NAVIGATION ICONS AND WHAT THEY MEAN!

1. SF506 Nitro - "Side Mount Exhaust"  

I wanted to mention a few comments re-guarding the 506 Exhaust. First,

and foremost the new exhaust will not fit directly onto the 501 nitro without

modifications. The frame is too short for one and second there’s no place to

mount the exhaust bracket. Second, If you order the exhaust separately it does

not include the mounting bracket. The bracket must be ordered separately.

I have received several e-mails from people asking where they could purchase

the new exhaust. It can be ordered separately, but before you do, please keep

the above tips in the back of your mind.

UPDATE: Tuesday, June 19th 2007

The exhaust above is not the orginial from my 506, I ordered it as a

precautionary backup. I did not know the replacement exhaust is different,

since this one has a longer arm connecting the exhaust tip. If you bend

the pipe it will fit, but it will put excessive stress on the exhaust bracket.

If you do need a replacement? I suggest you locate the original 506 stocker.

How can you tell the difference between them? The original has a flat-top on

the main body. The pictures below show the difference between them.

   *Original Exhaust*       *Replacement Exhaust*

2. Just the Facts "Servo's"  

I recently attended the 3rd Annual R/C motorcycle Champhionship in

Burbank, California. Well, unfortunately one of the major problems that

I encountered at the races was lack of servo power. I’m currently running

The stock Airtronic 94102 servos and new SF506 nitro bike now comes

with both front and rear brakes. The stock servo’s just didn’t have the torque

required to pull the cables, which means I need heavy duty high torque servo’s.

Most beginners can get away with stock servo’s while learning to drive, but

when it comes to racing you need to be fast and your servo’s also need to

be fast. It never crossed my mind that I would need better servo’s, but it

now is a must and this is why I decided to add this little tip. So the bottom

line is spend the money and get some good servo’s. However, there are

only a very small number of servos that will fit without serious modifications

to the bike. If you would like some help selecting a servo then e-mail me

and I would be glad to give you some suggestions.

3. Du-Bro Wheel Balancer  

If you are really into R/C motorcycles then you’ll need to get this tool

from Du-Bro! Yes, it’s designed for airplane propellers, but it works on bike

wheels perfectly. Your wheels need to be true if you are going to be racing and

with this item your wheels will be perfect. They sell for 24.00 bucks or less

depending on the store and with a few minutes of assembly you’ll be balancing

your wheels in no time. How cool is that?

For those of you who don’t know how to balance a wheel it is rather

simple. After the wheel and tire has been placed on the balancer the

heaviest part of the wheel will fall to the bottom. You will need to

place a little weight on the opposite side from the bottom part of the

wheel. Optimum balance of the wheel is slowly rotating the wheel

roughly three times and the if the wheel does not return to one location

then that’s just about perfect. If the wheel continues to fall on a specific

spot then more weight is required. 5gram weights can be purchased

from most hobby stores and they have sticky backs that can be pealed

off. It’s a relatively simple procedure and I didn’t feel pictures are

required, but if you do want pictures please let me know?

4. Facts About Fail Safe Units

What is a fail safe unit? Fail safe units are designed to close your

throttle or brakes when you loose battery power. I ordered a venom

fail safe unit and figured I’d give it a try, well the unit glitches too

much and will not allow me to set the unit properly. Bikes are rather

compact in size so I feel this maybe the reason behind the heavy glitching.

We have tried several units from several different companies and

glitching was a problem time and time again. They normally plug in

between the receiver and throttle servo and when power low or lost

are suppose to return the throttle to a closed position. They glitch allot

when the controller is off, but still glitch even with the controller

on. In my opinion fail safe units are not a reliable viable option.

Its probably a better idea to order a battery monitor and look at it

between runs rather then rely on a glitching fail safe unit. Battery

monitors are small and cheap, can be mounted almost anywhere

and normally have lights that display the batteries power level.

5. Voltage Monitor = 80-SIX Fail Safes

We hae discussed fail safe units and why you should not install them.

voltage monitors on the other hand will plug into any available channel,

and watches your battery power without causing any form of twitching,

glitching or kaos. Simply plug it in and select your current battery pack, 4.2

or 6 volts. The light bar on the unit will change as you use the bike and this

is normal. The monitor is designed specifically to tell the current status

of your battery and nothing more. Cost $15-$30 bucks, Drawbacks?

WARNING!!! WARNING!!!

This unit does not beep, vibrate or control throttle position. When battery

power is lost the bike can still become a run-way. Simply check the units display

during pits and then determine if another battery pack is required.

6. Spektrum DSM Pro Systems = 86 the crystals

When going to your local track or local parking lot your asking yourself?

Is someone on my frequency? Will my R/C car or bike go full speed into a

wall? Well, we now have Spektrum DSM, which is a module and receiver

replacement that eliminates the need for the above questions. Spektrum is

designed to bind the receiver and controller so no outside source can conflict

with it. The Spectrum Pro DSM is a little expensive, roughly $200 bucks, but

you no longer need to worry about changing crystals when visiting the track.

The spectrum DSM module will work with several controllers such as the M11

by Airtronics etc. Only the high model controller can accept the DSM module

so check the specs before purchasing. The DSM works on the 2.4 gigahertz

range and has 79 channels, plus a million bind keys to use. The chance that

another controller will conflict with your Spektrum is slim to none.

7. How to glue your tires!  

If you plan on racing it is very important that you glue your tires correctly

to the wheels. If your tires are not glued properly they can not only fly

off while racing, but other problems can arise and do. Clean your rims as

best as you can before fitting your new tires. You can use a fine grain

sand paper and slowly go around the wheel , removing any excess rubber

left from the previous tire. When installing your new tire try not to stretch it

too much when pulling it over the wheel. The new tires can stretch and the

less you stretch it the better the fit will be. First start on one side and use

your thumb to pull back on the edge of the tire and apply a small bead of CA glue.

Now slowly work your way around the wheel, but make sure the tire is

evenly glued all the way around. After you have applied the first bead of glue,

its best to let it dry a few minutes before proceeding. After fifteen minutes

or more apply a second bead of glue between the wheel and the tire, a thin glue

line going completely around the wheel. Wait a good hour before attempting to

glue the other side and follow the same procedure.

8. After run engine oil, preventing engine damage  

After run engine oil is a highly suggested addition to keep in your

tool box. After run engine oil should be used each and every time you

run your bike. It will prevent your engine from rusting and allow it to

start easier. Place a few drops directly into the carb and turn the engine

over a few times to lubricate the it. You can also put a few drops directly

into the plug hole, but re-install the plug. If you don’t use your bike for

any great period of time, then you should add a few drops to prevent

long term engine damage. A couple dollars now can save you hundreds in

the long run, because as you know.. Nitro engines are not cheap.

9. Shock Spring Tension

This is a very simple and very effective way to install shock springs without

the headache. As some of you might have noticed installing the plastic cap

on your shocks can be a royal pain, due to spring tension. A very simple,

effective fix is to add two zip ties to each side of the spring before installing

the shock, then simply cut the ties after installing the plastic cap.

Some of the best fixes are super easy!

10. Carburetor Clogging Problems

Carburetor clogging problems occur due to a buildup of nitro fuel on the inside of

the carburetors intake. If you run your bike for several days in a row, but do not

dry start it after the end of each day, then clogging can occur. This is a rare problem

but it does happen and for a newbie bike guy it can be a royal brain stumper.

There could be several reasons why the bike will not run, but if you attempt to start

your bike without success, then its diagnosis time. It will not start? Why, hole in the line,

bad nitro fuel, a clogged fuel filter and so on. If you determine that none of the above to be

cause, then it is probably clogged. I decided to post this because it happened again today.

Removing the clog is fairly straight forward. First, you will need a small syringe and piece of

fuel tubing. Put one end of the tubing over the syringe and the other over the intake of the

carburetor and slowly pull back on the syringe. It should pop! If it doesn’t come free then

You will need to put a little fuel into the syringe and slowly close the syringe while over the

intake. The fresh fuel should flush out the clog. When the syringe plunger moves with ease

then the clog has been removed.

Any questions that you need answered, ask away! Lorenzo