Motocross Mania

Welcome to part three of getting a Motocross bike ready for racing. More hints and tips to help on what I hope is that successful day.

·         Take your exhaust apart and check the packing. Replace if required. A lot of people don’t realise that a correctly packed exhaust can make a huge amount of difference to the output from a bike. Back pressure from the exhaust ensures the engine runs correctly. An exhaust is not just there to cut the noise down. Bikes put out less power without one. Without proper packing they sound throaty and exciting, but you are losing valuable power.

·         Check the forks are set correctly for your weight. Refer to your manufacturer’s documentation for settings. Forks that are not set correctly will often leave you up in the air and no wheels on the ground.

·         Check the fork oil and top up as necessary. I the seals are leaking you need to get them changed as soon as possible. Whenever your forks are not working correctly you are losing valuable seconds.

·         Get your bikes engine set up by a professional. Trying to adjust the carburettor without the proper tools is like trying to guess the lottery numbers.

·         Brakes are important. The harder you can brake the faster you can go into a corner. Check the brakes are moving correctly, if not take them out clean them and apply the thinnest smear of copper grease to the pins, backs etc. But NOT the pad material. Don’t be tempted to use any old grease. The high temperature that brakes run at mean the grease will melt and end up on the pad material and you will suffer reduced braking as a result. Also ensure the brakes are not binding. You can lose valuable power if the brakes are constantly on.

·         Lift your bike off the ground an turn the wheels, do they turn smoothly? Or do they sound a bit rough or stick. If so get those bearings out and check them. You might get away with just cleaning and greasing, but if not replace them.

·         Check your handlebar grips. It is important that you are able to grip the bars. You can get grips in all sorts of compounds from hard to soft and downright sticky. So experiment with them until you find the ones that suit you most.

I hope you have enjoyed the third and final part on getting a Motocross bike ready for racing. Please check back as I plan to do some more articles focusing on how to get you ready for a race and starting a series on how to ride a Motocross bike.