For all y'all fans of the DR.

I know it's not nice to laugh at someone's misfortune . . . . but damn.

Sierra1 said:

I know it's not nice to laugh at someone's misfortune . . . . but damn.

Click to expand...

Want a good laugh and yes it almost happened! I could not get my leg out of the chain so I was thinking about laying the bike over and taking my pants off in the middle of the road. when I let the bike roll a bit I could tell it was not winding up in the sprocket just pulling in behind it. So a nice as easy as possible coast to the bottom of the hill. Strange thing my YZ has no guard at all. Nothing covering the counter shaft sprocket and I don't ever remember getting my pants hung up on that. Guess I am going to have to stop wearing those britches like thughes 317 said! haha.

Well I got the carb out today and disassembled.
Got to love Ethanol fuel.
Got it all apart and put it in the ultrasonic cleaner along with Sea Foam. Got it all cleaned up and I had a 45 pilot and adjustable needle in the spare parts drawer. Runs like Seiko watch now.

Not a fan of ethanol, but old gas is old gas. My neighbor disagrees with me on STA-BIL being needed. He says just use premium fuel. I know that my wife's TW goes weeks without being started. Between the 'Tender, and STA-BIL, it starts every time the starter is pushed, and runs like a top. I also know that my FJ would runs rough for a while if it sat just two weeks. And that was without ethanol.

I’ll run ethanol gas even if it’s going to sit for up to two months but if it’s longer than that I’ll use the same premix that I use in my chainsaws. That way that gas is being refreshed also.

And the STA-BIL 360 prevents rust on metal tanks in addition to fighting the effects of ethanol.

After looking at the above picture I went and poured some stabil in my DR tank. I've been using the expensive nonethanol stuff and this last tank decided to try the cheaper 87 octane ethanol blend. Me being one guy with a few vehicles doesn't burn a lot of fuel through some of them. Stabil is very cheap insurance compared to the consequences in my world. I've found stuff runs better after it has sat with stabil in the fuel also, probably dissolves some of the buildup. Depending on the size of the stabil container I figure it adds anywhere from 8-14 cents per gallon.

The 360 stuff uses 1oz per 5 gallons. I have a 5gal can for the mower and the TW. Her TW get about 70mpg so it doesn't get filled very often. When I had gone back to work, I would put it in the Tenere's fuel tank at the pump, ride it home, and let it sit. After re-retiring, I don't use it since it doesn't sit for more than 2 weeks even in our "winter".

DamMechanic said:

Well I got the carb out today and disassembled. View attachment 103044
Got to love Ethanol fuel.
Got it all apart and put it in the ultrasonic cleaner along with Sea Foam. Got it all cleaned up and I had a 45 pilot and adjustable needle in the spare parts drawer. Runs like Seiko watch now.

Click to expand...

I wonder if that actually is a problem caused by ethanol, I’ve been using ethanol gas since it first came on the market about 40 years ago and it’s never caused me any trouble. For the Tenere I use premium which here in Wisconsin has no ethanol, on the rare occasion when premium isn’t available I use 87 octane which contains 10% ethanol.

Cycledude said:

I wonder if that actually is a problem caused by ethanol . . . .

Click to expand...

I was wondering if ethanol was why it was a greenish color. I remember it being a light brown color when I had to clean gummed up carbs.

I’m sure the green was the ethanol attacking the main jet and the small collar under it. They were both etched and pitted to the point that I couldn’t read the numbers on them.

Got to play on some of the KAT last weekend. The DR is great for that type of riding. The super t is great too but only on the easy stuff for me. Especially being i run alone 99 percent of the time

Sierra1 said:

Not a fan of ethanol, but old gas is old gas. My neighbor disagrees with me on STA-BIL being needed. He says just use premium fuel. I know that my wife's TW goes weeks without being started. Between the 'Tender, and STA-BIL, it starts every time the starter is pushed, and runs like a top. I also know that my FJ would runs rough for a while if it sat just two weeks. And that was without ethanol.

Click to expand...

I would disagree with your neighbor. My understanding is that most gasoline (except for specific blends in CA etc) is refined to ~85 octane. Ethanol is 106 octane and is added as an octane booster to gasoline to get the appropriate octane level. So if your attempt is to have the least amount of ethanol, 87 octane would have less ethanol than 93 octane gas. This is why the pump has a sign that says up to 10% ethanol.

Agree that if it's going to be sitting, STABIL should be added for cheap security.

There's a guy on youtube called project farm who runs tests on stuff. He did a 9 month age test on gas w/without ethanol and stabilizer. At that time period the stabilizer was not effective and etched aluminum pretty well. The nonethanol fuel had no effect.

I love watching Project Farm guy.

Has any one had issues with tubes lately? I know the Super Tenere is tubeless but I am sure a lot on here have bikes with tubes. I put heavy duty tubes in the DR just for the durability or at least piece of mind. After that I constantly had flat tires. I never found any punctures in the tire or even a real pinch that would cause a hole. the tubes looked like they had all kinds of voids in the thickness of the rubber. When the tire would get hot they would spread open and the tire would go down. I also found that when trying to patch those tubes it would be fine till a few heat cycles and the tube was coming apart under the patch. It looked like the top layer of rubber on the tube was separating and the patch would come loose. I have never seen anything like that. I just happened to run across some sort of information on the google net that said some new tubes can't be patched because they are so cheaply made. Not sure where I saw that and I don't know if that is true but I definitely wound up with some crap for a tube. I put the original tubes back in and have not had a flat since early last November. I better watch what I say I may walk out there and have a flat! haha. Just interested if any one has had something like that.

Knocks on wood... I haven't had any issues with the tubes on my 690. I generally run 15-20psi offroad with rim locks. I generally replace the rear at least once a season and the front every other season. Currently running Tusk HD 3mm thick tubes, I think.

I’m sure there are big differences in quality between different brands of tubes. The main reason I didn’t buy AFrica twin in 2018 when I bought new Tenere was because AFrica twin wasn’t available with tubeless tires. I definitely don’t like tubes in tires.

Was thinking about selling the DR. Haven't ridden it very much since I bought the ST middle last october. Took the Dr out the other day and think I'll keep it. Something about the simplicity and riding something that sounds like a lawnmower makes it fun. Appreciate the lighter weight, riding around town makes it a good gopher. ST is still king of the highway and long travel.

I really dont need a true 50/50 tire on my super T but i just put these on my DR this morning and rode down to mow grass at moms place. They are quiet smooth and feel good. They feel really tough and ready for big hits. I do off road on my DR so they may be nice. If they work out ok i may put some on my super T. I got a 100 dollar rebate on these things. Not sure how long that promotion will last but i am going to need tires soon for the big girl. Oh they are Bridgestone battlax 41