[rpduc]

Sorry for all of the noobie questions, but I haven't had a dirt bike since 1975 so all this new-fangled 2 smoke tech has me a bit baffled. Never had reeds or powervalves before so...

I've now cleaned up and started all three of my GG steeds.

http://www.gasgasrider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2295

On very short test rides on the only non snow covered real estate (the cul de sac ) I noticed an unnerving "crackling" sound emanating from the motors. I'm thinking it was just that it was maybe pinging due to loading the motor to heavily in too high a gear? I was running through all gears (in about 150 yards) just to make sure all six gears were there and was obviously not able to wind the thing up properly. I got this "crackling" when perhaps I lugged the motor? NOTE: I have been riding a 610 Husky "paintshaker" on the ice of late so my perception of revving is maybe a bit skewed.

Would I induce any foreign noises from either the power valve or reeds running it this way? They start, run, idle fine and lift the front wheel nicely but I am not familiar enough with the new 2 smokes to know what I should be hearing. Or might this crackling be a sign of something amiss in the PV or Reeds?

Do I need the plastic louvers on the radiators? Do they really do all that much? The 2 ECs have Flatland radiator guards and on one of them the louvers are cheezily slapped on there with zip ties. No louvers on the other one. The MC has the left louver that is sorta mounted correctly, but the plastic is tweaked so it hangs there kinda sloppy like. Right side is missing...