2000 RS125 intro and questions

You should be ok up to 65 degrees.

Bump start procedure.
From cold, choke on, first gear, push or roll, drop the clutch and operate the throttle like you are blipping it vigorously until it fires, knock the choke off after about 20 seconds and keep the revs around 5k max, blipping the throttle.
Same for warm starts minus the choke obviously but these are much easier, I usually sit on the bike and waddle! Some guys start them on the stand by spinning the wheel with their hand, I haven't tried this yet, sounds like a disaster waiting to happen!!

 

When my son rode one, I was told the extra heat will only slow you down but won't hurt anything. We did try to keep it between 58-65. I know we saw over 70C and almost 80 one super hot day in the desert. 70 is only 158F, so I wouldn't worry about it overheating too much.

After the first start in the morning, I have started my son's by spinning the rear wheel. Getting the starting tool, makes life nice in the pits. http://www.tso.us.com/parts-book/honda/0125rs125/accessories/starter/starter.asp Leonard owns TSO and is very helpful and supportive of the 2 stroke world.

With the tool you can start it with the warmers still on and warm it up over 40 before going out.

 

When bump starting, are you running with the bike in neutral, then as you jump onto the bike, click into 2nd or 3rd and bounce on the seat at the same time you drop the clutch. I'm pretty certain 2nd is all you should need? After it has been warmed up in the morning, it really should start pretty easy, unless there is another issue?

 

I click mine too 1st. Easiest is to get a push so you don't have to hop on. Keep pushing once it is turning over until
It fires!

 

Definitely getting a push is easier, but he mentioned walking back to the pits, so I thought I would go over how to bump start, in case he has never done it before? It's been a bunch of years, so I can't really remember what gear he used, probably 1st or 2nd.

 

Leonard at TSO sent me his personal tool on short notice, didn't have any others made. Very cool dude.
It happened to be a red flag but we went right back out (again a track day). I discussed with Scott a suggestion for race day in case they delay the grid. He suggested having a friend at the wall with the drill, but I'm almost always by myself at the track. I'll learn to bump start it with some practice. Matter of fact just from the posts here, I may not be continuing to push after I bump it. That may be the problem. I'm expecting the start immediately at the bump.
I walked it back to the pits to get the tool.

 

First weekend of racing was a success! Didn't turn very fast laps but I definitely learned a lot and the help from Magnus and Tom was tremendous, thanks again guys.

After last month's track day, the previous owner pulled the cylinder to show me the piston and look at the cylinder. We didn't have a torque wrench at the time, so the cylinder head and carb was installed by me and the bike didn't blow up. Baby steps.

Red flag after one lap, bike cleanup, got a push and successfully got it started, used 2nd gear. That was a huge weight lifted, I know what I was doing wrong and am confident I can bump start on my own now, will try early morning next round before practice.

It wasn't too warm this weekend for Palm Beach weather, got the temp up to 40 before heading out on 3rd call. Oddly enough max temp on the track was only about 51 degrees. My assumption on the morning drive over to the track was "nice, cool day, the bike will run better" and completely forgot about the tape. I couldn't even get it to 13k. I've been told optimal temp is 56-58, so I'm guessing this could have been part of the problem. On a much warmer day last month it was reaching 56-58 and I was holding back once it reached 13,500. Nothing else was changed.

I'll be looking into fork springs from the new 250, as they're stiffer than anything available for the 125. at 175, I'm easily 35 lbs heavier than the previous owner and on this particular back straight the forks would bottom out and the tire would slide, so I was doing most of the braking upright before tipping in.

Ergonomics: Good Lord
One of my clip on tubes is cut and cannot be moved very much. Magnus gave me a spare, so I will extend the bars as much as possible as well as pull them forward (straighten) a bit. He also mentioned there are very thick seat pads obtainable from Europe, I'll be looking into them, as well as the possibility of raising and extending the tail section dependent on the subframe that's on the bike. After the restart, 9 laps (roughly 20 miles) and I was toast. I'll drop 10 lbs before the next round in 4 weeks.

Finally, my starts are horrible. I started in the back for safety. The only saving grace is T1 is a bus stop so I'm able to at least catch the back of the pack mid turn 1.

 

On the starts, all 125's have bad starts compared to 4 stroke bikes. You have to slip it, then slip it some more, then slip it more, and then it will still be too early! Also, some riderss used to push/run a few steps with their feet as well, to get the initial jump.

There are also "big boy" footpeg kits that allow you feet to come back further and make a large difference, as well as a "big boy" seat that allows you to come back more too. I've seen guys put think foam as you mentioned and also raise the entire tail section up with hollow bar stock is another option.

 

Congrats!

For temp and tape, Fatbaq has a tape chart that is pretty good. In general it is no tape in the 80s F, one strip in the 70s, and 2 strips in the 60s. I try to pay attention to the temp pretty well.

Put the bars forward as much as possible without having the levers hit the upper fairing. As Rob said, there are extended footpeg sets (Hjelm is/was one). Also, for seat foam, you can buy foam from McMaster-Carr and cut, glue and stack to raise your butt up some - I can't remember if it was closed cell or open cell to get. I think closed cell so that it wouldn't hold water. You can get something like a 6' long roll for pretty cheap and cut to fit the shape you want. I have a big-boy seat, but never got around to putting it on - I think the bum stop is something like 30 or 60 mm farther back. And there was a thread on USGPRU about somebody using wood to raise the whole tail section up. I guess after a few weekends once the muscles get used to the position, the stock set up wasn't too bad and I've never changed it. But is is a workout after 8 or 10 laps regardless.

Have fun!

Matt

 

Any temp over 55 c and the power will just keep dropping , real tough to do in south florida with hot temps and no air , running an airbox ( 11 plug , 10.5 is the norm) , summer time will see 65 as a normal temp which back in the day when there was 20 + 125's in the field everyone was dealing with the same plate HOT

 

AND P.S. - Don't ever ever ever hold back on a two-stroke , LIKE AS IN EVER ... if ur running out of gear just flip the on off switch a few quick times with wide open throttle .... ur starving it of fuel and it will seize ... just my $.02 cents worth but its a penny for my thoughts ... 13,500 is all I would ever wanna see unless it was a heated battle in a race then 13,700 or so ... she drastically falls in the HP department around 12-12300 unless its built ( which scotts stuff was ) then it may fall at about 12,500 tuned right

 

Not sure I follow. You're saying during my first track day outing when I held it at a steady rpm will seize it?

 

He means the RS125 is lubricated by the oil in the fuel. If you're not on the gas, there's no oil lubricating the piston and you're at risk for seizing if done for too long. Flipping the kill switch prevents over revving while still being on the gas and lubricating the piston.

 

That makes sense

 

I guess you would have to explain "hold back" ... And yeah it's WFO on the 125 on the straights ... A place like Jennings you may fatten up the needle cause thru the back ur barely hitting the main

 

To clarify "hold back":
A month or so ago, I'm guessing the weather was better than a few weeks ago.
First rack day a month go, I could get it easily to 13.5 on the back straight at Palm Beach, was told by Scott not to run it past that, so I held an almost-wide open throttle down the back straight.
On a cooler day a few weeks ago, I forgot all about the tape and could not get it to rev much past 12, temp would only get to about 51 on track.

 

I have never seen 60 degrees besides when I had too much tape on it, a good radiator, no fender, and some water wetter has prevented it, even during July at JGP.

 

Hmm... now I'm concerned.
Long straight, 6th gear, hard braking and downshift to 2nd.
I've never learned to blip the throttle.
Is this an issue, dropping the clutch without blipping?

 

Drop away. There isn't any engine braking. Just don't go from 6th straight to 2nd. Drop gears as you slow. Don't use the clutch. The engine will rev up as you downshift. You'll figure out at what speed and when to shift to keep it in the correct rev range.

The whole clutchless downshift thing will hurt your brain at first. Just do it and it will become second nature. It's smoother and faster than using the clutch.

 

Scott also told me I didn't need to clutch on downshift, I'm terrified to do that.