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Hello,

I am a 43 year old guy getting back into 2 wheeled riding. I haven't ridden for 19 years and never in the dirt so this is going to be fun!

I rescued a 2001 220R a couple of weeks ago from a 17 year old kid who didn't know how to properly maintain a bike. It was in rough shape cosmetically but ran well and knowing how bulletproof these bikes can be, I took a chance at $950. Everything is stock on the bike but unfortunately no lights or kickstand.

We took the bike out for a quick 10 mile in the woods and I had a grin from ear to ear!





It was smoking pretty bad from the pipe so we knew it needed some new o-rings and a gasket. Upon taking the pipe off to clean it, we noticed the potential grenade inside! I knew about this problem but couldn't resist a first ride. I got lucky!!





Got a new Wiseco piston ordered from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC and after 2 bad pistons from them I'm not impressed so far with Rocky Mountain's customer service.

First piston:

This should have been my first clue.






The wrist pin on the second piston would not fit so hopefully the third time will be the charm.

Looking forward to many, many miles on this new scoot!!

Good timing on the piston change.

Probably needed even more than rings is a proper jetting of the carburetor.
Likely the cause of the excessive smoking.

Welcome and enjoy the ride.

I should also point out that the rear fender is pointed a little bit skyward. Maybe up an extra 5-10 degrees.
That's usually a sign that it's gone over backwards. A little persuasion can fix that issue.
Find another picture of one with the Meier fender and you'll see where it should be.
You'll thank me when you don't have your back covered in mud.

Welcome to the forums. At that price you basically stole it from that kid, good for you!

doctord23 wrote:Good timing on the piston change.

Probably needed even more than rings is a proper jetting of the carburetor.
Likely the cause of the excessive smoking.

Welcome and enjoy the ride.

Thanks for the welcome!

It does probably need proper jetting as it is at stock right now.

When we took the pipe off, it was missing both o-rings and the copper gasket.

doctord23 wrote:I should also point out that the rear fender is pointed a little bit skyward. Maybe up an extra 5-10 degrees.
That's usually a sign that it's gone over backwards. A little persuasion can fix that issue.
Find another picture of one with the Meier fender and you'll see where it should be.
You'll thank me when you don't have your back covered in mud.

I would agree on that. It looks like the kid had looped it more than a couple of times. The top part of the subframe has been welded on and doesn't look stock. The seat mounts on one side are missing. I think I am going to have to take it somewhere and get it worked on.

bufftester wrote:Welcome to the forums. At that price you basically stole it from that kid, good for you!

Thanks. The kid wanted $1250 on Craigslist but accepted my offer, so I am happy.

Welcome to the forums. Congratulation on getting back into riding.

I am surprised to hear that about RM! I have had great dealings with them for 13 years.

BigRed8019 wrote: I think I am going to have to take it somewhere and get it worked on.

Too bad we aren't closer.
I'm in Northern California and I have a really nice frame from a 2000 model with an Oregon Title.
It was a donor for one of my Hybrid builds.

Jason wrote:Welcome to the forums. Congratulation on getting back into riding.

I am surprised to hear that about RM! I have had great dealings with them for 13 years.

Thanks!

I was surprised as well. The first piston was obviously a damaged customer return and RM put it back on the shelf without checking it. Second piston wasn't RM's fault as it was a machining error on Wiseco's part. But rather than send a new one out right away, they wanted to get the warranty department involved and talk to Wiseco before shipping a new one out. So all in all 12 days from original order, and 3 pistons, and now I should have my bike running by tomorrow. Luckily the new piston arrived today and the wrist pin fits in perfectly!

BigRed,

Your experiences here are similar to mine. Picked up my '03 220 a couple years ago from a youngster needing to make rent. He was asking $1400 on Craig's List and it had been listed for a while. The bike ran, but wouldn't rev up (I assumed this was a sticky power valve, which it was). It was clear he wasn't too great with maintenance items, no headlight, aftermarket fender without a light, no kickstand. He admitted he and his brother ran it hard on the farm and hills, but mileage was low as it still had what appeared to be stock chain, sprockets (with not too much wear), and front tire. I offered $900 and he snapped at that offer. He didn't know if the stock piston was ever changed and suspected it hadn't.

My stock piston looked good, which was a relief. Bike still smoked a lot after a new Wiseco and I was getting 17 mpg or so. It was rich. I played with jetting a little but in the end just sent the carb to Ron at RB Designs, along with the head, for his magic. It's running beautifully now. He's right in your neighborhood! If you do it yourself, get a jet block gasket / o-ring as this is a common failed carb item that apparently doesn't come with most rebuild kits.