Motocross Setup Questions

[BigGreenMachine]

Guys, building a new trike soon and I want to MX it this coming summer.

Have a Douglas ten inch front wheel settled upon to get the unlimited tire choices.

Need to decide what rear wheels to use. 8 inchers or 10's?

What rear tires?Both will use 18 inch tall tires

How tall of a front tire should I use? What kind?

Swingarm length.. Whats best? Plus two inches or stock?



Heres one of the local tracks, about 4 hours away.

http://www.sled-headz.com/forum/view...=10204&start=0

[Bryan Raffa]

[QUOTE=BigGreenMachine]Guys, building a new trike soon and I want to MX it this coming summer.

Have a Douglas ten inch front wheel settled upon to get the unlimited tire choices.

Need to decide what rear wheels to use. 8 inchers or 10's?

What rear tires?Both will use 18 inch tall tires

How tall of a front tire should I use? What kind?

Swingarm length.. Whats best? Plus two inches or stock?

This is what i would use..
8" rim
front tire 22-24"
plus 2 swinger
there's alot of good rear tires out there!

[BigGreenMachine]

I want a 21 inch tire and 18's, just don't know what kind.

How about swingarm length?

What size rims? Sidewall flex desirable or is the slideability of low profile tires better?

[Fox250R]

id be a little freaked out seeing a paramedic with a tie on LOL

[TimSr]

I doubt anybody makes an 18" tire for a 10" rim. 8" rim give you more 18" tire choices than a 9" rim does. 18x9.5x8 Turf Tamer is a good track choice. You want a flat profile tire that does not give too much traction, or you wont be able to powerslide. Remember trikes get more traction than quads, and you need a less aggressive tread to get the same repsonse.

Provided this is strictly a track trike - on front the Holeshot tire 21-23", size depending on trike geometry as you didnt mention what trike.

Swingarm length, depends on what model and trike geometry. The longer the swinger, the easier to manage wheelieing, but the less agile it will corner. The TriZ has such a long geometry Id never extend one for MX, and I wouldnt mind trying a shorter one. I think Brandon added a small amount on his 250R for best results if I remember right.

As with anything, Id start racing mostly stock and wouldnt put much money into it until youve started racing, and then figure out where your weakenesses lie. Yoll also find that what may be a blessing on one track can be a curse on another.

[BigGreenMachine]

86/87 Tecate with a 500 motor.

I certainly will take your advice. I already have some progressive springs for the front forks and a shock rebuild is on the list.

Wheels I need to buy. I want the 10 inch front and I won't have any rear wheels since I'm buying the machine in parts only.

The track is really beginner friendly where all the obstacles can be rolled over or jumped.

[TimSr]

That motor/bike combo will definately alter your geometry and weight distribution, so any advice would be total guesses unless someone has used that same combination. It will take some trial and error. I can say it give you a lot more tire choices you can bust loose on corners with that motor, and I withdraw my advice on the 9.5" width Turf Tamers. Id go with the 18x11-8. You might even go with one of the Holeshot/Razr style treads, but stick with a stiff sidewall, flat profile 8 or 9psi tire.

I would start out with the front tire you have now, and then decide whether you want to go taller or lower with it, after its been track tested. It will depend on your center of gravity.

Also keep in mind that changing your swingarm length changes the leverage on your rear shock, so if you have your shock setup correctly, and then change swingarm length, your shock will again need revavled and/or resprung with the length change, so its best to decide what swingarm length before having your shock built.

[Derrick Adams]

To my knowledge the only 18" tire available for a 10" rim (for the rear) is the Titan/Dico Fast Trekker. These have long been discontinued, but are still available on ebay brand new. Brandon, Jason, and myself all run these.



They make several 18" tires for 8" and a few for 9". I would try to stay away from Holeshot style tires as they get ALOT of sidebite. The Turf Tamers work real well on a trike, but like Tim said you'll need the 11" wide ones to hook up that 500.

I've been really eyeballing the stock LTR450 tires. They look like they would work fantastic on a trike!

All the rest of the questions you want answered are really relative to your specific machine and your weight, tracks your running, etc.

Good luck with the build! T-3's are awesome.

[Bryan Raffa]

Titan 18x11x10's came out in 05 and are alv.. through parts unlimited for around $70 ea and you can also get mxr4 holeshots in 19x10x10's for $85 ea

[BigGreenMachine]

Think I'm going to go with 8 inch wheels on 300ex hubs. Those trekkers look sweet but the 10 inch rim would get pounded trail riding.

I really like the YFZ450 stock rear tires, they look like they would hook up great and slide pretty well. Though they were designed for a fourstroke...

Plus two on the swingarm, plus three max.

I'm only a small guy, I think a fresh shock on a +2 swinger would still be fine. I have a guy who can setup the shock for me locally and.... PEP has Jimmy White's Tecate suspension setups on hand for anyone that wants them.

This will be my daily rider with MX taking second but it'll be rode hard no matter what. We have a new backhoe for our J5 so there is the possibility of me making my own small local track for spring/summer enjoyment.

[TimSr]

If you are going to trail ride this too, the best option is two sets of tires mounted on rims. No tire does it all well, and actually what works best on the track sucks the most on trails. I run 22" All Trax on the trails, and then pop on the 18" Turf Tmaers for the track.

[Bryan Raffa]

actually I found the klaw MXR to be great for both but I should have went with the 20"

[BigGreenMachine]

I have a set of stock 85 ten inch Tecate rims with 22 inch spidertracs. I can always use a stock 86 front with a 23inch tire.

[scooterroo]

fasttrekkers are not discountinued....just bought a set brand new ...titan makes them now. 18x11x10, 45 bucks a peice.

[BigGreenMachine]

Think a Trekker would hook up with a KX500 motor?

Just found them online, dang they sure are heavy! 13 pounds a tire for the 10 inch rim.