A photo of it's new stable mates, left to right, a 350, the 540 and a 550 in a 350 frame. There is also a CR500 in the stable!
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Judd and I had the opportunity to go ride on on about 4000 acres of a 24000 acre ranch leased by the Post Enduro Association. PEA puts on the Caprock Canyon Enduro every year and last year it was a National Enduro. We had a great time and rode the portion of the enduro loop that was on the 4000 acre "guest" side. It was a little dusty and was SUPER rough in places but we had a blast. Judd conquered everything we encountered and said it was the most fun he's had on a dirt bike. They have a few memberships open so we submitted an application to join.
The 450 is definitely an arm stretcher in the tight twisties, but I never felt like I needed more power. The Rekluse is fantastc. Just twist the throttle and go. Anywhere. Forks need a little less compression damping as they seemed to be pounding me a bit on the real choppy stuff and it barfed a fork seal. I am thinking of raising the rear sprocket a coupe of teeth because I was making the 1st-2nd shift a lot and I would like to be able to just stay in 2nd.
Life is short. Be a do'er and not a shoulda done'er.
1969 Galaxie 500 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...ild-it-s-alive
1998 Mustang GT https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...60-and-a-turbo
1983 Mustang GT 545/552/302/Turbo302/552 http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...485-bbr-s-83gt
1973 F-250 BBF Turbo Truck http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...uck-conversion
1986 Ford Ranger EFI 545/C6 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...tooth-and-nail
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Originally posted by SuperBuickGuy View PostI love my 450.... have you had your suspension tuned for you? My bike was nominally 'correct' for my size but getting it tuned made a huge difference....
I am 6-3 so I am going to pop a set of 30mm bar risers in it to make standing a little more comfy and I may buzz 1" off each end of the bars. They feel wide, 32" tip to tip.
Life is short. Be a do'er and not a shoulda done'er.
1969 Galaxie 500 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...ild-it-s-alive
1998 Mustang GT https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...60-and-a-turbo
1983 Mustang GT 545/552/302/Turbo302/552 http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...485-bbr-s-83gt
1973 F-250 BBF Turbo Truck http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...uck-conversion
1986 Ford Ranger EFI 545/C6 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...tooth-and-nail
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Sorry, but reading this thread got me reminiscing about my dirt bike days in the early 70's, so I have a story. I started on a Honda XR75 when I was 13. When I was 14, I got a 1-1/2 year old Monark 125 MX. We had 3 local unauthorized (trespassing) riding areas that were very popular for dirt bikes. I could get to any of them with only riding on the street for less than 1/2 mile. Street riding was illegal for a dirtbike with no street equipment, license, and a kid to young to get a drivers license. So that was the big challenge to get to the tracks. The rest of the route was railroad tracks, trails, freeway right of way, etc. One was an active gravel pit that we called "the pit". It was closest to home, but very risky for cops. Another was a level (except for the whoops) modified oval laid out on the freeway right of way that was known as the jap track. The other was vacant development land that had large steep hills, swamps, woods, creekbed, just about everything. It was called the European track. Then we had sporadic road trips to the far away official motocross tracks.
I rode with a bunch of local guys who were 2 - 4 years older than me and they were serious, and very fast. We studied the techniques of the pros, practiced them, and did all of their recommended exercises to build our strength and stamina, and all of the recommended mods to the bikes. I was always struggling to keep up with my older, more experienced friends. I figured I just wasn't very good. Till I met a guy at school who had an RM125 who rode with a group at a gravel pit a few mile away. We arranged a little race, I did recognisance on my bicycle, found a way to maneuver up there without too much street riding. We practiced for 1/2 hour so I could get familiar with the course, and I lapped them a at least few times. I was dumbfounded, I was so used to bringing up the rear. They all found excuses to go home and the race never happened.
I had several serious crashes, 2 with broken bones and one that landed me in the hospital with amnesia and a broken bone. It took a couple days for me to start getting some of my memory back, and years for it all to come back.
When I turned 16 I got my drivers license and a car, and never rode dirt bike again. I still have the Monark 125 MX. I actually started restoring it in 2020, but stalled for lack of parts and time.
Last edited by Hemi Joel; January 8, 2021, 03:16 PM.
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Monark of Sweden, as the name implies, was a Swedish company that built motorcycles among other things. They only imported 1100 bikes into the USA, so they weren't too well known in this country. There was a dealer for them in Minneapolis, so they were a little more common around here. They were very successful in the big European racing events of the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. The Monark MX was known for being light, powerful, and good handling. It had a chrome moly frame, Cerianni forks, Girling shocks, and a Sachs engine. The biggest issue with them was that they had a crappy six-speed transmission that was prone to missed shifts. You pretty much had to granny shift it, or take a chance of finding one of its many neutrals.Last edited by Hemi Joel; January 9, 2021, 08:22 PM.
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If you are interested, here is a cool interview about the early days of Monark coming to the US: https://siegecraftnw.com/Int-Wallenberg.htm
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Since we are flashing back, behold my Kawastratton. I about lost my mind when I saw the mag at the local book store. Couldn't believe it.
Life is short. Be a do'er and not a shoulda done'er.
1969 Galaxie 500 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...ild-it-s-alive
1998 Mustang GT https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...60-and-a-turbo
1983 Mustang GT 545/552/302/Turbo302/552 http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...485-bbr-s-83gt
1973 F-250 BBF Turbo Truck http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...uck-conversion
1986 Ford Ranger EFI 545/C6 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...tooth-and-nail
- Likes 2
Comment
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Judd and I did some work on Saturday. Judd replaced his head pipe o-rings and springs (and lost a bit of knuckle meat) and put some new brake pads on the rear.
I installed the 30mm bar risers, trimmed an inch off each side of the bars and replaced a leaking fork seal. It was my first time working on a KYB SSS fork. The twin tube internals are very interesting. I just need a bottle of fork oil and I can put it back together.
Life is short. Be a do'er and not a shoulda done'er.
1969 Galaxie 500 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...ild-it-s-alive
1998 Mustang GT https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...60-and-a-turbo
1983 Mustang GT 545/552/302/Turbo302/552 http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...485-bbr-s-83gt
1973 F-250 BBF Turbo Truck http://www.bangshift.com/forum/forum...uck-conversion
1986 Ford Ranger EFI 545/C6 https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/ba...tooth-and-nail
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Tim
Melbourne Australia
65 Hardtop Impala, 70 GTS Monaro, 93 "80" Landcruiser
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Love this thread.
Hemi Joel, The Minneapolis Motorcycle scene was so cool back in the 90s when I was developing my Ducati Race bike. My motor was built there and Dyno tuned etc.
Now I just do dirt stuff, here is a couple pics from our last ride in October in Michigan's UP.
My bike is the Husky, and I'm the dork in on the right
It was a little cold and slippery, fun just the same.
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