Time to see what all the Tecate hype is about?

[oldskool83]

The master cylinder should have enough back sprig pressure to return the brake pedal. I do not run any springs on any of my machines.

[Red Rider]

The master cylinder should have enough back sprig pressure to return the brake pedal. I do not run any springs on any of my machines.

Hmmm, interesting. I never really thought about it before this post, but you're right. The front brake system has no lever return spring.

[Antreas Sp]

Yes if you think it that way (front brake)BUT we are talking about a specific machine,the KXT and it's a trike that has a very long and heavy pedal (since its steel and not aluminum like the dirtbike ones) and also the pedal pivots to the direction of gravity and not 90 degree like the front master lever which weighs like 50 grams?
I wouldn't run the rear brake without the spring in any case. You also need that free play you get with the spring when riding...

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[Red Rider]

Yes if you think it that way (front brake)BUT we are talking about a specific machine,the KXT and it's a trike that has a very long and heavy pedal (since its steel and not aluminum like the dirtbike ones) and also the pedal pivots to the direction of gravity and not 90 degree like the front master lever which weighs like 50 grams?
I wouldn't run the rear brake without the spring in any case. You also need that free play you get with the spring when riding...

All valid points. Believe me, now that I’ve found a way to install the brake lever and spring, with the engine already in place, I will be running the spring, as it was designed to be.

[86T3]

That's a gorgeous frame color, it's going to look incredible when it finished

[Red Rider]

A lot more progress here lately. We had a parts cleaning party at my place last night, and got a lot of stuff cleaned up. It was mostly stuff that I thought had been cleaned up a long time ago, when this project first began. Luckily, I think all of the dirty work is behind us now.

New front/rear sprockets, a longer DID X-ring chain, sexy, billet counter-shaft sprocket guard, and BVC rear sprocket guard have all been installed. The rear end is pretty much all assembled now, with the exception of the brake line. Now that the rear caliper & master cylinder are mounted, we can get it measured for the new brake line. The new CRF450R front brake caliper should arrive next week, and once it is mounted, we can measure for the new front brake line, and then order them both at the same time.

The ignition/stator & flywheel have all been installed, and torqued to spec. A nice, billet kickstart lever was recently acquired and installed as well. The carburetor/airbox have been cleaned & re-installed. What a pain it's going to be to tune this carburetor, as you can't easily get to it with the airbox mounted. Any tips from you Tecate guys in this area?

Mr. Tecate has been ordering a lot of new, or lightly used, and/or upgraded parts lately, as we are finally starting to see the finish line.

[rpeters]

What a pain it's going to be to tune this carburetor, as you can't easily get to it with the airbox mounted. Any tips from you Tecate guys in this area?

Yes it is a pita, but I have found that some ultra high performance racing vehicles like, The TECATE...The Most Powerful 3 Wheeler In The Universe!, can be difficult to work on.

You can remove the pipe and oil fill cap and take it out the right side or remove the airbox, then remove the carb.

If you are running a straight thru, non spark arrestor silencer, and are at 2000 feet or less, and running pump gas, I would guess that starting with a main jet 2 sizes bigger than stock and the needle clip 1 position lower than stock should be a reasonable starting point.

[rpeters]

PS - Don't forget to tighten ALL your nuts and bolts...and rad shroud screws, after every ride.

...or try this, you might get lucky.

[Red Rider]

You can remove the pipe and oil fill cap and take it out the right side or remove the airbox, then remove the carb.

Oh ok, that should be a breeze then.

Thanks for the tip Barns. It looks like we’ll be swapping out for a new carburetor anyway, as this one has too many issues.

[rpeters]

Oh ok, that should be a breeze then.

Thanks for the tip Barns. It looks like we’ll be swapping out for a new carburetor anyway, as this one has too many issues.

LOL, well I didnt say it would be easy. It is unpleasant, but it is only around a 2 beer project.

If I remember correctly a Mikumi VM series carb will fit. None of the pricey fancy azz carbs will be any better.

[Red Rider]

PS - Don't forget to tighten ALL your nuts and bolts...and rad shroud screws, after every ride.

Oh yeah! This isn't my friend's first Tecate. Everything has been assembled with blue Loctite so far. As a matter of fact, I just asked him to pick up some more, as we are running low on the first bottle. When I installed the carb the first time, the tank and pipe were off, and I attached the carb to the airbox, and then slid the airbox 90% into place. Then I installed the slide into the carb, and slid the airbox completely into place, while guiding the carb into the reed valve boot. This was fairly easy, and we will probably follow the same recipe during the jetting process. Hopefully, with the pipe in place, it won't be much more difficult. We are probably going to go with a Keihin PWK carburetor.

On my high-performance 250R, If I need to access the pilot jet, I remove the tank, pull the slide out of the carb, and loosen both carburetor boots. Then I simply rotate the carb, so I can remove the float bowl, which allows me to access the pilot jet. To make any main jet changes, nothing needs to be removed, except for the float bowl drain plug. I'm hoping the main jet will be just as easy on the Tecate, but we shall see.

[rpeters]

Yeah that is probably the hardest carb to remove on any old dirt bike or 3 wheeler I have ever worked on, and the snorkel obviously makes it harder. If they made an aftermarket air box for those, I would buy one then cut the snorkel off if it had one.

As you know, if the cylinder has been ported as well, you would get more power with a 1 or 2 mm bigger carb as you know, but that is going to make removing and installing it that much more fun, plus the throttle cable may be an issue, but I would hate to leave some hp on the table if the cylinder has already been modified.

Also, in case you didn't know, if you don't have a source where you can easily get original jets, Sudco in Long Beach still has them and will typically ship them the same day. I have bought over 100 jets an carb bowl gaskets from them in he last 2 years. 310-637-8330.

[rpeters]

On my high-performance 250R

You must have modified the engine quite a bit then.

I have posted before that I like the 250r, and that friggen engine is as smooth as butter. Our target market was just different than Hondas because we didn't want to build a trike that was geared towards the same people that the Honda was because we knew that our trikes would have just been collecting dust on the Showroom floor if we did that, so we intentionally made one that was a bit more "high performance" than the Honda in box stock form. Honda easily could have done the same thing but their goal was different, and in this particular case, they had a much larger target market,

[Red Rider]

If they made an aftermarket air box for those, I would buy one then cut the snorkel off if it had one.

That was a Kawasaki trick done to Jimmy White's Tecate. It made carb removal possible without having to remove the tank. I will post the article for others to read.

As you know, if the cylinder has been ported as well, you would get more power with a 1 or 2 mm bigger carb as you know, but that is going to make removing and installing it that much more fun, plus the throttle cable may be an issue, but I would hate to leave some hp on the table if the cylinder has already been modified.

Yes, it currently has a Mikuni TM38 on it, but it has seen better days. Luckily the boots have been pre-stretched by this carb.

Also, in case you didn't know, if you don't have a source where you can easily get original jets, Sudco in Long Beach still has them and will typically ship them the same day. I have bought over 100 jets an carb bowl gaskets from them in he last 2 years. 310-637-8330.

Yep, I've used them before.

[Red Rider]

You must have modified the engine quite a bit then.

Just some minor modifications to bolt on a CR 250R cylinder, and it's still as smooth as butta!

Our target market was just different than Hondas because we didn't want to build a trike that was geared towards the same people that the Honda was because we knew that our trikes would have just been collecting dust on the Showroom floor if we did that, so we intentionally made one that was a bit more "high performance" than the Honda in box stock form. Honda easily could have done the same thing but their goal was different, and in this particular case, they had a much larger target market,

I totally understand, and mission accomplished!