Articles - Tech Talks

In this month’s tech talk, we are going to go over bonding the rings onto a Mikuni TM40 carburetor for use on the Suzuki DR650. We sell these rings in the DR650 conversion kit, and have received a few questions on the process of attaching them to the carb.

The kit we sell includes two rings: the larger for the airbox side and the smaller for the cylinder side. We use a good 2-part epoxy (such as Devcon Home 2-ton Epoxy) to bond the rings. Following these instructions will allow for many miles of smiles.

We all know that riding a motorcycle can be risky. However, there are many things we can do to make our riding safer.

Being fatigued can cause us to become less aware of our surroundings and cause us to make mistakes in controlling our motorcycles. So first, don’t over-ride. If you’re feeling tired, take a break and stop riding for a while to recharge. Sometimes, you may not even know that you’re tired. If you have been riding for a long period of time, take some time to stop, relax, and get some refreshments.

We often get asked by customers what size sprockets they should put on their bikes. The answer depends heavily on the type of riding you intend to do. Bike manufacturers typically choose a standard front and rear sprocket ratio that is good for “all around” riding, but depending on whether you ride primarily off-road or for long highway stretches, you may want to change that gearing.

Occasionally when we're riding and come off the throttle, we hear a loud popping. This is particularly noticeable if you've installed a new exhaust system or jet kit. In this month's tech talk, we'll explain what causes decel pop, whether it hurts your bike, and what you can do to reduce it.

We get a lot of questions from customers about how best to set up their suspensions. This can be a tough question to answer, because so many riders are looking for different results. Some riders are just street riding with very little off-road, others are full off-road, and others are somewhere in between. While we have lots of choices for forks and shocks to have your bike perform better for you, you should not forget about tuning the suspension, including setting the sag. An appropriate amount of sag allows the shock enough travel to perform well on compression and rebound.

Whenever you mount new tires (front or rear), it is very important that you properly balance the new setup. Because of parts like valve stems and because of manufacturing tolerances, your wheels & tires will not have their weight perfectly distributed. Taking the time to make sure your wheels & tires are correctly balanced will greatly improve tire performance, increase vehicle stability, and promote even tire wear, extending their life.

Your bike's handlebar is a key element for your safety and comfort while riding. OEMs generally include a simple, basic stock handlebar, but we can easily improve it to increase the level of control and reduce the amount of fatigue while on your dual-sport.

As riding season is upon us, many of us are getting ready by prepping our bikes. Among all of the basic items to attend to – new oil, fresh gas, and other details – we want to highlight four services that get overlooked.

Switching to Summer Air

The easiest things to correct are often the most overlooked. Switching to summer air in your tires provides you with quicker warm-up and improve tire life. Plus, it’s easy to do! Just let out the old winter air and pump in new summer air. Always check and monitor your tire pressure with a quality digital tire gauge.

Our customers often ask us about the difference between chain lubes and chain waxes. Both products perform the same function of reducing wear on your drivetrain, but the most important difference between the two is how and when you apply each.

It doesn’t matter how much power your bike has, how great the brakes are, or even how awesome the suspension is, if your tires can’t transmit those forces to the ground, it’s useless. We explain tire basics in two parts: selection and sizing.