2003 KX 250 SF Conversion

[umberto]

I hit bottom (fully leaned out) with the power jet adjustment on my Lectron, and still didn't get the bog to go away. I spoke with Dennis, and he decided to swap my 5x needle for a 3x. It should be here Monday. It's our spring break, so my son and I are traveling to Southeastern Oklahoma on Tuesday to do some riding in the mountains, so I hope to have a ride report and video with the carb sorted out.

[umberto]

I am taking the bike down to the mountains this weekend to sort out the carb.  In the meantime I swapped over my KYB kit suspension from my KDX Hybrid, and rerouted the brake line using an 04 KX 250 line and 2008 RM guards.  I did another post on the brake line reroute; it's pretty easy.  I can't wait to ride the bike with the better suspension and hopefully better tuned carb.

[DoldGuy]

You are going to love your front brake, not Brembo power, but a lot closer!

[umberto]

You are going to love your front brake, not Brembo power, but a lot closer!

It sure feels better.  I can't wait to try it out. I realized I haven't ridden this beast in two months, and that's nearly criminal. 

[umberto]

I took Goliath out for a run on Saturday to see if the new needle fixed the issue. It still felt rich, and blubbered when hammered. I think it just needs a few turns of the screw leaner.  Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to tune on it much because I found a missing chunk of concrete (that we didn't know we were missing) that was hiding in the overgrown grass in my parents' pasture. One washout high speed crash and trip to the ER later, I'm laid up with a bum shoulder. Thankfully I think it's just tweaked, and Goliath only suffered a broken clutch perch.  I'll try to get another ride report once I've healed up a bit.

[DoldGuy]

Glad to here you are okay, it always concerns me riding in an area that I can not see "What's Under There"....had a similar experience in my younger (AKA Stupid) days.

Obviously you did not have much time on it, but what did you think about the front brake?

Also where does the bike feel blubbery? Midrange/Topend/Bottom?

DoldGuy

[umberto]

Thank you doldguy, I think my pride was the most bruised off all.  . I've been riding that pasture since I was six, I just never saw what I hit. The front brake felt really good; it made a huge difference. The blubbering was after half throttle, where I was having the issues before I installed the smaller needle.  Of course Dennis just guessed on where to start with the power jet with the 3X needle. I planned on adjusting it, but I crashed about five minutes into my ride. Ruined a perfect day to ride, but at least I walked away from it. 

[umberto]

I made a trip to the Orthopedic Doc today about my shoulders.  Sadly I managed to hurt both of them.  The right shoulder checked out okay, but he thinks I may have torn my rotator cuff in my left shoulder.  I'm going in for an MRI tomorrow.  If you're the praying kind, I would appreciate a little prayer.  I read online that the recovery time is 4 to 6 months.   

You may want to stay tuned to see if Mrs. Umberto hangs a for sale sign on this dude if I did tear it.   

[reklessj]

Good luck bro!! My crews thoughts and prayers will be with / you also. Hope she won't take that beast away from ya, just tell her it takes a little bit to tame it!!

[umberto]

Thank you reklessj, it's very much appreciated!  I'm pretty certain that she won't take Goliath away from me, as she's very understanding about my life long love of bikes.  We do own a The UPS Store franchise, and if I can't work (lift heavy things) during Christmas peak season, she might sell me and keep the bike.   

[Foxx4Beaver]

good luck!
I know all about shoulder injuries too...
I dislocated my right one 17 times over a 4 year period...totally different from rotator cuff injuries.
finally the doc said to me one day in early '94...."ya know, one of these times that thing's gonna pop out the wrong way, damage the right/wrong nerve, and the only thing I'm gonna be able to do for you....is amputate."

  ....I sold the snowmobile I had at the time for next to nothing , cause I didn't have health insurance back then...the guy that bought it drove 6 hours down from NH the 2nd day it was listed in the "want-ads"...two weeks later I had it permanently fixed, I was down for about 2 1/2 months, but I was only 22yo, so I recovered quickly....
knock on wood, 22 years later at 44yo, it's never bothered me.
it all started from being stupid, on an '84 DR100, doing wheelies on the pavement...started looping out, so I jumped off to the side still holding on to the bars, figuring I'd be able to run along side it and slow it down ....ya right...what I didn't consider, was that I was going about 25mph...my legs couldn't run that fast, and down I went...landing on an out-stretched hand...end of story.

[umberto]

Ouch!  I think I tried that maneuver before as a kid, with about the same results. Thankfully I was on dirt and going pretty slow.  Glad to hear that you've recovered form your shoulder issues. 

Thank you for the good luck wish. I'll keep you guys posted tomorrow. I'm just ready to know one way or the other.

[umberto]

I'm done with the MRI, but will have to wait a bit to hear from the doctor.  I forgot how much you feel like a torpedo going into that MRI tube.   

[umberto]

Well, looks like my good luck streak is done.  Doc called to tell me I have a tear in my rotator cuff. Thankfully it's only torn 20%, and not a complete tear, but it will require surgery and 3-6 months of physical therapy. Just have to suck it up and power through it I guess. Please post lots of videos of you riding so I can live vicariously through you guys.

[reklessj]

Bummer man get well soon, and rehab it right