352 and Feeling Blue

Here's what is probably the main attraction of the CRF-450X9:
The big (for a bike that's made for some real off-road use, not mainly street use with a dabble of off-road use) engine, and the power that comes with it.
Just behind the CRF-450X9, you can see the WR-250FY, awaiting springtime.

I'm feeling blue because I'm sick today, and I first felt it coming on Saturday morning when I could feel a sore throat festering itself when I woke up.
Sometime, I get lucky and nothing more comes of it and the sore throat goes away.
Not this time, as I now have a typical cold, and that means a couple of days of sniffling nose and sore throat and less-easy sleeping.
I wonder who breathed on me. ;)

I went riding yesterday out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop, but it wasn't a normal day of riding out there.
This is mainly because the weather didn't turn out as predicted, and it seemed to take forever for the temperature to get above freezing.
I waited until the last possible minute, and didn't get to the usual unloading spot until 3:45pm.
That gave me about 45 minutes of riding before dusk, and since I also felt sick, I stayed away from any water on the ground, not wanting to get my feet wet.
This also allowed the bike to stay very clean, and because of that, I didn't have to wash it when I got home after sunset, and this also kept me from getting wet.
That's something to consider when it's in the upper 30s for a temperature and you're already feeling sick at the time. ;)

The trade-off with this riding strategy is that the route I rode was on the short and boring side since I stayed mainly on the street (which bypassed the wet portions), the dirt roads within the state forest (that are tame enough to drive a car down), and just one actual trail which I knew would be dry.
It was a 20-mile ride all told, so that's a fair bit shorter than the typical 55-or-so miles.
In all honesty, it was just barely worth it, but, I did get to do some nice-feeling wheelies and power slides while on the bike. :)

Also, I got to get more familiar with the new-to-me CRF-450X9, and honestly, not every feeling I get is good or positive.
A nagging problem I've been having since nearly day one is that the electric starter does not want to crank the engine over at certain times, and it is usually when I'm starting the engine for the first time that day.
Yesterday when I got the bike unloaded, got all suited-up, plopped myself on the seat, and hit the starter button, the engine barely moved before the starter motor refused to turn the crankshaft any further.
I then used the kickstart lever to turn the engine over a couple of times, hit the starter button again, and this time the engine cranked over and started running.
I've load tested the battery (which tested 100% A-OK), tried a second battery, cleaned where the main ground wire attaches to the engine crankcase, and the problem still persists.

I have read about other CRF-450X riders on message boards having trouble with similar problems.
That is:
The electric starter not starting the bike every time you ask it too.
Hopefully, I'll someday discover the reason for this and correct it.
The only things I can think of right now are that maybe the starter motor, itself, needs to be repaired (maybe worn or cooked brushes), or that the automatic decompressor built into the camshaft is leaving too much compression pressure in the combustion chamber while starting the bike (which seems unlikely to me, in all honesty).

All I can say right now is thank God the engine has always started once I get it running and warmed-up.
Looks like my share of legendary Honda reliability needs a bit of an adjustment. ;)
Hope nobody takes offense to that statement because, after all, I did buy it with my own hard-earned and feel I have a right to write what's going on with the bike.

At least it's fun to ride once running. ;)

Off to jerk,
-John

Edit:

Seems that the bike could be suffering from too much compression pressure while starting, after all.
While surfing message boards about Honda CRF-450Xs that act like mine does, I found out that American Honda actually had issued a recall and matching Service Bulletin a couple of years ago which were used to repair 2008 and 2009 CRF-450X models that were having this problem.
What takes place while performing this recall repair is that stronger parts are installed into the camshaft, parts that actuate the automatic decompressor feature while starting the engine.
If this automatic decompressor isn't working properly due to bent parts, the starter motor will have a tough time getting the engine turned over.
These new, stronger parts are supposed to resist bending and end any hard-to-crank-over issues.

Hmmm.
Ain't the Internet neat-o?

Looks like my local Honda motorcycle dealer, the very place I work for a living, may be performing the recall on my CRF-450X9 in the near future.
Either that, or I'll just get the parts and special tools needed and do it myself.
With any luck, this will return my fair share of legendary Honda reliability. :)

351 Rhymes with Fun

The CRF-450X9 after washing following yesterday's Pachaug rock pile ride.
I don't know how many more weekends we'll get where at least one day has a daytime high in the 40s with still unfrozen ground, but I'll take them as long as they keep coming. ;)

I rode out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop yesterday, and it was a good ride.
Since my last ride before that (which was last Saturday), I installed a little kit that allows removal of that useless collection of environmentalist propaganda parts that everyone calls the smog pump.
This smog pump is not an actual pump, but is a valve that allows a stream of clean, filtered air from the airbox to be piped into the exhaust pipe, supposedly reducing the severity of the harmful-to-the-environment noxious gasses coming out of the muffler.
All of the tweeting little birds I scared away forever along my trail route seemed to be smiling at me in an approving manner as they fled for their little feathered lives, suitcases under wing, never to return to their natural habitat because the mean old dirt bike rider (me) was so selfish, self-centered and self-serving and gets off on causing so much damage to the Earth's fragile environment, that scarcely a single living creature should remain alive once I pass through.

The sad part is that there are people in high places (as well as low places) that act as if the part I just wrote above is some kind of truth.
These people are either brainwashed, liars with only their own pocketbooks on their minds, or both.
I'll bet you anything that some businessman (or group of them) won't bat an eye at bulldozing my entire 55-mile trail loop completely flat (if he were allowed to) if it would result in that land to be changed into some mall or living quarters or whatever, just as long as he got a big fat wad in his bank account.
This especially goes for guys like Al Gore or Mr. Microsoft Bill Gates, guys who, on one hand, make themselves out to be so concerned with how everyone (except them) needs to do what they say in order to save the planet, but also have a strong liking for money and living a luxurious lifestyle.
Of course, this would be looked upon by all of those brainwashed environmental idiots who actually hug the trees as a sad thing because they would lose yet another place to go out into the woods and make love to trees and fantasize about how great life must have been back in 1799 before we got all industrialized, but yet, they'd also approve of seeing all of that nice-looking fresh asphalt laid down and how well-designed the perfectly manicured lawns of all of those new carbon-copy houses look and how well they made the move from the designer's laptop into $$reality$$.
Or, reality, as in real estate $$$sales$$$.
Sales, sales, sales.
Now, that's a word that lots of people will snuggle up to.

Well, now that I've stated my feelings on environmental impact (or the severe lack of it) from me riding my dirt bike down a trail, I'll tell you that the ride yesterday was a darn good one.
I rode in a decent manner, and while I was a bit cautious on certain parts due to seeing several groups of hunters out by the paved roads congregating near their parked trucks and also because the ground was damp in spots, I had a good feeling over much of it.
The CRF-450X9 worked well, and with another 55 miles on the bike under my belt, I know the bike that much better.
The strong suit of the bike is using the throttle and immense torque of the engine to loft the front wheel over all manner of rough terrain and riding right through these rough sections with the bike feeling very stable and sure-footed all the time.
The overall feel of the bike is powerful, stable in a straight line, and very solid and secure.
It is, I'm glad to say, a good combination out on rough terrain.

Speaking of lofting the front wheel, doing wheelies on this bike is second nature.
I always felt the WR-250FY wheelied easily, but with more power and torque at your control, the CRF-450X9 takes the ease of wheelies to a new level.
While negotiating any trail, dirt road, or whatever you may be on, it literally requires just a mere sudden opening of the throttle to get the front wheel off the ground.
Sure, you can open the throttle without doing a wheelie if you need to, and in that case you just open the throttle slowly and/or a small amount.
That's called throttle control.
It is fun and very useful, though, to be able to dial-a-wheelie as you ride the bike over rough terrain, actually making your passage through the rough stuff safer and more fun at the same time.
A very good feeling, this is.

Today is colder than yesterday, so I'm glad I went yesterday.
Today seems like an easy day around the house doing a little bit of bike maintenance and maybe some laundry.

-John

350 Miles on the New (to me) Bike

The CRF-450X9 after inspection, registration, and setup to my liking.
This pic was taken just before leaving home for yesterday's Pachaug ride.

I don't think I have quite yet put 350 miles on this bike since I bought it, but, it made a good title.
Eh? ;)
What I have done is to remove the stuff I needed for inspection but is actually a liability while out there riding the Pachaug rock pile.
Things like the ridiculously low-hanging rear fender extension, the right-hand mirror (one is enough), and, most of all, getting rid of the street tires and using real off-road worthy tires.
You know what that means, don'cha'?
Yessirree, more Bridgestone M22/M23s.

I also did what guys in dirt bike social circles (like on Internet message boards) call "uncorking".
That means doing some very simple modifications that rid the bike of performance restrictions that are imposed upon it when on the showroom floor, restrictions that are dreamt-up and implemented on your dirt bike by bureaucrats that like the idea of socialism or outright communism, even though they, themselves, may not realize it.

What I did was to:
*Increase the size of the air inlet into the airbox.
*Rejet the carb to specs listed on a message board devoted to the CRF-450X.
*Replace the original plugged-up exhaust system with the same type I've been using for the past few years:
An FMF Powerbomb head pipe and an FMF Q4 muffler.
*And, last, but I assume not least, I unplugged the mysterious pink wire from the bike's ECU (the brain of the electronic ignition system).
The unplugging of this wire is supposed to switch ignition timing maps from a bureaucratic and performance-restricting one to a map that's made for real men who want to actually enjoy their dirt bike and have superior performance. :)

So, how's she run?
Awesome, in one word.
It ran strongly in 100% stock form, and now it's even more powerful.
It pulls like a fast freight train locomotive, and with the mods done, throttle response is crisp and basically feels perfect.
Good job, Mr. Internet Message Board Jetting Guru - your carb jetting specs work very well, indeed.
Also, the additional air available to the engine with the cut airbox and less-restrictive exhaust, along with the carb jetting, are giving me noticeably better fuel range, too, as last weekend I got shitty mileage from a gallon of gas.

Since I've ridden the CRF-450X9 out on the Pachaug enduro loop in this condition, what's my opinion of the bike now?
It feels very good.
It has excellent straight-line stability; a very good suspension, front and rear; more than enough power across the range with strong low-end torque (you can slow for a turn, keep the transmission in a gear that is really a gear high for the exit of the turn, and still be launched out of the turn with immense low-end power and torque); the ergonomics of the bike fit me well, and, all-in-all, it feels like a lot of fun.

While there is no getting away from the fact that the additional engine rotating mass of this big-bore can be felt while maneuvering the bike (compared to the 250cc bike I've been riding in Pachaug for two years), it also tends to give the bike the feeling of being willing and able to charge through rough stuff with the throttle open, especially if you wheelie into the rough stuff.
That is great fun, you know.
You don't know?
Well, get yourself a dirt bike and get on out there, son. :)

No doubt helping the stability through rough stuff is the very good front fork.
Is uses a design that dirt bike guys call a "twin chamber", which means the oil in the fork is divided into two areas:
1) The area where the oil is used to lubricate the sliding surfaces and to fine-tune the overall firmness of the fork through setting the oil level.
2) The oil used to actually control fork movement through the hydraulic damping is actually put into a sealed container and put under pressure by the use of a spring at the top pressing down upon this chamber.
In other words, the oil is slightly pressurised by use of a mechanical coil spring pushing down on it, and this is done to get rid of any signs of cavitation (air getting into the oil and negatively effecting the damping quality).
Rear shocks do this through use of high-pressure nitrogen gas.

The result is a fork that, basically, seems to respond equally well over small bumps, big bumps, sharp and abrupt bumps, gradual bumps, or anything in between.
I like how they work, and I get a good feel for the terrain through the front tire contact patch with the ground.

The rear suspension seems to not give quite as much feel for the terrain, but, it's still good enough to please me.
It responds to the bumps and is completely ridable out there on the ol' Pachaug rock n' roll pile.

I've not owned a lot of bikes what use Showa forks and shocks, but the ones on the CRF-450X9 make me feel good about them.
All I've had to do to get this suspension performance is to grease the rear suspension pivot bearings, set the damping clickers to the original positions shown in the Owner's Manual, set the rear suspension spring preload to achieve 4" of sag with my weight on the seat (actually, I didn't even have to adjust this as measuring it showed me it was already set for me, miracle of miracles), and hit the trail.

Do I think the bike is perfect?
No, and since it's a bike that I had to buy and pay for with my own money just like every single one of the bikes I've ever had in my possession (versus having mommy or daddy buy it for me), I feel A-OK telling anybody my 100% honest opinion about it, be it good, bad, or somewhere in between.

One gripe I have with the CRF-450X9 is that I want a stronger-feeling front brake.
I've serviced every serviceable item of the front brake system in the few weeks I've owned the bike, and while I believe it is working at 100% of how it was when the bike was brand-new, I simply feel it's not the strongest front brake out there.
It's enough to get the job done, but, especially now with the bike being uncorked and able to catapult out of turns and down straights in the rate and manner it does, I really do believe I'll be buying something to improve front brake power.
It will either be a different master cylinder from the CRF-450R motocross bike, or an oversized front brake rotor kit, or both.
Time will tell.

Another gripe is air filter removal and installation.
It's a tight squeeze getting the filter out and back into the airbox.
Actually, I can imagine some retard who hates servicing his air filter using that as an excuse to skip cleaning and oiling his already-too-dirty-and-it's-been-that-way-for-too-long-as-it-is air filter.
It won't stop me from taking care of mine regularly, but compared to the WR-250FY, the CRF-450X9 requires the filter be squeezed through an airbox access opening smaller than the height of the filter, itself.
The WR-250FY air filter can be removed and installed with practically zero effort, in comparison.

The engine loves to make a bit of a knockety-knock racket whenever it is running.
I believe this is normal noise, and may be due to the Honda Unicam cylinder head using a rocker arm to operate the exhaust valves as the noise seems to be coming from the area of the cylinder head.
I'm just guessing, here, but whatever the cause, I can certainly tell whenever the engine is running just below me. ;)

The feel of the clutch through the clutch lever is a little bit on the vague side, but I imagine that more time riding the bike will lessen that feeling.
This is one of those bikes where you know where you are with clutch engagement/disengagement via relying more on the position of the clutch lever, not via how it feels through the clutch lever.
Geddit?
I hope so, Lenny.
Why do you think I bothered to explain it in such an eloquent manner, eh?

So, provided good weather for next weekend (it is mid-December, after all), I'll be out there riding one of my bikes.

-John

349 and the Riding Was Fine, Though I Could Have Used More Gas

Well, I decided to take the CRF-450X9 out for today's Pachaug rock pile ride, and I'm glad I did.
The bike worked well, and I had a good ride.

I did make sure I took it for a quick 5 mile spin before I left for Pachaug to make sure all of my work was done properly, and it was.
I could have rode the bike all the way to the riding spot, but, it was awful hard to resist loading the bike up and trucking it there to save those fresh knobby tires for the actual Pachaug ride, not the 13 mile ride on pavement to the riding spot.
You know?

I met with 5 other guys for today's ride, and they all had a good time out there.
There were a couple times that most of them went into the "hero sections", the trails that are pretty dang rocky and wet and rocky.
Rocky, too, and these sections are the most difficult of the whole loop.
But, some guys like that stuff, and I just waited for them at the other side of it.

The CRF-450X9 performed very well, today, I'm pleased to say.
The engine has mucho power and torque, and it allows the common big bore practice of coming through a turn a gear high, opening the throttle on the exit, and just hanging on and enjoying the effortless acceleration on tap.
The new Bridgestone M22/M23 tires were excellent, as usual, and the bike handled well.

It was great having that spankin' new license plate hanging off the back fender informing any tree coppers hiding for an ambush that I'm legit, and with that peace of mind, I could concentrate on having a good ride, which I did.

I found out how far I can go on a tank of gas, and that's 56 miles.
I mean using all of the available gas in the tank, too.
That's about the same mileage I do for a loop, and I was wondering if I should stop to refuel en route or not.
Well, I decided to finish without refueling, and I actually got pretty lucky because I ran out of gas just one tenth of a mile from where I park my truck.
Lucky me, huh?
At least it only took a couple minutes to push the bike the rest of the way back, and now I know what my fuel range is.
Looks like, unless I buy a larger 3 gallon fuel tank (the present fuel tank is 2 gallons), I'll need to gas-up along the way from now on with the CRF-450X9.

-John

348 and Something Great

This pic should sum it up right here.

I am very happy to say, folks, that my trip to the DMV of Connecticut to get my CRF-450X9 inspected and then registered for legal street use was a blazing success.
Now, I can basically ride that anywhere motorcycles are allowed, which means the Pachaug rock pile, on the street back and forth to jerk, and anywhere else my heart desires as long as it's legal to do so.

Today (Saturday) is the day of removing the inspection parts and returning the bike to it's proper condition, a condition where actually riding it off-road won't be as much of a hazard as it would be with that stuff (especially the tires) still on the bike.

I wish I was sure I'd be riding the CRF-450X9 in Pachaug Sunday, but, I already opened my mouth and promised a guy I'd go there with him and his friends, so, I feel better about riding the Pachaug rock n' roll pile veteran WR-250FY because I'm still getting a feel for the CRF, and, frankly, I'd rather do that on my own.

-John

347 Days Until Summer

The WR-250FY awaits yet another Pachaug rock pile loop.

I went out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop this past Sunday, and it was actually one of the best rides of the year for me.
That's partly due to me being well-rested since I'd missed two weekends in a row (due to working on the new-to-me CRF-450X9 and then feeling sick).
Also, the weather was fantastic for this time of year (warm), the traction was good, the bike felt as good as ever, and it was basically one of those rides where I felt damn good the whole way.
That last one is so very important to enjoying yourself.
You know? ;)

I was able to get yet another comparison of the Yamaha WR-250FY and the Honda CRF-450X9, this time by riding the WR.
Basically, the WR has enough power with a very good handling feel and a feeling of light weight to go along with it.
It obviously doesn't make as much power as a 450, but at no time have I ever wished I had more out on the trail, and the light feel of the bike is very much welcomed out there.

The CRF-450X9 makes a truckload of power, and using that power is very fun, indeed, but it comes with a very noticeable heavier feel to it.
It handles well, and the suspension is good, but the trade-off for having that large lump of an engine spinning away down there is an unmistakable and ever-present feeling of much more mass.

What this all means is, basically, what I'd guessed would be the case:
The WR-250FY is the better-balanced bike for riding the Pachaug rock pile due to good power and it's much lighter feel.
Those trails simply aren't open enough to justify the added power of the bigger bike and it's feeling of mass, or even allow you to use it all.
The loop can be ridden on the CRF-450X9, of course, and I am waiting to do exactly that and have fun playing with the big power, but it isn't the better bike for that terrain, at least not with me doing the riding.
What I do plan to use the CRF for is street riding to work, some Pachaug loop trail riding, and also some off-road riding in exploration mode, meaning investigating a place or three I either haven't been to in years, or that I know about but haven't been there at all.
The CRF will be an excellent choice for this because the bigger power and taller gearing will allow it to easily run with 55mph traffic on the street, and yet, it will still have that real-dirt-bike performance and feel that is very desirable while actually riding off-road.
See?

I plan to bring my modified CRF-450X9 up to the DMV for inspection and registration this Friday, so wish me luck. :)

-John

346: Nice Weather this Weekend, but, no Riding for Me

That's because there is a deer hunting season going on, and hunting is allowed on the same state land where the ol' Pachaug rock pile trails are.
So, I opted to not ride on Saturday, lest I piss-off some guy with a shotgun in his arms.
I'd hope that nobody would be pulling the trigger anywhere near the trails, but, I can only imagine that hunting has just as many dipshits out there as does motorcycle riding. ;)

Today, Sunday, I woke up feeling weak and under the weather.
I bet'cha it's because I'm fighting off a fuckin' cold of sort brought to jerk by one of the other guys.
Too bad, because today's weather was very nice, indeed.
It was very tempting with two awesome bikes in the house that are just waiting to get ridden, but, when I feel bad, my concentration suffers, so I played it safe.

I can tell you what my first ride on the Honda CRF-450X9 was like, though:

I rode the bike on some of the Pachaug loop Monday both before and after jerk, and it felt great.
I really liked the feel of the bike.
The power was enormous, the suspension felt good, the bike handled well, and I discovered no issues or quirks that I didn't like.
The down side to all this power from the 450cc engine is that the bike feels heavier while braking and turning as compared to the WR-250FY, but, that is exactly what I expected, so, no disappointment there.
It's physics, and I've felt such things before.

The CRF-450X9 feels good out on the trails in it's own right, although the WR-250FY, with it's lighter feel and still excellent power characteristics, is better for the tighter bits.
The CRF-450X9 feels best where you have the room to open the throttle and use the power and torque the engine produces to launch you forward faster than you really need to go. :)
Good thing the bike has excellent straight line stability, something that I really like in a dirt bike, especially one that can stand up, wheelie, and roost as it covers rough ground quickly when you open the throttle.
That's great fun, as well, and I plan on riding this bike much over the coming season.

So, I've got two bikes with distinctly different characteristics and areas of excellence:
The WR-250FY with it's magic little engine, light and accurate handling, and excellent suspension, and the CRF-450X9 with it's strong, big bore engine, freight train stability, good handling, and...newness.
It's new to me, so that automatically puts it in the limelight for now.

The Baja Designs dual sport kit should be here in a couple of days, and I hope to put the bike through DMV inspection and registration by the end of the month.

-John

345 Protesters Arrested at the Latest Occupy Wall Street Gig

Just where did this occupy Wall Street shit come from, anyway?
Seems that just a couple of months ago, it sprang up from nowhere, and if I read correctly, it's some kind of supposed grass roots movement where every-day people who are fed up with how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer are protesting here, there, and where ever.

I'd really like to think that people everywhere were going to do something about their situation in life, but, I just don't see it happening.
Not like that.
I would expect to see the vast majority of people getting all upset and ready to kill somebody if their Monday Night Football were taken away from them, or if alcohol were suddenly removed from the free market, or if they no longer had SUVs to drive to the mall in.
Do something about the crooks, liars, and murderers that are in high places?
The ones that believe they've got some kind of divine right to rule over everybody else because only they and their supposed equals are the only ones that possess real intelligence and the only mature minds on the planet?
I really doubt it, folks.
What I would expect is that this Wall Street gig is yet another supposed revolution fad that's actually a form of controlled opposition.
Controlled by who?
The very guys these supposed protesters are protesting (or occupying) about.

Yeah, if you want to somehow divert people's attention - the people you've been fucking out of their labor and worthless money for thousands of years - away from you and your crooked scheme and direct them toward something else, why not just start a club that, on the surface, looks like it wants to really make things better, but in reality is a pied piper that leads these fools off into another direction.
A direction that lets it be known who these participants are, where they are from, what their views are, how much they know, how they think, and, most of all, it keeps the limelight off of the bigshots.

Here's all the proof I need to know that this won't amount to a hill of beans:

911.
How do you think those Twin Towers came down, and why?
If you honestly believe the planes did it, you are both a real dummy when it comes to 2nd grade physics (and common sense), and you are in denial about the whole thing because the thought of any other explanation really bothers you.
How are you supposed to get stoned while at work in peace if you are contemplating who wired those buildings with explosives?
Hmmm?
Since we're on the subject, how long do you estimate it would have taken to get those buildings wired and setup in order for them to be demolished like that?
A week?
A month?
Two months?
How many people do you think it took to do that?
Where are they drawing their checks from?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?
Or, did they work for free?
Eh?

The proof I'm talking about is that these two skyscrapers full of people were brought down right in front of everybody, thousands of people died, we were given a shit excuse that terrorists did it, the crime scene was cleaned-up pronto without any kind of investigation as to how those buildings came down, and here we are, going along as if it is no big deal and as if it never happened.
Ask somebody what they think about it and how it was pulled-off, and most will repeat what they heard on the news (the official story).

Try this one:

April of 1995 in Oklahoma City.
Remember what happened then?
A big building, the Alfred P. Murrah building, crammed with people was wrecked when (supposedly) two losers parked a van full of fertilizer in front of it and lit a match.
These two guy were supposed to be the only two people on Earth involved, and their bullshit bomb was supposed to be a bomb forceful enough to blow the front half of a hardened target (a building made of reinforced concrete) away as if it were wet tissue paper.
Well, anybody who doesn't want to bury their face in a case of Budweiser would know that those those two guys were willing fools who were played and setup to be the patsies in the whole operation.
Who knows how many people were involved with rigging that building with the wired explosives (shaped charges) that actually caused the blasts and actually did the damage, and if you look at a pic of the remains of the building after the blasts, it was even done to look like a big bomb went off in front of the building.
And, when the remains of the building were finally demolished, do you know how they were brought down?
Well, it sure as hell wasn't by a van with bullshit in it.
It was done with (more) shaped charges.
In other words, a team of experts did it, two retards took the blame in a story that should make you want to throw up, and people today basically shrug if you bring this up.

So, basically, Occupy Wall Street can take a long walk off a short pier.
I see it as, basically, a bunch of willing fools who are getting involved in something funded by the very ones at the top of the whole mess to begin with.

-John

344: New Wheels in the House

This is a 2009 Honda CR-F450X, designated CR-F450X9.
Basically, it's the 450cc Honda version of my WR-250FY - an off-road bike based on the company's motocross bike.
This pic is just after I unloaded it from the truck when I brought it home this Friday.
It was a bit grubby, but otherwise in very good contition.
Most would say it was in excellent condition, but, I'm not so easily impressed. ;)

As is always the case whan I buy a new (or used) motorcycle, it gets a super cleaning and a teardown and thorough lube and inspection.

That way, I know it's health status, as well as truly make it mine.

I also degoober the bike, which means correct any goobery things done by the previous owner or remove aftermarket parts he put on that I don't like.

That's more like it.

Clean, lubed, and tended to just as if it were heading out for a ride.

And I would have taken it for a ride, too, if I hadn't spent the weekend working on it. ;)

OK, so I got another dirt bike.

Why, and why this one?

Well, folks, I'd been keeping an eye out for a Yamaha WR-450F to come across my path, but, basically, this one showed-up first.

This is the Honda model that competes for consumers' dollars with the Yamaha WR-450F on the showrooms.

It's the 2009 CR-F450X, an off-road bike based on their CR-F450R motocross bike.

Thank God, I realized as I was cleaning it and lubing it that's really in excellent condition.

Well, it's in excellent condition now that I've done that work.

So, why do I need another dirt bike when I already have a very nice Yamaha WR-250FY?

Well, this Honda will be my dual-purpose bike.

That means, my dedicated back-and-forth to work and some trail riding after work or maybe some exploration riding bike.

In other words, it's the bike I'll use for getting around on the street as well as off-road riding.

That way, I can ride a bike on the street without having to drive my truck during the nice weather next season, and do it without using my only dirt bike (the WR-250FY) as a street bike and wear the tires on that bike down quickly.

Yeah, I know the tires on the CF-R450X9 will wear down, too, especially if I use it as my street bike as well as a trail riding bike.

But, I can accept that with one of my bikes if I can keep the other one just for off-road riding, and that's where the WR-250FY and the ol' Pachaug rock n' roll pile come in.

See?

I knew you would.

Anyway, I'll be doing to the CR-F450X9 what I did to the WR-250FY two years ago:

Buy parts to modify it so that it will pass an inspection at the head honcho DMV office and then register it for street use.

I'd like to get that all done by the end of the month.

Stay tuned. ;)

-John

343: More Riding for Me

WR-250FY oil change on the house.
Or, in it, in fact.


I have to laugh to myself (because these comments don't merit doing it out loud) when a rider says (more like bitching, pissing, and moaning) that a modern off-road bike like my WR-250FY is "too maintenance-intensive".
Whenever I read that, I know that I'm either reading the writing of a complete lazy slob, a newbie who doesn't know his ass from his elbow and is just repeating what he heard from some other freak who doesn't know jack shit, himself, or simply some Internet troublemaker who thinks he's being funny and witty, while he's actually a retard, himself.

You see, folks, there are people out there that treat doing what is shown in the above pic as a Great, Giant Pain In The Ass.
That was capitalized because that's how much importance they place on that feeling.
Yup, a simple engine oil change is enough to make these guys moan about having to pick up a wrench and do some work to the bike.
What's even worst (for them) is that an engine like the one I have has two places where the oil is drained from.
These guys will make that sound like it makes the task twice as hard.
Really.
Funny, because the two drain plugs are about 5 inches apart.
However, you do have to remove three bolts and remove the skid plate.
Geezzzz, that does sound like a big job, after all.
If you're a moron. ;)

You see, these guys are under some kind of illusion (delusion, more like) that a bike like my former WR-250R (the dual-purpose bike I owned from June of 2009 until September of 2010), because it has written in the Owner's Manual under the street-orientated scheduled maintenance chart, that buying a WR-250R (or other Japanese dual-purpose bike) basically frees them from lifting a wrench to do things like an engine oil change.
They're kidding themselves with this because since the chart in the manual lists a recommended oil change every 3,000 miles, they believe you don't have to change the oil until 3,000 miles, no matter what.

Wrong.
They are ignoring one little disclaimer put in that manual.
It's the one that says to do things like an oil change and air filter servicing "more frequently in wet or dusty conditions".
They make it sound like they never read that part, because wet and dusty conditions = off-road riding, Lenny.
You see, that maintenance chart is for street riding, not off-road riding, and I also believe it's so lax so they won't scare away the typical off-road newbie that often buys a dual-purpose bike.

So, basically, they ride around off-road on their bikes in a (false, I believe) sense of security believing they can go and do whatever they want without even touching the bike for a month, or two, or three, and they will often brag about it and state that other bikes are way, way too maintenance-intensive.
I'd just love to see how black-as-the-ace-of-spades that oil looks when they finally drain it.

The Owner's Service Manual for my WR-250FY is written with off-road use in mind, and if one of these guys were to read it, they'd probably pass out when they read the part about servicing the air filter after each ride and changing the oil after 600 miles.
That's the recommendation if you were to do some hearty off-road riding, such as actually racing the bike.
These fools are so brainwashed, they actually believe they could race their WR-250R in an off-road race (which, in my experience with the bike, would not feel very good at all) and still not do an oil change until 3,000 miles passed.
These are the guys who also have their swingarm pivot shaft rusted in place when they are finally forced to take the rear suspension apart to replace worn-out parts (that they never maintained in the first place because they're on a bike that is practically maintenance-free in their minds).
The joke is on them.

Turning back to something like reality...

I rode the highly maintenance-intensive WR-250FY out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop both days this past weekend, and they were good.
Saturday started a bit chilly (although it was decent by the mid-way point), so Sunday felt like the better day of the two.
On Sunday, I also rode with a guy named Stanley, a guy a never rode with before although I've talked with him countless times while at jerk.
He rode a well-used 1996 Honda CR-250R with a (supposedly) legit license plate on the back.
That's something you don't see every day, as a CR-250R is a bona-fide 2-stroke motocross bike.
He rode the trials just fine, and as far as I know, he had no bad incidents.
We both enjoyed the 52 miles out there - I know I had fun.
Hmmmmm.
I wonder how such a high-maintenance bike made the whole loop. ;)

I also tried a different rear tire, just out of sheer curiosity:
A Bridgestone M603.
This is listed as an intermediate/hard terrain tire, where my usual M22 is a hard terrain tire, period.
The verdict?
Basically, it feels like I assumed it would - trading away some hard terrain feel and grip for some softer terrain grip.
It's not a bad tire, but, I still feel the ol' M22 is a better tire for the Pachaug loop because there is so much hard terrain out there, and, more often than not, the M22 feels more solidly hooked-up to the ground.
So, once this M603 wears out, I'll put the usual M22 back on, even though I wonder if I'll be doing that this year since the off-road season is winding down. :(

Off to jerk,
-John

342 Snowflakes Before Holloween

This pic shows two things new to me:
The truck is the 2011 Ford Ranger XL Supercab (sounds mighty impressive, huh? Who thinks of this stuff?) that I bought since my trusty 2004 Ranger XL got hit by another motorist this past Tuesday.
I needed a truck to carry on with life, and I was not too impressed with the used ones I saw for sale in the area.
They all wanted more than I felt they were worth, or had high mileage, or were outright P.O.S. "mechanics specials", which means they needed time and money put into them to make them sound and reliable.
No, thanks.
So, I threw my arms up, said, "Fuck it.", and bought another new one.
So, I've gone from no monthly vehicle payment to, once again, having a monthly vehicle payment.
Sucks, but, I didn't like the feeling of possibly buying a used truck that was either a rip-off in price, or a P.O.S. that would be a pain in the ass in the long run.
So, here's the 2011 model in the driveway.
Weeeee. :)

The other new thing in the pic is last night's "record and historic" snowfall.
I agree that getting measurable snow on the ground before Halloween could be some kind of record, but the amount I got in my neighborhood is a minuscule inch-and-a-half or thereabouts.
Supposedly, other towns in Connecticut got 10 or more inches, but, I'm not going to be driving out there today before it melts to see whether or not that's true or bullshit.
Yeah, I do think that even weather reports contain bullshit.
The predicted amounts sure failed miserably in my front yard, and I'm soooooooo glad they were way off, as is common, and if you were to go to weather.com and read the forecast for my town last night, you were reading predictions of 6 to 10 inches.
Period.
You were also shown video clips of their roving weatherman out near a busy road, acting as if he were braving the worst weather he'd seen in his life.
Typical, as they will always hype it up and make you feel like you are REALLY missing something if you don't stay tuned.
Well, you were wrong, again, guys who get paid to predict the weather, and I'm soooooo glad we didn't get shit for snow.
It should all be melted by the end of the afternoon with a sunny day and (below normal) 40-ish temperatures for a high.

Well, I got both tires changed on the WR-250FY firebreather, and since the snow should melt away, whether or not I go for a ride, today, really depends on how I feel, physically.
If I feel chilly, I probably won't.
If I feel good, I probably will.
That's how it goes when the weather temps dip below normal.

-John

341: Monthly Payments Ain't Fun

But, unfortunately, sometime they seem necessary.

What the title and first line refer to is my big news for the past week:
My trusty and clammy 2004 Ford Ranger is no more because I got hit by a young guy pulling out of his driveway on the way home from jerk this past Tuesday afternoon.
Yup, that's right.
I was simply driving down the street, approached a driveway on my right side, saw a car creeping forward toward the end of the driveway, and as I was nearly past it, the guy pulled out into the road and hit the rear of my former truck.
Yeah, he simply pulled out into me without stopping and allowing me to pass.

The rear of the truck spun to the left, pointed me toward the guy's front lawn toward my right, the front tires dug in, and the truck rolled over one complete time, landing on it's wheels, pointing in the opposite direction that I'd been traveling.
The truck looks like a mess, and I expect the insurance company to total it.
We will see what they say.

In the mean time, I needed something else to drive my ass around in, so, after being disgusted with the used vehicles I'd seen in ads, I broke down and just walked over to the local Ford dealer that's next door to jerk yesterday afternoon, signed zee papers, and drove a new 2011 Ranger off the lot.
It's very much like my 2004 crumpled one, with these differences:

*It's white instead of black.
*It has a larger cab with some room behind the seats for some cargo like groceries and riding gear.
*It has air conditioning, not that I wanted that option, but it was what they had on the lot.
*It has fancier-looking wheels, though they're still stamped out of steel and painted silver.
*Some of the control knobs on the dash are shaped a bit different, though they're in the same spot.
*If I remember from reading the features on the Ford website, it has some kind of electronic driving "aid" that kicks in if the sensors sense a loss of traction while cornering and/or braking, supposedly to help the truck stay on the road.
I don't know the details, but I'm not surprised it has something like this in 2011.
*It is not paid for like my other one was.

Time to get used to making monthly payments once again.

Not sure if the unseasonable weather this weekend will allow a decent Pachaug rock pile ride on the WR-250FY.
I hope so, as I'm mounting two new tires.
I'm using the trusted M23 on the front, and as an experiment, I'm using a Bridgestone M603 on the rear, an intermediate/hard terrain tire.
The M22 I usually use is a hard terrain tire, and I'm wondering if this M603 will trade a bit of hard terrain prowess for a bit better feel in the soft and mushy stuff.
In all honesty, I'm expecting to feel that it won't be worth it knowing that I've never tried something better in overall feel as the M22/M23, but, I want to at least give it a whirl out of sheer curiosity.
I'll let you know the results after I try it.

Off to jerk for a freebee Saturday morning,
-John

340: For Sale - 1907 POS Special

Another robbed pic from the Internet.
Here, we see Lenny Geekenheimer trying to get his POS running for just a few more minutes.
Again.

I'm still getting a chuckle (and an upset stomach, too) at the ads for used dirt bikes on Craigslist, message boards, and even the For Sale bulletin board at jerk.
Here, folks, are some of the time-honoured tricks that sellers of 1907 POS Specials and other pieces of shit put into their sorry-assed ads as they hope to pull the wool over your eyes:

*Hardly ridden, many new parts.

Who the frig's kidding who, here?
You really mean to tell me the piece of crap was hardly ridden, but it needed new piston, rings, every bearing in the chassis, and, of course, new, sick-looking graphics?
Blow it out your ass, you lying little turd.

*Bike has been well maintained, and I've put in new suspension bearings, wheel bearings, brake pads, cables, chain and sprockets, and blah-blah-blah, etc., etc., etc.

Translation:
The bike was never maintained, and that's because nothing about the bike was ever actually maintained to a high degree of mechanical soundness.
Instead, it was more like ride, ride, ride, and fuck everything else.
The reason the seller poured parts into it just before he put it up for sale was because he showed not a speck of interest in keeping his equipment in proper working order the whole time he rode it, and it is only now that he's trying to sell it that he feels he has to put money into it in hopes of it not being squarely placed into the POS category.
Often, since the guy never washed the bike and it looks like a rusty and grubby POS to any viewer, it will fall into the POS category, anyway.
And, rightfully so, fool.

*Bike is totally ridable and can easily be mint.
I just don't have the time to fix it.

This is another way of saying that the bike is a POS rat bike that's only worth $50, tops.
It may run, barely, and certainly not anything like it should, and completely forget about the chassis working properly.
It is just a beat-up old POS being foisted upon somebody.
As for making it mint, you may as well enjoy turning some old shack in the woods into a multi-million dollar palace fit for a king.
It would truly require that much time and money.

For Sale: 1998 Yahmah YZ 250 two stroke.

Typical 2nd grade spelling mistakes, and worse, the moron's poor pic of this POS shows that it's not even a 1998 model.
The only reason he says it is a 1998 is because his buddy's friend who once walked past a YZ-250K1 on a dealer's showroom swears it is.
At least from the left-hand side.

That's just a brief sample of the typical chicanery pulled by these wanna-be con artists, except they'll never qualify as an artist because they can't even write an ad without it looking and reading like it was done by a kid in preschool.

Still not certain about going out for a Pachaug rock n' roll pile ride, today.
It's still early, yet.
We'll see.

-John

339 Photons of Light Strike My Eyeball

Today, I went for another ride on the ol' Pachaug rock pile enduro loop, riding the WR-250FY, of course.
I brought the bike to jerk with me, and if you have read my past posts, you know I go into jerk for a Saturday morning freebee, usually from a half-hour to a couple of hours, depending on what NEEDS to be done and how much freebee juice I have in me at the time. ;)

I hit the trails at 9:57am, and I saw a group of riders (5 of them, if I recall) heading back toward where they parked their trucks at the start parking lot.
They were all (except for the last one, who seemed like a slow straggler) mounted on late-model KTM 2-stroke motorcycles, bikes that get a hearty thumbs-up from the off-road crowd.
I don't know whether they were just finishing their loop, or if they had to stop and turn back toward the trucks for something, but I never saw them again.

My ride was a good one, and I felt good on the bike.
The bright sunshine was really the only thing bugging me, and that's because I have a problem with picking out details on the ground in bright sunlight, even with the darkest goggle lens that Oakley makes for my L-Frame goggles.
It figures, though, that once I got home and immediately washed the bike, the sky was completely cloudy as if it might rain.
Cloudy for hours, too.
Damn.
I wish it would have been like that earlier while I was riding. :)

I'll decide tomorrow as to whether or not I'll go on a Sunday ride.
I should change both tires (yes, again), but I want to milk one more weekend out of them before I do, even though I already have two new Bridgestone M22 and M23 tires right here beside me.

-John

338 Dead Leaves on the Ground

Yes, folks, that's what fall is all about:
Lots of dead leaves falling off the trees because it is gradually getting darker and colder around here.
Isn't nature so natural? ;)

Well, I went for a bit of a hike along some of the Pachaug enduro loop last Sunday (since I decided to take the day off from riding it on my WR-250FY), and now, I wish I'd have ridden it, instead, because I saw no other hikers out there to chat with about the lovely leaves on the trees.
Oh, well.
It was worth a shot.
I still get a chuckle when I remember the deer-in-the-headlights expression on the faces of these hikers when I approach them on my motorcycle.
I really do believe they do not realize they're walking on a legal motorcycle trail loop.

Today (Saturday), I'm heading on out to the ol' Pachaug rock pile nice and early, and will probably be on the trail by 10:30am.

-John

337: We're in Leaf Peeper Heaven

I don't live in or ride my dirt bike in New Hampshire, but I did borrow this pic from somebody else's blog without cropping the caption at the bottom.
If you think it's funny, they get the credit. ;)

Yes, folk, we are, indeed, in the season where the leaves change color.
That means that while I was out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop riding my WR-250FY yesterday (and it was a good ride, too, and I rode well), I came upon a few little expeditions under way on the trails.
These were groups of people - looking very much like a school teacher bringing her classroom of school kids out on the trails as some sort of field trip - walking the very same trails that make up parts of the Pachaug loop.
What were they doing out there?
Well, what else? - getting their jollies by seeing the leaves on the trees.
Why is this worthy of getting out there to see?
Probably because they think it's so pretty-looking and it makes them feel like they're really doing something that makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Personally, while I think the view of the leaves turning red, yellow, and gold can look mighty fine, I actually get a stronger feeling at seeing all this that winter is coming in a couple of months, and I'd better enjoy the above-freezing temperatures while I can.
And, while I like to walk the same trails I ride on at times, it really ain't to soak-in the scenery and marvel at it, but to better learn and memorize the details in the terrain that I would only otherwise see while riding that trail at speed.
So, if I come across some city slickers out there leave peepin' I just slow way down, wave and say, "Hello" as I putt by, and be on my merry way.

However, the facial expression I usually get from these wanna-be hikers is one of, "Hey! What are you doing out here riding that dirt bike? Can't you see we're trying to hike along, here?"
My immediate though is one of, "Why, yes, I can see that you are hiking along there...right along the official, state of Connecticut-approved Pachaug enduro loop motorcycle riding trail, my friend".

You see, I seriously doubt these people know where they are standing as I putt by and wave at them.
I'm willing to bet they think I'm some kind of nature-hating, scenery-wrecking, outlaw dirt bike rider who is out there messing things up for everybody else, and that I have no respect or admiration for the outdoors.
I'd actually get a kick out of it if one of these hikers gave me a snotty attitude like that.
Why?
Well, because I'd have to tell them that I'm the one out there on those trails every weekend, not them - I never see these people at any other time out on the actual trails.
Typically, they stay within sight of the SUV that got them there into the Pachaug state forest, and that means near the parking lot for cars.
So, there's no way in heck that I'd stand for that kind of a reception, one that I just very well may get some day, judging by the looks on these peoples' out-of-doors-for-once-in-their-lives faces.

So, today I may choose to not ride the bike, but instead, take a little hiking expedition of my own out onto the Pachaug enduro loop trails, hoping to run across more leaf peepers.
Maybe I'll be able to ask if they've seen anybody out riding a dirt bike past them. ;)

-John

336: Don't Wake Big Daddy

This is what will happen if we all were to ride our dirt bikes at the same time:

We'd wake up big daddy and really piss him off to the point that he'd probably use some silly excuse (that most dimwits out there would swallow hook, line, and sinker) to make dirt bike riding illegal from then, onward.

From time to time, I'll go to a motorcycle test ride website (a site that rides new models coming out and giving them all a thumbs up in order to please the manufacturer and get plenty of advertising in exchange) to see what they wrote about it.

One thing I'm seeing now, more than ever, is the constant reminding us all that we should keep the bikes just as they come off the showroom floors as far as the exhaust muffler and even airbox inlet size is concerned.

This is all to (supposedly) eliminate unwanted noise and keep overly loud dirt bikes off the trails and eliminate pissing-off the non-riders who also use the same trails for walking, pissing on trees, growing pot plants, and screwing their next door neighbor's wife while the neighbor is at work.

I'm completely against bikes that are too loud.

What constitutes a bike that is too loud?

If you want to put your fingers in your ears while it goes by you, that's too loud, especially if the retard riding it gasses it intentionally as he's near you because he thinks he's being a really cool macho man.

If a dirt bike is this loud, what the numbskull is doing is, basically, either using a muffler that's supposed to be used only on a race track like a motocross track (where there are no walking trails or houses or scenic vistas to stop and drool over while you fantasize about living back in 1801 when things were just so pure and simple (but, of course, you'd still expect to have your electric lights, TV, microwave oven, fast food joints, Internet radio, and your new SUV or sporty little car)), or the retard modified the original muffler to make it that loud.

Again, he did this because he's a numbskull and maybe even a simpleton.

So, what the motorcycle press has been doing lately (although the less sound = more ground slogan has been around since the 1970s) is telling us that we should be happy with how the bike sounds and (most importantly) how the bike actually runs and performs straight off the showroom floor.

I have a severe problem with this because my very own WR-250FY firebreather comes off the showroom floor totally choked-up in order to meet sound and noise and exhaust gas emissions standards and regulations that are ridiculously tight, stringent, and, basically I feel, meant to eventually squash the ability to produce dirt bikes at all sometime in the future when they make them even tighter.

The way my bike ran off the showroom would basically be an embarrassment to Yamaha Motor Co. if it's showroom condition was actually how it was supposed to ridden, especially by a rider who knows how to ride, and ride well.

In order for the bike to run as it should, you need to remove obstructions built into the bike at the airbox inlet, exhaust muffler outlet, unplug a wire from the electrical part known as the ECU, and change parts in the carburetor that basically supply more fuel to be burned and make some kind of power a 250cc dirt bike is expected to make.

I did these, and am completely satisfied with how the bike runs and performs.

So, what's the big deal?

These test review websites (and print magazines) are literally telling readers to leave the bike in at least semi-corked-up condition and just live with the poor performance.

In fact, they even write about how the bike feels weak and how it would be nice to have more power and better throttle response, yet they don't even mention that they could get that performance by simply uncorking the bike of it's silly restrictions.

They do this because they feel that big daddy (or big brother, or the US government) will clamp down and close for good any remaining legal off-road riding areas unless we all tiptoe around on wheezy bikes that can barely be heard running.

To me, this is a sad thing because I'd rather eat shit and die than ride my WR-250FY in the condition it was when brand-new.

Yes, it was that plugged-up and that lousy.

I know that you can uncork these bikes yet not have the noise it makes overly loud, and that is how mine is, so, why are we reading this stuff?

Unfortunately, it seems to me that it's because they're bowing to pressure from enviro-groups that threaten action like having riding areas closed down.

Closed down unless we never as much as make a peep or turn over a single stone laying on the ground, or, heaven forbid, kick up a cloud of dust as we ride by or disturb a patch of sand that hasn't been disturbed in 10,000,000 years.

Maybe, there are even some double agent back stabbers who are really environMENTAL fanatics working for these motorcycle test websites and magazines.

Yes, whenever I read this poor excuse for a motorcycle review, I want to throw up because I feel it is simply trying to appease an enemy that is going to eventually squash dirt bike riding for good, no matter how quiet your bike is, or how polite and courteous you are to others, or no matter how much ass you kiss.

I feel that they are simply buying a little more time while giving-in a little more, and a little more.

Off to jerk,

-John

335: Ambush on the Rockpile Trail

In a way, this is what happened to me while toward the end of my Pachaug rockpile ride yesterday.

I went for another weekend Pachaug enduro loop ride yesterday, and I decided to change things up a bit by doing something I hadn't done all year:
I left the house later so that I would finish the ride at dusk.
While this made washing the bike a pain in the ass since I'd have to rely on my outside porch light, it made the ride, itself, enjoyable since late afternoon and dusk favor my eyesight because there is little to no bright sunlight making me squint all over the place.
Because of the improved vision, I turned up the wick a bit and rode my favorite pine-needled sections faster than I have in a while, if not ever, and found that immensely enjoyable.
That, alone, made the ride worthwhile.
I can only imagine what it would be like to have what's considered normal vision, both in having 20/20 and not having trouble with bright sunlight washing-out details on the ground.

Another thing new that I did was adding yet another trail section that I believe I've never ridden before in my life, a section that is an actual part of the Pachaug enduro loop.
You see, there are a few trail sections that I skip every time I ride the loop because I think they suck and are not fun for me.
Typically, that means sections that are very wet and very rocky to the point that it's more of a case with putting up with terrain I don't like than getting some enjoyment out of it.

The thing that's different about this new section is that not only is it another section that is a part of the loop that I'd been skipping, but I believe it was not a part of the Pachaug enduro loop back in the days when I first rode it with some friends in the late 1980s, and the trail I'd been taking (allowing me to skip it) up until yesterday was actually part of the loop back then.
So, what I did was instead of turning right at a three-way intersection, I turned left, and this basically had me making a bigger clockwise loop to get to the same spot a few miles later.
I have to admit that the first half of this new (to me) section wasn't fun because it was similar to a snotty rock garden, but after that was past, it was enjoyable.

New England is synonymous with rocks, folks.

The title of this bloggy post and the pic to go along with it is in reference to what happened at about the 50 mile mark (the ride was 56 miles in total).
My ol' buddy Tim the squirrel defender and the outdoors man was, basically, waiting along one of the last paved road sections for me to ride by, and when he saw my headlight coming up from behind him, he pulled his car a few feet ahead and stopped it squarely in the path of where I'd be turning off the pavement onto the trail.

This was a drag because I didn't feel like stopping to talk with anybody, really, because it was already a few minutes before sunset and I did not want to spent the best minutes of lighting conditions just making small talk.
Not just because it was Tim, but no matter who is would have been.
However, I was still courteous enough to grant him his wish and did stop to chat for about five minutes before telling him I had to get going.
He wanted me to stay longer, but, he's a big boy, now, and I did not leave the house later just to waste the best part of the ride (lighting-wise) chatting about nothing important.

Of course, the fact that I'm a criminal and an asshole who did it on purpose in his mind for killing a squirrel with my Ford Ranger almost two years ago has some bearing on this, but, that's not the main reason I wanted out of there - I just wanted to continue the ride without interruption.
Period.
No matter who it was.

So, I finished the ride at dusk, and it was a good one.
I got the WR-250FY washed via the light from a single light bulb, and although it wasn't as thorough a job as usual, it was good enough.
The bike is currently serviced and ready for another ride on the rockpile loop, and odds are, I'll go today.
If I do, I'll probably edit this post with an update on how it went.

Hoping for no ambush,
-John

Edit:

Today's Pachaug rock pile ride went off even later than it did yesterday, to the point that I cut about 15 miles out of it for a total of 43.
The ride was pretty good and I feel like I rode good as well.
I made another decent pass through my favorite pine-needled section, although I believe yesterday's was a little bit faster, although at another favorite section I rode faster today than I did yesterday.
All-in-all, it was a decent ride out there today.

Next weekend, though, I'll probably leave the house at a more normal time so that I can both not worry about running out of daylight and be able to wash the bike in daylight, too.

Another good thing is that I did not run into an ambush on the trail. ;)

-John

334 Illiterate Idiots

Here is the real reason why some people claim that they don't need no stinkin' service manual to wreck - oops! - work on their motorcycles.
This person seems to be in the early stages of supreme idiocy, and is probably in extreme bliss since bliss is made of ignorance.

The weather on this Sunday morning is cloudy, and we had a short rain shower that wet the ground.
I plan on heading out to the ol' Pachaug rock pile to ride, once again, the ol' Pachaug enduro loop.
I'm feeling pretty good, got a good night's sleep, and want to have a good ride on the WR-250FY.
I'll be more cautious in the shadows where I don't expect rapid evaporation of the water on the ground (and the rocks and tree roots), but, I've done it plenty of times before in these conditions.

The above photo is my thoughts on the usual reaction most people have when they ask for advice when they want to fix-up the 1907 Schmencycle they just picked up.
See, the scenario is usually one where the guy gets a dirt bike for low bucks and has visions of roosting off into the sunset for a total cash outlay of something like $1.98 on that very same bike.
The catch is that the bike was bought for low bucks in the first place because it's a beat-up P.O.S., and it needs a lot of work and money to make right.

Well, the typical guy goes onto a message board, starts a thread about having picked the bike up for cheap, and asks other members for advice on fulfilling his off-road riding dream.
In other words:
He states that the bike has problems (usually isn't even in running condition) and asks how he can make the bike into a good runner that can be ridden and enjoyed - for low bucks.

When I answer, I'll always recommend he buy himself a factory Service Manual for his exact year and model of motorcycle.
This may sound like sound advice to you, but most of these guys looking for assistance take that advice like Dracula being asked to take a swig of holy water.
The usual reasons they don't like the thought of that are:

1) They cost too much
2) They are too difficult to get
3) They cost too much
4) They are difficult to read, follow, and understand
5) They cost too much
6) They "don't tell you shit, anyway"
7) They cost way too much, and this is a low-buck project, remember?

I laugh when the dimwit plainly shows he has no intention of picking up the correct Service Manual because, shortly thereafter, he'll be asking the very same questions that Hallmark the typical guy trying to get his bike running without having a clue as to what he's doing.
Yes, he'll scoff at spending the money for a book written about his very own bike, but he'll spend days and weeks on it trying to make it a go without one.

In the above seven reasons not to get a Service Manual (sharp readers can tell there are really only four), reasons two, four, and six are downright funny to me.
Why?
Because they are the kinds of things written by a complete illiterate moron, as shown in the above pic.

Where do you get a Service Manual for a 1979 Honda XL-185S?
Geeeeeeeeee, Bucky.
Did you try asking at a Honda motorcycle dealer?
Or, perhaps you were shocked that Wal-Mart didn't have a copy on the shelf, right next to the pantyhose and toothpaste (made in China), and gave up due to that traumatic experience.

Service Manuals being difficult to understand?
Sure.
As long as you have no idea on how to or inclination to gain knowledge and understanding by reading a book specifically written for the very same P.O.S. that your grubby little hands are molesting.
Perhaps you were expecting 497 full-color photographs per page explaining how you are supposed to reach for a 10mm wrench in order to turn a particular nut counter-clockwise in order to loosen it, Leroy.
Hmmmmmm, yes.
Maybe we all should wonder how that information was left out while we take a seat next to you on the blue bus, huh?

Reason six is basically an extension of reason number four, as this is what the numbskull shouts when he throws a temper tantrum because he's frustrated that he can't ride his low-buck P.O.S. after months of trying to get it working correctly his way.
Folks, what the dimwit really means is that in order for his inept brain to follow a Service Manual, it probably would need 497 pictures (complete with drawings of little puppy dogs running around chasing butterflies with human-looking smiles on their faces) just to show him how to remove the seat.
Since producing such a book would probably require 1,584,083 pages, I doubt that Leroy and his P.O.S. could afford it.
See?
He could afford and easily obtain the Service Manual as they are really written, but the one of his daydreams would be ridiculously expensive, not to mention impossible to carry around easily.

Off to the rock pile,
-John

Edit:

Today's rock pile ride out on the ol' Pachaug enduro loop was good.
There was water in the usual spots where it collects after a good rain (I wish it were like it was in July - dry as a bone), but that didn't pose too much a problem for me and my WR-250FY with the Bridgestone M22/M23 hard terrain tires.
Even though the tires don't work well in anything wet or soft, I got through those wet and mushy sections in one piece.

I really enjoyed my favorite pine-needled and whooped-out section today, even though I got the timing of a few whoops wrong and ended-up riding off the side of the trail for a moment.
No big deal because I just picked a spot where I'd make my correction and rode back on track without stopping.
Maybe someday I'll have the placement and shape of all of those whoops memorized, something that's hard to do when I won't see those miles of whoops until I ride through them next weekend.
Too bad I don't live right there.
Riding out to that section (and therefor, the whole Pachaug enduro loop) would be something I could do even after jerk, not just on weekends.

I'm looking toward going out there next weekend, and that's a good sign.

I also saw several illegals out there on motocross bikes and an ATV coming by in the opposite direction, so, I just pulled off to the side and waved until they all passed.
No real skin off my ass, just as long as we don't have a head-on collision someday.
That would suck - been there, done that.

-John

333 is Half of 666

The WR-250FY Firebreather just after being washed following today's Pachaug rock pile ride.
It was a good one, I'm glad to say.
Or, more accurately, write. ;)

I've read that the real meaning behind 666 is not that it means the Antichrist, but really is an esoteric (meant to be hidden from all the dumb people down below the supremely evolved bigshots with the truly mature minds) meaning for the ultimate in human achievement:
The New Man.
Or, when man has become perfected enough - through the use of superior intellect - to become god.
Notice I used a lower case g. ;)
Naturally, only those who have superior brains and the correct genetic makeup are capable of such things.

Today's ride in the ol' Pachaug rock n' roll pile was a pretty good one. I rate it a 7.5 out of 10.
That's not too shabby.
It could have been better, but there was a lot of standing water in the usual spots where water collects after a good rain, and that's what we got on Thursday and Friday.
Still, even though there were some slippery spots, I felt good and I rode in a decent manner and I enjoyed myself out there.
I'm looking forward to going out there again next weekend, already, and that's a good sign. :)

I also saw a couple of skinny trees that had been intentionally bulldogged down across the trail, probably by some skinny punk environmental fuckface retard bozo freak loser jerk.
These homos, assuming that they are truly irritated that guys like myself ride their dirt bikes on the LEGAL DIRT BIKE TRAIL, YOU GODDAMN IDIOTS, seriously need to get a life.
No, wait.
They need to get punched in the face, and then get a life.

I saw plenty of tire tracks out there, today, and also saw fellow riders at their trucks parked in the parking lot at the start of the rockpile loop, but I didn't actually see anybody while out on the loop, let alone ride with anybody else.
My ol' buddy Tim the Squirrel Defender called me just after I got the bike washed and told me that he was out there on his mammoth Honda XR-650R, as well, although he said he started his ride just after I finished mine.

Well, I guess it's time for beauty sleep.

-John

332 Fuzzy Little Critters Running Across the Road

You best be watchin' where you be steppin', little forest critters, lest somebody in an automobile squash the daylights out of you.

I have an ol' buddy named Tim who I used to work with, and more recently, have ridden dirt bikes with.
Tim fancies himself an outdoorsman, much more so than most people.
He feels he has a better understanding of how all things outdoorsy work, and has a better appreciation for it.
I believe that also includes me, even though I have literally lived in the woods all my life.
When we go riding together, he sometimes shows more interest in a bird that swoops down into view than riding the bike.
In fact, I believe that his riding a dirt bike is at least partially due to it being an easier way to cover miles and get out into the woods to observe, study, and admire nature.
It makes him feel good.

The reason I wrote that about my buddy Tim is because, one fateful day in February of 2010, we were driving down the road in my clammy ol' Ranger and a squirrel ran out in front of me.
I ran the squirrel over.
Tim reacted as if it were his own personal pet squirrel.
Basically, he became so upset over it, it drove a wedge between us and damaged our relationship.
Yes, folks, my running over a squirrel did that, and since that time, I rode with him a couple more times before deciding it was no longer feeling like a good time and worth the trip out to his neck of the woods.
Basically, Tim still feels that I need to be punished for running over the squirrel, and his way of doing that is acting like a jerk to me.

However, we still keep in touch via phone when he'll call about once a month on average.
I'd like to get together and do something we both enjoy - riding our dirt bikes - but not until I feel convinced it would be worth it.
Well, just last night, Tim called to tell me he's been scanning the classifieds for a Honda CR-F450X.
That's a Honda dirt bike that is, basically, the Honda 450cc version of my Yamaha WR-250FY.
That is, a dirt bike made for off-road use that is based on their motocross bike called the CR-F450R.
So, it's a CR-F450R with lights, odometer, 18-inch rear wheel, electric starting, softer suspension settings, and choked-up air intake and exhaust mufflers.
Once you get rid of the choked-up parts, you have an off-road version of their 450cc motocross bike.

I think this is great news because his current dirt bike, a 2007 Honda XR-650R - is simply a big, heavy tank for riding in the Pachaug rock pile.
In fact, most riders would agree that it's a pretty poor choice for that area since it's way more weight, mass, and size than makes sense out there, and the fact that it's a 650cc engine won't make-up for the weight and size penalty.
No, that big bike is meant for more wide-open spaces, and when he told me that he's thinking about a CR-F450X, I said that it was a great idea.
A CR-F450X would be a much better choice for the trails that we'd ride on, and would be much more enjoyable to ride.

If he ends up getting one of these bikes, I just may have to go riding with him again.
Hopefully, there aren't any kamikaze squirrels out on that day. ;)

Off to jerk,
-John

331-derful Rides

Yes, folks, riding a motorcycle off-road - even a late model motorcycle equipped with the latest techno-tricks - requires routine maintenance.
You may be surprised to discover how many guys that are supposedly "really into it" dread doing something as easy (and important) as an engine oil change.
Servicing the air filter?
Now, that's really pushing it. ;)

I rode out on the ol' Pachaug rock pile enduro loop again this past weekend, though I rode only on Sunday.
The reason for that was because I woke up on Saturday morning very early for some reason (out of bed at 3:30 am), and by the time riding time came, I felt too tired and lazy and, quite frankly, lacking in concentration to feel good about going.
So, I decided to spend part of the day taking a nice little nap to catch-up on the sleep I missed, and that helped a noticable amount.

Come Sunday, I loaded the ol' WR-250FY Firebreather into the ol' clammy Ford Ranger and met an ol' buddy named Tom out at the rock pile.
I've known Tom for about 20 years, and it was a change to be able to ride with somebody I've actually known for some time versus riding with somebody I'd either just met or only knew for a short time.
The ride was good, and nobody drew blood or hit the ground (that I know of), and Tom and I got a generous helping of all of the lovely rocks adorning the Pachaug loop.
The ride was the average 54 miles, and after we chatted at the loop's end for a while, we went our separate ways.

However, once I was on my own, I felt more energetic than usual, and decided to do another loop.
At first, I though I'd do a shortened version since I want to be back home before dark so I can wash the bike in some daylight, and it was already 3:00 pm, and the sun sets at about 6:50 pm.
A loop, the way I ride it, takes anywhere from 2.5 to 2.75 hours to do, and loading the bike up and getting home is another 45-or-so minutes.

Well, as it turns out, I did ride a slightly different route the second time around, but, the mileage was actually a few tenths of a mile more, totalling 55 miles.
Yeah, the miles can add up without you realizing it.
The ride was good, and had some good feelings, enjoyed my favorite sections, put up with the rocky ones, and called it a day unscathed.
I got home and was able to get the bike washed and tucked away by dusk.
Not too bad.
A good day, and seeing how I skipped eating any kind of lunch at mid-day, I ate a big supper to make up for it. :)

I should try to estimate how many miles and hours running time I have on the WR-250FY, just for curiosity's sake.
I know I'm racking-up the time and miles on the bike, considering each loop is around 55 miles and 2.5 hours.

-John

330, and Time to Get Dirty

The 2012 Yamaha WR-450FB.
I assume, anyway, that they will use the letter B to designate a 2012 model.
It features, what I feel, are some good, smart changes.

What I mean by the title is that if you are a lucky rider to be on the bike in the pic, I imagine you will like getting dirty very much, and have fun doing it.
Yamaha Motor Corp., USA announced the rest of their 2012 models yesterday, and one model that was changed was the WR-450F.
Changes made to the bike make sense to me.
Guys on the Internet forums are pissing and moaning that it didn't get the same engine and chassis design as the current YZ-450F, but, not only do I think the WR-450F did not get that because it wasn't any better for off-road use, but I also think most of these guys are posers that want to believe their WR-450F really needs that, or would have liked to feel like part of the YZ crowd.

The front fork got the (supposedly) same internals as the latest fork used on Yamaha's YZ motocross bikes.
Traditionally, the Japanese manufacturers debut the top-of-the-line techno tricks on their motocross bikes, and off-road models may or may not get the same stuff.
When the off-road bikes like the WR-450F gets it, it's often considered to be a big deal because it doesn't always happen.

The rear shock and swingarm are new, and the carburetor has been replaced with electronic fuel injection.
This alone (the fuel injection) will be enough to make some riders jump up and down for joy.
Why?
Good question, because I never got the feeling that any of my bikes needed to be fuel injected.
The ones that weren't (like my WR-250FY) always seemed to be just fine, and the ones that were didn't seem to be any better because of it.
I'll take either way, really.
I can only guess that some guys have a phobia about carburetors, or are electronic gadget geeks that are like the geeks on the SV-650 forums that often insist you need to buy the version that comes with electronic ABS, or else, you will have a wreck because the ABS is a life-saver.
I always felt that was a good one.
How about learning how to brake on your own?
You know - by using your own brain and fingers on the brake lever.

To me, the biggest changes on the WR-450FB are the fork, shock, and the new frame, which is based on the current YZ-250F.
Gee, more motocross bike trickle-down.
Personally, I'd much rather have this design than the rearward-facing engine of the current YZ-450F.
The chassis of the WR-450FB is much more traditional in the way the parts are positioned, allowing easy access to the air filter without tools, allowing a larger fuel tank to be fitted without wondering where the extra fuel will be carried, and, probably most of all, this new chassis will work just fine and dandy without adopting the YZ-450F chassis and engine design just for the sake of having it on the WR-450F.
You see, it actually makes sense to me to have the WR-450F keep the traditional-style frame and engine design because that is proven stuff and far from being obsolete, and using the latest suspension along with it should make the bike very good.

Of course, there are naysayers that will bitch because the WR isn't a YZ.

Off to jerk,
-John

329 and Doing Fine

I went out to the ol' Pachaug rock n' roll pile yesterday (Sunday), and it was a decent ride.
Not a great one because I felt less than 100% for some reason, but, I rode in an acceptable manner and I had some fun and got a workout in the process.

I decided to change things up this time, though.
As I found out the day before on Saturday, there was water in spots where there usually is none, so, instead of basically tip-toeing through these sections, I decided to concentrate Sunday's ride at my favorite pine-needled and whooped section.
What I did was basically skip some sections in order to get me out to the spot more quickly, and once there, I rode this section 4 times.
This section is about 2 miles long, so I had a nice 8-mile rip through the woods.

It turned out to be a pretty good idea, and the next time I get the feeling that the conditions along some of the trail sections might be a bit sucky, I'll probably try it again.
Hell, I may even do it again even if the trail conditions are at their best.
I liked it. :)

Did anybody want to puke looking at the hogwash 911 memorial bullshit all over Internet websites?
It would be more correct to see something like, "1o years after 911, the guys that did it are still not sorry, they're tickled pink that thousands of people were killed as a result of their pre-planned hoax, and they still think the population is stupid enough to let them do what they want with them."

That's more like reality.

-John