- Joined
- Dec 13, 2004
- Messages
- 255
- Location
- Kuna, Idaho
so i got a decent 1/2 day of backcountry skiing in yesterday (saturday) and spent the rest of the day sorting out the bike and checking things. today i hopped up, quick like a bunny, left the house at 7:50, and went in search of places that didn't have snow (i live at 6500', so all the decent riding is still snowed in). the nevada 200 trailride, put on by scot harden and casey folks, takes place near caliente and panaca, about 2 hrs south of me (and 2 hrs north of vegas), and it's a couple thousand feet lower, so that area seemed like a good spot to go play and explore. i'm still learning the trails down there, but i rode some of them last year, and this year i should be going along on the ride as a semi-official blm observer.
anyway, rocky singletrack, sandwashes, more rocky singletrack, more sandwashes, all kinds of fun. 80 miles worth of fun. the bike feels just like berger's 650 that made me really really want a 'berg except not as much motor, which is ok since i'm only 170 lbs at most. i put my fastway low pegs on, and i'll still need some bar risers, but i can sit down so much more on this bike (than on my ktm 2-strokes) that i won't die if it takes a couple weeks. the suspension, even brand new, really really impresses me. it's so much more stable and controlled and progressive than the ktm's i've ridden stock, and still plush in the rocks. i don't know why someone from ktm doesn't walk down the hall and see what valving specs berg is using. they could save alot of ktm owners the cost of a revalve. i think 4-stroke suspension is inherently smoother feeling because the bikes are so much heavier that it takes more of a bump to jolt you.
the motor is absolutely fabulous. i went to 2.5 turns on the fuel screw, and otherwise left the jetting just how it came out of the box. occasionally i got a little poppy rumble on decel (mostly just from higher rpm's), but that's not any different than my street bike sounds when you let off the throttle. it started easily with the choke when cold, and easily w/o the choke when warm. no stumble or bog anywhere, but i think i have a smooth throttle hand anyway. elevation was 4000-6000', temps in the 50-60 degree range. the e-start was a little reluctant in the morning, but the bike was still my garage temp, around 20 degrees at that point, and i don't think the battery was fully charged. i'm still going to install lineaweaver's jet kit, but honestly at this elevation the bike is perfectly rideable with the stock jetting. i imagine at sea level i might think differently.
so then i got home and set about checking the valves to make sure all is well. i searched and read and thought and looked for a bit. i contemplated posting a query, but i knew bigbob would make fun of me and i wasn't sure i was emotionally strong enough for that. i used the 'rotate the rear wheel and check the exhaust when intakes are closing and intakes when exhaust are opening' method and went to just about 1/6 turn, maybe ever so slightly less. i'm not super anal about that kind of stuff, as long as it's close, and it's so easy i'll probably do it more often than i would on an orange or green bike. i think i must have tried checking the exhaust when the decompressor was active, because it was not moving like the intakes, so i stopped trying to move it and moved the engine some more until it seemed more like the right place. big surpise, then the exhaust screws turned nice and easy. all the valves were pretty close when i started, between 1/4 and 1/6 turn, which kind of gave me some confidence that i at least had the engine in the right place. some time when it's not freezing i'll figure out where tdc really is perhaps.
anyway, now i'm going to replace the air filter, button it all back up, start it up long enough to warm it, and change the oil and filter and clean the screen and stuff and then i'll be ready for moab. i'm super-mega-stoked on the bike so far. i'd hate to try to single anyone out because i know i'll leave out a bunch of awesome folks that have been a huge help, but special thanks to berger for letting me ride his bike, and fryguy for riding alot, really fast, and putting a berg through enough to convince me that one would hold up to my riding schedule. and thanks to everyone at the moab ride last year who treated me like one of the gang even on my orange bike.
dang, that got wordy. sorry.
-mark
p.s. i'll keep folks informed about hosting a ride weekend in ely this summer. some ktmtalk guys came last year and were blown away by our riding and scenery, so maybe some berg folk can follow suit this year
anyway, rocky singletrack, sandwashes, more rocky singletrack, more sandwashes, all kinds of fun. 80 miles worth of fun. the bike feels just like berger's 650 that made me really really want a 'berg except not as much motor, which is ok since i'm only 170 lbs at most. i put my fastway low pegs on, and i'll still need some bar risers, but i can sit down so much more on this bike (than on my ktm 2-strokes) that i won't die if it takes a couple weeks. the suspension, even brand new, really really impresses me. it's so much more stable and controlled and progressive than the ktm's i've ridden stock, and still plush in the rocks. i don't know why someone from ktm doesn't walk down the hall and see what valving specs berg is using. they could save alot of ktm owners the cost of a revalve. i think 4-stroke suspension is inherently smoother feeling because the bikes are so much heavier that it takes more of a bump to jolt you.
the motor is absolutely fabulous. i went to 2.5 turns on the fuel screw, and otherwise left the jetting just how it came out of the box. occasionally i got a little poppy rumble on decel (mostly just from higher rpm's), but that's not any different than my street bike sounds when you let off the throttle. it started easily with the choke when cold, and easily w/o the choke when warm. no stumble or bog anywhere, but i think i have a smooth throttle hand anyway. elevation was 4000-6000', temps in the 50-60 degree range. the e-start was a little reluctant in the morning, but the bike was still my garage temp, around 20 degrees at that point, and i don't think the battery was fully charged. i'm still going to install lineaweaver's jet kit, but honestly at this elevation the bike is perfectly rideable with the stock jetting. i imagine at sea level i might think differently.
so then i got home and set about checking the valves to make sure all is well. i searched and read and thought and looked for a bit. i contemplated posting a query, but i knew bigbob would make fun of me and i wasn't sure i was emotionally strong enough for that. i used the 'rotate the rear wheel and check the exhaust when intakes are closing and intakes when exhaust are opening' method and went to just about 1/6 turn, maybe ever so slightly less. i'm not super anal about that kind of stuff, as long as it's close, and it's so easy i'll probably do it more often than i would on an orange or green bike. i think i must have tried checking the exhaust when the decompressor was active, because it was not moving like the intakes, so i stopped trying to move it and moved the engine some more until it seemed more like the right place. big surpise, then the exhaust screws turned nice and easy. all the valves were pretty close when i started, between 1/4 and 1/6 turn, which kind of gave me some confidence that i at least had the engine in the right place. some time when it's not freezing i'll figure out where tdc really is perhaps.
anyway, now i'm going to replace the air filter, button it all back up, start it up long enough to warm it, and change the oil and filter and clean the screen and stuff and then i'll be ready for moab. i'm super-mega-stoked on the bike so far. i'd hate to try to single anyone out because i know i'll leave out a bunch of awesome folks that have been a huge help, but special thanks to berger for letting me ride his bike, and fryguy for riding alot, really fast, and putting a berg through enough to convince me that one would hold up to my riding schedule. and thanks to everyone at the moab ride last year who treated me like one of the gang even on my orange bike.
dang, that got wordy. sorry.
-mark
p.s. i'll keep folks informed about hosting a ride weekend in ely this summer. some ktmtalk guys came last year and were blown away by our riding and scenery, so maybe some berg folk can follow suit this year
