FXS Facts

Archive for August, 2009

A clean bike will function better than a dirty one and is a pleasure to work on. Before you start any bike maintenance you have to clean your bike, that doesn’t mean a bit of wipe with a cloth, you have to clean it properly and there are a few things you need to do the job, you might have to buy some equipment, but most of it can be found around the house, try under the sink, but don’t let your wife/mother catch you.

First what equipment do you need

• A bike workstand or handy tree/washing line to hang your bike on.
• Old rear hub or old axle or stick.
• Degreaser or diesel fuel (careful diesel is not good for your hands).
• Hot water.
• Washing up liquid.
• 2 buckets (1 with soapy and 1 with clean water).
• Paint brush.
• Old water bottle.
• Bottlebrush.
• Soft scrubbing brush.
• 2 sponges.
• Cloths.
• Oil.
• And for that extra shinny finish, spray polish.

The most important thing to remember when you are cleaning your bike is to keep your eyes open and look for anything that may need fixing later, this is how a mechanic on a professional team does it, but he might have 10 bikes to look after, so it’s a lot easier with only one.

Motocross bikes get a beating at the best of times, whether you bother to use the clutch or not when changing gear is beside the point, your gearbox gets a hammering too. Replacing gearbox oil on your bike is an central part of motocross maintenance.

The easiest way to keep your gearbox fresh is to keep the gearbox oil topped up to the right level and in prime condition eg: replace it on a frequent basis. Consistently completing this part of motocross maintenance will keep all the gearbox components in prime condition so it won’t just function correctly, but it will last longer too.

Each bike is a little different, so it’s always good to read your manual. Most two strokes these days are using lightweight gear oil; something thicker tends to hamper the function of the clutch. Four strokes tend to use a multipurpose oil which is used for both the gearbox and engine, so this is even more important to keep up, as the mechanical life of your bike is banking on you keeping up with your motocross maintenance!

I see a lot of people suggesting to change the gearbox oil every 2-5 rides, which really means nothing, after all, some of us are doing 3 hour endurance events, while others are doing 10 minute motocross races!