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This week I will learn whether or not I will have to take apart my YZ450 engine or not.  If so, it’ll be about $250 and a lot of time.  Otherwise, its going to be about $15 and five seconds to fix. 

I have been chasing a coolant leak for a little while now and it has turned out to be a multi-failure problem.  Coolant was leaking out of the weep hole on the waterpump cover area.  This is a good thing because it also tells you what’s wrong.  The waterpump side of the shaft seal is bad and needs to be replaced.  Its not a hard job, but just takes time.  Also, it makes sense to replace the oil side

Heh - the last article I posted was about motorcyclists and ball and stick sports.  This one is simply about motorcyclists and…well…their personal ball and stick.

Ugh.  Well, not really a problem for me since after my second daughter I became a charter member of the ‘broken arrow club’ (that would be a vasectomy).  See, the gun goes off still but nobody gets hurt…

I have heard of this before and have read a few articles linking the two.  I’m no doctor, but can all day vibration really be good for the nads? I would think that off-road riding would be much more severe on the junk than street riding. My sack is like a little punching bag and my YZ450 seat is Mike Tyson when

When entering traffic from an on-ramp, how many times should you turn your head and check traffic?

If you say “zero” or just use your mirrors, you’re a moron and will become a hood ornament soon enough.

Lately, I’ve been reading a book by Larry Grodsky called “Stayin’ Safe”. This book is a compilation of a bunch of the safety columns he wrote for Rider magazine. While Larry’s observations have been interesting and enlightening, I’m not a big fan of his writing style. But he does encourage you to ask questions instead of just accepting the current status quo of what the “safety experts” preach. How many fingers should you use on the front brake? Is there really a one-size-fits-all answer?

One of

The Rocky Mountains can get a lot of snow during these winter months, but eventually we get a mid-season dry spell. A couple times each winter, a high pressure system parks itself over Utah and we get sunny days, moderate temperatures and no snow for a week or so at a time. We finally got ours this past week. After snow almost every week for a month, the streets are dry a clear. Time to get back in the saddle and knock off some of the rust.

The only drawback to the dry spell is an inversion. This unpleasant phenomenon manifests as the gradual decline of air quality and temperature over a period of several days. The lack of storms (ie

I must be a rare find…

I am the only motorcycle rider aside from my dad (an avid footbal fan) who also enjoys ‘ball & stick’ sports. Seriously, I know no others - dirt or street. This weekend had me wondering why.

I went to the Phoenix Supercross on Saturday evening which was at the same time as the Phoenix Cardinals’ playoff game. I’m not kidding. The Phoenix Cardinals are in the Playoffs, AND THEY WON! They are one game away from the Superbowl. That’s like the odds of an American winning the MotoGP championship…oh wait.

What made me think of this was the fact that the stadium that hosted the Supercross had monitors in the hallways

As I have been considering my ATV options, I have one main decision to make - Chinese or Japanese manufacturer?  They both have their advantages and disadvantages.  For once, its not just about cost.

The Chinese versions have a huge advantage for cost and the reliability has improved somewhat where they seem to be pretty good now (as well as the part availability).  For what I am looking for, they are about $1100 new or say $600-800 new.  The big problem with the Chinese ATV’s is the suspension.  The systems are hugely over-sprung and under-damped.  This basically makes for a hardtail ride and a likely uncomfortable extended ride.  Resale is a bitch too with getting back about 50% or less.

The Japanese

I have been trying for several months now to get te entire family out on the desert trails.  This past Christmas break, I was finally able to do so.  In only AngryBob style, the only pics that were taken were done so with a phone camera…alas, once again no family photos.

At first, we were going to borrow a Polaris Ranger UTV for the two weeks from a friend who was travleing out of town.  Unfortunately, his plans changed and so (then) did ours.  Fortunately, the guy I ride the desert with also has quads, and a need to go skiing. 

His equipment on loan was a Yamaha Raptor 80 and a Yamaha Raptor 350.  An 80 you say???  It was perfect for