Hawk Talk

[Ariel Red Hunter]

To the mechanical side. I like soft springs and firm shocks. I've had bikes with hard springs and mushy shocks, (H-D 74), and never again. So one of the first things to do is drain out the fork oil, pump the forks to get the rest of the factory oil out, and add 6 1/2 oz. of Dexron ATF, or the boutique brand of fork oil that tickles your fancy. In my case, when I change the tires to Pirelli MT Trial tires, fore and aft, new high quality HD tubes go in with them. I would also add a rim lock on the rear. That way I can run lower pressure off road. Lower pressure = more traction. Also, they throw mud out of the treads better that way. Then I would buy some DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid, and bleed the brakes until water clear fluid comes out of the bleeder plugs. And I would change the oil before I started it up the first time. I'd run it maybe an hour, then change it again. That's to get the last drops of the factory oil out of it. I would also clean and re-grease the steering head bearings, using a good brand of marine grease. I would have greased up both axles, and the swing arm pivot bolt when I assembled the bike. Same kind of grease. Open up the air box for as much airflow as you can get and I would change out the carburetor to a Mikuni, the one with a starting system, not the cheap ones with a butterfly choke. Why a Mikuni? Easy to get jets, and throttle slides with different cut-aways. Buy genuine Mikuni jets, they are made to closer tolerances than the cheap ones. There is a very good exhaust system available on e-bay or Amazon for $128.00 or so, so I'd put that on. And I wouldn't forget to buy the copper exhaust gasket. Of course I would put a UniBear 428 HD chain on it right away, after my clean and treat routine. What did I forget? I'm sure someone on here will remind me....ARH