Comments on: Modern dirt bikes? https://www.chinonthetank.com/2015/12/modern-dirt-bikes/ Home Sun, 06 Dec 2015 05:42:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.6 By: Mike Ashleigh https://www.chinonthetank.com/2015/12/modern-dirt-bikes/comment-page-1/#comment-526586 Sun, 06 Dec 2015 05:42:13 +0000 http://www.chinonthetank.com/?p=14523#comment-526586 Ok, so the takeaway is that vintage motocross gear is totally sweet. I agree. I couldnt make heads or tails of any of the performance points that you were speaking on, but about maintenance:

The first dirtbike that comes to mind that would fall into your modern category (Not designed in the 80s or 90s, not all out race bike, fuel injected, 4 stroke) is the WR250. I just looked up the service interval for the valves on that machine and its 26,000 miles. Thats just to check em out, you might have to adjust them with a $2 shim. That probably more miles than 99% of the old enduros have even racked up in the last 40 years.

What this service interval doesn’t really account for is hard riding and if you ride hard or in more difficult conditions, you will have to service things more frequently. This is true for all bikes. Oil changes will be more frequent on 2 strokes generally.

Pistons and rings on 2 strokes need replacement sometimes and will run you around $100. Timing depends on the bike, how you ride and maintain it, but some offer a figure of about 20 hours before you need a top end. Keep the air filter clean, and use good 2 stoke oil at the proper mixture and your cylinder should fare well.

Power delivery can be a matter of choice when you exclude racing from the conversation, so pick what suits your needs there.

When it comes to suspensions, the 80s were a critical time for swingarms, with the introduction of the monoshock. Twin shock bikes and some of the earlier non-linkage monoshock bikes are kinda limited to lower travel, but the real important change to rear suspension is when linkages were added. Its a rising rate linkage, so you get the benefits of plush suspension for the stuff on the trail and you can also land big jumps and not bottom out. The only other thing that advanced as far as rear suspension goes is adjustable damping which happened in the 80s too for the most part.

Beyond that, yeah, it seems like dirtbikes have pretty much only gotten lighter and stiffer and the plastics got more aggro and ridiculous.

]]> By: mattp https://www.chinonthetank.com/2015/12/modern-dirt-bikes/comment-page-1/#comment-526552 Sat, 05 Dec 2015 20:53:44 +0000 http://www.chinonthetank.com/?p=14523#comment-526552 someone may have posted this vid before, but if not it’s awesome and relevant and makes me want to ride https://vimeo.com/147902689

]]> By: Ed https://www.chinonthetank.com/2015/12/modern-dirt-bikes/comment-page-1/#comment-526266 Thu, 03 Dec 2015 12:34:18 +0000 http://www.chinonthetank.com/?p=14523#comment-526266 @chritian
Sorry man I def can’t accurately answer your question. I would say a 2 stroke requires less maintenance overall. Just keep it nice and oily and not lean.

]]> By: Christian https://www.chinonthetank.com/2015/12/modern-dirt-bikes/comment-page-1/#comment-526126 Wed, 02 Dec 2015 16:00:43 +0000 http://www.chinonthetank.com/?p=14523#comment-526126 Very cool pictures in this article. Particularly the Datsun 4×4 one.

Assuming the old shitty dirt bike is in tip top condition mechanically. How often is basic maintenance needed compared to a modern dirt bike? Is it the same?

4 strokes need that regular Val e maintenance every 4K miles or so. Not sure if that applies to the old school dirt bikes also.

As far as the 2 strokes, how many miles or hours can you reliably place on the engine before it starts to tire out?

Just curious because I too feel that an older dirt bike may be worth the investment.

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