I was wondering if he was bringing his new bike back to have someone check it over for him.
Specifically, I wondered if he was concerned with how weak it ran in off-the-showroom condition.
Turns out he was most concerned with how the level of oil, when viewed through the little, round oil level window, seemed to show that there was too much oil in the engine.
On any other bike I've owned, if the oil level was up past the top of the little window, then there would in fact be too much oil in the engine and you'd have to drain some off.

However, the WR-250F, from 2007 to the present, is a bit funny in the oil level window department.
Basically, there is no dip stick used for measuring how much oil is in the engine.
Instead, you stand the bike straight up-and-down and take a peek through a little, round window down near the gear shift pedal.
Many other bikes use this method, but, on any other bike, if the oil level is past the top of the window, it's over full.
On this model WR-250F, though, the normal oil level (after the engine has sat without being run for a minute, at least) is actually about 10mm up past the top of the window.
Yes, really.
I'm not kidding.
In fact, the only time the oil level appears to be correct when viewed through this window is about one-half of a second after shutting the engine off.
Wait any longer, and the oil settles toward the bottom of the engine crankcase, raising the oil level past the top of the window.

I found this out through my own experience with my own WR-250FY - even with the exact amount of oil added to the engine while changing the oil, the level viewed through the window will always show an over-full condition.
This being the case, it appears that, for some reason, the physical location of this oil level window is about 10mm too low to allow it to function like any other bike with an oil level window.
When I was talking with this guy after his bike was wheeled into the Service Dept., I basically told him what I wrote above.
I also told the guy in the Service Dept., named Dan (who you've all met in one of my early posts to this bloggy blog), about this.

Strange, but true.

I also told this guy with the new WR-250FY about the uncorking modifications his new bike requires in order for it to run and perform as a 2009 model off-road motorcycle is to be expected to perform (meaning a very good performer, at least. I know that I would expect my new $6,000-plus dirt bike to run like a dream.).
As I'd guessed, he was not aware of them.
In fact his exact words were, "Yeah. First gear is OK, but once into second..."
He meant that once he shifts into second gear, the bike runs like a dog.
Well, as I told him, that's because it is a dog in stock condition, and nobody in their right mind (or left mind, for that matter) would ride the bike like that.

I told him about what needs to be done to make the bike run like it should, and I hope he understood.
I feel it's an outright shame this is the case when just trying to buy a freakin' dirt bike and go riding, where instead of riding, you need to first deal with a bike all plugged-up with EPA-mandated parts on it.
This environmental protection bullshit is just a staged act to make us all fear we're all guilty of hurting the poor Earth's extremely fragile environment, while industry billionaires and wealthy elite think nothing of building new factories in China and belch as much smoke as they can in order to make a profit.
The sickening thing about that is not only are you not supposed to know anything about that, but they'll also blame you and me for any pollution or damage to the environment caused by them, charge you and me for any clean-up, and sit back and laugh while their money from the slave labor in Chinese sweat shops pours into their pockets, money from when this cheaply-made crap is imported into the USA and bought by us - you and me.

How's that for a deal, eh?
These guys will demolish mountains in order to get valuable minerals out of the ground (not to mention pulling-off some pretty bold and heavy-duty lying and killing to get that done), but you and I are supposed to feel guilty for riding our dirt bikes out in the middle of the woods.

Think about that one for a minute.

Off to another (hopefully short) freebee Saturday at jerk,
-John