Monster Motorcycle Videos to Check out.

A buddy hooked me up with the Fuel TV, "The Great Ride Open" on Hulu.com. These online TV shows are a bunch of X games riders who get together and hit some of the best and biggest Sand Dunes in the west. The group brings a big caravan of 3-4 motor homes, semis, bikes, helicopters and all the extras to really have a good time. The crew did get a chance to head to Little Sahara in Southern Utah. Which is way cool, as I have been there hundreds of times. Watching them at the Dunes in Southern Utah makes me really want to load up and go for some winter fun riding.

These guys know how to find the monster big jumps in the dunes. It's fun to see these guys out in the wild country hitting the jumps vs. just in a stadium hitting the same jump over and over. If you can ride out in the Sand Dunes and deal with everything the various terrain throws at you then you have my respect. These guys are not without fear, or fault, they are just like all the rest of us, they can crash and they can have close calls.

Beginner tips for Motocross Track riding.

This picture is of me doing a bit of warm up on the medium level track. I am trying to put the bike into a corner and make it stick. In the back ground you can see the pay station and class room at the Jordan River Motocross Track.

So now for a few beginner tips for Motocross Track riding. I was riding with some track pros yesterday. I learned a few things about the track I did not know, the first time I went out I was clueless but careful, now I know how to be careful and not so clueless.

Riding in Track Traffic. I am and was scared to death of the "Big Boys" on the track, I want to ride my own pace and let them go, I don't want to be in the way and I don't want anyone to get hurt. So how do you let someone pass you so that it's safe and you "Get out of the Way" It's different than you would first think. The first reaction is slow down move over, get outta the way and let em go buy.

This is not correct, it is almost correct, but the true answer is. "Hold your position" you can slow a bit if you want, but stay in your line. If you are running right smack in the middle of the track at medium speed, and two racer come up on your. They have a plan, you don't. You are in the middle, they will pass you on each side, or both on the left, or right. They are making the pass and the play happen. They are skilled and going faster than you. so stay in the middle and ride in control, then hold on as they wiz by. It's that easy. If you get outta the way, by going right or left, they may smack into you and run you over, they have the plan and appreciate you being predictable.

Jumping Jimminie, I had some fun today.

I skipped out of work for the last half of the day, or the afternoon, if I was trying to make sense. A group of my new best friends convinced me to hit the Jordan River Parkway Motocross Track in North Salt Lake again. SWEET JUMPING MULLET BATMAN I had fun. I am now very comfortable with the weight, power and feel of the WR-450F. Yamaha has done what they needed to getting the power up and weight down as much as possible for a big 4 stroke engine with a head light, tail light, battery, and electric start. I know this is a 2006 Yamaha and the 2008 WR-450s are probably even better but this is what I have and I do like it.

Well anyway, I got some serious fun riding time in. I was able to warm up on the medium track and take about 5 laps all by myself. Then when all the other jumpers showed up we played on the small track for a few laps, then we hit the big track big time. On the first lap I was getting a feel for things and trying to remember which jump was safe to case the up hill side if I didn't make the double and which one I needed to be careful of. Then I got to the very last big jump. I was confident I remember it from last time, I wrapped it up in 3rd maybe 4th and I was off, man I was flying, this was a big jump for me. Yippee, then, um, well, um, double flat tire landing on the uphill side, I missed clearing the monster double by about one bike length. I came down on the bike hard. I stayed on my wheels, which is good. But my face and helmet went into the handle bars with a thump. Ding Dong, Ring goes the bell in my head. So like every proud dork who just about crashed I rode over to my new best friends and said, "Did you see that?" Yup they all did, wow. As I collected myself my left ankle started to hurt a bit. Don't know maybe it will hurt in the morning.

This picture is me on the famous jump that eat my helmet. I lived to jump it again, and again. I like it, I think I need more. This pictures is on one of my more conservative attempts. I love Motorcycle, and love trail riding, camping getting dirt and the sand. The Track is new to me. I had a motto for a lot of years. If I don't jump I don't get hurt. This motto goes out the window when you hit the track. 1.7 miles of tight turns and 10+ jumps. These are also big jumps, not little sand dune bumps with a nice soft sandy landing if you crash.

Here are a few more Dunes Riding and Jumping Pictures.

Here are three more note worthy pictures of me jumping and zipping around on the Dunes. I am not a huge Jumper but I was sure having fun.


I am not sure what to say about the jumping stance and technique. I guess I am doing OK, the Bike is under me, I am still holding on the ahndle bars, I think my feet are still on the pegs, and the bike is up in the front a bit. This is all very good compared to being off the seat, flying W style, with the bike doing a major run away from me move. Don't get me wrong what I just described would be very cool if I am intending to do it. But I am not an X games jumper, I really need to stay on the bike and keep it under me.

Holy Expensive Oil Batman, and now it's all burned up.

Here is my best picture of a nice Sand Dune Jump, Here I get the WR in the air about 3 feet at the rear tire. I was jumping and traveling about 20 feet and hitting the jump at the top end of the speed revs in 3rd gear. The sand was soft and the landing was pretty good, a bit flat but it was also a small table top, build naturally by the sand and wind.

So my big fancy oil change I made in my WR450F last week, well I burned it all up at the Sand Dunes, I rode 180 kilometers, which turns into 120 American miles. This was equal to about 10 hours on my buddies hour meter on his YZ250F. We spent 4 days out at the Jericho Dunes and really burned it up. We rode and rode and rode and jumped and jumped and jumped. I started to really get a feel for the 450's power and weight. It definitely feels heaver than the YZ250F counterpart. I have not compared it to a YZ450F, but I am thinking the YZ450 must feel a lot lighter without the electric start, battery, and lights, and super hard seat. Oh ya did I mention the seat on the WR450 is way too hard for my soft and squishy bottom. I am still sore and it's been 4 days since I got off the bike and went back to captaining a office chair at work. AT least complaining about being sore and tired is better than complaining about not being able to go for a ride at all.

Holy Expensive Oil Change Batman!!

WOW, I just changed the oil on the WR-450F for the first time last weekend. I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days. First off it only take 1 quart of oil and the filters are small, so whats the big deal. Good Hell Batman a single quart of Oil is $10.06, yup 10 dollars and six cents. Lets think about that for a minute, I know oil was over 120 a barrel, now its 79 bucks a Barrel. People cried, our economy died, the Great second depression is setting in. Oh my!

So from Wikipedia I see that:
The standard barrel of crude oil or other petroleum product (abbreviated bbl) is 42 US gallons (34.972 Imperial gallons or 158.987 L). This measurement originated in the early Pennsylvania oil fields, and permitted both British and American merchants to refer to the same unit, based on the old English wine measure, the tierce.

4 quarts in a gallon, 42 gallons in a Barrel, 4 * 42 = 168 quarts.

So at 79 dollars a barrel the cost of the oil is, $79.00/ 168 = .47 cents per quart bought as light sweet Texas Crude.

Holy Hell Batman, the Oil I just bought to a Local Motorcycle Store is:
168 quarts at $10.06 so that is 168 * 10.06 = $1690.08 Dollars per Barrel.

HOLY SHEEP DIP BATMAN, some one is getting the squeeze, and I now see it is me.

Now on to the filter, the filter is about the size of a half roll of half dollar coins and just as expensive. $11.99 for a Yamaha WR-450 oil filter, Genuine Yamaha Part Number 5D3-13440-00. Yikes, a Fram for the Jeep is 4 bucks at auto parts are us.

Wow now it's a good thing I only have to change the oil on this Yamaha every five hours and the filter every 10. Ten hours that is about 400 miles if I ride it hard at 40 miles per hour for 10 straight hours. Every other Car, Truck or Harley in the world runs thousands if not more miles on an oil change.

So I went with a semi blend of 50 percent oil and 50 percent fake oil, I was thinking this may help extend the life cycle of the oil and the transmission.

I also know about all the other Yabuts, Yabut if the motor blow, yabut it good protection, yabut.... I'm just saying this might get old and expensive.

Next up I will bitch about the Exhaust pipe placement and how it makes the oil change a lot more fun.

New WR450F video available.

Ok, so I was playing with my photo and Movie editor and with some simple footage I got of the first day I took the WR450F out to the Jordan River Race Track. I made a short video basically making fun of myself. I was able to make a bit of jump off the final double, but I was nothing compared to the 4 guys who could really jump it. The video shows the real jumpers then little old me coming by. Then the real jumpers then me messing around again. It's hard to see it but I was able to clear the initial small double once I leave the stopped position. This is the first day I ever roade this Bike and this track so I think I was able to do Ok, I am certainly not a pro track racer, but I had fun.



Well anyway be nice and happy riding, pop a wheelie for me.

My 2006 WR450F vs. Sand Mountain at the Jericho Sand Dunes.

So how did the new WR do against Sand Mountain at Little Sahara? Considering I did not put on a paddle tire I think it did really well. I was able to use all the power it had and climb the back side in 4th gear with the wheel spinning outta control. The bike stayed in the power and the RPMs on the rear wheel stayed high. I was certainly not winning any races, as I know that without a paddle a bike can't race.

Then when I headed to the front side, the monster hill, the steeper hill, the hill that needs big bore 2 stroke monster machines to tackle. I raced a KX250 and a Honda 600 4 stroke both with paddles. Umm well lets' just say I didn't make the top of the hill. I got caught in 2nd gear and it wouldn't shift up to third, when I finally got it in third I was going too slow and I quit the hill about 3/4ths of the way up.

I went back down and tried again this time I revved it to 4th really fast. I kept my speed and attacked the hill. I made it about 2/3rds of the way up and kicked it down to third, as it got steeper and steeper. I slowed to a funny fish walk speed of about 4 miles an hour. The grooves in the hill were tossing me all over the place, my legs were flapping around in the breeze behind me as I flailed like a fish to ascend to the peek of the Face of Sand Mountain. Ummm, well I am now sure I won't be doing that again. BUT I did make it.

The 2006 WR450 fancy odometer and speedometer questions

The 2006 WR450F has a cool odometer and trip meter with a clock and two displays. I just read this post about it on another site.

All new multifunction digital meter assembly. This compact meter features 2 modes. The first is the "basic" mode and features: speedometer, odometer, resettable dual trip meters, and a clock. The second is the "race" mode and it features speed, an automatic start timer, and the ability to edit the trip meters and an odometer.

The problem is I don't know how it works or how to change from one mode to the other. The thing stays in Kilometer per hour. I would really like it to be in Miles per Hour as Kilometers don't mean that much to me.

Any help with this would greatly appreciated.

To Paddle or not to Paddle? That is the question.

oK, sO I wAS a NoodlE and I didn't put on my paddle tire. The WR450F needed the paddle, I was not doing my new Yamaha true justice without the extra traction. I wish I would have had it to climb Sand Mountain. Oh yes I was only able to climb sand mountain once going really slow doing the silly fish foot wave. I was going really slow but I was at least in third gear with the revs way up high. So in the sand the wr450 has the Yamaha power to pull the hills and keep the revs up up high. If I had a paddle I am sure I could go way fast. I still am not sure if it will keep up with the 2 stroke big boys with paddle but it does go really well.

The rest of the weekend at the Little Sahara Sand dunes was an absolute blast. It rained and rained and rained, so the sand was wet and hard. This really helped the wr make some serious tracks. I was able to bring the front wheel up in first, second and third gear anytime I wanted to over bumps and whoops. I am not a big monster wheelie rider but you can't leave the front wheel on the ground all the time.

So to summarize the Wr450 is a great bike all around, with lots of power, on this trip the bike felt lighter in the handle bars, and easier to ride. I was not so fatigued and worried about falling off. I guess that is the difference between Track Riding and Trail/Dunes riding. The high reving 4 stroke was amazing with it's power and feel in the sand. I was impressed with the way the bike handled and how I was able to keep it under me on the sand. This trip the sand was really wet and hard packed so the conditions were not completely sandy and soft. I think I will go back again in 2 weeks and next time I will take the paddle, and the newly rebuilt CR500R. HOLD ON TIGHT!!

Time to change the rear tire to the paddle tire

I hate this more than anything else on the motorcycle maintenance schedule, swapping a tire for a new or different tire. Yuck, my knuckles are starting to bleed just thinking about it. But the Sand Dunes are not the same without a paddle, I want to tackle Sand Mountain and see if I can pull it in 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th gear. My Cr500 will climb it in 4th when it has a new engine top end. As it was running it will only pull it in third and that is with a dirt tire and not a paddle. Good thing I was forced to tear it down last weekend a get a new piston, rings, reeds, and gaskets.

Little Sahara Sand Dunes here we come.

We are headed to the Sand Dunes in Southern Utah this next weekend. I am debating putting the Paddle tire on the WR 450. I want two wheels, one that has a paddle and one that has a dirt tire on it. I guess I will have to find a wheel at a bone yard or find out what years are the same as the 2006. I don't really know if they have changed over the past years.

Well anyway in the sand dunes, should I paddle the WR450 or leave it stock. I am thinking add the paddle, If I add a paddle I can't ride the trails and will be limited to the sand. I am very curious how this bike compares to the CR500R I have been popping wheelies on at the sand dunes for the past 20+ years.

For more cool info about Jericho Little Sahara Sand Dunes check out this write up, and these links

Little Sahara Sand Dunes in Delta Utah

Jericho Sand Dunes in Southern Utah

Track Night, Tuesday at Jorday River Racway.

I am not a big race track motocross rider, but this new bike is changing that. I was talking to my neighbor and he wants to go to the Jordan River Parkway track in North Salt Lake city again on Tuesday night. I think I could get used to running out there a couple times a week and mastering the "Big" track. With a few(maybe 20+) more serious sessionS I may be able to even jump a double, or not case the triple. I am not the greatest Jumper on a Motocross bike, My motto is if I start jumping I start crashing, and crashing hurts.

I will check the swamp conditions during the week and report back on it. I can't figure out why the medium level track must be a mud bog swamp. Check out these pictures of the WR450F covered in mud. I had an easy time getting the goop off, but I was sad to see my brand new riding boots only stay clean for about 30 seconds.

WR 450 Oil Change, When and What?

I haven't changed the oil on my fancy new WR 450 Yamaha yet. It looked good so I just went for a ride. I have been researching the ever debated oil change issues. I read that with a brand new bike 35 miles is plenty for a break-in oil change. I guess I can agree with this, but the intervals seem really, really small for an oil change. A car goes 5,000 miles and my Dodge truck goes 10,000-15,000 miles. I guess the difference is the amount of oil in the tank.

Most people mentioned that after every 10 hours of "normal" riding It's a good time to change the oil. The recommendations are to get an hour meter which aren't expensive ($40), so then I guess you take the guess work out of how long/far you ride. I have the electronics on the bike, but I am not sure how it really works and if it has an hour meter.

Do I use Motul 5100 10W40, Amsoil 10w40 motorcycle oil, 10W40 normal oil, or mobile One 20w50 for the hot summer? I have been a fan of Pennzoil over the years, but I do like Amsoil. I am not sure what to get, or how to change it.

Another good maintenance tip is to clean the air filter often. I will agree that the most important things to these bikes is clean air and fresh oil.

Yamaha WR 450 First Ride Impressions. This 450 goes

I really liked Riding my new 200 Yamaha WR 450 Motorcycle. I put it to the test at the track putting 35 miles on it in various conditions. Mud, dust, dirt, rocks, silt, and jumps. I was a bit let down with the top heavy feeling of the WR 450. They still have not figured out how to get a bike that feels and rides like a 250 two stroke. I guess I am complaining about the weight I knew I was getting when I opted for an electric start WR 450 with lights, and a battery. The front felt heavy when I first got on the motorcycle and tried to put the front wheel hard into a corner. I felt the bike want to wash out and not turn for me. I was immediately let down. My previous Suzuki DR 350 was squirrely and I wanted to get away from that with this new bike. I can't blame the bike completely the front tire has the stock tire and is pretty worn out. I will investigate a new tire. As the day progressed and I got better and riding and understanding the feel of the bike I didn't notice the front end as much. The overall feel of the bike is a bit heavy, or I am well let's say I am not 20 years old anymore.

The Power was great, low end torque and thump, and higher immediate revs which jump up and make the machine go. I was very impressed with the grunt and zoom of the engine. It will lift the wheel in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I didn't spend a lot of time trying to wheelie, but the power is definitely available if you want it.

The Speedometer and trip odometer is cool, but I didn't really look at it much while riding. I was not in the habit of looking at my speed while dirt riding.

I went jumping at the Jordan River Parkway Motocross Track

So I was so revved up when I got this bike, I had to plan a trip to ride within the first few days. So I check the Yamaha WR450 over and loaded the trailer and off we went first thing Saturday morning to the Jordan River Parkway Motocross Track.

The Jordan River State Park in North Salt Lake City Utah is a multi purpose Motorcycle and ATV area. It has three motocross tracks, as well as a three mile grand prix course. The grand prix track as they describe it is like a woods trail, long narrow and rocky, dusty, and silty. The 3 mile loop winds around the northern area of the park. We had a good time riding this loop and had it all to our selves, which was nice.

The dirt is hard packed, rocky and also mixed with wood chips. They are trying to control the rocks and the dust. The three tracks vary in difficulty, size and layout. The beginner track is designed for little bikes and kids on small bikes. It was kinda fun to zip around on and zing over the bumps and small jumps. The medium level track would be lot of fun for a beginner and intermediate rider and ATVs. The problems we had were the sprinklers and the mud bogs. They we trying to water the track and keep the dust down but we creating an unsafe wet slimy bug bog on different parts of the track.. So the track was dust, then just right, then I fell on my head landing in a big slimy mud hole. this was very unfortunate because this put a big downer on our trip. I would have like to really ride this track and build up some speed and confidence on it, before hitting the "Advanced Track".

The advanced track is an attempt at making a full size Motocross Track. I have read a number of reviews and complaints about the track, but for a government track that only cost 10 bucks to ride all day, I thought it was ok. I am no track expert but I was challenged by it. It has a nice double to start out, a number of doubles where the launch ramp is smaller than the landing side so if you don't make it all the way over the top, you just land going up hill and over top then down the long landing ramp. The whoops are deep and tight, and really put my skills at holding on to the new WR450 to the test. The track also has a couple of nice table tops which I got pretty good at. The "Finish line" is a big tall double jump that you can really fly over. I got some good air on it but never really was able to fly with the young guys.

The place is open for daily riding, and if you want to buy a state park pass you can use it unlimited for 70 bucks a year.

http://stateparks.utah.gov/parks/jordan-river/

WR450F Pre Flight Oil Check

I am ready to roll the bike is on the trailer, my gear is mostly packed, look at race track here we come. I wanted to make a list of things to check and maintain on the new WR. I checked the oil, it looked clean and good. I heard that it's a good idea to change the oil after about 5 hours of riding, or after every other trip. This seems really extreme, but when It was explained to me it makes sense. The engine is tuned to run at high compression and high RPMs. This puts a lot of use on the oil, plus this is a Dirt Bike, meaning the condition for riding the bike are dirty dusty, and hot. So if the oil doesn't break down the chances of it getting contaminated are good. One other thing to realize is the bike has a very small oil tank and capacity. 1.3 quarts or less. So like I said the oil gets a lot of use in a short time.

So how do you check and change the oil? I did not know, so I had to do a search, I found that the oil level check dip stick is on the frame up by the gas tank. I am guessing that filling it to the top of the dip stick is the correct thing to do. That is how this bike is filled so I will assume that is correct.

What kind of oil and what weight oil should I use when changing it? I will find that out and update this post.

2006 Yamaha WR 450F, In the beginning

I just got a used Yamaha 2006 WR-450F 4 stoke, 2 wheel, racing desert machine. I am very excited to see the nice blue bike out in the garage. I have been riding Motorcycles for a long time and I traded, and sold two other machines,and then begged, borrowed, and stole, all I could to get into a new (to me) WR 450. I can't wait to take it out to the track and see what it will do. I am not a big track rider, I prefer the desert and the mountain trails, but the track is close and this bike should feel at home on a Motocross track. I am thinking I can get used to the power and feel of the machine very quickly. We are headed to the track this morning so wish me luck. I have ridden a lot of big bore 2 strokes, and so I know the true punch of a machine roaring to life. I think this bike offers some of the same power. Hopefully the power of this engine is smoother and easier to control and enjoy. This bike has also been modified to run better and use all the power. I know the air box restriction is gone. The throttle stop is removed, and the carburetor pollution pump has been changed. I am sure the gray wire has been cut but I didn't get a chance to check it yet to make sure. I have many things to learn about the bike so I guess the first thing I need to do is find a shop manual, figure our how to change the oil, check all the fluids, etc.