Messages

16

Tech Talk / Re: Spluttering When Rich - What's Actually Happening in There?

« on: January 10, 2025, 06:10:34 pm »

If, when attempting to safely fine tune 2 stroke carb jetting (specifically the main jet), using the method of jetting much richer to the point of spluttering, before then gradually changing to leaner jets until suitable jetting is achieved, what activity is happening in the motor to cause the spluttering (assuming all else is functioning correctly)?

Spluttering is an incomplete burn of the charge and this can occur at any point in the RPM range for various reasons as i had mentioned not just too rich on the main.
If as you state everything else is fine and your sure its a main jet issue the amount of fuel/Air ratio is too fuel rich which has an excessive cooling effect and the charge cannot complete its burn within its duty cycle. Its very similar to a flooded engine or running with the choke on. 3 things in a balance for a fire to burn, Fuel Heat and Oxygen, decrees one(Air) or two items(cooling) and no more fire its a simple as that .. As the boys have stated this results in oily carbons being produced which clog pipes gum ring landings foul plugs and crap performance. I hope this helps.

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Tech Talk / Re: Spluttering When Rich - What's Actually Happening in There?

« on: January 09, 2025, 10:57:44 pm »

Wouldnt it be a great but rather boring world if we could diagnose  a problem with only one symptom and without the problem being in front of us. Even a doctor wont say your leg has been bitten off without taking your BP and Temperature.

Before any attempt at tuning the basics need to be addressed. is the air cleaner clean, is the pipe clean. How about that engine seals and compression? Is the carb float set correctly and is it clean, what about the needle wear and clip? Tested the CDI and coil and is the plug correct, timing okay? is the fuel correctly mixed and the tap and line free flowing? Reeds okay?
When you can answer a confident yes they are all good to all those then its time to think about tuning or your chasing the wrong end of the dog. And just to make it interesting jetting changes with elevation as the air pressure changes, even humidity has an effect.



You have probably seen these charts and they give you a headsup on where to look for carb jetting issues Vs RPM. Remember there is a crossover range  where jets share the job. grab a few jets and a box of spark plugs and your angle grinder as its time for plug chops. Flat out underload pull the clutch and press the kill switch at the same time. Remove the plug and check the polaroid it just gave you of what was happening at that time. When you get close with the jetting you can "chop" the thread off the plug and read the porcelain colouring with more accuracy.
Whats happening in the engine at that time? Have a look and the piston and plug will tell you.

18

KTM / Re: Dark clouds hanging over Mattighofen

« on: January 08, 2025, 12:49:54 am »

I read KTM will not continue past their GP contract for 2025. This leaves an opening for others like BMW to test the muddied waters.  Other avenues for cost reductions have mentioned doing away with the salary of Danny Pedrossa  their test rider. As far as the teams go they say everything is going well and its business as usual though one does need to think that statement came as an order from a hopeful KTM board.

Over capitalising over production and over Estimating themselves have left KTM with a years worth of inventory left unsold. Products have started to be offered with heavy discounts and more to come as KTM try and regroup after a retreat. If anyone ever considered buying a KTM bike now could be the time to pick up a bargain though one would have to like orange and ponder what rhymes with orange.

The word China appears in almost all rescued bike brands particularly the Italian marques who enjoyed past glory. Will the reformed KTM have to Kow Tow and be part of the great leap forward, the grasp for Knowledge? From what I see clan membership has not helped Benelli nor Morbidelli achieve any kind of sales success on a world scale though if KTM is to continue in any form an Asian influence will heavily feature as it does for 90% of brands including BMW Harley Davidson and Triumph. The coming weeks will see just how much debris has been hidden under the smoke left by the fireworks that looked so pretty for a short while.

19

Tech Talk / Re: PVL Timing

« on: December 24, 2024, 10:30:18 pm »

Suck it and see. Gazetted settings are good for a starting point though i bet your final settings will  have a few adjustments from both those numbers.
You know the process. Choose either , id start with 2.4BTC and give the bike a few runs then try the stock settings with small incremental changes either way to see what the bike likes. Every engine is different and every rider wants something different. Plug chops.

20

General Discussion / Re: motorcycle sport in oz to cease

« on: December 24, 2024, 06:49:08 pm »

I have seen  some information where a group of people are trying to get a new insurance to fly. A difficult task though the current MA situation needs to change and it must or no more Volunteers and the costs for competition will destroy every club making them insolvent. Shooting your troops and burning your crops is a proven recipe for weight loss.  I sincerely hope they sort themselves out for the good of the sport. My thoughts are a few people need to pull their head in and start working with what they have and there is a lot of good in the existing framework.

 MAIL being controlled by MA is and always will be a recipe for conflict and should be cut away and no member of the MA board should have any controlling factor within MAIL as its a conflict of interests and could be seen as insider trading. Until this is done the problems for clubs and members will remain.

 My public service corporation has a board which is suppose to be separate from government and politics however a third of the board members are ex politicians still card carrying members of their respective political groups. Hence the dead wood framework at the top doesnt change and the basic obvious problems within the company are indentured.

For the good of the sport there is a place for MA and State based to coexist though for that to occur States need to step up and MA needs to pull its head in and work with the states and lose the Jack boot secret handshake mentality though no one likes losing control, ask Captain Bligh.

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General Discussion / Re: motorcycle sport in oz to cease

« on: December 24, 2024, 02:37:57 pm »

Same issues as its always been whenever MA is mentioned in the past. This reply seems to explain the conundrum. in short MA want a Monopoly.

MWA President Speaks Out
The following response was provided by the President of Motorcycling Western Australia, Peter Campain. This was issued in response to the recent correspondence issued by the President of Motorcycling Australia, Roy Chamberlain.  This follows from a recent statement from the Motorcycling Victoria Board of Directors, expressing their own displeasure at Mr Chamberlain’s statement.

Statement from MWA President Peter Campain
Most competition license holders have been sent an email from the President of Motorcycling Australia talking about the voting for a new constitution. Given Roy has given you his distorted view of the universe I thought I should tell you what it looks like from WA.

For a number of year MA has been working toward a structure where the state bodies cease to exist and everything is run from Melbourne. Granted MWA has had its issues however I think over the last year we have made big steps toward becoming the governing body that the members deserve.

Run the sport from Melbourne think Ridernet or pick up the MOM’s and try to find a page without a typo. You are bound by policies that have never been published outside of the MA office cellar. If you are familiar with the track standards you can watch National events on tv and play a game called spot the non-compliance. Do the same at State or club level and your insurance can be cancelled.

There is no disputing that the various state bodies have had their issues and there are some things needed to change. From my engagement with the various State Presidents, it seems to be there is a general acceptance of the need for change however giving the keys to an organisation that refuses to acknowledge its own problems is not the answer.

This time of the year in 2022 and 2023 you may have heard all the noise over insurance renewals. In each year MA who is the sole owner of MAIL, the MA insurance company, have used this to pressure the State Bodies to give up ground in the management of the sport.

This year we have been through two rounds of it. A few months ago the states were given new affiliation agreements to sign and told to sign or no insurance. The new agreements have a lot of conditions and the worst relates to insurance. If there is an accident to rider or member of the public and the track is not fully compliant to MA standards (to my knowledge no tracks in the country are), if the officials are found not to have applied the rules properly, if the event does not comply to all MA policies including those that have never been published anywhere they can be found or there is a conflict of interest at the event then MA reserves the right to cancel the insurance cover after the event.


I have asked MA to provide some qualification for those officials, volunteers and riders now at risk and while I was told it was coming, two months later still nothing. I don’t think the MA board has sufficient experience at grass roots to understand what they have done. Don’t worry about insurance for racing as it will be interesting to see how many officials front up for 2025.

If you are from a regional club read the MA medical guidelines, if you can’t get the required people much less afford them then an incident can see the insurance revoked because of the medical cover whether relevant or not. If you are from any club in the State that has multiple officials from the same family (which club does not) and they work at the same event it’s a conflict but you won’t be able to assess how serious it is because you can’t find the policy to read it.

The current barney is over a new constitution for MA. The proposed new constitution removes all state rights and allows MA to dictate what goes into the state constitutions, this then cascades to the clubs. The process to elect the MA board effectively allows it to pick its own members regardless of what the states think. MWA in concert with several other states engaged a law firm that was experienced in this area to give us advice on the new constitution. We were given a list of points to dispute that were not in the interests of the members and were not required by any legislation. The constitution committee was over seen by staff from the Australian Sports Commission whose view of how the sport should be was decided by a bunch of people who have clearly not tried to run a sport and the ASC meeting chair refused to discuss any issue that did not suit them, so we are now required to vote on a constitution that four of the seven State bodies did not support through the negotiation stage. We now have the ASC threating to remove their recognition of MA and the State bodies which takes out significant funding and MA threatening to remove the insurance.
MWA has been actively engaged in the current review process and always acted in good faith. We responded to the working group on the 3rd December saying that we were not happy with the process then without as much as an acknowledgement of that communication we get the current communications storm.

The MWA board is meeting next week to consider how the interests of the WA motorcycling community can be best served and what choice we have in this matter.

Peter Campain

President Motorcycling WA

22

KTM / Re: Dark clouds hanging over Mattighofen

« on: December 15, 2024, 11:47:39 pm »

You see the memes and stickers all over the place stating loud pipes save lives. I think most are by HD owners though there is a bit of truth in it as other road users need all the help they can get to know someone else is close by. Many EV makers have the fake  sound tracks so pedestrians can look up from there phone for 2 seconds and not step out blindly and deafly. There are a few other downsides to electrics even if we dont start the taboo green discussion.

Brake wear is harsher as the bikes are heavier. If as most models there is no engine braking so backing off results in a roll on till braked. Traction is another issue as the torque is always present and a wheel slip isnt as easy controlled unless it has modern programming. Range anxiety isnt only felt by riders but by the machines as once you reach  the set point say 25% charge the bike goes into safe mode resulting in limp mode and 40KPH isnt what one wants on a busy roadway. Im sure more modern systems will attend to these oversights though the silence isnt golden.

We have a few Electrics on trial at work and there are lots of issues with them mainly ergonomic reliability and increased routine maintenance issues when compared to the existing bikes. The only thing the electrics have over the Honda is no fuel bills and better suspension. As said by many I dont think Electrics are there just yet though you would think by now they would be a lot better if they can get better.

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KTM / Re: Dark clouds hanging over Mattighofen

« on: December 08, 2024, 04:46:03 pm »

For reasons none of us could fathom last year one of the crew turned up for a ride on a brand spanking 1800 Boooolivarde. I asked if 1800 was the number to call for RACQ when it fell over.

 Kept up okay on easy roads but on the twisties he wanted to know why no one passed him, most said because there wasnt room as his knees stuck out too far and i said i liked the pretty sparks it made. Sold it 3 months later after the second rear tyre, perhaps changing his name in chats to KFC helped a bit.
 Reminded me of a time in the 70s when a mate bought his first bike and wanted to ride the forests with us and he had a shiney new Motosport. Didnt look very new after 5 hours chasing 2 strokes on wet clay forest trails and up steep skinny boulder and fallen tree strewn mountain goat tracks. It didnt need to carry extra fuel so not all bad though it did stink like an old BBQ.

I dont understand priorities for some. My son isnt interested in any of my  bikes at all though wanted my old yamaha powered celica cause it looked cool though didnt want it when i said he could have it unless i changed it to an auto. I bought him an Iphone instead.

No secret the motorcycle is the two wheeled tobacco of the modern age as the government would like to ban them though the taxes fines insurances licensing and registrations are too tasty to pass by so covertly they remove opportunities and increase costs to use them, a win win for the authorities and they fulfill electoral promises on safety policing the greenhouse effect and whatever else they want to crunch numbers for.

Its not all bad with a few good new bikes on offer however you do need to search as most dont afford an advertising budget. What we wont see in the future are bikes built for riders but controlled products. Asia wont give up its scooters though they will all be Electric more so than they are now, China has millions of them already. The mainstream bikes will be generic shared technology full of rider non switchable limited trackable assist sensors with brand specific shades of spokey dokes and hand grip streamers much like cars are now.

 Money will still buy you specialty vehicles capable of long distance all terrain for those with a spare $100G+ though motorsport will be gone as everything is the same and performance modifications illegal. Harley wont be selling bikes but will still sell you a jacket jeans badges helmets toaster ovens and a soy mocha latte though the trademarked potato potato sound will be partnered with instore Mcdonalds kiosks for a final sale of would you like fries with that? Many component manufacturers like Mahle have already diversified away from the traditional products as they seen it coming years ago. Bikes as we know them will be in history museums beside steam engines.

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KTM / Re: Dark clouds hanging over Mattighofen

« on: December 06, 2024, 09:27:19 pm »

Indeed a sad state of affairs. Brands building bikes not for ability but for the lowest common denominator and thats style. A quick peruse through the for sales and the words "Turns heads" appears far to often for my liking. Am not nor ever been into poser bikes which brings me to the Muscle bikes. Triumph Rocket 3 Ducati Diavel and the BMW 1800. Absolutely useless for anything other than grabbing the paper and milk on a Sunday morning and turning heads after a soy almond latte mocha. Why one needs so many CC to do that .. I can see a dozen girls in a line all holding their little finger up whatever that means.

Brands have always pandered to a bit of bling, bathtub Triumph was an early one and then the Japanese trail bikes with chrome bits though they were sort of fit for purpose and now we have stupid bikes like Virago and anything called or looks like a Vulcan or bobber. The American chopper with Ape hangers and sissy bars im sure were designed to make a bike as unrideable as possible and billions believed they were cool though I do more than smile at the Japanese Bouzouki as that surely has to be a piss take at the USA macho empire.

One of the things I liked was riding with the mates on a Saturday. Friday afternoon it was service and maintenance for a hopeful early start in the forest for a full days ride with grubby smiles all round except on the faces of the girlfriends. Girls just didnt ride bikes then or rarely and if they did it was an SL100 and that was never going to work . Granted many girls now are great riders 2 I road ride with on occasion who dont receive nor give any favors from the crew in language or politeness. Marg VFR800 and her daughter Sarah Aprilia RSV Mille though they are a rare breed and use the bikes to the full.

It seems brands have taken note that women have started buying bikes and designed products for them and any new rider who wants to Turns heads and thats business. Demand then supply. The issue is core buyers have less product that is function over form. Now its got to look cool then lets see how it works and take credit.

"Move your ass" didnt go over well when an Ex wanted to learn how to ride but we know anything else is driving. Just checked out the big 4s websites and noted the obvious absence of off road products and thats where we gained the basic skills of moving your weight and feeling the brakes to get the bike where you want it. Had to show her a video of the  monkey on a sidecar before it clicked what had to happen.
The evolving world and who has expendable income and what they want has always and will always be the design of the commercial motorcycle even if it makes SFA sense to riders who dont need Traction control or ABS as it pays the bills and thanks to do gooder political groups its law.
 
As a result we have inexperienced riders relying on electronic aids to do the hard work and increasing insurance bills .... Sounds like MOTO GP where the bike receives map changes via GPS for every corner and the rider steers it and some times brakes. Took the big goose to work today. 2 cyl 2 Valve 1200 and It thumped and tempted me  for a sickie via the range where all the worries of the world vanish. The hills can wait till the morning and I can be sure there will be nothing that turns heads other than a great corner as the coffee shops are all within 5K of the dealers on the coast as Ducati retro scramblers  Indian FTR  have a tank not much larger than a Victa. Indeed a sad state of affairs but they look cool. To some.

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KTM / Re: Dark clouds hanging over Mattighofen

« on: November 30, 2024, 03:25:47 pm »

I was surprised to see the BMW1800 airhead and Suzuki announcing a 2025 Hyabusa though blind freddie and his dog could see the Chinese pit bike plague being replaced with soon to be landfill battery things. Its going to get worse before it gets better.

A fickle time indeed and the motor industry in general is being pushed from all angles. Electric bikes are not being picked up as fast as interested parties would like, its as if they were not designed by a rider as we all know why we choose to ride and what we enjoy about it and a heavy battery and unsprung motor in hub isnt it, even if you like heavy everyone knows you buy a Harley for the potato potato sound. Europe is pushing back against the Euro regulations as they find the regulations unattainable and I agree. For any alternate power source to be successful it needs the golden square, infrastructure  range affordability versatility and electricity is nowhere even close.

Every market is different, the USA love their big cars big trucks and big cruisers. Asia and Europe are into scooters and small bore with the humble Honda Cub  the most sold bike in history, pity they are now made from poo. The rest of the world is eclectic and buy whatever . Simply visiting your local array of dealers reveals a distinct move away from fun bikes and trail, MX due i surmise from the removal of riding locations. Large Tourers are rare Sports Tourers are rare with the bulk of offerings being fashion statements like Bobbers and retro cool hideous creations but thats what new riders buy till they learn how awful they are and give up riding or buy a Sports bike. Sports bike demand is driven by MotoGP win on Sunday buy on Monday so when that changes is when the regional Rossi look for another thrill. Used Sports bikes change hands faster than a mobile phone in a middle eastern bazaar. The area with most growth is in Adventure varients in particular soft roaders as they provide capability comfort usability and a monecum of offroad ability. Moto Guzzi V100 and Stelvio Yamaha Tracer Suzuki V Strom Kawasaki Versys Triumph Tiger with the well heeled opting for BMW along with the obligatory branded helmet jacket and whatever else the logo fits on.

So where are we headed and which style and brands of bike do we get? My riding career is on the run home where I spend more time fettling and polishing than I do leisure riding though I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to be part of the boom time and I wont be troubled by having to choose which letters of the Alphabet AC DC or HO and until then my 10 year old 1200 Italian tractor will provide when not vying for shed space with the queens. Harley wont survive another cash crisis and its barely getting by environmental laws, the v rod didnt make it. BSA wont last as it was late to the retro party. When India grows Enfield will be absorbed by Hero. Honda is still trading on its history and relies on yuppie sales, a risky strategy heading for a big loss. Suzuki are always reserved  with only a glimpse of brilliance and they will survive but need another GT750 or a katana or a Busa and not a RE5. Yamaha innovate and are good at diversifying so they will survive. Kawasaki i think will be swallowed unless it can open a new market on its own. Triumph had to own Moto2 so if that goes the board is off to the Caribbean for fruity cocktails. Piaggio will dump a few more brands like Aprilia and Moto Guzzi will have its swan song. Ducati like Triumph are reliant on the continuation of motorsport. The smaller and boutique brands will be pressured out and i doubt Ural will even know nor care what everyone else does.

 What i would like to see is a return to injected force fed 2 stroke ICE technology where great inroads have been made ,match that with alternate fuels and construction materials and its a winner. Im still at a loss at why engineers insist on wasting all the generated engine heat energy to the air when it could be recycled and used for electrical boosting similar to a KERS.   As for which bike we get I hope its not a Bobber..

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KTM / Re: Dark clouds hanging over Mattighofen

« on: November 29, 2024, 06:44:58 pm »

Whats a Cagiva?

Has happened to a lot of bike companies and luckily for Polaris the Snow machine people, they did a quick back peddle and canned their great Victory brand when they bought out the ailing Indian brand name. The last 20 years seen a rise in the cruiser market and with every glut comes a fall and all the Japanese brands had a cruiser brand, not so many now.

The many British marques squandered their market and discounted the Japanese rise all to late. the Spanish guys lasted a bit longer though many great Euro marques like DKW dissolved. Diversifying your portfolio is a double edged sword as all the firearms come motorcycle brands CZ Husqvarna and BSA reflect.

KTM had a massive growth spurt and for a brief moment were on top of the world though with brittle bones a collapse was inevitable. Rather than concentrate all your products on the one genre "sport" a long term strategy over many styles is a proven formula. Piaggio bought most of the Italian brands and stopped feeding what it couldnt sell to the Chinese.

 Japan is no longer the home for many brands as even with a diversified range and a solid foundation that is not advertised and glorified in scooters and commuters that sell 5 :1 against large bores they know that off shore assembly in China and Thailand was the only way to stay afloat. Harley are riding the razor blade distancing the brand just enough from the newly created electric brand as they arnt confident, the failed Indian made small bore street models and the ignorance of the traditional  core market which kept them breathing through the AMF years. Without  government back up they world be history.

The next to have a nap I feel will be the resurrected Triumph brand as its core is heritage models and its ever changing but still the same sports models. The release of the TF MX bikes was giving the market what it didnt need, a bike that Yamaha and KTM already had. Its like spreading your legs and saying "Kick me , kick me good."

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General Discussion / Re: Beautiful Girls in your town - Authentic Damsels

« on: September 27, 2024, 10:11:50 pm »

you can get a blue pill to extend a rod   

 I think old mate has been stretching his rod the old fashioned way. Brute strength.

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Tech Talk / Re: Twostroke VM jetting, just want to think out loud.

« on: August 27, 2024, 08:18:08 pm »

The venerable VM Mikuni has been the answer for many problems for years but I guess someone said that about the Amal whose technology the Mik was licenced from. Carburation is a painful process as its always a compromise  of where do you want to win the most without losing too much elsewhere. Sometimes its as if you need a needle shaped like Marilyn Monroe and thats where Dell Orto are great as they almost do.

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Tech Talk / Re: Yam DT1 front brake cam improvement?

« on: August 13, 2024, 11:37:09 am »

Yam brakes usually work quite well and not uncommon to find them on early Suzuki as they do fit the fork lug.  Likely nothing you dont already know but guess its the basics with inspecting the hub for roundness grooving glazing and take appropriate action. Not getting decent brakes from a slightly worn shoe is a sign the hub is out of spec. As you can see with a single pivot only one end moves unlike TLS so making sure everything is within spec so you get the most contact with the hub that may need relining. I hear metal spraying them is the way to go. Changing or packing the cam will only give you a different feel as the shoes still travel the same distance and path. One other thing to look at is some bikes have different length shoes in the same hub so check installation is correct. Best of luck with them.

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General Discussion / Re: Welcome back. Log in issues.

« on: August 11, 2024, 01:38:11 pm »

I figured our illustrious Admin was having a holiday and the easiest way to secure a website is deny and reject all log ins so you dont come back to a huge mess.