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Today, everybody's got vows. It's awesome action at the four Stroke nationals. Then we test Kawasaki's new middleweight, the hot ZX six R

plus tips on wheel lacing and truing to Tommy G in our project of the week.

Hey guys, welcome to T DC and a look at the future of Motocross. I'm Alen Neighbors. And today the sport is all about changing technologies. If you can only ride a two stroke, your days are numbered.

It wasn't long ago that four stroke motorcycles were laughed at and considered the redheaded stepchild of Motocross. Those days are now over

guys who ride two strokes. You know, they're, they're kind of like,

I don't know, they're, they're back in the old days. You know, it's kind of come to the future and, and get on with a big horse.

I was one of the guys, I was die hard two stroke for years. I fought for a stroke. The bikes are definitely

there, they're ready to go

and it's there.

A

long time ago, two strokes were faster,

but now the four strokes are getting lighter and they're getting faster and the four strokes are here. In fact, all the four major manufacturers got them. And,

you know, you go to a 125 national now and that's all it is. You know, it's all four strokes, maybe a few, 1 25 2 strokes. But,

you know, I think that's the future, you know, for sure if we're gonna pin either bike, keep it wide open. But, uh,

I'd say the four stroke is the way to go.

I like the four strokes

when it comes to four and two strokes. You don't have to be Tommy G to understand how they work. Four strokes. We call them a tractor or a road filler

since they fire every four

pulses of the crank

instead

of ever

chewed.

They're not

as

per se.

It's kind of like comparing a Mack truck to a Ferrari.

It's just gonna go and go and go

and not be high strung and jerk you around

and that's what gives these motorcycles that sound.

You know, it's just,

you know, sound of thunder. Basically.

You got that bump

bump. You know, you sound like a, like a Harley in the woods,

you know, as opposed to that ringing,

I'm independent and making a lot of noise. So it's real easy with this thing. You

know,

the thing is, it sounds like you're going fast. Even if you're not,

can't do

that

to go fast. You have to know how to handle the power,

the four strokes, you gotta leave the power on you. You gotta come into that corner hard and you gotta, you gotta leave the power on because you don't have that snapping

like you have on the two strips. You know, it's a little bit heavier than a two stroke. But,

you know, some places it's good and some places it's bad. But overall it's, it's a much better fun bike ride.

They're a little trickier to set up suspension wise because they

front wheel steer. And what that means is the motor pushes so hard with the back tire

that it makes the front end push out a little bit. So real important to have good tires on the front. You'll see the two strokes having to fan that clutch to get up those big hills. The four strokes are just running up there like a John Deere cracker just

flying off of it.

No stranger to catching air is multi time X game gold medalist, Mike Metzger who is four stroke racing's latest convert,

getting out on, on a big outdoor track and twisting the throttle.

What I like to do? I like going fast. I like banging bars. I like being on the starting gate with 40 riders

and, uh, I like coming across the finish line and knowing what place I got.

You know,

that's the difference between going freestyling and having a few judges tell you

what they think you got.

You know, so

it's all about checkered flags for me.

I am

the

Mets pioneered the freestyle movement and his backflip shocked the world.

Now. It's about motos and not backflip

com.

I consider myself retired from freestyle and I just do it

when there's a demo or

my sponsors want me to be at the X games. I love the roar of being on a starting gate with 40 other four strokes.

I

mean, that really makes my blood

girl just like

this is gnarly. I gotta get out in front of these guys right now and make it happen.

That kind of adrenaline going through you. You know, it's just, there isn't a feeling like that Mike Metzger's

CRF 450 Honda,

probably one of the best bikes on the track for sure. Horse truck just has a lot of power, especially the 450

it fits my riding style a little more than the smaller bike. First thing I think the most important is getting your suspension done,

go to

any suspension

guy and basically have them dial it in to your preference. This bike I just picked up from ECC a few days ago. So it's actually a stock engine.

It's just got the exhaust pipe, got some cool bolt ons like these Titanium pegs from light speed,

got some carbon fiber bolt ons from light speed, got the oversized braking rotor sponsor of mine. Got to make sure I have my Michelin tires on it.

Very good

Metz has got the machine, but he's also got something more important heart

and you're in pain for a little bit and you're going,

man,

why am I doing this?

And then you think it's in my blood? You see him still trying to come, racing,

still pursues um, his original dream of being a motocross racer. I think it's pretty cool. It's good that he's coming back. You know, it might help the sport. You know, there's a lot of people like Tim for everything he does and

no, I like it. Good to see him up there.

I've always considered myself a racer growing up, started racing when I was six years old, traveling the country with my dad and

that's what I love to do. So that's why I'm here

no matter what he's riding, you gotta love mad Mike Metzger

more four stroke action in the dirt right after this.

Uh You better be in shape if you're gonna log around a four stroke. Here's part two from the four stroke nationals

starts are critical of Motocross. So getting out front and avoiding the first turn, melee is key. Otherwise you're eating dirt.

Oh, it's going to be barring

an action

running it tight for 2 25 minute motos takes its toll. So these racers have to be just as dirty as their for.

You gotta be mentally strong, you have to be physically strong, you have to have a good endurance and

I think uh Motocross is the best athletes on the planet. You train during the week, you run,

you work out and everything, your old mind, body and soul goes into this.

And, uh,

you know, when you get hurt of it, they're adrenaline junkies. Even if,

you know, I fifties at, at, uh, 10 years old, they need more than just a,

this is what we call old school Motocross. This is an Arena Cross is a Supercross. This is where you go fast and furious. Norman California was a sight for round two of the Western Four Stroke national

where the only two strokes allowed are

fast and Furious and Moto one was Rusty Holland and Shane Bess who swapped the top spot the whole race.

Oh,

yeah, it was definitely in mind game to try to stay behind him and take a second. And then

I was like, I was out in front for too long. So I went for it and made one last ditch effort on passing and passing him and

put a little gap on him. And that last stop was the longest

ever in

2001. Mike Brown won the 125 Motor

Cross title

on this day. He was tuning up his Yamaha for the nationals

here. You expect you expected to win these things and it puts more pressure on you

in a field of four fifties. Mike was running the 2 50 CC four strike

some of the corners and uphill stuff. It's a lot quicker on the 450

for sure. But

here I think the main thing is having a good suspension. You know, I made a few adjustments there today and got it better and,

you know, that's the main thing on this track. I don't think it's the performance is

it for the handling is more, more important

as a veteran. He's got another advantage.

You know, I think he's

get a little tired than,

you know, I would. So hopefully I can catch up past

after 1/4 in moto one. He handled the I FIVE track with ease and moto two and easily took the race win, put my head down and tried to get away from those guys. And then,

you know, after that I just went and rode my own race and just cruise, you know, didn't like to push it too hard. I just wish I'd have got better, finished the first one. I thought I stayed in third. I'd have went overall, but

I'm happy with it. It's good practice for me.

It was Bess's first race in almost six months, but he managed a third place finish behind Turbo Reef. And more importantly, I had a hauler for the overall.

I was so deep.

But no, I'm so happy it'll set in the night when I drive home. But, yeah, I wonder and then I

can,

it's,

it's hard to do it. So I

made a little money to get the next one. I know if you're there and make some more money to get the next one. So that's what it's all about right now. I'm going racing and having fun and making some money.

The four stroke nationals. Rock special thanks to Don Snyder and his guys for putting on an awesome event

up next. We'll test Kawasaki's trick. New ZX six R

while most middleweights are 600 S Kawasaki's new ZX six R is 636

C,

whether you're carving canyons or taking hot laps, those extra 36 CCS make a big difference.

It also has awesome brakes, trick forks and new GP style plastic. But the engine is the story.

You know, you got more CCS, you got more power

and not only do you have more horsepower, you got more torque,

you have a broader power band

and it's, it's enough of a increase in the displacement that you've got all the good that comes with it,

but it's not so much that you have the bad that comes with it.

A ram air ferring

intake and 38 millimeter throttle bodies feed the big 16 valve in line four.

It generates 100 and 8.29 rear wheel horses at 12,700 RPM and 46.2 pounds of torque at 11,100.

It's all held together with an aluminum perimeter frame sporting 24.5 degrees rake and 95 millimeters of trail

close ratio. Six B transmits power to a 180 battle ax and aggressive four piston Takiko do the stopping.

Another thing that's really uh stand out about the ZX six is it's got the radio mount brakes

and

probably right now there's the best brakes in the middleweight class. They're just

with two fingers. You've got great feel, you've got awesome staffing power and some of the other bikes have radio mount brakes, but they, they don't have the feel and they don't have the staffing power of these.

The potent ZX six also has new

Kabba suspension.

Another key features are 41 millimeter inverted forks, really rigid, provide excellent handling and stability at all speeds.

Best in class power and lowest in class weight makes you feel like you're in a video game,

man. You just can't argue with how this thing gets off the turns with the extra CCS

and then with the, the

two fingered braking, it's,

it's real easy to make adjustments going into the turns. It's,

it's the, the feel is wonderful. Not you just have a lot of braking, but you have great feel when you make an adjustment, it's really easy. You can, you can make a smooth adjustment. The bike doesn't jump around on you. So it's a wonderful track. But,

but how about living with it once the adrenaline wears off

true, the L CD gauges are hard to read. The engine is a bit buzzy and that stiff track cornering is hard on the street.

But that said the all new ZX six R is still a no brainer,

especially if you're a hardcore sport bike guy

up next. We're building tips in our project of the week.

Hey, guys, welcome back to T DC. I'm Tommy G

I know how you like to save money by doing your own work. So today I'm gonna show you how to lace and through a wheel.

This 125 play bike has been played with pretty hard.

It's got broken and bent spokes all over. So it's gotta come apart

when I'm talking about saving money. I'm talking about 2 to 3 hours of labor. Labor rates can range from 40 to 80 bucks an hour depending on where you live.

So why pay somebody for something you can do yourself?

Mhm.

You'll need to get the tire off first.

Larger tires are usually easier to work with. Our 125 has a smaller 14 inch rear. So you'll need a good set of tire irons

in order to get all the old folks out. You'll also need to unbolt the sprocket from the hub.

Here's a tip, take a Polaroid picture of the wheel before starting the project.

That way you can refer back to the spoke pattern when you release the wheel.

Since Yamaha sells new spokes in complete sets, we'll replace all the old spokes and nipples with new ones

as another point of reference mark where the inner spokes are on the hub,

this will help us orient the new spokes when we reassemble the wheel.

Now we're ready to take out all the old spokes and nipples.

These nipples are coming off easy.

Older wheels may need a little WD 40.

Ok. Guys. Now that we got the wheel apart, it's time to release the hub,

separate the spokes into two piles inside and outside.

Inside spokes usually have hooks that have less angles

lay off the hub and spokes on a clean flat work surface. Lacing a wheel may look intimidating, especially the first time you do one. But it's really not.

It's like putting a puzzle together.

You just need to take your time

with all the spokes in the hub,

lay the rim over and begin aligning each spoke.

Refer back to your snapshots of the wheel to copy the same cross pattern and thread on the nipples, finger tight.

All right,

we got the wheel laced up. Now it's time to true it

doing that requires rotation.

We're gonna use a T tring stand,

but you guys can do this at home, just put the rim back on the bike and if you can spin it,

you can tru it.

I rigged up an old spoke as a pointer

that's gonna allow me to check. My run out

rims aren't perfectly round, especially a used one.

But by applying spoke tension in the right place, you can correct side by side, run out and wheel hop

once the pointer finds a high spot,

I'll mark it with tape.

That'll let me know that I need to pull this side of the rim over this way. I'll do that by tightening these spokes

when the rim is aligned, gradually tighten down all the nipples

with our rebuilt wheel trude. It's time for a new tire and tube.

A little action with our tire irons and our play bike wheel will be ready to take on more abuse. Spokes break on dirt bikes due to getting loose or by under inflated tires.

We'll run £14 of air on this one and check the spoke tension before every ride.

Don't be afraid to lace it through a wheel. It's not hard. Just take your time and the most satisfying thing about this, you're working on your own bike,

but the best thing we just did was save some money.

All right guys. Now it's time for some new products. Now, if you're into chrome and you wanna customize your motor. Gardner Westcott has the answer. This is one of their show bike kits with every piece of hardware needed to convert stock engine and trans fasteners to the smooth chrome acorns. Uh They specialize in Harley's but they have them for all types of bikes starting at 100 and $9. Now, while you've got your wrenches out, you might want to try a set of these. They're new Iridium spark plugs from NGK, the center electrode is a tiny iridium tip which is a precious metal that won't erode like a standard steel electrode.

NGK claims they'll improve ignition efficiency and power and they retail for about $8 a piece. Now, if you want to protect your power, check out the expansion chamber guard from

Eline, these Kevlar and carbon fiber guards clamp on protecting pipes from roost stints.

Eline claims they also make extra power by increasing pipe heat.

Now they have 100 and 50 different two MFO STROKE models starting at 100 and $20. Well, guys, that's all for this week, but don't miss T DC next week.

It's road racing action. We're a style from Barber motor sports Mart.

It'll be great until then

ride safe.