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SERVICE

Travis & buff head

Paul Dean

In the November, `96, Service, you responded to a letter that asked how best to combat the unpleasant odors that accumulate in a helmet after a season or two of riding. Your answer was (to keep it short) soap and water.

There may be a better way: baby wipes. No, really, this is not a joke. A quick run-through with an unscented baby wipe (I personally use Huggies; the few extra cents are well spent) once a week leaves the inside of a helmet as soft and sweet as a baby's bottom, and does no damage to the EPS shell. Besides, there's nothing quite like walking through a grocery-store checkout line with three TV dinners, a six-pack of beer and a box of baby wipes. Next thing you know, baby wipe manufacturers will be packaging these things in racy black containers, selling them through motorcycle shops and charging $22.95 a box. Travis Wheeler Tucson, Arizona

Thanks, Travis, that a clever idea. I wish I'd thought of it. But tell me-is it true that ever since you started clean ing the liner of your helmet with baby wipes, you `ye had a tendency to cry all night and wet the bed?

El richo Bandito

I have a carburetion problem with my 1991 Suzuki 400 Bandit, a 49state model that's completely stock except for a Dynojet Stage 1 jet kit. The kit improved overall perfor mance, but no matter what main jet I try, the engine revs much more quick iy, especially in the higher gears, if I back off from wide-open to around 3/4 or /8 throttle. The engine seems to be starving when wide-open, but larger jets just make it worse. Can you help, or am I stuck with this kind of perfor mance from a bike I consider to be one of the most entertaining I've ever ridden? Al Weeks Grover, North Carolina

If installing bigger jets makes the problem worse, the full-throttle car buretion is almost certainly too rich rather than too lean.

There s' a simple, easy way to diag nose this condition: Open the lid on the airbox and remove the air-filter element altogether, then take the bike out on the road and run it. If the en gine performs even worse at full throttle than it did before, the jetting is too lean; but if it runs better, the carburetion is too rich and will re quire smaller main jets.

Dynojet's Stage 1 kit for the Bandit 400 includes #100 main jets for bikes with modified exhaust systems, and #96 mains for use with the stock ex haust-which, I assume, is still on your bike. If neither of those jet sizes cures the problem, I suggest you call Dynojet (800/992-4993) and ask for Mike, who can supply you with even smaller main jets.

Oldie but goodie

I'm 18 and just bought my very first bike, a 1983 Suzuki GS1100ES. Love it! Recently, I forgot to pull in the clutch while shifting, but nothing bad happened. I have since tried both upshifting and downshifting without the clutch and have experienced no problems. So, except for stoplights, what is the purpose of the clutch? Mike Andrews Brookfield, Illinois

The engagement-dog design of mo torcycle gearboxes-which is entirely different than the synchronizer-ring type used in automobile transmis sions-makes clutchless shifts easily possible. But if you don `t closely match engine rpm with road speed every time you shW, the transmission will be subjected to tremendous loads that can, over time, lead to serious damage. Using the clutch almost com pletely eliminates those loads.