CARNAGE!!!

If you are like me then you HATE when your bike blows up but the darker side of you really likes to see blown up stuff!  Well that is one of the greatest parts of my job.  I get to see exploded motor parts all the time.  I thought I would dedicate this blog post to some of the good ones we have had recently with a quick description of what happened!  Here we go!!!

We got to see this just this week.  It is from a 2006 KX450F

If yo look closely you can see that the upper right valve bucket it lower than the rest.  This doesn't mean good things!

We believe what happened is that the bike was run without coolant and that exhaust valve got really hot and seized in the guide causing the piston to hit it, break it and then jam it into the head.  Not a good day!

The piston didn't fair well either :(

This next one is from a KTM 2 stroke that had a billion hours on it. 

People are always amazed that something like this could happen but if you think about how many times a piston travels up and down in a cylinder its really more surprising that they last as long as they do.  5000 RPM equals about 600,000 trips up and down every hour.  You'd get tired too!

This next one is near and dear to my heart.  This is a 2013 YZ250 that I inherited for doing some work for a friend.  It had been ridden REALLY fast by a LARGE man for too long and BAM!!! 

2 strokes are great and we LOVE them at Highland Cycles but they need maintenance too.  Especially a top end every once in a while and they don't love being over revved for too long.  This broken piston skirt caused all kinds of damage but I was able to put humpty dumpty back together again.

And here she is!  I am happy to say that Jolene is happy and healthy now after a lot of work and some new parts!

Here is one from a Husqvarna 300.  This wasn't caused by lack of maintenance but by running a little short of talent in the wrong place!

At the top of a notorious section of trail near Peach Valley a friend of ours made a little mistake and this was the result.  Fortunately it was a 2 stroke and the oil that dumped out was just tranny oil and he was able to putt back to the truck without any major motor damage!

There are MANY more examples and we could go on and on.  While we do like seeing blown up and destroyed stuff from time to time we would rather KEEP YOU RIDING by helping you maintain your bike instead of fix it after a catastrophic failure. 

Below are some links to some ebooks and other FREE resources we have published to help you KEEP RIDING!  Share this around and get out and RIDE!!!!!

And if you just want Highland Cycles to help get your bike ready with some simple maintenance at a SMOKIN deal then click the button below for a great deal on our "Blitz Service"

Topar Racing Billet Guards

Brakes are an important part of your motorcycle!!  I know that sounds funny but I am reviewing a really great way to protect your precious brakes while slamming through the rocks and gnar of everyday off-road motorcycling. 

Topar Racing out of Trinidad Colorado is building what I believe to be the best of the best when it comes to disk, caliper, and fork guards. 

Their guards are amazing.  They are built from solid billet (I know that is redundant) aluminum and machined to fit perfectly.  The fins both front and rear are replaceable as well as the rear caliper guard that comes with the rear disk guard.  As you can see from the photos below, mine have seen some serious action and my brake rotors are still straight. 

A bent rotor isn't the end of the world of course and you can buy them for less than you pay for one of these guards but when you are charging hard through a trail and you need to slow down for a turn and all of a sudden you brakes aren't working, the amount of money you saved doesn't really seam all that important.  I remember very clearly an instance before I used these guards when I ended up wrong side up and off the trail because I had bent my front brake rotor but didn't know.  As I careened out of control towards the corner (this is before I knew I didn't have brakes) I went to put the binders on and...    NOTHING!!!  I stabbed the rear but it was way too late.  I launched so far off the trail.  I was lucky to not be injured. 

I have tried numerous other brake rotor guards and these are by far my favorite and have held up the best.  And there is the added benefit that they are built in the great state of Colorado!!!