Hello from Goodyear Az

Hello.

Matthendurocat wrote:Hello.

Hello and welcome Matt

Tell us about your BRP!

Its an 07, uncorked, Sahara tank, 15 45 gearing, glass headlight lense with 55w h3 bulb, a speedometer from a 70s era yamaha something, I run kenda 270s. I have about 8400 miles on it. I have never had any problems with it. I change the oil every 1000 miles. I know some people change their oil every 200 but I refuse to pull over every few hours and change my oil. Also I dont ride that hard and I am regretably on pavement most of the time. I think my engine works way less per mile because of my gearing too. I would like to put a turbo city rack on it and also one of those tank braces Hodaka guy makes but other than that Im happy with it and just want to ride it. I like to go on weekend trips that require riding all day and finding a place to camp at the last minute. I sleep on the ground next to my bike, wake up and ride the rest of the day and end up at home mid afternoon in pain.

Glad to have you!

Hey Matt:

Good to see another AZ dude.

What type of comfortable, prolonged highway speed do you get with your 15x45 gearing?

My '02 is geared 14x45, and it's still fine in the nasty stuff, but open highway is another story. She cruises along at 65MPH-70MPH fine, but after that, it feels like engine abuse.

Did you lose significant dirt grunt with the gearing?

TIA

Dave

I really can't putt around on my bike, I think I have to be moving at 10 or 15 mph or I am lugging it. I cant do any slow technical stuff. But it is fine with me becaus I dont usualy ride really slow sort of single track or anything. Maybe thats why I have never boiled the coolant in my bike or seen or smelled any sign of it getting hot, I keep moving. Sometimes I do wish I had lower gearing though. On the free way 65-70 is just purring along, 50-55 is lugging it. I dont think you can abuse the engines on these bikes by holding high rpms, mabey I'm wrong, I hope not because I hold mine at the rev limiter for long periods of time when I am on a long clear stretch of road. I tuck down low and pretend I am on an ultralight low flighing aircraft. I think my bike does somewhere between 105 and 110 toped out. I hold it wide open for several minutes at a time and then after I get to another open stretch I open it up again. I always thought that these things were desighned to do that. Dont they just hold these things wide open in the baja 1000? I have heard that these engines are way over built and diehard tough as long as you keep oil in them and I am banking on it! I know some people actualy put different rev limiters on their bikes so they can rev higher. I have alot of faith in Japanese engineers though and dont see much reason to fool with what they already did the math on. I think a stock engine should last forever. Anyway Ive been thinking of bringing my 14 tooth sprocket with me on some future rides, it only takes 10 or 15 min to change it out. But I dont want to carry my 24in. cresent wrench with me, I need to find a light weight alternitive. Do you carry tools ever? What do you take for the rear axle nut?

Matthendurocat wrote:I really can't putt around on my bike, I think I have to be moving at 10 or 15 mph or I am lugging it. I cant do any slow technical stuff. But it is fine with me becaus I dont usualy ride really slow sort of single track or anything. Maybe thats why I have never boiled the coolant in my bike or seen or smelled any sign of it getting hot, I keep moving. Sometimes I do wish I had lower gearing though. On the free way 65-70 is just purring along, 50-55 is lugging it. I dont think you can abuse the engines on these bikes by holding high rpms, mabey I'm wrong, I hope not because I hold mine at the rev limiter for long periods of time when I am on a long clear stretch of road. I tuck down low and pretend I am on an ultralight low flighing aircraft. I think my bike does somewhere between 105 and 110 toped out. I hold it wide open for several minutes at a time and then after I get to another open stretch I open it up again. I always thought that these things were desighned to do that. Dont they just hold these things wide open in the baja 1000? I have heard that these engines are way over built and diehard tough as long as you keep oil in them and I am banking on it! I know some people actualy put different rev limiters on their bikes so they can rev higher. I have alot of faith in Japanese engineers though and dont see much reason to fool with what they already did the math on. I think a stock engine should last forever. Anyway Ive been thinking of bringing my 14 tooth sprocket with me on some future rides, it only takes 10 or 15 min to change it out. But I dont want to carry my 24in. cresent wrench with me, I need to find a light weight alternitive. Do you carry tools ever? What do you take for the rear axle nut?

Matt:

Thanks for the input.

I'm getting this sneaking feeling that 14x45 might be the way to go for me. I'd shit if the pig started bogging down under 15MPH. I guess I'll pick my highways carefully, or change the CS for known, long azzz, higher speed slab rides (or buy a Ulysses for that chit).

I do believe the pigs were designed for the long, open terrain races, but I have a hard time comparing that to dual sport use. If I'm racing WOT (or just pounding the bike), I'm expecting to replace parts, rather quickly. If I'm doing Tucson to San Diego on I-10 and I-8 at 75-80MPH for 6 hours straight, where does that leave the engine? Beats me, but it's probably not good.

I still carry a massive spanner wrench, but you might check out this place: http://www.sopgear.com/new_page_4.htm

I believe Bump posted that link a while back.

Dave

I'm running 15/47 on my pig, which works well in most situations. I can cruise at 55-65 'comfortably'. There were a few moments 'rock climbing' in Moab where I would have liked lower gearing and occasionally on single track in the woods, but otherwise the combo works well (especially dirt roads where it spins up the rear at will ).

Regards oil changes, I average about 3-500 miles or about four one day rides, whichever comes first. If I'm stretching it (like Baja) I run a high end (Motul) synthetic, otherwise it's Mobil 1 or a lower grade Motul synthetic.

Waiting (no rush mind you) for Sept/Oct weather when the riding's cooler and the bikes running nice and 'crisp'.

What else is available out there in a titanium or other combination tool (wrench/iron) besides Sopgear?

Johnny Rocco wrote:I'm running 15/47 on my pig, which works well in most situations. I can cruise at 55-65 'comfortably'. There were a few moments 'rock climbing' in Moab where I would have liked lower gearing and occasionally on single track in the woods, but otherwise the combo works well (especially dirt roads where it spins up the rear at will ).

Regards oil changes, I average about 3-500 miles or about four one day rides, whichever comes first. If I'm stretching it (like Baja) I run a high end (Motul) synthetic, otherwise it's Mobil 1 or a lower grade Motul synthetic.

Waiting (no rush mind you) for Sept/Oct weather when the riding's cooler and the bikes running nice and 'crisp'.

What else is available out there in a titanium or other combination tool (wrench/iron) besides Sopgear?

JR:

It sounds like we are running similar final drive ratios - 14x45 vs. 15x47. It seems you have a bit more freeway comfort, and you are still getting it done in the slower stuff. Very cool.

Just for fun, check out this gearing site: http://www.gearingcommander.com/ Fun, fun, for a little while. I started getting a headache after 40 minutes.

Out here in the desert, my pigs always run the best in the heat, although I run much better during September through April!

Hopefully someone pipes in with more titanium or other combo tool links. My massive spanner is almost part of the family, at this point. When the statute of limitations expires, I'll discuss what I've used it for.

Dave

Do you have a picture? I pictures a half circle with a little notch on the end to grab into a nook on whatever was being turned, I googled it and there are tons of different looking Spanner wrenches out there. Some look like a big spark plug wrench, the kind you use a screwdriver to turn. I saw a thing on instructables about making a spanner wrench out of pvc. that sounds like a weight saver to me. I think you just heat up the right size piece of pipe and force it over the nut, but Im not sure. I was thinking of trying to find a nice 27 mm craftsman open end wrench at a pawn shop ( if craftsman actualy makes one) and maybe take a grinder to one side of it and turn it into a wrench/iron. Or i could just widdle one from a stick I find on the side of the road if I ever need one.

Did you use the same case saver when you went to a 15 tooth front? I did because it looked like it fit, then when I just installed new chain and sprockets I noticed that the chain had been hitting the metal on the lower portion of it. Now I think it has been beaten into the right shape by the chain so I still have not changed it. -Matt

Matthendurocat wrote:Do you have a picture? I pictures a half circle with a little notch on the end to grab into a nook on whatever was being turned, I googled it and there are tons of different looking Spanner wrenches out there. Some look like a big spark plug wrench, the kind you use a screwdriver to turn. I saw a thing on instructables about making a spanner wrench out of pvc. that sounds like a weight saver to me. I think you just heat up the right size piece of pipe and force it over the nut, but Im not sure. I was thinking of trying to find a nice 27 mm craftsman open end wrench at a pawn shop ( if craftsman actualy makes one) and maybe take a grinder to one side of it and turn it into a wrench/iron. Or i could just widdle one from a stick I find on the side of the road if I ever need one.

Matt:

Sorry. I'll translate to U.S english: Crescent wrench.

Dave

Thanks, now I understand. Where do they call a cresent a "spanner"? -Matt

Matthendurocat wrote:Thanks, now I understand. Where do they call a cresent a "spanner"? -Matt

Matt:

I picked up the term from reading posts from our UK and Aussie friends. I say crescent, they say spanner. After a dozen exchanges, I just started saying spanner. My bad. Crescent, crescent, crescent!

Dave

I always though offshore folks used the term "spanner" interchangeably with our term "wrench". So they'd say Crescent Spanner or "adjustable spanner" instead of our Crescent Wrench. More confusing to me is that we have a "Spanner Wrench" which is that hook looking wrench, like this but there are is a lot of variety here: http://www.drillspot.com/products/64916/Proto_C495_Adjustable_Pin_Spanner_Wrench
Which suggests to me there used to be a "Spanner" that wrenches turned. Unless we (USA) co-opted the term from somewhere else (more likely) and the term "Spanner" refers to the gap in the wrench the fits over a fastener or adjusts like a Crescent wrench.

Wicki seems to concur on the terminology: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrench
And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adjustable_spanner

Can you tell I have a degree in English Lit? Geez, why does this stuff interest me ...

Dave P wrote:

Matthendurocat wrote:Thanks, now I understand. Where do they call a Cresent a "spanner"? -Matt

Matt:

I picked up the term from reading posts from our UK and Aussie friends. I say crescent, they say spanner. After a dozen exchanges, I just started saying spanner. My bad. Crescent, crescent, crescent!

Dave