Dirt Bike FAQ

It needs to be a 4 stroke, not 4 cylinder. The turn signals need to be a certain distance from the centerline of the bike. You probably can not take it on divided highways, I think it's a 250cc minimum. The lighting kits can be quite expensive if it doesn't already have the necessary lights, especially the tail-light and license bracket. If it came with the correct lighting then it is probably already titled as a street legal bike. You will just need a safety inspection and insurance.

You dont want a mini moto mate, there chinese rubbish and break to much. either get a good brand of pitbike (terra-moto,thumpstar) or if its to rome the streets get a second hand chinese pitbike for around £200 (check your newspaper) my very first mini moto cost £175!!! which when i think now is a total rip off considering i got a genuine thumpstar for £250.

Hi Sk8,,,
I'm going to make a guess and assume it's a Chinese Clone of a little Honda engine.

Normally,,all those type motors are very easy to start if the engine is in Good Condition,,,or even fair condition.
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Some things that can make them hard to start.

*Low Compression.
That can be caused by several things.
You Really need to have the compression checked with a gauge to determine if it's within proper range.
Should be about 120 psi minimum.

If it's Less than that,nothing will really help much.

"Low Compression" is usually thought to mean "burned-up / wore out Engine",,,,and that's often true.
But not Necessarily.

Valve Clearance Adjustment,,and Timing Chain condition will affect it also and make the compression a bit lower.

>>>Adjust the Valves to .003"
That's Looser than recommended setting of .002".

>>>Make sure the cam chain is adjusted right.
Sometimes the adjuster "sticks" and doesnt really work right.
Also need to check the chain for wear.
Both things are easy to do.

CARBURETOR:
These things are so small even the Tiniest amount of gum/varnish/deposits will make them behave badly.
Easiest thing to do is try some Cleaner added to the Fuel tank.
Use FUEL INJECTION cleaner,,,not "carb cleaner"—it works much better.
Chevron Techron ,,or Seafoam are 2 good ones.
Don't Overdose it thinking that "more is Better".

You may ultimately have to remove the carb and take it apart to clean it.

The Intake Manifold "never" gets loose on original,genuine Hondas.
On all the Clones,,,,it's a crapshoot.
If they Do get loose the Gaskets will leak air,,and cause hard start,bad running.
Or,,if Carb has ever been removed ,,,it's tuff to get them to re-seal without using new gaskets.

Ignition System/Spark Plugs:
Most of the late model versions all have electronic ignitions.
They usually work OK,,,and are Usually NOT adjustable.
When they FAIL,,,almost always it fails like a Light Bulb.
They just Quit Working at all,,,,no mysterious misfires,,no intermittent problems that come & go.

So IF it sparks,,and eventually Runs,,,
there's 99% Odds the CDI Ignition is working OK.

Spark Plugs.
Try an NGK Iridium Plug.
DO NOT expect it to "FIX" anything,,or even Cover-Up any sort of problems elsewhere.
Make sure everything Else is in good order First.

They are NOT Magic Plugs,,,but they DO improve starting because they can fire under a much wider range of conditions,,including Weak Ignition system,,,or partially flooded,,,very cold temps,,,etc,etc

They're expensive ,$8~10.
It Wont FIX anything,,but they can definitely help

Get a Service Manual if you can.

If You cannot find one,,,early Honda 50 & 70 Manual is Close enough to give You general basics

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You will have to register,,but You can get Free Manuals here
http://www.repairmanualclub.com/

These will help.
Remeber,,these are NOT Identical to Yours,,not even the same engines,,70's and 90's are Different.
But they can give you an idea how the things are laid out,,,and valve adjustment,timing chain stuff is basically the same.
Carb Clean/Rebuild PROCEDURE is sorta generic,,,things like that.

Consider them only HINT,CLUE,or GUIDE,,,,and NOT actual,accurate service manuals for Your bike

Honda S90-CL90-C90-CD90-CT90 Shop Manual

Honda SL70, XL70K1 Factory Shop Manual, English

Good Luck with it

Hi,

Strip the carb bowl off, remove the float assembly

where centre bolt attached bowl, inside that tube is the jet and emulsion tube

Carefully unscrew this jet and clean with compressed air or if your lucky your breath ??

Muck in the carb…. but they are not the best quality

I have bought several none runners off ebay and everyone its been a quick fix …. dirty carb

Try and put a small inline filter within the line …. I modified them with a longer hose to adapt them and had no problem

If the carbs mullered….. you can buy them off ebay for £11 + delivery

Oh….. have you checked the reed valve after the carb… ? sometimes these break or dont seal correctly ??

This might be the fault you have…. due to choke ??

If your first qualification is used, that will depend on the bikes available for sale in your area. Couple of general points, though. At 5-11 you will need a bike with a full size frame. Tiny won't cut it, 125-250cc, but check it first, even at those displacements have seen 3/4 size frames .(kind for kids). Have you ever ridden before? If no, lightest bike you can find, you'll be picking it up a lot. Can't even tell you the number of times I've fallen! Check where you will be riding. Some sites have specific equipment rules. Don't spend everything you have, you will need some equipment. Minimum: Helmet, Gloves, Boots. Ever caught a lace in the foot peg in 5th gear so you could not shift? (not a lot of fun) Worry about weight, not displacement. You always have one piece of equipment that will keep you from getting in trouble by going too fast. (Hint, it's the place between your ears.) On Bike condition: does chain shift a lot side to side? Do tires show "age cracks"? Shake steering head, do top of forks rattle back and forth? On rear sprocket, are holes even or"dished" on side? All signs of wear, going to be medium to very expensive. If the bike won't start when you goto look at it, something is very(!) wrong. Get a mechanical friend to go with you to look at bikes to begin with. Ask what he is looking for, so you can do the same later. Best wishes, dirt down and sky up!

32:1 is a sort of "universal ratio" that works well for anything.

Any ratio between 32:1 and 40:1 is OK.

32:1,,,,That's 8oz of oil per gallon of gasoline (US)

Or in Liters,,

32 militers oil to 1 liter petrol

125ML Oil per 4L petrol

More than likely, it's a combination of a couple simple little things together. First off, when a bike sits for an extended period of time, you need to put some fuel stabilizer in the tank and let the bike run for about 10 minutes to insure it gets down into the carb also. leave the gas petcock turned on as long as the floats aren't stuck where the bike leaks gas … this will insure the carb doesn't go dry (evaporation of gasoline) and leave a residue referred to as varnish…

anyway, I would highly recommend you do as a minimum the following things.

1. pull out the spark plug and thoroughly clean it. stick it back in the spark plug cap, using insulated pliers, hold the little finger thingy that bends up over the center electrode to the cylinder or head (ground the finger) and kick thru the kick starter … watch for a spark… spark is a good thing !!! if no spark, take to a mechanic as it will be difficult to describe here to the level of detail for you to get it going… if it does have spark … continue to step 2 below after reinstalling spark plug and spark plug cap.

2. with gas petcock turned off, remove the screw on the kick starter side of the lower float bowl to allow the old gas to run out. turn on petcock to insure that gas is flowing thru to the float bowl. if gas flows out, reinstall the screw… if no gas flows out, turn gas off and remove carb, disassemble and thoroughly clean with carb cleaner (berymans, chemtool, etc.). reassemble and reinstall, repeat earlier step to insure fuel flow…. fuel flow?

3. without touching the throttle, turn on the choke, depress the kill switch button, kick the bike thru slowly about 8 times, let off the kill button and kick the kick start thru quickly trying to start the bike. try this 3 or 4 times and the bike should at least "promise" (act like it fired) if not start. if nothing. replace the spark plug with a new plug and try again. if still nothing… probably be better served to take to a mechanic…

hope that helps and you get it started.

Go to a local automotive swap meet if you want to find one cheap
used gas ones go for around $200

A 125 to 150 is not really for a child. It will be tough to get something for 500.00 that is a major brand. Remember a Honda, Yamaha Kawaski, Suzuki will hold some value especially the entry level bikes. It is hard to tell you what to look for since you did not mention his size, age, and skill level.

Try some of the sites on this page.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=dirt+bike+track+in+dublin+ireland&meta=