IMS, Alpinestars, Scalvini, Maxima, Moto Hose | Fresh Dirt

It still surprises us when we talk to factory mechanics about their bikes that they say the footpegs are their favorite part. Given, they are typically talking about custom welded or even billet titanium pegs which are pretty cool, not to mention ferociously sharp. Speaking of sharp, we are looking at IMS’s new Core MX Footpegs that come in either “Standard” or “Sharp” versions. As you can see, the latter pegs are for riders who care way more about maximum grip then they do boot sole longevity. The standard version looks identical just with a bit of the edge knocked down as to offer more grip than stock pegs, while being more courteous to your footwear. Now, these aren’t titanium, rather, they are cast 17-4 stainless steel. Just eye-balling the weight when we snapped the photos, they seem to be on par with stock peg weight, though IMS says that the pyramid tooth shape allows the pegs to save weight without sacrificing strength.

We’ve been pumped on the protection coming out of Italy with the Astars logo on it. Many of their products have a biomechanical, webbing-inspired look that should offer a ton of ventilation without giving up much protection. As is the case with the A-4 Roost Guard. This is Astars mid-level chest protector and it has CE certification for the front and the back. The certification for the front is the 14021 which most chest protectors pass since it basically certifies the front section as a “stone shield.” But the back certification (CE EN 1621_2: 2014 level 1) is much harder because it deals with impact protection as well. Most chest protectors don’t go through the process of having this done. But, since Alpinestars makes quite a bit of street bike protection that puts a large emphasis on back protection, it makes since for them to include it in at least some of their moto gear. The A-1 protector is cheaper and forgoes this back certification, while the A-10 is even burlier and has more protection and higher levels of certification, yet is not officially available yet.

Exhaust systems always spark a special excitement in any dirt bike lover, but two-stroke cone pipes hold a special spot in a premixer’s heart. Scalvini is one of the last pipe manufacturers to make a cone pipe for modern two-strokes and the one we have here is for our 2017 Yamaha YZ250X. One of our out-of-state testers has it mounted up as you read this and we’ll have a full test coming soon. Something that we are curious about is how the power will differ from the YZ250X stock pipe in regards to the YZ-X’s pipe being a different shape than the standard YZ250. The YZ250X’s stock pipe is narrower side-to-side for better bike clearance while on the trail and this Scalvini pipe is designed for the YZ250 motocrosser so we can assume that it has a wider, similar shape. We’ll see!

Everyone loves the smell of two-stroke oil and at the DR offices we are no different (in fact we have a two-stroke oil scented candle burning at all times). While this isn’t the castor oil that everyone loves to huff, Formula K2 is a standard in the Dirt Rider shop and is 100 percent synthetic. As with any two-stroke oil, what ratio you mix your oil and gas depends on engine size and type of riding. Maxima recommends the following general rules: 50-80cc (24-32:1), 125cc (24-40:1), 250cc (24-40:1), 500cc and up (32-60:1).

Most people swap out their bike’s hoses for two reasons – either the stock hoses are old or damaged, or brightly colored silicon hoses are just better looking. But, there are performance benefits to silicon hoses. We’ve talked to the guys over at Moto Hose and they don’t want to claim that their hoses flow more coolant thereby keeping your bike cooler because while they most likely do, the difference between the flow rate of silicon hoses and stock hoses is very small and hard to detect. What is a performance gain that is very easy to detect is the increased strength of the hoses. They told us about a rider who crashed and their Moto Hose radiator hose got pinched next to the bike’s header. It lasted the whole moto without burning through. Now, it wasn’t perfect and it had to be replaced but no stock hose would have made it very long without busting. Pretty cool.