Hey everyone, I just want to reach out and talk about something that is going to be SUPER important this year. As everyone in our lovely state (Colorado) knows, it is CRAZY dry this year. We didn't get the snow we needed and it's not raining yet. The forest is like a massive tinderbox and we need to be super careful out there so we don't burn it down.
Now I know I have said that I don't believe fires are started out of the back of dirt bikes and I still stand behind that statement BUT, lets do everything we can to make sure that we don't have a major catastrophe out there. Also, it's the law that we have to have spark arrestors on our bikes and there is going to be some serious enforcement going on this year so let's all avoid conflict and potentially save our favorite riding areas by getting a SPARK ARRESTOR on your bike!
I want to talk a little bit about types of spark arrestors here. If you ride a 4 stroke, there really aren't a ton of options for the type of arrestor. They are all pretty much screen types and they all work about the same. The beauty of the modern 4T bike is that a little screen in the exhaust isn't going to make much of a difference in power so go with whichever one you like. You can either buy a whole slip-on can or one of the bolt-on tips that have a removable screen for closed course competition.
Now 2 strokes are a different matter. The screen style spark arrestors on two-stroke bikes are problematic. Because the 2T bike burns oil with the gas, it emits a thicker exhaust that will eventually clog up a screen and cause your bike to run terribly. To combat this, you can remove the screen regularly (every 10 or so hours of riding) and clean it to keep the exhaust flowing properly. This isn't hard and doesn't take long. The fastest way I have found to do this is to take the screen and burn it off with a low temp torch. You can also soak it in solvent if you don't have a torch.
If you know me at all, you know that I like to lower the amount of maintenance and attention that my bike takes so that isn't a great option for me. I want more ride time and less work time! So I like to run the turbine core style spark arrestors by FMF. This kind of arrestor uses a propeller-shaped piece of metal at the end of the silencer to "spin" the sparks out into the packing of the muffler. Yes, they do restrict the flow of exhaust and YES you can tell a difference in power but it is much less than when a screen style arrestor cloggs shut and your bike basically won't run.
In a perfect world we would have moist, loamy dirt and no chance of fires but here in the real world when the precip doesn't always fall, we need to pay attention to our conditions and act accordingly. We also need to work WITH, instead of against our local land management agencies so that we can develop a good, healthy relationship with the people who manage our public land. So get your OHV tags and get a SPARK AERRESTOR!!!
Need a spark arrestor? Want to buy one from us? Give us a call, we can ship you one or get one to the shop and install it for you! 970-240-2197