Eric Tabb

In our last installment, the 380 motor was back from getting the crank rebuilt and the cylinder porting cleaned up. Now it's time for the bottom end.

Having ridden a 2002 model bike with stock 43mm forks we can say that we think something was probably done to our forks because the stock 2002 forks had a near deadly mid-stroke harshness that our forks didn't exhibit at all.

Our main objective was to rebuild both the top and bottom end to ensure our 380 engine has a long life. In addition we kept a keen eye out for anything else suspect that needed attention and ordered replacement parts where needed, such as the kick-start pawl spring. We also made a few performance modifications to spruce up mighty 380 a little bit yet not go over-board.

With proper lighting on your motorcycle, even on a "pit bike", desert riding doesn't have to stop at sun-down. Check out the helmet-cam video!

Whether it was for saving money by not altering the production line or some other reason, what really matters is the 110 is already wired for lighting.

When a bike is left to sit for extended periods of time the seals can dry out and become brittle and prone to leaking.

Another area of a used bike to check thoroughly is that of the chassis and other attached parts. This includes things like suspension, swingarm and steering head bearings as well as a general inspection of the frame and swingarm for cracks or extreme wear.

To find out the current condition of the motor we decided a top-end teardown was in order. This will allow us to find out firsthand the condition of the head, cylinder and piston as well as giving us a good feel for the overall condition of the motor.

While the four-stroke can put the power to the ground effectively there is nothing quite like the feel of the two-stroke snapping to attention or exploding out of a berm. A two-stroke may not find the traction like a four-stroke but it has other strengths that a four-stroke just can't match.