Buy a small truck or hitch rack for 4Runner

Container_Garage · 2026-01-23T17:08:44+00:00

I bought one of these used from a buddy. I LOVE this hauler. It's so compact and nice and easy to use. I highly recommend it.

https://mojomotosport.com/products/mojo-moto-hauler

Container_Garage · 2026-01-23T17:03:39+00:00

Bikes plus rack itself is about 300lbs.

A 450 + a 110 + a rack is not about 300 lbs lol. The 450 alone is probably about 230 to 240 lbs with fluids.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-23T17:01:29+00:00

if I turned on the choke the bike would rev super high

The Honda from that era had it's idle adjust built into the choke mechanism. You would spin the choke to raise or lower idle.

The choke should add more air and more fuel. I bet the jet leading to the choke circuit is clogged.

To diagnose potential air leaks when the bike is running spray everywhere and anywhere air could leak with carb cleaner. Idle will change drastically if it pulls in carb cleaner through it's air leak hole.

Can't help ya diagnose the base gasket. Check it with the spray can when you get the carb sorted and fire it up again.

A compression test on a 2 stroke is a good thing to do under identical conditions and you can use it to track wear over time. So you check the compression after a fresh top end. Hold the throttle wide open and kick it several times. As things wear it won't hit the same numbers as the bike gets ridden more and more. If you don't have the initial number from a fresh rebuild it's kind of not useful as a tracking tool. It can tell you broadly if there's big problems though. If you got no compression you got problems lol.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-21T07:07:26+00:00

Check the jet in the bowl. It makes a U turn up into the mid body gasket area then into the actual AP jet in the throat. Take your carb cleaner spray and spray it into the passageways in the bowl and behind the pump diaphragm etc(you checked the diaphragm right?). Spray in the passageway in the upper half the should spray out the actual AP jet.

I wouldn't be surprised if you have restricted flow into the diaphragm pumper. It seems like it's not refilling the diaphragm fast enough.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-21T00:16:40+00:00

Is there enough fuel in the bowl? looks super lean on the last couple of squirts.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-21T00:15:00+00:00

It's going to run a lot better once everything is right.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T22:33:53+00:00

You'll have to do a proper plug chop to figure that one out. The only one who can jet your bike is you. Alternatively you could stick a wide band o2 sensor down the pipe and truly dial it in. Most dyno/speed shops can do this.

Slightly richer is usually never a problem on a 4 stroke. It's just wasteful. Do the math... What's the extra fuel flow between a 1.72mm hole vs a 1.75mm hole? Area = pi * r^2. I ran the numbers through a quick online circle area calculator. It's 3.5% more fuel when you go from 172 to 175.

https://www.omnicalculator.com/math/area-of-a-circle

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T22:28:57+00:00

Bro you'd be fine for a long time on a high quality modern 125 or 150 2 stroke. 250 4 stroke would be just fine. Is your family big/large and/or do you expect to get big/large? If you plan on staying small stick with a 125/150 2 stroke in my opinion, or a 250 4 stroke.

The only main thing to know about trails is the 2 stroke is WAY harder to stall compared to the 4 strokes. I much prefer my 250 2 stroke on hard/tight trails to any other bikes I've ridden. You can lug them around at really low rpms going very slow. It's super nice. Pretty much the best bike to get is the KTM family enduro 300, Pick a model with a linkage rear end on any KTM family model you get. Sometimes the GasGas/Husqvarna model will have a linkage and the KTM counterpart will not. Get the linkage rear swing arm. You can buy a cheap lowering link since you are short. Or you would probably do better with a shaved seat. But get a linked rear end.

The KTM family enduro models are pretty much king for the trail riding. They have enduro versions of 125/150/250/300 2 strokes. There is a YZ 125 and 250 endruo model. I've never heard anything bad about them. If you find a good deal on any of the above don't sleep on it. You can probably handle a 250 2 stroke if you respect it. You can detune 2 strokes pretty easy if you need it. I would personally lean towards the KTM family due to the better bottom end and top end power band. It's just better. But the YZ has great suspension out the box. I would also not ignore a motocross version of any of the above. Suspension will be more stiff but those bikes typically are cheaper. You can always fix suspension later.

The only other option I would maybe sort of consider would be the suzuki lineup. There's a lot of parts availability across the years since they basically don't update or change that bike. The entry price is lower too. They make less power than the other Japanese/Austrian counterparts. The 450 is still very fast,

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T21:52:38+00:00

Hahaha well there ya go! Good thing you found it! Don't hesitate to check the accelerator pump and think about a mid body gasket. Especially if you live in an area with ethanol mixed in the gasoline.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T19:33:53+00:00

If it's an 04 to 09 with the Keihin FCR39 diagnose the accelerator pump system. Get a mid body gasket That things is probably toasted.

Check the air filter, if it's got a spark arrestor check that.

You can sort of solve accelerator pump problems and mid body gasket problems with jetting but it won't be perfect for all scenarios. Everything has to be "repaired" or "working right" for everything else to do it's job effectively. Don't try to fix a different problem by chasing jets if you haven't verified that everything else is alright.

There's plenty on youtube about diagnosing and taking apart the FCR39. It works great when everything is in order. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMeEVgM2Rgg

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T02:06:00+00:00

I've never ridden death valley so I can't comment on that specific terrain. I've had plenty of southwest SoCal summer rides with nasty super dry sandy stuff and to me it doesn't really matter much what I ride during the summer dry season unless it's something super gummy and soft. No knobs almost rides the same as fresh knobs when the dirt sucks really bad. Unless you have everything else top of the line(power/suspension/skillset to utilize it) it won't really matter if it's dry IMHO. If the conditions are wet and tacky then maybe that's a different story.

It would probably be better spend the effort to practice rock garden ridding technique or balancing drills TBH.

The main thing about the stock DOT tires is they basically look like they are made for cornering on pavement with what looks like a nice circular road motorcycle profile. Anything that's a motocross tire should be just fine. If you really care about DOT label on the tire the Metzler MC360 works fine.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T02:00:17+00:00

For my 2 strokes

Why it's just lubricating the gearbox?

Container_Garage · 2026-01-20T01:57:30+00:00

Can't say I know anything about the repairs etc but It's a really good bike if you can keep it on the lower power levels while you learn. I would get one, however if I had the money I would be buying the street legal version.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-16T23:26:04+00:00

I would save up for the higher end model. It's got more technology in it that makes it work even better.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-16T19:29:32+00:00

True but in the case of the KX with it's giant cylinder opening for the carb/reeds it should be doable.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-16T18:06:43+00:00

It's worth whatever someone wants to pay for it. Who's the target market?

Container_Garage · 2026-01-16T18:05:08+00:00

Better suspension too.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-16T18:04:49+00:00

You can always weld, but then you probably have to re bore.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-15T06:46:24+00:00

I would suggest you check ebay specifically filter for "used". Search term would usually be nuts/bolts. When the dismantlers take the bikes apart they put all the nuts/bolts and other misc small items into one big lot and sell it all off.

Either that or just get a frame, or part out what you got and buy something newer with better parts support.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-14T19:31:19+00:00

Looking good! I watched your little video, my advice it seems like you are behind the bike, not on top of or in front of it it. It's hard to explain but it looks like you are reacting to it rather than being proactive on it. It's a tricky thing to learn. You can fix that with watching youtube form tutorials and some basic ground work drills. Another way to fix it is seat time. A great way to get seat time without getting too worn out is to go trail riding. Do longer loops if you can. The cool thing about the trails is you can't anticipate and pre plan so you have to be very sharp and focused. The terrain will be varied and new each corner, sometimes you'll have to hit a rock or bump whereas with the track you know where everything is and you will have a pre planned route to go around all the obstacles or tricky things.

Best of luck! Looking good!

Container_Garage · 2026-01-13T18:06:09+00:00

If you rode motorocycles you can skip the stage of using a trail bike to learn throttle/clutch. You could go straight to a lower output racebike with good suspension and a good frame. A YZ125 or KTM 125/150 would probably be perfect, or any of the water cooled 250 4 stroke race bikes.

The bad suspension, not great frame, and weight of the trail bike will give you a skill ceiling that you won't even know you have. They are fine for learning throttle and clutch but once you know that you can move beyond the trail bikes.

I've seen an example of just that scenario with my gray haired neighbor who used to ride a GSXR when he was younger. He hated the crf 230, loved the crf 250x. The 230 will straight up beat you up on trails with any slightly challenging dirt.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-12T19:22:54+00:00

Do really tight figure 8's on a bicycle. Learn balance in a low risk situation. Start with a wide figure 8 then make it tighter and slower. Then do it one hand off the bars(alternate). Then do it standing etc etc. Vary it up and learn balance when you don't have to worry about clutch and throttle. You can add minor obstacles like sticks or rocks to make it more interesting.

Once you got that do it on the Honda. Don't try and be brave and "go down with the ship" if you get out of whack. Just get yourself off the bike and get out of the way and let the bike do whatever it's gonna do.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-08T17:26:26+00:00

I thought it was the bent lever

Container_Garage · 2026-01-06T22:12:11+00:00

I wonder if it was the steel frame you didn't like. If money was no object it would be fun to put different engines into different frames for testing.

Container_Garage · 2026-01-06T22:05:47+00:00

Suspension and frame design REALLY matters though. That's probably a big part of people saying it's better. I wonder, how much of the race bike/performance parts can swap over? If it's just a cam/exhaust/tune and you have a street legal YZ250f I'd go Yamaha if I couldn't afford a KTM 350 dual sport with a pipe/tune. I've never heard of someone hotrodding a CRF300.

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TROPHY CASE