More dirt for the Cub.

At the end of my previous post, I had a modified, but untested dirt Cub. I didn't waste any time to get out and try my "improvements". I planned the mechanical work to coincide with several work and life events which allowed me to get everything buttoned up and loaded for my first trip to the dirt on a very beautiful Japanese spring morning. Since that day I made a second trip, an aborted attempt at a third trip and even a fourth day out riding around. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves and go over what happened the first couple of times shall we!

One of the greatest strengths, for many reasons, to like the Cub is its overall small size and light weight. My wife and I did a lot of research on possible vehicles to look for when thinking of purchasing a family car. My plan was to use a bike to commute while she got a car of appropriate size for family transport duties. We found a nice Honda mini-van that gave us everything we need for the family AND gave me some space to transport a bike to the track. The Honda Stepwgn (that is how its spelled...) has been good for us, with the exception of a bunch of used car things that have eaten away at our wallet. Loading and packing the car is a breeze with the Cub. I take out the youngest kid's car seat, flip the rear seats forward and take some of the family junk out of the rear. All in all I can load up the bike in less than 30 minutes. For bigger bikes, I have to remove one of the split rear bench seats. That adds another 20 minutes or so to the process, but it is not overly complicated. 

An hour's drive was all it took to get to the spot. The day was bright and beautiful as it was one of those early spring days that promise what the weather will soon become. I wasn't the only one to think that a day out riding a dirt bike was a good idea. The place was pretty packed. I didn't get there until about 9:40 am and got the last parking spot that was easily accessible by the trusty family mobile. The air was filled with the sound of 2 and 4-stroke bikes starting up and running around at speed. I have missed this sound. It sounded just like the old Milestone MX park where I started my flat track career. It didn't take me long to get unloaded and suited up in my combination of dirt gear and repurposed street gear to be off and exploring!

The place I found is unique in this part of Japan. It is called Saru-ga-Shima (猿ヶ島). It is an area that is part of a flood plain for one of the bigger river systems in my part of Kanagawa prefecture. The river systems here in Japan are just like many others around the world that have been used for flood control duties. In this area, the flood plain for the river is very wide. Being a flood plain it is un-developable. I did a quick measure using Google maps and found it could be around 100 acres. Here in Japan these flood plain areas are used as outdoor recreation areas. Field sports, river BBQs, fishing etc. are all a big part of these locations. This one is thickly overgrown which makes it perfect for dirt bike riding. There are enduro type trails, a couple of impromptu motocross course, 4WD type trails and lots of little groves of trees that make for great trials bike riding spots. It is unattended and there are no facilities. With as many rules, regulations, signs and peer pressure to behave certain ways, this is a very free and open place to ride and is the only place like this anywhere near Tokyo and its suburbs.

For my first day out, I didn't do much to the bike. From my last post, the only thing I did to get it ready was to remove the front fender. I kept the leg shield and added a bag of tools. After that first day I added a new exhaust system and stripped the bike down to its bare essentials. I maybe went a bit too far and had to bring my track stand with me. I have since pulled the weight reduction back a bit so that the bike is easy to use and light weight. I still don't have the center stand in place. It is a big chunk of weight and it was the lowest point of the bike. I was constantly banging it on rocks and roots. The noise was annoying and worrying. 

This is what it looks like in its final dirt bike form. I mentioned the high pipe. It is an Amazon special and was $75 shipped. It mounted up pretty easily, but being an Amazon find there was some persuasion involved. It took a bit to get my right leg used to knocking the pipe, but the heat shield works well. Between the pipe and the taller, heavier dirt tires, the Cub's acceleration is much slower than it was. It wasn't great to being with. From the factory these 50cc engines had maybe 4.5 HP at the crank. I get maybe 2 HP at the wheel. The taller tires have stretched out second gear however. I can comfortably cruise at 40 kph in second where I used to need to go to third. I don't know the final dirt riding weight, but I can pick up either end of the bike without really trying and I have even been able to do pivot turns with my poor technique thanks to the light weight. 

My second time out I got there much earlier and rode for 90 minutes before running into a group of guys riding modified Cubs. These guys were there for the first time and when they saw me racing around they were stoked. We got to talking and came to find out that they were from the same town I live in. There were 8 or 9 of them and they came in a mini van with the bikes loaded onto one of the guys large flat bed truck. The had even more make-shift gear than I did made up mostly of street gear and denim jeans. Their Cubs were great. They had modified suspension and taller rear shocks . I really like the look of the cut down leg shields. They give the bikes that classic Hunter Cub look. I have been considering this mod. The telescoping front forks are a huge change to the leading pivot style link forks I have. I have maybe 3 inches of wheel travel and have used 100% of that (and more) smashing through the bushes. It was great to run into another group of guys as enamored with the Cub as I am.

My third attempt at riding was laughable. I got out even earlier and showed up to an almost empty area with the promise of a great riding day. As soon as I unloaded the bike I realized I had forgotten the key to the bike. I contemplated doing a hot wire job, but just decided to call it a lesson learned. This last weekend I went back for redemption and had a great ride. This time I rode for about three hours. I did a bunch of enduro type trails and was doing my best to test the structural integrity of the bottom of my engine case. I need some ground clearance and extra suspension travel. Things are looking up here. I have been vaccinated thanks to my job and our pandemic rules have relaxed some. Maybe I'll be able to figure out how to get the Cub more ready to tackle the dirt or maybe I'll juts ride the crap out of it. If you can get out and ride, please do. Spring is coming for us Northern Hemisphere folks and it promises to be a nice one. Stay safe!

Mat