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Good work. Post some pics of the piston and bore. Is it a steel liner?

Ours eats squirrels, though he may finally be getting a bit long in the tooth. His recall is good fortunately so he will begrudgingly come back. Also, possums, cats, deer, coyote and (ONCE) a baby skunk. That went exactly how you might imagine….

Find out what’s up with it first. I’d start with compression, if that’s low it could be ring sealing or just the bore getting a bit tired. Pull the top end off and inspect and measure. There’s generally some degree of cross compatibility on two stroke pistons, but before you get into that, see what OEM / aftermarket ones are available. If there’s no damage, measure the bore and order the next oversize. They generally come in increments of .25. Then take the new piston and barrel down the machine shop and get them to bore it. Cast pistons need less piston to bore clearance than forged - so make sure they know what you have.

Old air cooled two strokes are pretty rattly even when they are fresh. The couple of Rotax engines I’ve played with also had straight cut primaries that make a racket.

If it’s been sat unused for a long time, the crankshaft oil seals are often suspect. Just go slow - two stroke engines are mostly a doddle to build.

Don’t do it! You measure piston to bore clearance with a Micrometer and internal Mike. It varies depending on air / water cooled / iron / coated sleeve and cast or forged piston. If it’s a little over, either live with the noise if the compression is still OK, or get it rebored / replated.

Random dogs are awesome…

Damn free Ti tank too.

Yeah - very popular out here for MX / Supercross / Desert. They're f'ing expensive though and a cock to fit.

Yeah - all the true, off road tyres (as opposed to MX) I’ve fitted have been bears. Especially the rears. The carcasses are super stiff. I’ve only ever had two punctures al fresco. The two most useful gadgets have been a wire pull, to thread into the valve and pull it through, and the bead mate, which holds the tire deep into the bead, while you lever the other side.

I always carry a dozen or so super large zip ties too - 6-8 will hold a totally fucked tyre on the rim and let you ride slowly home.

I run 12-13psi. Different terrain obvs. Faster and rockier, I suspect. It's easy to pick up pinch flats. Also, we have the most astonishing assortment of thorns to deal with. Single rim lock. I think I have all Michelin heavy tubes at the moment but the undefeatable, gold standard are the Bridgestone ultras - they're almost like tyres! Heavy but bombproof.

Next set of tyres, I might switch over to Tubliss - they look very impressive.

That's great - new tires are always a total win. Haha, I'm going to shut up and make to with the 2 stroke. The new air filters arrived, so I just need a bracket for my big (3.2gal) IMS tank and I should be set for a longer shake down. The plan is to be ready for a D37 Hare and Hounds on the 27th. If I don't break anything or bottle out before that!

It's weird, the 450R went EFI much earlier.

I dunno - the problem with the CR is that it's not great for desert - runs out of gears too quick and 1st is too long once you gear it up. It's pretty much for short blasts and pratting around on the vet track occasionally. The XR is great for open desert but super hard work on anything more technical. Something like yours would be perfect!

I was in the same situation - it's just not possible I'm afraid. I sold my GSXR in London before I moved here. The situation I mentioned above was for a bike registered in Oregon, not even outside the US.

You can't register any foreign vehicles in CA, only those originally sold for use in the US, with US VIN numbers and the correct EPA / CARB emissions labels on the bike. There's some sort of exemption for vehicles over 25 years old but from what I know, it's still a total nightmare to get a CA plate for them, even if you can get them into the country.

As a small upside, I'll wager you'll probably find used Ducati prices more reasonable here...even if 1098 / 1198s are a bit thin on the ground!

Sucks, sorry fella. I took all the paperwork from CARB (California air resources board) that regulates sale of new vehicles for emissions and the sodding DMV still refused to register my bike without the poxy sticker.

Yes. Sell it and buy one here - registering anything in CA without US or CA emissions stickers is not possible.

Price wise, likely 05-09. They seem to have made only very minor changes up until ‘18 anyway. They’re all carbed models, would prefer EFI but not a big deal.

I wouldn't stress - people are doofuses about overtightening pinch bolts and trying to bend straight crashed stuff rather than replace it. It's just a chunk of billet with a bar through it. I replaced the ones on the Duc because the OEM ones broke.

I've got a right old throb on for a CRF450X now....but I reeeeeally don't want to sell my XR. Not sure I can justify both...and it's a beast finding good Xs that are street legal, which I definitely want. I should probably just ride what I have and shut up.

Sweet - I bet the brake lines and throttle cables will be longer. Usually not a problem to have slightly too long lines if you swap back; you might need to play with the routing. If you're not fussed about having OEM clip ons you can get every variety of angle and lift imaginable off ebay. I got a set of 1" rise Chinese numbers for the Duke for about $40 and am pretty impressed.

Is it getting any warmer yet for a proper spin?

They’re so cheap to buy on eBay - no big deal. Is the original top yoke still on there? Underneath the billet bit for the flat bar conversion?

Looks like you can take that whole lot off and stick a pair of clip-ons back on (they go above the top yoke) Save some weight too!

Riser bars?

No emissions test for Motorbikes here, only cars and trucks. The difficult bit is you can’t register anything in CA that was not CA or 50 state street legal, so two strokes are out, except for off road only. There are still bikes grandfathered in before 03 and a few still dubiously sneak through the DMV.

If you fancy a motard though - I’d look for one of the Husky / Ktm 690 based bikes. You’re big enough for them to be perfect!

Nice if you want a dirtbike - will cost a couple of grand in wheels, suspension and brakes to make it a motard though.

Would still be a hoot to ride on trailwings though - I can confirm I ran out of brakes before I ran out of grip with them on the street.

The schlep is a pain. I pretty much gave up regular riding outside London and just found little circuits around town to twat around on. A proper motard would be perfect really, you just need to be suitably judicious in between.

Look out for a 450x instead - the 250s are grenades and you’d need to SCREAM it to go anywhere. If I could find a plated 450x for a sensible price, I’d be all over it. Especially if someone’s already swapped the intake valves for stainless.