i was looking through my new feb. issue of dirt rider at a tech tips article. it was written by dick burleson. he says in tip #24 on pg. 74 that " if you have black spooge drooling off your pipe and muffler, you are running too much pre-mix". hold on there big guy. now, i have only been around bikes about a year, but i was under the impression that it was the exact opposite of what he suggested. doesn't more pre-mix mean less spooge? or am i reading his tip wrong? if not, shouldn't someone writing an article it the magazine know what he is talking about?
does dick burleson know his jetting?
- Thread starter Rydog
- Start date
Not if you expect to see dirt bike mags with more than 1 page every month. :)
Technical accuracy isn't exactly a hallmark of the dirt rags :|
Unfortunately having diety-like skills in the saddle doesn't necessarily mean you'll have them in the shop. If that were the case we'd probably be taking jetting advice from RC and James Stewart. :thumb:
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This is no bull. I called a certain legend. Lets call him "DB" so I do not get sued. He braces swingarms for the old Suzuki DR 350. I arrange for shipping to his shop. Two months go by. UPS finally returns my swingarm. untouched. He did not bother to mention he was testing for two weeks and no one was at his shop to receive parts. An honest mistake but I now knew this guy was an idiot. No doubt a good rider, but so was Ted Bundy.
Dick Burleson is an eight time national enduro champ. He has won numerous other events and received gold medals at the ISDE. In fact he is still active in motorcycles and is very fast offroad. :worship:
That said, he knows his jetting. You may be inturpiting(sp) it different than he is. :confused:
When someone gives those tips you have to understand that this is just their opinion and you know how that is, everbody has one. ;) Also certain tips may pertain more to one bike than another.
That's just like when the west coast mags state that the xyz bike is the best enduro bike they ever rode. I'm sitting here in the midwest wondering what they are talking about because the xyz bike wouldn't work worth a darn here. :eek:
That said, he knows his jetting. You may be inturpiting(sp) it different than he is. :confused:
When someone gives those tips you have to understand that this is just their opinion and you know how that is, everbody has one. ;) Also certain tips may pertain more to one bike than another.
That's just like when the west coast mags state that the xyz bike is the best enduro bike they ever rode. I'm sitting here in the midwest wondering what they are talking about because the xyz bike wouldn't work worth a darn here. :eek:
You both have good points.
I do have higher expectations from DB as he not only has been around bikes for so long at a professional level, as a factory rider and a consultant, but is a graduate mechanical engineer; clear, consice thoughts should be understandable in the written form. BTW, I have spoken to him a few times, and found him to be human just like any of us.
Re: the DR swingarm, I had bracing done - it didn't change things enough for me to feel a diff. (He could be doing the salesman thing.) A moderate change came along when I replaced the dog bones (Norm), then things dramatically improved with an RMX shock. E-mail me if you have any Qs - [email protected]
I sold mine after $$$ of mods; worked well but couldn't do much about the weight, which was the real problem (the frame wasn't all that bad - once I put USD forks and the RMX shock on I discovered *that* was the bulk of the problem). Shedding 15 lbs by going with a smoker fixed the weight problem and got on with racing.
So you want too be a hero? Just go ride as many hours, as most as most of us have combined! Then maybe you’ll have ground to criticize. DB is one of the founding father of our sport! I read that article and found it to be very helpful. As most of his publishing. It nice to see something other than how to do FX jumps. In the zines!
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I am not sure this is being critical of DB. No one knows exactly how his tips were edited. Look at the spelling errors in this months Dirt Bike for example.
But, if DB is going to protect his legend status, he should be a bit more critical how his written stuff is used.
But, if DB is going to protect his legend status, he should be a bit more critical how his written stuff is used.
Hmmm: musta hit a nerve there. Calm down now. I do admire DB.
Now, for my rebuttal: No, I honestly care not for the fame or label, nor do I contain a sliver of talent he does. He's no doubt a better engineer than I (besides graduating from a better school), is certainly a superior rider, and good enough to make a reasonable living in the sport - that in itself is a tremendous accomplishment worthy of "hero" status like the few others in this sport.
Lest those who read this misunderstand, I admire him greatly; so much where I follow exactly what he has said over the years, to the point three of my bike purchases were based on his favorable comments, and those of Larry Roeseler (sp?). One of those bikes I modified heavily like his, which explains how I came to speak with him the few time I did. And I passed up an opportunity to purchase one of his former machines.
I do have grounds to criticize because (this America, after all; moreover) I have done technical writing on a professional level in my career: proposals, specifications, and assessments, which go up the ladder and often well beyond my superiors at work. When reporting it had better be based on fact - if not it needs to be stated as such. It is incumbent upon the authors (let alone moral) to inform his audience and give them the information they need to make intelligent, prudent decision(s).
My point earlier was he is human like all of us and will err in judgment, one of which I have and always will object to, that being the reinforcing of the '90-'99 DR350 swing arm: is not as productive as one would believe.
Reinforcing the swing arm masks the real source of the problem, that being the shock linkage curve is not correctly mated or optimized to the stock shock (travel) in a proper fashion. And as such it causes the rear end to be loaded in a harsh portion of the travel at critical moments (whoop-de-dos). Revalving cannot fix this (been there, done that too). These phenomena can be solved by two methods: changing the ride-height position in the shock stroke with different-length dog bones or a longer travel shock. Both work to negate the linkage-induced oddities. I've approached this four different ways and the latter produced the most dramatic and conclusive results, albeit is the most costly.
Now back to the argument. What is published in the 'zines may be misconstrued as fact by a reader when it may very well not be, especially to the uninformed and inexperienced. Sadly - it shouldn't be this way - it is up to the intelligent consumer to determine the validity of the claims and propositions, which makes this place and the wealth of experience contained herein superior to all others sources. Real-life guys and gals with real-life exposure, not pampered editors with accolades rolling-off-the-tongue effortlessly for those distributors so inclined to equip at a whim. (DB, as an off-road editor seems less likely to fall in this manner.)
In closing let me state I too am saddened by the shift of the printed media towards the flash/showy-side of the sport (where the $ is), and getting far away from Joe Average; this began in the early '90s and continues to this day. On occasion I do read them, but there is little worthy to be gleaned.
Placelast, great post and observations. I did add Norms links to my DR 350. It really helped my DR. The bike was as good as it could be.
The "project bikes" the magazines do anymore are a joke. The $$$ are way up there.
Remember those articles dirt bike had, years ago, that would say...How to make your 87 beat the 91's??? Do you think we will ever see that again???
The "project bikes" the magazines do anymore are a joke. The $$$ are way up there.
Remember those articles dirt bike had, years ago, that would say...How to make your 87 beat the 91's??? Do you think we will ever see that again???
Cannon-Man: Norm's a good guy and honest; deserves the business.
Their "project" bikes aren't anymore, at least in the traditional sense. They mostly bolt high $ stuff on. It's like going fast on flat ground: anybody can do it (if they have the $ in this case, and most of us do not, but it does keep their advertisers happy to see that going on.) Genuine project bikes are done by guys right here on DRN where American ingenuity are put to practice.
