IronBrian762x

24/05/2026

Oh hell yes, billet float bowl work of art fits the Air Striker on the 2019 KTM . Juuuust barely. I might inquire on a drain screw thats 5/8" shorter and sits flush, as it just brushes the case saver. Beautiful piece! Almost hate to dirty it up!

For me, this is not intended as a permanent install but as a tool for quick tuning on projects. Pilot and main swap out from the side in under a minute with very little fuel spilled. If it'll fit, it'll go on the 1984 next once the 3hunny is dialed.

Thanks to Dave and the team for some very functional bling!

19/05/2026

I think I decided we're going to do this damn thing in a bug. I don't need it to be full class 11 standard, but I would like to point it in the Baja Bug Direction obviously. I don't know the first thing about doing this, but I'm sure planning to learn real quick. If any of the homies out there have leads on cars that are almost ready or cars that are getting unloaded and are perhaps capable of Baja cruising​, I would very much be interested in your suggestions. When you know as little as I do about this, it's always easier to start from a platform that's at least mostly there!

Thanks for Wade Kabrich getting me past the sh*t-or-get-off-the-pot decision and Reese Robinson for his common sense reminder that any bike or car is simply a moving hole into which we throw money, ans the only question is how much and how fast. Sending me videos of Skyler Howes 10 sweet bug was not very helpful though... 😂

07/05/2026

Seriously stoked to have this work of art on my bench! Hell yes, thank you to Arlan at and of course Dave and the ladies at . Can't wait to put it to work for some tuning! But first, some medical hobby work, removing some screws. (Contrary to popular belief however, I don't have any loose...at this time.) Back at it next week!

Pic #2, special internet points for the name of those monsters. Jebus, 6 jet screws, 2 diaphragm, one mix screw...times two. Then the breather length allegedly matters (much debate), block off the smog crap, sensitive to float level (3 or 3.5mm? The argument rages!), change everything when you rip the airbox out... But goddamn is it the most incredible way to convert octane into horsepower, orbital roost, decibels, and erections lasting longer than 4 hours!

06/05/2026

Did you know on a YZ250FX that if you're tired and you plug everything in but leave the fuel line disconnected so you can take the tank off again, when you tap the starter to wake it up the fuel pump will absolutely soak you in gas? Now you do.

Oh, and the 2019 and earlier Yamaha Diagnostic Tool won't talk to a 2021. Like to thank Yamaha North America for confirming they won't sell the new YDT to mortals (dealers only), forcing me to buy one from Japan because all the local dealers are weeks out. Lame.

30/04/2026

Moderately excited for this billet float bowl for the Keihin PWK38 to show up end of next week. This idea is it allows you to swap main and pilot jets from the side instead of getting in there, dropping the bowl, twisting it in the ducts, getting gas everywhere, etc. I would have killed for this sucker last year when we were in and out of the CR500 carb a dozen times trying to get the jetting just right. Matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that contributed to fatigue on the intake boot going to the reed block, which failed after 2 or 3 laps at Starvation Ridge.

Anyway, hopefully this can be a diagnostic and tuning tool to do jet swaps in a matter of a couple minutes with minimal spilled gas and hassle. Next up, 2019 KTM 300xc with a problematic PWK air striker install that I just haven't gotten quite right.

Ordered from Dave Moore Racing via Arlan at LED Performance Engines

Allows changing pilot and main jet though removable side access panel.

30/04/2026

Just back from the ortho doc. After months of jumping through hoops and gatekeeper appointments to see him, we're going to extract hardware from my leg/ankle on May 8th...9 days from now. WTF, right? Thankfully the recovery is basically waiting for the skin to heal. China Hat May 16th weekend is a go, even if I'm just tending the BBQ and safeguarding the booze.

I did some learning. Thought maybe I was just being a sissy. Probably true as well, but it turns out the chronic inflammation and swelling from the original procedure in August 2024 finally went down so the screws stick out more now. That was accurately advertised as lasting most of a year, and sure enough, it really started bothering me late last year--a year+ after the procedure. Before that, all the inflammation effectively cushioned where the screw heads stick out. They stick out because there's so little bone to work with in that spot without popping out the back side into the joint, he couldn't countersink and get them flush like he'd do in a bigger bone. Haha, rule of thumb for steel screws into aluminum cases is twice as much engagement as diameter, so M6 screws ideally get 12mm of purchase. I should have asked what it is for bone, but it's clear there wasn't much margin for this particular install.

Anyway, extraction is pretty straightforward and quick. Leave the wire/button setup (those pieces above the 3 screws) that was used to initially draw the fracture together. Leave the rod because the it is barbed and will stay in there (it's an option to remove, but if not necessary, HELL NO). Yank the three screws or break them off in the attempt--either works. Shot of local anesthetic, incisions, use tools I probably have in my shop to pull the hardware, bandage, walk out. 10min job. I even get to watch! Sweet! More decorations to go with the Christmas ornament made out of my collar bone bracket. 😂

14/04/2026

EnduroBeek would like to thank the hundreds of people who threw his frisbee for dozens of hours at the SJMC Desert 100

What a weekend! I honestly strongly wanted to just sh*t-can it, simply from the aggravation of getting the Sprinter ready in time. I literally finished the last piece of work installing rear brake pads, washed my hands, and got in the van to drive out on Thursday afternoon. I'm so glad I did! Getting outside and with the bros resets fun-meter. Highland Cycles you just talked about this today and it resonates.

Let's see... Met up with Dylan Julian and the guys at Evo Idaho just to say hello; ended up staying several hours mounting mousses for random folks. LOL, the cash you threw at me paid for a new Sprinter radiator last night! More about that in a minute.

The Calgary Canuck Coaltion headed by the infamous Cory Hanson of Camel ADV Productsand augmented by Patrick Horan had a spot mapped out and Randy Kerlee and Derick Kersavage had camp set up by the time I arrived. Awesome to see Austin Verbeek again and make friends with Justin Beck. The Smithsquatch aka Ryan Smith showed up while I was changing tires...but no worries, I was there to change one of his. Or was it one of Cory's? Or Patrick's? To be honest, it's all a blur. I know we had to take one of Cory's back down to Evo to use the rabaconda after the oversized mousse defeated us on the regular stand. Whereupon, it defeated us even on the Rabaconda and he had to scramble for another tire.

Saturday, headed out for the poker run. Miscommunication can be a funny thing. You can go REALLY fast on some of those back roads trying to catch up with your buddies who left a few minutes early, while scratching your head because you KNOW they're not THAT fast. Well, turns out they'd headed to the Ironman and I'd headed to the dualsport. Oops! The KTM 570 definitely got to stretch its legs and show me that the new waterpump seal is likely not able to overcome the groove worn in the camshaft. That sucks, but the leakage is so slight, it's basically a cosmetic reminder from the weephole. Really enjoyed getting back into some rally-adjacent navigating with Northwest Roadbooks. If not for the rain periodically resetting my app and fouling everything up, I was having a fantastic day. User error and some app-specific learning to be done.

That evening, helped with some service on Ryan's new run-whatcha-brung 97 xr(ated)400, to include oil, replacing the fingernail thick brake pads front and rear, and one of the nuttier jobs I've done at the D100. We pulled the steering team and lower triple to grease the creaky lower steering bearing and...the cage and half the bearings fell out on the ground. D'oh! Fast research gave us the specs, calls to something like 12 auto places for tapered roller bearings nailed a set in Spokane an hour and a half away.

Ryan hauled ass out there and returned 4 hours later, and...they were the wrong damned bearings. Whaaat? My fault, there were additional part numbers I didn't initially see. Turns out the 32005js/26 is 1mm bigger ID than the 32005. 26mm vs 25mm. That was a bit of a puzzler. Well, I cut the lower bearing race off with dremel and cutting wheel and burr, then shocked with cold chisel to fracture. Brought it up and used it as our new bearing driver. Drove the used serviceable top bearing down there and greased it. Replaced the lower race in the frame as well. But where the hell do we find this bearing at 7pm on a Saturday in Odessa?

Well, turns out we had awesome neighbors who'd been playing frisbee with Beek for a coupla days and also had an XR200 pitter which appears to be 100% original down to the tires from 1990. LOL! A quick cross-reference confirmed my suspicions and after a conversation, I'd borrowed the bike and we transferred the bearing to the mighty XR400. Buttoned up at 11pm, it completed the full hundred miles, and the bearing returned to its rightful owners with fresh grease and 100 miles on it! LOL! Racers are awesome people!

Pitted for the race with the fantastic people of The Ben Binckley Foundation. A couple more tire/tube swaps (an 18" will go into a 19" tire but you need probably 2-3 people to hold the damned thing out of the way to avoid pinching). Some mechanical odds and ends helping racers at the Last Chance Pits, the Beek got this kickass photo and lots of running with the kids, and we closed up the race portion of the show.

Tidied up camp Sunday afternoon, tried to use the Motive pressure bleeder that Mike Clough of the Stumpjumpers MC brought, and was defeated by rain. My desire for rock hard brake pedal was eclipsed by my desire not to lay in cold mud. Will live with brake pedal about as rock hard as my abs for a bit. Need to work on both.

Packed up camp Monday morning, said our goodbyes, and hit the road, only for a failing coolant level sensor to prompt me to check the coolant level. Whereupon I discovered the back side of the reservoir in the one-piece radiator is failing. Gawwwwwwwdammit! Some distilled water and another couple of miles into Odessa and I grabbed epoxy at Napa and made the ugliest patch I've ever seen. It held and I drove home. An hour later, my Evo cash went to Rockauto. Guess I'll take that damned thing out again on Friday. Extra aggravating since I'd just flushed and cleaned the OEM a week ago and it's a PITA to get in/out. Sheesh.

Time to start unloading and cleaning the van. Roadtrip to Mullet's Basic Training graduation next week!