Madhatter wants a dirt bike….

[BaldKnob]

You should be fine with that jetting... I have a 162 main in my 520 EXC (@sea level) and have had it close to 6,000' with no throttle issues. Massive torque off the bottom hides some power loss. If you plan to ride the Rockies then swap in a 155 and, maybe, lower the needle a clip or two.

 

[Madhatter]

thanks for the info , sounds like im going to do 162 main . there is a plan to ride Moab this fall , their altitude is 4k range , should be about perfect there. the kit includes 2 needles , one for warm weather and one for cooler , being in texas means the leaner needle for warm weather ( 60 degrees or better ) the clip in the 4 position. can not hardly wait to see how this works on the bike. if weather holds out ( will be 75 this weekend in central texas , sorry all you going through the polar vortex ) plan on the install Saturday.

 

[Madhatter]

my friend and forum member carrot is going to help me jet the honda today , he is a mechanic so he will keep me out of trouble .

 

[carrot]

So today madhatter shows up at my place and I finally get to see the new Honda very nice dirt bike. He asks me to do a ride before we rejet the carb took around six tries before the bike actually tried to stay running so I hop on and the bike stalls right away drive about 1/4 mile bike stalls again as I'm turning around know I'm thinking wow this really sucks I even notice vibes in the bars while riding.
So we rejeted the carb and the bike starts instantly so I hop on again and it felt like a completely different machine no more stalling no more bar vibes and a lot more fun to ride . So everything worked out as planned and hopefully madhatter can come back down next weekend to put it through the test.

 

[Madhatter]

it was just as carrot said …. I did not ride it, in fact did not even bring gear ….. and carrot did most of the work so it was his to ride . after his first run after the re-jet I asked him how did it work, he mostly grinned. that is a great start.

 

[carrot]

Found a couple more pics

 

[Madhatter]

madhatter on the right...

 

[Madhatter]

to re-jet the honda the JD Jetting kit comes with five mains and two needles , the chart shows the altitudes and what works best ( most of you already know this stuff , but for those not familiar with the honda ) removing seat and gas tank to get to top of carb is easy enough. its all the hose that are in the way that slows it down . and if you notice in photo the sub frame is all jacked uo in the air , honda said to do that. put in the new needle from JD , red dot warm temp , this is Texas . then it was time for the mains . I chose to install the 162 main jet , it is rated for a higher elevation than central Texas, more for the Moab trip in the future. as the stock needle was a 145 the 162 seems to work just fine , for now. I might re-jet with the recommended jet ,165 at some point , or could do the 170 main they sent ( and with airbox mods , JD says it will run more like the 450R . more than I need I think ) could not have finished this today in my driveway as I have no garage or shop . so Carrot got the job done , I think we both learned something today ( EFI ) is great . this carb thing will work , it has for 100 + years .

 

[Madhatter]

so now that the bike is running like a bike should run ( some more tweeking may happen ) it is time to start riding and learning and hopefully have some fun... more post in the near future .

 

[Madhatter]

so I do a cold day test (38 degrees here today ) to see how the new jetting responds. well it started and ran it seems easier than the stock jetting did on a warm day , but it was not very happy sucking in that 38 degree air.... later this week I will check its starting and running at temps the jetting likes (60+) and will check and see if its still a happy bike.

 

[Madhatter]

yesterday it was 65, bike started first button , about a minute on choke ( the manual says to run on choke not more than 15 seconds or so , it takes a bit longer ) but it acted like it wants to run with the new jetting , and there is more fine tuning of the carb to do if I am so inclined . so with the bike as jetted it likes the warmer air and that's just as the jetting chart said.

 

[eemsreno]

My son a friend and I got in some great riding at Monster Mountain MX track over the weekend.

My boy and Matt trying out my bike behind him.

 

[Madhatter]

awesome pictures.... the first time at the track with my new honda had a 8 year old roost me..... good thing im not prideful … heck there was a 16 year old young woman as fast as any of the guys riding , faster than most actually . enjoyed watching her ride .

 

[Madhatter]

riding tomorrow , report will follow.... it will be my 2nd time to ride the honda.

 

[ballisticexchris]

Riding tip: Pretend you don't have a seat, ride standing. Squeeze the bike with your legs and steer with your knees (push in the direction you want to go).

 

[Madhatter]

excellent idea I will do that . after riding the tenere for all these years the honda sitting position seems weird . and I have a tendency to sit on the back of seat making the front end light and prone to wash out . so adapting to a new riding position and style will take some time (need to ride it a lot ) Carrot has lots of time on DB and he will coach me today . also wearing my new boots and that also will take some getting used to.

 

[Madhatter]

so had a great time at Carrots place with the X , Carrot is a natural riding the X , I have no skill at all.... but I cooked great steaks over the camp fire .

 

[Butterthebean]

Have you ever been up to hidden falls adventure park? I don't think it's very far from you. I'd like to go up there at some point myself. Still haven't bought a dirt bike but they rent them there so I might just get one of theirs and have at it.

 

[Madhatter]

I have been to hidden falls , rode my neighbors yamaha 450 ( mx bike ) that I named the "stall king" and it was kick start only . the bike was so bad I could not really relax enough to learn or enjoy where I was riding . I do plan to go there in a few months if and when I feel more comfortable on the X... the neighbor goes to one of the tracks in the area almost every sunday , he pays the 25 to 30 fee , and only stays 2 or 3 hours . not worth the time for me , so I will go , to any track , and my plans are to enjoy the whole day for my money. hidden falls has a great mix of 1 to 4 diamond trails , im a 1 diamond rider at the moment . the trails at spokes at Lockhart are 1's , murphys at redrock area are 1,s and they are close to me . having a friend like carrot that has a place to ride is even better , his place is 1's and 2's and I think we can find a couple of 3,s should we need the challenge. so mention to my neighbor that he could come to carrots sometime and ride but we would be there most of the day did not seem to interest him at all …. to bad.

 

[Madhatter]

there is another place to trail ride ive been told near jarrell but not sure the name or exact location , because the person telling me could not remember either. I will find out. so here is a list of bikes you might consider Butterthebean, DRZ400 , DR650 ,XR650 , CRF450L any of the KTM EXC bikes , all are street legal dualsports . the japeneses bikes being less expensive and more reliable , and if you want an off road only then anything that's not a MX bike will work , all of the makes have competition enduro's to consider . now if your going to do MX then get an MX.