175 Jackpiner. The Timex of off road bikes?

[wfopete]

Last weekend I entered myself and my '73 Jackpiner in a modern bike Harescramble. Being a modern bike race things were a little tough for both of us. The nine-mile course included about four miles of tight woods that had deep ruts w/thick mud that require rerouting the course in several areas.  Most of the rest of the course consisted of very deep sand & sand whoops. The motor spent plenty of time with the throttle pinned just to keep speed up. Anyway, I thought: "This can't be much worse than the old Jackpine 400 except I might get run over by a modern bike". The 'Piner ran well until the last few minutes of the race when the motor started to "missfire" unless I let off the throttle, which was tuff because I was in deep sand at the time.  Between the mud packed motor and deep sand loading the engine, I'm sure the 'Piner was running a little warm. I cleaned the bike yesterday and it started and seemed to run ok but I'm wondering what damage may I have done to the engine & how can I tell if it's wounded or will the 'Piner shrug this off as just another day on the track?

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[VICTOR MONZ]

Excellent job, Pete !

I am sure all of us are proud of your perfomance and the Jackpiners'.

Victor

[454MRW]

Pete,
Pull the air filter carefully while looking for any signs that indicate if there had been any sand ingested by the engine, clean & re-oil it and inspect and put in a new spark plug. I would check the torque on the head bolts and look for any evidence of leakage at the head gasket and base gasket. If the symptoms re-appear, I would remove and clean the carb, fuel tank, petcocks, and lines for any contaminents, and if that fails try spraying carb cleaner with the engine idling around the gaskets and crank seal area of the Motoplat and see if the RPM changes, indicating a leak and sucking air. All of the ground points for the ignition need to be clean. The engine grounds through the engine mounts, so check & tighten all of the motor mount bolts. I usually run a separate ground wire from the engine to the coil mount to ensure a good ground.
These are just some of the good periodic maintenence checks that will help keep your Jackpiner in tip top shape for years to come. They are very dependable with the right preparation and post race maintenence. Mike

Michael R. Winter
I enjoy rebuilding and appreciating Pentons!
1974 250 HS Pentons-1980 KTM 175-400'S

[wfopete]

Michael,

Thanks for the tips. I try to always take off the ignition cover to help dry out/inspect the PVL ignition. The 'Piner will be going into hibernation now, where it will receive some much needed rest and recovery.

Pete Petrick
175 Jackpiner
Slow but Good

[chicagojerry]

hi pete. i tried to send you a message through this site but its not working correctly. could you please drop me a note at [email protected]  thanks, chicago jerry