A clean bike is important. How important? Are you a rider who thinks that checking your oil level is the holy grail of bike maintenance? Well, that's important, but the detailing of your ride is critical. By examining the bike at this level, you'll spot problems before they arise. Race day is the last time you want a failure – especially one that you should have seen coming.

As you know, that mud can and will get everywhere. Begin the cleaning disassembly by removing your seat and cleaning it separately. Since you are going to want to give the bike a good spraying down without giving yourself any headaches, it's a good recommendation to insert an exhaust plug.

Another thing you'll want to do is remove the air filter and put a cover over the air box. Acerbis probably has a good quality one for your model. This presents a good opportunity to inspect the filter itself. Is it time for a replacement or cleaning?

Now you'll want to give your bike a good soaking with a quality detergent before any real scrubbing takes place. This will loosen the mud and grit and minimize scratching due to scrubbing. Teepol Gold is a great detergent for motocross mud. The water pressure from the jet setting on your hose attachment should do a good job.

There are certain areas of your bike which should NOT be subjected to a high pressure spray. Bearings and any electrical connections should be avoided. They are engineered for water contact but not for high pressure.

The underside of your bike is an area which is subject to the most mud and debris build up. A good spraying will dislodge this and make soap-sponging a breeze. Be sure to turn off the fuel cock before laying the bike over on its side before you do this, however.

From the bottom of the bike, work your way forward and pay attention to the front forks and seals. “Spray and inspect” is the name of the game here. You don't want to compromise the seals from too much water pressure.

Once the bike is clean to your expectations, go ahead and use a light oil anywhere it might be of benefit, such as around dust seals and fork seals. Open the drain on the base of your carburetor and drain any moisture that might have accumulated during the washing. Replace the air filter. Secure your seat and wipe down the entire bike with a chamois cloth to eliminate spots and streaks.

Now is a good time to crank up your bike and let it idle to dry off all engine and electrical connections. This is also a good time to do your lubing chores. Oil your chain. Try a product made for bicycle chains called “White Lightning”. This lube encapsulates debris and flakes it off before it can cause friction damage to the links or gears. Use Armor All or a similar product to protect tires and plastic components from UV damage.

With proper care, your bike will serve you well and hold up in the most stressful of situations.

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• Emphasize your forearms when you do your pre-ride stretching routine. Tight muscles in this region will just exasperate forearm pump. The best way to perform this stretch is to be sitting on your bike; that way you'll target the forearm muscles just right. So start by assuming your normal position on your bike. While holding your arms straight out with your hands turned up at the wrist, lower your arms far enough so that your fingertips are touching the center of the grips. Slowly push against the grips with your fingertips. Hold for one minute. Relax. Repeat until your forearms are loose.
• Proper control configuration. It's very important that all controls are properly configured and maintained that way exactly all the time. Both your clutch lever and front brake lever should be in a direct line with your forearms when your body position is poised to attack. Bottom line – you must be ergonomically correct all the time.
• Part of your training is to ride on a regular basis. We're all busy these days; no doubt about that. But the fact of the matter is that that you and your bike must be best friends to function as a unit. Your body must remain conditioned and fluid.
• Are your grips too big for your hands? The fact of the matter is that most motocross riders use the grips from the factory. They will do a lot of customization to the rest of the bike and never give a thought to the grips. But the right size grips can be a maker or breaker when it comes to muscle fatigue and form.
• Get warmed up and stay that way. Warm up early and stay that way. When you cool off too much, your muscles tighten up. If you get on your bike in that condition for a training ride or to race, you're asking for trouble.
• Don't use “death grip” tight gloves. This tip dovetails into the last tip. You've got to keep your blood flowing. If not, you risk muscle pulls, loss of flexibility, and impairment of your nerves. Your nerves are a feedback mechanism. Don't compromise them.
• Finally, give those forearms a workout. Buy yourself a hand spring exerciser. Squeeze it rhythmically for one minute with one hand and the switch to the other. Repeat. Make it a habit by doing it along with another activity, such as when you're watching TV. Another exercise that helps is this: put a comfortable amount of weight on a barbell. Sit on a bench with your arms resting on your legs and wrists 4” beyond your knees, palms up. Holding the barbell with both hands, just curl your wrists repeatedly. Flip your arms over and curl your wrists the other direction.
All riders will experience forearm pump; it's a fact of life whether you've been riding a week or ten years. When you ride, focus on remaining fluid and loose. This is one of the best ways to control arm pump after you've prepared with the above tips.

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The best place to start is to set these two settings in whatever the manufacturer recommends as “standard”. This is a good starting point. If no setting is recommended, just choose a middle setting. This is what an average might employ.

The rear spring may or may not be right for you. Did you buy your bike second hand? In that case, it might not be standard for you model; the former owner might have customized it. Take it for a test ride. Does it feel right for you? If so, you're on the right track. Otherwise, before you start tuning the suspension to your liking you might want to consider installing the standard spring.

You'll want to set your rear shock's static sag. Follow these steps to configure the preload.
1. Locate the locking ring and loosen it.
2. Adjust the main ring to adjust the shock's preload.
3. With the bike elevated so that the back wheel is not in contact with the ground, take a measurement from your axle nut to a reference point on the bike somewhere above it.
4. Now set the bike back on the ground.
5. Measure the distance between the axle nut and the reference point.
6. Subtract one measurement from the other.
7. Adjust the ring until the difference is about 25mm of sag.

Now it's time to set what's called the laden sag or racing sag.
1. Stand the bike it an upright position and write down the vertical height.
2. Put on all your race battle gear and assume your best attack position on the bike.
3. Have a friend take the measurement now on the fully loaded bike.
4. Do the math again as before. Now adjust the preload again to get it between 90mm and 110mm.

Going through these set-up routines might seem to be a hassle but they are worth the effort. No factory setting is going to satisfy every motocross racer. If you've been in the game for any time at all, you know that the devil is in the details. Who can afford to throw away even the tiniest of advantages?

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– Make sure the tranny is in neutral. Then make sure the gas cock is open and open the choke.
– Now you want to load the compression. Do this by slowly kicking it until you feel it come to a hard spot. If you try to kick it hard you'll suddenly gain a painful new respect for four-strokes.
– Now engage the compression release and ease down on the kick starter just a hair until the piston just past top dead center (1 to 2 inches in most cases).
– Let the kick starter rise back up to the original position. Now disengage the compression release.
– You're ready to crank it up now by a full smooth stroke on the kick starter. If you've done everything right, this baby should be humming. If not, start over. Practice makes perfect.
– Is the YZ-F's engine already warmed up? Not a problem, use the same procedure, making sure that you use the hot start button. Remember to push it back in once the engine starting is successful.
– Is the YZ-F's engine very cold? You might need to just give the throttle a tiny bump. Why? Just to give it a taste of fuel in the top of the stroke. This is the only time you are safely allowed to do this. After you and the YZ-F become best friends, this will be instinctual.
– Keep your eye on your YZ-F. An unscrupulous competitor might just compromise you by giving your throttle a healthy twist. Good luck starting it after that!
– Finally... follow these tips to the tee and your YZ-F will start faithfully every time. It just goes to prove that you don't have to have the overhead of an electric starter to ride a four-stroke.

Article by www.MxTrainingJournal.com