Minor update:

The cover on the AT1 came off pretty easy. I did every kind of voodoo rain dance that I could think of to keep the broken/stuck screw demons at bay. I've been soaking and resoaking every observable screw and bolt head for over a week. I went around with the impact driver and broke everything loose the night before.

The only issue I ran into was losing the thrust washer off of the top of the plastic gear. The first time I saw that washer, I knew it was a potential a-hole. Sure enough, that thing dropped into the nether for a solid hour. You can probably guess where I found it even though I looked there many, many times.

It had wedged itself into the darkest recesses of the skid plate. I knew it had to be in there, I just could not find it.

I hope to have this portion wrapped up today. I'll be onto the fork seals next.

In DT1 250 news: I've been screwing around on the internet trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the exhaust. I looked at VHT, I looked at spraying two-part and looked at having it sprayed, etc.. A buddy of mine from another forum (thanks @Davedacarpainter ) suggested that I get a quote from Jet-Hot Coatings.

I half thought it would be a waste of time and that cost was going to be too high. It wasn't. Jet-Hot oven cures [before] sending the part back. This was something that none of the local places here could do. So, for $168, off it went. I'm calculating 2 to 3 weeks with shipping both ways before I get it back. I'll be sure to post pics once I do. I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. I'm getting it ceramic coated, flat-black. I sent them the pipe and the collar.

I had a Fox Mustang header Jet coated around 2005. It's survived two pretty brutal weather states in that time and is still in great shape.

Aha! I see that I am now a, "Mini-Enduro"!

Who knew that such a day would come!?

Does anybody happen to have a source for the little boot that covers the [neutral switch] on an AT1?

Copy. Ordered one, thanks!

Will do. I'm hoping it comes out looking almost "digital" in comparison to the rest of the bike.

Whew... I finished buttoning up after the clutch swap.

The clutch adjusting bolt and lock-nut was stuck stuck stuck. Needless to say that I did eventually get it loose.

I got it all together right and went to start it up. This was the moment that I realized I had not pre-loaded the kick-start spring.

I drained the oil and pulled it all apart again. Got the spring right this time (double checked on the plastic gear shim) and put it back together.

It pulls much harder with a clutch!

Just a quick video of it sitting there idling after spending the next hour or so trying to dial in a decent idle. I'm slowly figuring this piece out. It's not [exactly] like a chain saw.

The idle itself sounds good but maybe a touch slow to return to idle? Original throttle cable may need lubricating, or slide could be catching a little if the carburator is too tight at the flange bolts.

I find these so much easier to adjust for idle than my chainsaw was, if had a small crack in the impulse line and was a nightmare.

I'll check those things out. Both are definitely possible.


My next item up for bid:
The electric starter turns over very slowly. Any suggestions on what I should start with there? The button switch is already a suspect but I think there's more going on there.

Does anyone happen to know if there is a better set of stabilizer bushings for the DT1 250 than stock replacements?



Update on the AT1:



I'm pretty sure this confirms that my seals are bad. LoL

I just got the caps loose last night and have the seals on-hand. I'll be taking the forks apart over the next day or two. I also plan to break the internal wrnaching bolts on the bottom of the forks loose before I take it all apart.

Any other tips I should know about?

I have new seals, dust caps, and a replacement set of the outer covers (which I'll probably use instead of the dust covers).

Are there any other pieces or parts that would normally wear and need replacement?


Thanks!