A long overdue update to the My Motorbike Obsessions Garage.

Well this is embarrassing. After a nice string of shop projects with semi-regular posting intervals, I went and took an inadvertent 9 month break in posting. After three school terms, I took a quick trip to Japan and a bunch of trips to Tampa to look for a house which resulted in a very long break from posting. I haven't been completely absent from the shop. While my writing regularity has sucked, I still get out into the shop and knocked out quite a few shop projects. Here is a quick, picture free summary.

Back in January I was working on putting the CRF450R back together and getting it setup for flat track racing once again. Back then I had found an MX track not too far from me that also had an oval tucked away in the corner or the property that I wanted to use for practice. Flat tracking is such a specific skill set that before I try racing once again I want to run a few hundred laps under my steel show to remind myself that I still know how to do it. I visited the track and talked to the track manager. He told me that they DID have an oval track right up until the day before my visit. Not enough people used it to make it worthwhile and they could use the clay to help make a Supercross style track. As disappointing as that was to hear, I decided to pivot in another direction and get the CRF back into dirt bike trim.

There were three main issues with the bike that make it not ideal for flat track. My flat track wheels are 19" front and rear in 3 and 3.5" widths. While the 19" is ok for the rear, the 3.5" width is too big for dirt tires. I could have found some tires that fit and just chucked them on the bike, but something I've always wanted to do was to get a third wheel set for dirt specific use. Eventually I found what I needed on eBay. I got a new OEM front tire/wheel combo that had an older, but unused tire and an aftermarket rear rim with a OEM hub. I picked up a tube and tire from the local Cycle Gear and after fitting them up, the bike looked like a dirt bike once again.

The next main issue was the exhaust. The flat track bike used an underbelly header and muffler system that wouldn't last one lap on the local MX track. I once again scoured the internet trying to find the most budget friendly solution and came up with an Amazon header matched to an FMF muffler. This wasn't a bolt on project as the header and muffler weren't designed for each other. I got creative with a pipe expander and my belt sander and made it all work. I had to make a bracket and use some extra hardware from my parts stash, but it all came out pretty nicely. I debated keeping the old Rocket Exhaust, but my bank account told me that I didn't need one bike with two exhaust systems. I ended up selling the old exhaust on MX Locker which helped to take some sting out of the project. 

The last main issue is the suspension. This one will take the most work and I haven't done much more than acquire the parts. My bike has been lowered and stiffened up since the flat track racing I did was more like road racing than motocross. This suspension setup works great for flat track and even supermoto, but if I take it off any steep jumps I'm likely to shatter my spleen. I found a set of front and rear springs easily enough on eBay once again. The hard part is the lowering. Both the forks and the shock have been modified internally to bring the bike down a few inches. Before I swap the springs, which are a good bit softer than I have on the bike now, I'd have to basically rebuild the forks and shock. For the time being I'll keep them as is and just take it easy if I decide to learn how to ride off road style. If/when I do feel like jumping the bike in a serious way, I'll rebuild them then. 

I accomplished this work in January and February 2023. I also did some other maintenance work on both of the bikes in the shop over the spring and summer. During all of this I moved house for hopefully the last time and set up my new shop garage. There is an MX track here in Tampa that I could ride with the new wheel/tire combo. There is also a kart track that does supermoto. I have the flat track wheels/tires on the bike and am prepping it for the asphalt. I have to race prep the bike and have almost finished by the time of this post. With the new house I have plenty of home improvement projects that take my time, but since I'm no longer going to Tech School I have more time available. I got a new part time job at a well known national motorcycle gear shop and plan to use that to push My Motorbike Obsessions to even greater heights than before! 

Great things are coming and hopefully one of those things is more consistent blogging. Take it easy my friends. Ride safe and have fun!

Mat