I have 5 things I do. Change the oil, check to make sure the air filter is oiled, set the sag and fork, make sure the brakes are bled and check torque on all the bolts. That's it. If it isn't ready to ride after that then WTF am I paying the dealer a setup fee for? Actually, I shouldn't have to do any of that if I'm paying the dealer to do it. But we all know how that goes. Least common denominator gets the PDI tickets. Not once have I had the dealer help me set sag. You'd think, YOU'D THINK they'd at least do that. Nope. Give us all your money, then GTFO.
Lube up suspension linkage and swing arm bearings .. there not too much grease from the factory at all , as well as front steering head bearings.. just did both of my 24 fx and Tx
I absolutely agree with this after spending my money I have always done this especially used bikes I’ve purchased, disassembling your bike is a great idea to learn about it and adding grease is always easier when it’s clean too. It also would include most of the points you covered.
This is a great idea whether or not you think your dealer did these things. What a great way to get more familiar with your bike. Especially someone like me, who is just getting back into riding. Thanks for the info Kyle. By the way, you saved today. I was putting a Tusk rear disc guard on and was unsure about where a part went. Your video helped a great deal!
As a Michigan rider since the 70's, I remember when the only thing I would disagree with MXA with for a bike test (after I bought, worked on and rode it), was tire choice. Then I took about 2 decades off a bike, with a new MXA wrecking crew (logic has been wrecked), picked up a 2019 YZ250 2-stroke after reading a modern MXA test,---and I disagree with just about everything MXA said. I have never put so much time and money into a 250cc MX bike to make it work as good a 20 year old bike out of the box, (sans the awesome SSS forks). It may be also the slowest stock 250cc MX bike I ever had. But I have fixed that too. If I were new to dirt bike riding, I might have thought that riding a bike so poorly set up is as good as it gets.
Bought my 17 ktm 250xcw and couldn’t believe how many bolts werent torqued to spec! Looking to buy a 24 tx300 here in the next couple weeks and hopefully that’s not the case again!
My last two late model trail bikes got the full treatment, when I get them home from the dealer I get them on a stand and go thru everything, it's surprising how loose the spokes can be on a new bike,
I've had Euro and Japanese and Spanish bikes over the decades. My experience is to go over all the spokes, fasteners and make sure they are tight. Make sure the chain isn't too tight. These things have not been much of an issue on any non Euro bike I have owned.
If you still haven’t decided on hand guards for the Beta I’d recommend a set of Molecule hand guards. They are a thicker set of flag style guards. I do a lot of woods riding and have been really happy with the amount of protection and durability they have. Also would be interested in seeing your take on them.
I made my own full wrap hand guards out of a set of Cycra's full wrap guards because I don't like a clamp on the taper of my bars. They are the most compact full wraps, (look like flag type guards from the front.), the most rigid and the most adjustable if you don't want them rigid, (can be set up to spin on the bar). But I can't find a company who is interested in the design, so I guess I will be the only person in the world with the best full wrap hand guards.
You can just not tighten up your levers on the bar so the levers will rotate in a crash, but I like the Teflon tape idea better if it keeps your bars from getting scratched in that fall.
The teflon tape trick does not work. I tried it and it's just not worth it. Just loosen the bolts up a little where it can move during a hit...the teflon also does not keep the bars from scratching.
If your steering head bearings are too tight, (bars will not fall/rotate on the stand by their own weight), you may start damaging the hard bearings/races, and start feeling a "clicking sensation" (deformed bearings/races), as you turn the bars.
I have a question. If my fan comes on that I installed and I’m wanting to cool the bike down should I keep the bike running at idle to cool down or is it ok to just turn it off?
You will want to get Paul Thed's (founder of Race Tech), "suspension bible" book. I just learned a lot about front end rake and trail, that I never fully understood, that would have saved my butt from hitting the trail several times in the past. Yes, I would change the head angle for more straight line stability 'trail" for that kind of riding. The adjustments you have off the top of my head are. 1) slide the forks all the way down in the triple clamps. 2) run a bit more sag than 105mm in the rear. 3) Use stiff fork springs.
Good stuff... But lets talk about brakes - Running in your brakes is called bedding your brakes. You're not removing anything, you're adding brake pad material to the rotor(pad transfer) and THIS is what creates that good stopping power. You basically want to speed up, slow down, speed up slow down and NEVER leave the brake engaged when the wheel is stopped. You want to do this until you can smell the brake pads burning. Your method of dragging the brakes does work pretty well also. If done right, you should have a hazy blue/grey sheen on the rotor.
@@EarthSurferUSA Oh, lookie there, in that link there is this language "smooth grey-blue “glaze” that is on the surface. This material is actually known as “pad transfer”." Huh, that kinda rings a bell :P
1) Lower your brand new bike by at least 1" (seat, and or seat suspension combo). 2) Bring your bars back down to the 90's and earlier so you can keep your elbows up. (his bar set up here is even too high for freestyle, where the tall bar set up came from.). 3) fix (cut off abstract art) the goofy "Batman school of art" plastic off your bike, and replace the Batman's front fender with an older model free from Batman. Yes, you may have to drill new holes for fender mounting. Batman probably changed that too. 4) If it is a YZ250 2-stroke, do mods to bring the power lower in the rpm curve, so the bike is actually good at something. 5) And if you have communism (like a government telling us what to make and buy no matter what the cost.), ride a 2-stroke.
They do if you want to ride in the woods legally, even though a piece of carbon from a dirt bike exhaust has never started a fire,--------------------ever. We really have to stop making such laws.
He just has them set up for freestyle (rotated forward for trick leg clearance), and it looks like almost the entire industry followed. I can corner so much easier with them like we used to ride them (80's/90's before freestyle got big.), and I have never seen so many amateurs, (with their own go-pros), going so slow in the corners.
Forgot the most important thing…. Service it! Grease the linkage and steering bikes ship almost dry. Clean the anti rust coating off rotors and clean pads, grease, lube, anti seize and go over chassis.
I have 5 things I do. Change the oil, check to make sure the air filter is oiled, set the sag and fork, make sure the brakes are bled and check torque on all the bolts. That's it. If it isn't ready to ride after that then WTF am I paying the dealer a setup fee for? Actually, I shouldn't have to do any of that if I'm paying the dealer to do it. But we all know how that goes. Least common denominator gets the PDI tickets. Not once have I had the dealer help me set sag. You'd think, YOU'D THINK they'd at least do that. Nope. Give us all your money, then GTFO.
Bang on brother 👏
@user-fz8fy4zl1c We'll give it a go over. OH, and hey, don't forget we charge you $500-700 setup fee!
Yep that’s about exactly how my first purchase of a brand new bike went
Lube up suspension linkage and swing arm bearings .. there not too much grease from the factory at all , as well as front steering head bearings.. just did both of my 24 fx and Tx
Yeah, that's on my full list, but I skimmed some of the things. People can email me to get the full list...
I absolutely agree with this after spending my money I have always done this especially used bikes I’ve purchased, disassembling your bike is a great idea to learn about it and adding grease is always easier when it’s clean too. It also would include most of the points you covered.
betas actually have grease in there but other brands dont really
+1 on the handguards. Broken levers can end your ride pretty quick. Especially if you’re in some nasty trails.
This is a great idea whether or not you think your dealer did these things. What a great way to get more familiar with your bike. Especially someone like me, who is just getting back into riding. Thanks for the info Kyle. By the way, you saved today. I was putting a Tusk rear disc guard on and was unsure about where a part went. Your video helped a great deal!
As a Michigan rider since the 70's, I remember when the only thing I would disagree with MXA with for a bike test (after I bought, worked on and rode it), was tire choice.
Then I took about 2 decades off a bike, with a new MXA wrecking crew (logic has been wrecked), picked up a 2019 YZ250 2-stroke after reading a modern MXA test,---and I disagree with just about everything MXA said. I have never put so much time and money into a 250cc MX bike to make it work as good a 20 year old bike out of the box, (sans the awesome SSS forks). It may be also the slowest stock 250cc MX bike I ever had. But I have fixed that too. If I were new to dirt bike riding, I might have thought that riding a bike so poorly set up is as good as it gets.
Bought my 17 ktm 250xcw and couldn’t believe how many bolts werent torqued to spec! Looking to buy a 24 tx300 here in the next couple weeks and hopefully that’s not the case again!
My last two late model trail bikes got the full treatment, when I get them home from the dealer I get them on a stand and go thru everything, it's surprising how loose the spokes can be on a new bike,
Rode my new bike about 20hrs and noticed 4 spokes missing. Most spokes where very very loose and I kick myself for not checking them earlier!
I've had Euro and Japanese and Spanish bikes over the decades. My experience is to go over all the spokes, fasteners and make sure they are tight.
Make sure the chain isn't too tight.
These things have not been much of an issue on any non Euro bike I have owned.
I have been into this sport for decades, and I knew you were talking about Euro bikes. :)
If you still haven’t decided on hand guards for the Beta I’d recommend a set of Molecule hand guards. They are a thicker set of flag style guards.
I do a lot of woods riding and have been really happy with the amount of protection and durability they have.
Also would be interested in seeing your take on them.
And only cost $149 😂
I made my own full wrap hand guards out of a set of Cycra's full wrap guards because I don't like a clamp on the taper of my bars. They are the most compact full wraps, (look like flag type guards from the front.), the most rigid and the most adjustable if you don't want them rigid, (can be set up to spin on the bar). But I can't find a company who is interested in the design, so I guess I will be the only person in the world with the best full wrap hand guards.
Wonderful. Thank you😊
Hopefully getting my first bike this Friday! I’m glad I found this video.
Howd it go?
You can just not tighten up your levers on the bar so the levers will rotate in a crash, but I like the Teflon tape idea better if it keeps your bars from getting scratched in that fall.
The teflon tape trick does not work. I tried it and it's just not worth it. Just loosen the bolts up a little where it can move during a hit...the teflon also does not keep the bars from scratching.
If your steering head bearings are too tight, (bars will not fall/rotate on the stand by their own weight), you may start damaging the hard bearings/races, and start feeling a "clicking sensation" (deformed bearings/races), as you turn the bars.
Thnx!
Thanks for the information, and God bless you and your family! Matt ky
Great tips Kyle.
Well, what about greasing the swingarm and linkage bearings?
If he missed that, he is not as sharp as he thinks.
Awesome job!
I have a question. If my fan comes on that I installed and I’m wanting to cool the bike down should I keep the bike running at idle to cool down or is it ok to just turn it off?
Hello mr dirt bike channel happy Tuesday 🎉
Kyle I have a question, older KTM just started doing desert races and they are high speed ... would you change the head angle????
You will want to get Paul Thed's (founder of Race Tech), "suspension bible" book. I just learned a lot about front end rake and trail, that I never fully understood, that would have saved my butt from hitting the trail several times in the past. Yes, I would change the head angle for more straight line stability 'trail" for that kind of riding.
The adjustments you have off the top of my head are.
1) slide the forks all the way down in the triple clamps.
2) run a bit more sag than 105mm in the rear.
3) Use stiff fork springs.
Good stuff... But lets talk about brakes - Running in your brakes is called bedding your brakes. You're not removing anything, you're adding brake pad material to the rotor(pad transfer) and THIS is what creates that good stopping power. You basically want to speed up, slow down, speed up slow down and NEVER leave the brake engaged when the wheel is stopped. You want to do this until you can smell the brake pads burning. Your method of dragging the brakes does work pretty well also. If done right, you should have a hazy blue/grey sheen on the rotor.
Blue rotors means they are overheating. Next is warping.
@@EarthSurferUSA Oh, lookie there, in that link there is this language "smooth grey-blue “glaze” that is on the surface. This material is actually known as “pad transfer”." Huh, that kinda rings a bell :P
Everything you said is perfectly put, well done thagerm. This is exactly what you should do to break in your brakes!
1) Lower your brand new bike by at least 1" (seat, and or seat suspension combo).
2) Bring your bars back down to the 90's and earlier so you can keep your elbows up. (his bar set up here is even too high for freestyle, where the tall bar set up came from.).
3) fix (cut off abstract art) the goofy "Batman school of art" plastic off your bike, and replace the Batman's front fender with an older model free from Batman. Yes, you may have to drill new holes for fender mounting. Batman probably changed that too.
4) If it is a YZ250 2-stroke, do mods to bring the power lower in the rpm curve, so the bike is actually good at something.
5) And if you have communism (like a government telling us what to make and buy no matter what the cost.), ride a 2-stroke.
And if you HATE communism
5:18 the Teflon tape mod = 💯
Your Dealer should have done most of this before taking delivery?!
*should have. It’s never a bad idea to check everything out before heading out.
And I've bought nearly 100 bikes... I can tell you that they DON"T do most of this stuff to my satisfaction.
Yeah they don't. I worked at a dealer and those poor mechanics aren't given tons of time to put each bike together
The kids in the back that put the bikes together dont give a dam
Grease linkage, swingarm and steering stem bearings?
It's in my full text list... I didn't mention all the things here. Email for the full list.
Ok, thanks for the response. I didn’t know if you personally waited for a maintenance interval or did it upon purchasing the bike.
My 2023 Beta came with a manual on a thumbdrive
i just got a brand new bike and wont even be able to ride until im home in a few months :(
2 strokes dont have spark arrestor
They do if you want to ride in the woods legally, even though a piece of carbon from a dirt bike exhaust has never started a fire,--------------------ever.
We really have to stop making such laws.
@@EarthSurferUSA 2 strokes dont, 4 strokes do
@@EarthSurferUSA Perfectly said brother!!!
Send me the damaged KTM pipe, I will put it to good use!
👍👍
Lezz Go
Those stock beta handlebars are the worst handlebars ever. I would change them before you even ride it.
He just has them set up for freestyle (rotated forward for trick leg clearance), and it looks like almost the entire industry followed. I can corner so much easier with them like we used to ride them (80's/90's before freestyle got big.), and I have never seen so many amateurs, (with their own go-pros), going so slow in the corners.
Euro bike enough said , quality bikes you can wait a year depending on hrs and environment. Quality matters fashion is for mugs.
Your nephews name is caden pelley
Pretty unnecessary imo.
Some of it are just a good things to go over, but if your BRAND NEW bike is leaking or something other problem like that there's a problem.
Just like you !
Forgot the most important thing….
Service it! Grease the linkage and steering bikes ship almost dry.
Clean the anti rust coating off rotors and clean pads, grease, lube, anti seize and go over chassis.