Motocross Mania

Jimmy Lewis
Dirt Rider Editor

Fill your hydration system half full with water and freeze it, then add water to it just before a ride. It will stay cold and as the ice melts you’ll have more cold water during the ride.

Photo Gallery: Cool Tricks: Hydration – Dirt Rider Magazine

Ramone Palladini
Simi Valley, CA

I’m a flooring contractor, so I have a lot of carpet samples lying around. Each sample is big enough to stand on, and has finished edges so it won’t unravel. I keep a couple of them in the truck for riders in our group to stand on while changing into riding gear. It keeps you from burning or freezing your toes and dirtying your socks. You should be able to pick one up cheap at a home supply store. Or check with carpet outlets. They may have discontinued styles they no longer need.

Photo Gallery: Island To Stand On – Dirt Rider Magazine

John Brasch
Kawasaki Technical Services

Changing a tire with a foam insert instead of a tube can be very tough on the finish of your bike’s rims. The common practice is to fasten multiple locking pliers to the rim edge to hold the bead of the tire down. Many modern bikes have colored rims with an easily damageable finish. I wrap the jaws in duct tape to protect the rim finish. You will be able to see when the teeth of the jaws start to come through the tape. That means it’s time to replace the tape.

Photo Gallery: Soft Jaws – Dirt Rider Magazine

Want to keep those fingers from freezing on a frigid ride? Wrap electrical tape or plumbing insulation tape on your aluminum clutch and front brake levers. Not only will this keep the extreme cold of the exposed levers from transferring to your fingers, but if you wrap the tape in strips you should be able to get a little extra grip on the lever, which is especially helpful on snowy rides. And if you find yourself needing some tape for a trailside Jimmy-Rig, it’s right at your fingertips!

Photo Gallery: Anti-Freeze Fingers – Dirt Rider Magazine

Photo Gallery: Anti-Freeze Fingers – Dirt Rider Magazine

Current dirt bike engines are truly mechanical marvels that offer extremely high-end performance to every dirt rider. These engines push the limits of performance and weight with complex castings and assemblies that require careful adherence to all factory torque values. Nowhere is this truer than with the four-stroke top end and valvetrain. Actually, the necessity for using a torque wrench existed when we all rode two-strokes, but most garage hacks simply trusted in the “calibration” of their elbow. It’s extremely easy to warp reed blocks and cylinder heads, and it’s even possible to warp a cylinder base when correct torque values and procedures are not used. In aerospace applications torque wrenches are calibrated virtually before every use; and if a wrench breaks or otherwise loses calibration, every fastener touched by that wrench must be done over, and those do-overs can run into the millions of dollars! The price tag for ignoring torque values on a dirt bike aren’t of the same magnitude but can be very expensive. There are quite a few choices for torque wrenches today, so we’re describing the various options available and providing some simple care tips that will keep your wrench working as it should.

Photo Gallery: Using And Caring For A Torque Wrench – Dirt Rider Magazine