Customizing my WRR

I just mounted up a set of TR8's on my 'street' wheels for my WRR. I was running Shinko 705's which were fine around town but with my riding buddies I really needed something with a little more off pavement performance whenever we are out riding and decide to hit a bunch of muddy dirt roads.

I had thought about going with the Shinko 244's but saw the TR8's and figured I would give them a shot. So far I have about 500 miles on them and they seem to be working well. Good grip on the pavement and decent off pavement. I don't think the rear will last as long as I hoped it would (~3000 miles). Once that goes then I probably will mount up a Shinko 244 on the rear.

If I know I will be riding trails for the weekend then I put on my 'dirt' set of wheels with a Pirelli XCMS front and a XCMH rear. Both are DOT approved and seem to do everything pretty well except they are allergic to pavement miles.

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How are you coming along with the Lexx? I've thought of trying to modify one for our bikes.

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HaHaHa LOL your name is traveller and your moving. Sorry no pun intended or was your name intentional. Know your busy but stay in touch.

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Traveller wrote:

Screen name has been around for 20 years or so.   Started using it some time around 1995 when we were trucking (10 years as owner ops).   My wife and I also like to explore, so we're off on several hour road trips on the weekends as well as exploring all over the local area with the Jeep and dirt machines.   I've probably driven around 2 million miles or so if you add up all the trucking, motorcycle and car mileage.

Once we get settled in, and I can figure out financing, I'm thinking I may need another bike.   Fell in love with a Beta 430 RS down at the Beta dealer here in Boise.   What a NEAT machine.   More dirt oriented, which of course means I need to do the big bore on the WR and keep both... :)  They can be ordered farkled any way you want them just about, which means I'd just order the suspension I wanted and not have to valve/spring them.   244 dry weight, 50HP.   Yeah, I'm thinking about it...

Good news is, all my birthday present parts showed up at the house today, a day early.   My wife says it's all here, so I think I'll start installing this evening.   Whee!   New parts!  

A few years ago I picked up a Beta 520 RR demo bike from a dealer. The bike is a blast to ride and I still have my WRR as well.

The thing is at one point I found myself trying to make the Beta into a DS mule like my WR250R. I was not happy with the results and realized if I am going out on a 1000 mile DS ride and camping along the way that I am generally much happier on the WRR. But if I am going to head out to a campground over the weekend and do some exploring well then I don't need to carry all the crap on the Beta that I was trying to carry before.

So now the Beta is my basecamp play bike and the WRR is my long distance DS ride.

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I just read read this great thread from the beginning. I couldn't agree more with your before/after comments about the suspension! Thanks for taking the time and effort to share your experiences.

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Nice!

Cool, cant wait to hear about the porting. I hope you will provide your input, and pictures aswell.

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Traveller wrote:

Went out about noon after the garage had warmed up a bit, and tore into my bike.   Didn't take a single pic since the space where I'm working is rather cramped.   Too much stuff on the floor from moving in.   The house and shed are pretty much good to go, the garage was starting to get better and then our old neighbor gave us 5 wood working machines that then took up my freshly cleared floor space.  

Anyway, long story short, the motor came all the way out and I did the work on the work bench.  I think it was a lot easier that way rather than trying to tip it in the bike.  After a careful look around inside, the motor was still pristine and everything looked new.  The cylinder and piston looked great, as they should for the mileage.   The cylinder head still looks very nice, and the Dobeck is evidently controlling fueling better than some of the other controllers, as there really isn't much in the way of carbon.  

Decided not to port on the head, as after looking at it I feel like I'd be chasing about 1/2 a horsepower.   With a bore/stroke combo, porting would probably pay off a little more, but I'm not thinking more than another horse or possibly two with cams.  It's just a pretty solid design for the displacement.  

So, I put the whole thing back together and ran it in.  The controller seems to be adjusting for the displacement.   I did need to bump the idle fuel up a tiny bit, and I bumped the cruise fuel mixture down to 13.2 from 13.8 until I feel it's broken in.  

Ran it up to temp, now I'm letting it cool down to get the coolant settled down, then I'll top it and put the side plastic and seat back on it.  

Couple initial impressions.  First, it sounds different out of the same exhaust.   It has a deeper tone to it.   The sound from the airbox is throatier when you rev it up a little also.  It seems a little snappier once I got it warmed up.   Throttle is a little more responsive.   Seems to be a bit more vibration revving it up, so I think I need to break it in and see how it actually behaves.  

We have about 6" of fresh snow on the ground out here, packed snow on the roads, and packed snow and ice on the highway for a few miles.   So, I guess I'm going to have to wait until the roads thaw before I take it out.  

Total time start to finish, about 6 hours.  Had to take a break around 3 for Christmas dinner with my wife.   She's been very understanding today.  Part of that was running it in and cleaning up a bit.

On to my wife's bike.  Going to yank the carb and rejet tomorrow I think.  

Traveller. are you using the FMF controller, what settings, I did 1 tank so far and Im at 4.5  4.5  3  .5   3.5  2
but im at sea level 55 deg. open air box and slip on with 28mm cone after the exup.