I thought I would chime in on some setup things that I have discovered as a bit of a bike newbie. I have a Timbersled kit mounted on a 2005 Yamaha WR450f. I am 6'4 and about 220 all geared up. I changed the rear shock air pressure to 65lbs rear and 80lbs front and I took out the 1/2 inch spacer from the coupler block to attempt to aid in weight transfer. A little better I think. Per Timbersled's recommendation, I moved the ski back as far as possible by redrilling the spindle such that the rear mounting hole is as far back as possible and still capture a piece of the spindle. In conjunction with doing that, you need to reverse the billet aluminum block between the spindle and the ski AND reverse the rubber cushion between the billet block and the ski. Repositioning the ski does improve packed trail manners noticeably.
As far as bike runnability, I talked with Jerry Dean from JD jetting, explained the mods that were done to the WR( basically "uncorking" the bike) and purchased his jet kit. Much richer than stock for my temps and elevation. In my case... Sea Level to 5000', 5 steps up on the main to a 170 , three steps up on the pilot to a 48 and his needle. Those changes improved cold start and overall runability I opted for a K&N filter primarily because their filter sock fits their filter very well. I rerouted carb vent lines AND THE CRANKCASE BREATHER tube to the airbox... both good moves. I sealed the air box the best I could and drilled several holes in the left and right side side cover. I covered those new holes with some frogskin material. Last weekend, our ride started at -10f varied to about +15 average 0. Bike ran good enough all day, no snow in the airbox and no internal icing. Carb itself was ice caked, but the bike ran and started all day. I was out with a couple of M8 162's and they could climb hills I could not. The chutes that were chosen were too narrow to tack and I just ran out of snort. The one attempt that led to a minor stuck forced me to sidehill my way out.... with help it was a ten minute oops. Same scenario with a sled would have involved a great deal more heavy breathing. Two weeks ago, I was with a group of 8 'A' riders all on current top end sleds. I kept pace and surprised the bunch. While the bike won't necessarily go everywhere a sled will directly, it will get there and you will have more fun along the way. One thing that is extra cool is you can pull into the trail head with the bike in the back of your pickup and take your pick of parking spots. When you are surrounded by 20' trucks with 30' enclosed trailers, you feel like a sports car!! I think I am getting close to getting the runablility issues sorted out regarding the bike.... my issues are more between my ears as to what it can do. It climbs where you think it shouldn't, it sidehills with zero effort, it threads trees effortlessly..... downhill in fluff great until it stops..... 2" crustlayer on top of three feet of sugar.... not so hot.
bottom line, after 25 years of riding in most of the same areas..... we have a lot to choose from in Alaska.... this new twist has captured my imagination and makes going to familiar places fresh and different. I committed to this enough to sell my 2010 M8 and I don't have any sellers remorse.
I would be interested in hearing from people that have experience with both carb and injected bikes and anyone one that has experience with the Rekluse clutch... Pickings are slim for injected enduro type bikes.... out local dealers include Yamaha,Honda, Suzuki and KTM.... no injected enduros in that mix.Husaberg a maybe but the step up would have to be substantial to justify no dealer support and price.comments?
As far as bike runnability, I talked with Jerry Dean from JD jetting, explained the mods that were done to the WR( basically "uncorking" the bike) and purchased his jet kit. Much richer than stock for my temps and elevation. In my case... Sea Level to 5000', 5 steps up on the main to a 170 , three steps up on the pilot to a 48 and his needle. Those changes improved cold start and overall runability I opted for a K&N filter primarily because their filter sock fits their filter very well. I rerouted carb vent lines AND THE CRANKCASE BREATHER tube to the airbox... both good moves. I sealed the air box the best I could and drilled several holes in the left and right side side cover. I covered those new holes with some frogskin material. Last weekend, our ride started at -10f varied to about +15 average 0. Bike ran good enough all day, no snow in the airbox and no internal icing. Carb itself was ice caked, but the bike ran and started all day. I was out with a couple of M8 162's and they could climb hills I could not. The chutes that were chosen were too narrow to tack and I just ran out of snort. The one attempt that led to a minor stuck forced me to sidehill my way out.... with help it was a ten minute oops. Same scenario with a sled would have involved a great deal more heavy breathing. Two weeks ago, I was with a group of 8 'A' riders all on current top end sleds. I kept pace and surprised the bunch. While the bike won't necessarily go everywhere a sled will directly, it will get there and you will have more fun along the way. One thing that is extra cool is you can pull into the trail head with the bike in the back of your pickup and take your pick of parking spots. When you are surrounded by 20' trucks with 30' enclosed trailers, you feel like a sports car!! I think I am getting close to getting the runablility issues sorted out regarding the bike.... my issues are more between my ears as to what it can do. It climbs where you think it shouldn't, it sidehills with zero effort, it threads trees effortlessly..... downhill in fluff great until it stops..... 2" crustlayer on top of three feet of sugar.... not so hot.
bottom line, after 25 years of riding in most of the same areas..... we have a lot to choose from in Alaska.... this new twist has captured my imagination and makes going to familiar places fresh and different. I committed to this enough to sell my 2010 M8 and I don't have any sellers remorse.
I would be interested in hearing from people that have experience with both carb and injected bikes and anyone one that has experience with the Rekluse clutch... Pickings are slim for injected enduro type bikes.... out local dealers include Yamaha,Honda, Suzuki and KTM.... no injected enduros in that mix.Husaberg a maybe but the step up would have to be substantial to justify no dealer support and price.comments?
