There are a couple positives to using a triangle side stand.  One, it’s never in the way when riding.  Two, you can use the excuse, “I can’t find a prop tree!” to avoid helping dig your riding buddy’s bike out of the mud.   As a woods rider, there's been plenty of times that I wished I had a kickstand, so over the past couple of months I've been testing a Fastway Kickstand by Pro Moto Billet (PMB). Installation was straight forward on my YZ250F.  Just be careful not to strip the shallow torx heads on the OEM T50 bolts when removing the footpeg mount. Heat is suggested if necessary.  The kickstand mounting bracket gets sandwiched between the frame and foot peg, so 6mm longer bolts are included. Fastway Kickstands are make/model specific, available for most MX motorcycles from the big 5 within the last 20 years.  Several enduro models are also covered, but are more hit and miss.  As a make/model specific part, the contour of the kickstand matches the bike's profile to a tee.  Swinging the kickstand up tucks it neatly away behind the side panel.  It has adequate clearance to all surrounding components and is well protected in case of a crash.  Transitioning the stand between up and down while seated on the bike is possible after you get the technique down.  My only complaint is that once you get the kickstand over center, it has the tendency to swing into the up/down stop somewhat hard and bounce several times.  As tempting as it may be, Fastway doesn't recommend using the kickstand as a starting stand or while sitting on the motorcycle, something I adhered to during my review. When riding, the kickstand does exactly what it should (stays out of the way).  There are no areas of the kickstand that will snag brush or hinder rider movements.  The 6mm that the mounting bracket shifted the foot peg out was imperceivable.  The 1lb. 7.5oz of added weight was also not noticed.  For those typically riding in wet conditions, the kickstand mount does provide a new surface for mud to accumulate, but it never caused any issues. The stiff internal spring holds the kickstand in the up position in all riding conditions.  Even on the biggest flat landings that I could stomach, bystanders confirmed the kickstand stayed completely up and did not budge.   I was amazed at where I could park my bike without concern for tipovers.  I've had bikes with OE kickstand that didn't provide as much stability as the Fastway kickstand. The combination of the footpad size and bike lean angle allowed me to park in soft sections of the trail that included mud, loam, and seemingly bottomless sand sections. And, I wasn't cognitively trying to find the ideal spot to park. I’ve been beating on this kickstand the last few months and it’s held up well.  The footpad shows minimal wear with just a few scratches from normal use. Despite all mud and sand that I've managed to work into the kickstand pivot, while there is minor scratching, the kickstand level still swing freely. The only real visible wear is from all the hits from the kickstand bouncing into its endstops.  The rubber bumper is starting to wear and it’s also deforming the mount ever so slightly.  PMB does note to “carefully position kickstand up and down”, but this is not easily possible without using your hand.   Overall, I am extremely happy with my Fastway kickstand.  It’s completely invisible to me when riding, it allows me to stop nearly anywhere I want when out on the trails, and it holds my bike up securely. While some wear is visible, I don't think it will cause any long-term negative consequences. Pricing varies depending on the applications, but it will typically have an MSRP of around $160 UDS. More on the Pro Moto Billet website.

After several years of wear and tear, my OEM YZ250F brake lines had seen better days and were in need of replacement.  After looking at my options, I think that Core Moto offers the most customizable line of stainless steel brake lines available.  You have free rein to mix & match line colors, fittings, tubes, and tags to truly make your bike your own. Building something custom? Core Moto can provide custom brake line lengths and bends to suit your needs. My Core Moto stainless steel brake lines came in simple, yet effective packaging, with paper tags to indicate connections to the master cylinder and caliper. New banjo bolts and crush washers are included, so you don’t need to buy any additional parts (or even think about reusing consumables - shame on you!). The transition point from the stiffener tube to flex line is made of a rubber material that provides adequate strain relief to keep from line kinking during installation and riding.  The only flaw I noticed was a lone machining chip left over on one of the banjo bolts from a turning operation.  Core Moto does provide a lifetime warranty against leaks, breaks, and ruptures, something I find pretty remarkable in this day and age. Installation was straightforward,  pretty much the same as OEM, including banjo bolt torque values (see your shop manual).  However, the supplied hardware is different than OEM (14mm hex vs 6mm allen). A nifty feature that I wasn’t expecting is that you can rotate the banjo fitting and reclock it relative to the brake line to get the best possible routing possible.  A small tweak can make a big difference in how well the line follows the contour of the bike. Routing doesn’t perfectly mimic OEM, but is fairly close with no ill effects.  For example, the rear brake line routes a little closer to the shock spring.  Conversely, the front master cylinder fitting is formed such that it keeps the line from rubbing on my number plate.  This was not the case with the OEM lines and appreciated. I hate bleeding brakes and brake fluid is hands down the worst automotive fluid to work with.  That said, I also realize the benefit of replacing old fluid, why it goes bad, and the effects it has on performance.  For that reason, I had fresh fluid in the system both before and after this brake line change so that comparison between OE and the Core Moto stainless steel lines was one to one. That said, there are performance differences between OE and Core Moto stainless steel brake lines, but they are subtle. My old lines were more than capable of locking up both ends if I squeezed hard enough.  There were a couple big takeaways though.  First and foremost is initial lever feel.  The mushy feel in the first part of travel was reduced by over 50%, replaced by an almost instant firm feel.  I could see my old brake lines flex and bulge as I pulled on the lever. In contrast, the Core moto brake lines hardly move.  Second, it now requires less lever or pedal throw to achieve the same level of braking.  This resulted in locking up the rear wheel a lot while I adjusted my muscle memory, but I acclimated within a couple rides.  While this upgrade may not have resulted in immediately faster lap times, it did help reduce rider fatigue which can help maintain speed later in the race. If you're someone that prefers firm lever feel and/or like personalizing your bike with trick parts. Core Moto stainless steel brake lines are right up your alley. However, even if you just need new brake lines, their lifetime warranty is definitely something to factor into your decision.  More at https://www.coremoto.com/category_s/306.htm

Offering more power and capability than ever before, the Redshift EXR empowers riders with the control and confidence to ride faster, safer and smoother BRISBANE, CA – June 13, 2018  – (Motor Sports Newswire) –  Alta Motors, the leader in high-performance electric motorcycles, today announced the release of its highly-anticipated Redshift EXR. The 2019 Redshift EXR is the ideal multi-terrain motorcycle for the performance enthusiast, but equally intuitive and easy to ride for beginners. It recently made a clandestine global debut at the notorious Erzberg Rodeo and made history as the first electric bike to ever qualify for the main event. Ty Tremaine positioned his EXR on the front row in 43rd position, ahead of 457 other bikes, proving the EXR’s performance in the most extreme race conditions. Alta created a bike that can be ridden to local trails and unleashed to flow through off-road obstacles and effortlessly conquer even the most daunting hill climbs. Impossible to stall and incredibly sure-footed, the EXR is a purebred, single-track slayer with street legal capabilities. As a zero-emission, street legal dirt bike, the Redshift EXR has full access to all areas that permit off-highway vehicles, regardless of the season. With minimal engine noise, the riding experience heightens the rider’s senses to the terrain around them while promoting responsible land usage. The 2019 Redshift EXR will be available at over 60 dealerships nationwide midyear. Key Features and Benefits R-Pack Building off of Alta’s industry-leading A-pack technology, the highest-energy density battery ever put in a motorcycle, the new R-Pack represents the next evolution in battery performance. Alta’s new R-Pack utilizes state-of-the-art cell chemistry that delivers extended full-power range at cooler operating temperatures. The Redshift platform’s firmware and software upgrades result in more range, increased power and faster charge times, making the 2019 EXR one of the most capable multi-terrain motorcycles available. Electronics Alta’s proprietary software is developed to be lean and elegant. The company’s development cycles are extremely fast and have enabled Alta to create the most refined throttle feel in the industry as well as swiftly release new controls and capabilities. Four unique performance maps allow the rider to change the power delivery character, engine braking freewheel, and flywheel effects. The Open loop “rate of change” torque control has a response rate of 5,000Hz, yielding the closest thing to “theoretically perfect” torque control yet achieved in the motorcycle industry. The seamless drive technology lets you focus on the terrain and the obstacles rather than what the engine clutch and transmission need from you. This means more of your attention is on the ride. Full Specs: 2019 Alta Redshift EXR Top Speed 71 MPH Power 50hp, 42 ft-lbs Charge Time 1.5 Hrs (240v) 3 Hrs (120v) Front Tire Metzeler 6 Days 80/100-21 Rear Tire Metzeler 6 Days 120/90-18 Forks WP Xplor 48 Shock WP Alta Custom Spec Front Brake Brembo 260mm rotor, Brembo dual piston caliper Rear Brake Brembo 220mm rotor, Brembo single piston caliper Curb Weight (wet) 273 pounds Wheelbase 58.75 in Seat Height 36.5 in Rake 26.3º Trail 113 mm Triple Clamp 18/22 mm adj Handguards Cycra Stealth MSRP $12,495   About Alta Motors Alta Motors is a global leader in lightweight electric vehicles with a proprietary mobility platform that offers new levels of power density and economics. It leads the industry with a complete portfolio of battery and drivetrain components, an existing fleet of lightweight vehicles manufactured at its world-class Brisbane, California, facility and a full customer backlog. Alta’s award-winning Redshift platform is now available to riders at over 60 U.S. dealerships across the United States. Please visit us at: altamotors.co

When it comes to overall strength, there's no beating a forged piston. But what is the process that yields the toughest parts in the racing world? We'll show you.  When it comes to turning raw metal alloys into useful things, two processes dominate - casting and forging. Both have their place, but when strength and light weight are priorities, forging is the method of choice. Though it’s been around for more than six millennia, forging processes continue to advance the state of the art, bringing us everything from sharper, more durable kitchen knives to more fuel efficient jet engines, plus things much closer to our heart: lighter, stronger pistons. Although forging is a metalworking process thousands of years old, it’s still the best method to produce components with the highest strength and durability. Forging is defined as the controlled deformation of metal into a desired shape by compressive force. At its most basic, it’s a blacksmith working a piece with a hammer and anvil, and those first metalworkers toiling at their forges discovered something important about the pieces they were crafting – compared to similar objects made from melted and cast metal, they were stronger and more durable. Though they knew the finished product was superior, what those ancient smiths didn’t suspect was that the act of forging was changing the internal grain structure of the metal, aligning it to the direction of force being applied, and making it stronger, more ductile, and giving it higher resistance to impact and fatigue. While a cast metal part will have a homogeneous, random grain structure, forging can intentionally direct that structure in ways that give a finished part the highest structural integrity of any metalworking process.    Wiseco forged pistons start as raw bar stock in certified 2618 or 4032 aluminum alloy. Once they’re cut into precisely-sized ‘pucks’ they’re ready to be preheated in preparation for forging. Although many performance enthusiasts might put billet parts at the top of the heap in terms of desirability, the reality is that the billet they are created from doesn't have the same grain properties of a forging.  The Wiseco Forging Process Today’s state of the art in forging technology is far removed from the smith’s bellows-stoked fire and anvil. In Wiseco’s ISO 9000-certified forging facility, pistons begin life as certified grade aluminum bar stock, cut to precise lengths to form slugs. The choice of material is critical - conventional wisdom has always said that a forged piston requires additional piston-to-bore clearance to allow for expansion, leading to noise from piston slap until the engine gets up to temperature, but per Wiseco’s Research and Development Manager David Fussner, “Forged pistons do require additional room temperature clearance. However, the 4032 forging alloy we use has about 12% silicon content, and this significantly controls the expansion to nearly the same as a 12% silicon cast piston. The 2618 alloy expands a bit more and does require a bit more room temperature clearance than 4032.” Pistons are forged in a ‘backwards extrusion’ process where a moving punch presses the raw material into the die to form the rough shape. The process takes only a fraction of a second (longer in the isothermal press), and the speed of the press helps determine how material flows, and therefore the internal grain structure of the forging. While 4032 is more dimensionally stable across the typical operating temperature range seen inside an engine, it does give up a small advantage in ductility to 2618, which has a silicon content of less than 0.2 percent. This makes 2618 a better choice for applications where detonation may be an issue, like race engines running high boost or large doses of nitrous oxide. The low silicon alloy’s more forgiving nature in these instances makes up for the tradeoffs in increased wear and shorter service life compared to 4032. Once cut to the proper size, slugs are heated to a predetermined temperature and moved to the forging press itself, which is also maintained at a controlled temperature. There are two different types of presses employed at Wiseco; mechanical and hydraulic. Both have a long history in manufacturing, and each has specific strengths. Mechanical forging presses are well-suited to high production rates, helping to keep the overall cost of high-quality forged components affordable. Hydraulic presses have the advantage of variable speed and force throughout the process, allowing greater control of material flow, which can be used to produced forged components with even more precisely controlled physical properties. Wiseco’s isothermal hydraulic press forging machines use precise digital control of the temperature of the raw material, the punch, and the die, as well as the pressure exerted during the full motion of the forge. This allows very close control over the physical properties of the finished forging. Regardless of the type of press, pistons are forged using a “backwards extrusion” process where the material from the slug flows back and around the descending punch to form the cup-shaped forging. Picture the stationary part of the press (the die) as the mirror image of the piston top, and the punch as the mirror image of the underside. As the punch descends, the puck is transformed into the rough piston shape with material flowing up along the sides of the die and punch to form the skirt. This entire process takes place on the scale of milliseconds (on the mechanical press), and the all-important flow stresses of the material are determined by the strain rate (or speed) and load applied by the press. In addition to three mechanical forge presses, Wiseco also has two isothermal hydraulic presses in-house. These state of the art forges maintain the temperature of the piston slug, the die, and the punch very accurately through computer control, delivering more precise dimensions and geometry for the finished pieces, as well as allowing for more complex designs to be successfully forged, and even the creation of metal matrix composite forgings. Once the puck (left) has been transformed into a forged blank (middle), it still has a ways to go before becoming a completed piston (right). The Heat Is On Once the forging process is complete, the components next move to heat treatment. Wiseco’s aerospace-grade heat treatment facility is located in the same plant as the presses, and here the pistons go through a carefully controlled process of heating and cooling that relieves stress induced during forging, increases the overall strength and ductility of the metal, and provides the desired surface hardness characteristics.  While casting can deliver parts straight out of the mold that are very close to their final shape, forgings require a bit more attention in order to get them into shape. Fussner explains, “In a dedicated forging for a specific purpose, the interior of the forging blank is at near-net as it comes off the forging press.  And in some cases, we also forge the dome near-net with valve pockets and some other features. Other than these items, most other features do require machining.” Pistons aren't the only thing Wiseco forges and machines in-house. Wiseco clutch are also forged and machined, as well as finished with hard anodizing. The forging (left) allows the basket to closer to the final shape before machining. The basket shown here is just post-machining. One basic forging may serve as the starting point for many different types of finished pistons, unlike castings which are typically unique to a single design or a small group of very similar designs. Regardless of the manufacturing method for the piston blank, some degree of final machining needs to take place to create a finished part. “As a ballpark percentage, I would say about 75% of the forging blank would require machining.” Cast pistons also require finish work on the CNC machine, but this is almost always less extensive than a similar forged piston. “That’s the main reason why forged pistons are more expensive than a cast piston,” Fussner adds.  Another reason for the added expense of forging is the significant cost of the initial tooling for the die and punch, which must be made to exact specifications and be durable enough to survive countless forging press cycles. Per Fussner, “We control these costs by making all our forging tooling in house at Wiseco headquarters in Mentor, Ohio.” The ability to make their own tooling, doing their own forging, and their in-house heat treatment facilities make Wiseco the only aftermarket forged piston manufacturer in the United States with these unique capabilities. Once the machining process is complete, Wiseco pistons can also receive a number of different proprietary coatings to fine-tune their performance. These include thermal barriers as well as wear reduction treatments. Though forging is a technique literally as old as the Iron Age, it’s still the undisputed king of manufacturing techniques for light, strong, durable components. Wiseco continues to refine the process with the latest methods, materials, heat treatment, and machining to provide the highest quality aftermarket components available, at an affordable price. Wiseco forged pistons provide superior quality and performance at an affordable price thanks to the company’s close control over every step of the manufacturing process.