Heavy rain the next few days. If anything good comes out of it, at this should clear the rest of the salt off the road. Get those bikes ready!
Archive for the General Category
How the AWD Works and Why it’s so COOL!
Posted in General, Product Updates on July 20, 2012 by cjracerI get this asked alot, so here it is from the Man himself, Steve Christini and Racer Wild Wally Palmer!
Rockerbox 2012 – BE THERE!!
Posted in CJ Designs Events, General on July 16, 2012 by cjracerHope to see you down at Rockerbox in Milwaukee. Aug 4th 2012
Be sure to keep an eye out for the AWD KTM 950 Adventure Army bike, ” The General”.
What is Rockerbox?
Video from 2012
New KTM LC8 950/990 CJ Designs Billet baskets READY!
Posted in General, Product Updates on June 16, 2012 by cjracerIt’s been a few years since our last batch and back due to popular demand, we’ve made another batch.
These will be ready for my pickup from the hard coater this week and I’m offering a PRE-Order discount for a limited time. At this time due to custom Shop work, these will only be available DIRECT through CJ Designs. http://cjdesignsllc.com/LC8Basket.html
PRE-Order Prices: From Now until June 22nd 2012.
DIY basket. $475, plus shipping : This is the basket and rivets, (20 ton press and drill press required to reinstall to factory specs – Qualified Shop Mechanic required)
Built basket , SWAP for a built unit with the GEAR assembly installed or have your own basket updated. $625, plus shipping
Core charge of $350 applied. When your basket is returned with in 2 weeks of arrival date to you. Full refund is given once a USEABLE Core is recieved. On the back of the basket there is Drive Sprocket for your Oil Pump. This is REMOVED and REUSED. DO NOT SEND THIS TO ME. You will need this for proper reinstall.
I ship this USPS priority, so you will see this in 2-3 days (In the USA) from the time I ship them. FIRST orders should be ready to start shipping around the end of the month.
I need baskets/gears back in a timely manner to keep building these. If you feel you can not get your new basket in your bike and the old one sent back in this time frame please wait to order when you do. I only have so many Cores available to offer the SWAP program to limit down time for others.
The Engine side cover need to be removed – Like when a Waterpump is rebuild. We do have the Engine Case gaskets in Stock as well as Water Pump rebuild kits if you want to take care of all this at one time.
After the 22nd price will go up $50 on both options.
Shipping in the USA is about $20.
Outside USA is about $65.
Paypal payment only outside USA. 4% fee added to all Paypal payments.
Paypal or check accepted in USA.
You can send preorder payment to, Craig. At. Cjdesignsllc.com
Or check to:
Cj designs
S85w27890 hartwig ct
Mukwonago, wi 53149.
A limited amount were made this batch. First come first serve. If you are interested. Send payment to get baskets saved.
Please email me if you have any questions or would like an invoice for additional Items.
Thank you for your support.
Spring 2012 Wisconsin Adventure Trail Ride is a Success
Posted in CJ Designs Events, General, Travel Updates on May 26, 2012 by cjracerWisconsin Adventure Trail Ride is a Success.
A group of 11 riders took off Wed May 16th for a 1400 mile loop around Wisconsin, all were back home safe, but sore Sunday night.
It’s all NORTH from here.
It was a very warm and dry ride this year. Temps from 60-95F.
We wandered into Iowa, criss crossing “The Mighty Mississippi” a few times.
Enjoying some great two track that didn’t last long enough, but was well worth the ride to find it.
Running short of daylight, we made a bee-line to Black River Falls. Very happy to find “108” on our route north.
http://www.statetrunktour.com/108.php
What a fun road, even on Dirt tires. Arrived in BR Falls in time for dinner and a few beers. What a great first day.
Clark County Trails.
Starting to hear odd noises from your KTM LC8?
Posted in General, Product Updates on April 21, 2012 by cjracerA little LC8 Tech Talk:
2005.5 KTM Adventure 950
Chasing Excessive Engine Noise
by Dieseljo
I purchased this motorcycle with 8,000 (well cared for) miles from the original owner.
At 10,600 miles I had the (by now) classic water pump shaft (seal) failure. Only to be noticed by a flickering oil psi light when the engine was up to temp (warm). The engine oil (when viewed with the human eye) did not look milky/coolant deluded. NOTE: With this engine, the paper type (stock) oil filter is one of two ways, in identifying a leaky water pump seal (before you destroy your engine.) Why? Because the paper filter clogs easily with coolant, reducing oil psi, turning on your oil psi light and drawing your attention to the problem. Or you could purchase a CJDesigns clear clutch cover, then you can see the moisture build up on the clear lexan face of the cover. With the Water pump repaired I headed back out on the trails.
At 12,200 miles my motor developed this horrible noise, which after many years of turning wrenches sounded like a very loose cam chain. The noise was odd and would sometimes go away if I shut off/restarted the motor. Installing a temporary oil psi gauge I could see the motor had plenty of oil psi when cold or hot. As noted by KTM the oil psi relief valve (for my year motor) had some issues with the internal spring. Seeing that the cam chain tensioner was the next stop in the oil flow after the relief valve, I decided to update the oil psi relief valve with the new part number, running the engine after completing this update verified the problem had NOT been repaired. The horrible engine noise was still there. I then pulled out both cam chain tensioner lifters and proceeded to inspect them. There it was… I found the noise… the rear cylinder cam chain tensioner lifter would stick (like a hydraulic lock) when compressing the inner piston to the bottom of the outer bore (you can do this with your fingers). It would only become un-stuck after injecting 35+ psi of shop air into the oil side of the lifter. I replaced the cam chain tensioner lifter, started my engine, and no more horrible engine noise. In fact the motor is running smoother than ever especially at low RPM. Now I am putting the 17″ wheels on with EBC HH pads (supplied by CJDesigns) to thrash the roads with my favorite most universal bike ever.
IMPORTANT NOTES: 1. Why did the lifter fail? We think it may have been (internally) scored when the coolant was running through the oil side of the engine during the water pump shaft failure.
2. We know when the engine is not running the cam chain tensioner lifter is near fully collapsed in the bore. On one end the cap is holding the lifter in and the other end the tesioner/ chain slide is pushing the lifter towards the cap. At start up the lifter internal spring pressure is used to push the piston out (keeping some tension on the slide) until oil psi arrives to take over. In a motor without a stretched cam chain the oil psi takes over within a couple seconds of start up.
3. I have read some posts about shimming the cam chain tensioner lifter. I do NOT recommend doing this. Especially after working out the math of the lifter travel and reviewing how the lifter cap keeps the lifter centered in it’s bore. If/when your cam chains become stretched, it is time to replace, not shim.
This is what the Tensioner looks like:
If you think you are in need of these email me. We have these in stock ready to ship to get your bike running it’s best Fast!
Thanks and safe travels,
Craig
CJ Designs supports Chris Vestal from Rally Moto Kit Racing
Posted in General on March 28, 2012 by cjracerOur friend, Chris Vestal from Rally Moto Kit. com and Concept Vision.com is racing the Mexican 1000 April 28-May 2 1012.
He’ll be using our CJ Designs footpegs on his race bike.
Check out his new video and if you want to help or learn about his team click here.
What is it like to live with CJ?
Posted in General on February 26, 2012 by kjkalfasI get to hear comments like this all day…
“I should build a nuclear-powered KTM 950. I suppose, though, the weight you’d save in fuel would be replaced by lead coated gear and bike parts.”
Yes, I suppose so. Weirdo. Gotta love it- I wish I had that kind of creativity!
Both Craig and Katie from CJ Designs are now members of the LinkedIn community. So… if you are on LinkedIn, look us up!
Dealer Meeting 2012
Posted in General on February 20, 2012 by kjkalfasIt’s been a long time since I have written a blog post, however, this past weekend at the dealer meeting in Indy has inspired me and has really pumped up CJ Designs. So, here’s the scoop..
CJ was fortunate enough to have his bike as a demo bike in the show. David and Harold at Giant Loop were in need of a bike to show off the newest and greatest from Giant Loop, and CJ had a bike that was feeling a little lonely. So, together, we pretty much made the most happening booth of the show!
Harold, CJ, Dave at the Giant Loop Booth
CJ Designs (Katie, CJ, Matthew) at the Giant Loop Booth
CJ at the Giant Loop Booth. Note the lady checking him out. What a hunk!
CJ chatting with some passerbys
For next year, my suggestion to Harold and Dave was to get a male spokesmodel for the booth. Perhaps Giant Loop can come up with a promotional Speedo for this model to wear. Just a thought. Anyways, we started out perusing the apparel/luggage section of the show, only to find that there are some wacky folks there, only made wackier with copious amounts of coffee, lack of sleep, and talking for 8 hours straight.
CJ, Eric (Wolfman), Matthew
It was great to catch up with Eric from Wolfman Luggage. Wolfman showcased some new and exciting stuff, and I must say, Eric has fabulous taste in shoes. However, while Eric had stepped away fom his booth, the staff of Wolfman were getting a little restless…
Interpretive Dancing in Wolfman
The Natives are Restless!
That said, David was also trying out a new marketing technique by flashing gang signs to the passer-bys.
Dave and his new gangster marketing tehnique.
Ned Suesse, who just recently competed and completed Dakar, stopped by to chat.
CJ, Ned, and some dude who remained stationary for the entirety of the show in full riding gear with Ned's Dakar Bike in the Klim booth.
Ned, CJ, Matthew at the Giant Loop Booth
We walked through, checking out some of the booths from our other friends, including Klim, WARN, Christini, Kriega, Heidenau, Held. I fell in love with a new design Held Jacket. We even met some new friends, so check out the website for some new little and BIG goodies that we have in store!!! I got a little lazy with the camera, so I only got a couple of shots:
Christini AWD Booth
Rolf, CJ, John, Matthew
Jason and CJ at WARN Booth
Matthew hard at work. He's taking a photo of a scantily clad spokesmodel. Matthew, you pig!
Friday night, CJ Designs dined with the folks at Moto-amore and Heidenau Tires at the Rathskeller for some fine German food in Indy. Rolf from Heidenau and I wowed the group with a stellar rendition of “Ein Prosit,” and we had a great time! We also distinguished the difference between kohl and kraut, besides talking about work. I am excited that I found a new friend in Rolf, and someone I could practice my extremely rusty German with. I will certainly study a bit and we’ll see you in Germany in 2013 (CJ Designs’ European tour)!!
Dinner at the Rathskeller with Heidenau
Rolf and Katie after singing another German song.
On Saturday, we had another long day at the show, capped off with an evening with our friends at Giant Loop and WARN.
Dinner with CJ Designs, WARN, Giant Loop. What a lucky gal I am to dine with 6 devastatingly handsome guys.
All in all, we had a good time at the show, and we were able to learn a lot about new and exciting products. So, stay posted for some dramatic and exciting changes at CJ Designs. I am bugging CJ to post to the blog some of the technical information about the new products available.
Until then, make sure to eat plenty of Pączkis tomorrow for fat Tuesday! If you know what a Pączki is, then you are even cooler…
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