Phoenix Motos

Phoenix Motos Phoenix Motos import project bikes from The US. We specialise in Vintage 2 stroke dirt bikes!

19/05/2026

Tonight’s engine mystery… 👀
This crank came out of a Vertigo trials bike — and the main bearings are absolutely destroyed. 😳
One of the bearing cages has completely collapsed and mangled itself to pieces.
But here’s the strange part…
The top end is almost perfect.
Minimal signs of damage.
Piston and cylinder actually look really good. ✅
Meanwhile the bottom end is a complete disaster. 💥
So what do YOU think caused it?
Lack of lubrication?
Water ingress?
Over-revving?
Bearing quality?
Something else entirely?
Put your diagnosis in the comments and I’ll reveal the answer in the next video 👇




18/05/2026

Last video I asked why this YZ144 wouldn’t idle consistently… 👀
Sometimes the idle would hang high.
Sometimes it would drop low.
Sometimes it would hunt up and down on its own.
First thing I checked was for an air leak… but the engine pressure tested perfectly ✅
After checking through the usual suspects, I eventually found THIS inside the carburettor…
The throttle slide was damaged. 😳
The bottom edge of the slide had cracked off, leaving jagged edges and preventing it from closing properly.
My theory is that this damaged slide was disrupting airflow and vacuum signal at low throttle openings, causing the inconsistent idle and making the bike extremely difficult to jet correctly.
I haven’t fitted a replacement slide yet to fully confirm it… but considering everything else checked out, I think this is very likely the culprit.
What do you reckon — reasonable diagnosis or am I about to get roasted in the comments? 😂👇




15/05/2026

Tonight’s workshop mystery… 👀
This Yamaha YZ144 came in for jetting… simple enough, right?
Except no matter what I did, I couldn’t get the idle consistent.
Sometimes it would idle high.
Sometimes low.
Sometimes it would hunt up and down on its own. 🤔
Naturally my first thought was an air leak… so I pressure tested it.
No air leak. ✅
I then checked several of the usual things you’d expect to cause an inconsistent idle… and they all seemed fine too.
So now the question is:
What would YOU be checking next? 👇
Put your answers in the comments and I’ll reveal the actual fault on Monday.




13/05/2026

Last night’s mystery… solved. 👀
First of all — fair play because there were LOTS of good answers, and quite a few of you actually got it right. 👏
A lot of people said to increase the main jet size — and honestly that IS good thinking on a really fast track. A bigger main jet helps keep the engine cooler and safer when it’s pinned flat out for a long time.
BUT…
A bigger main jet also means the engine drains fuel from the carb faster. On these ridiculously long straights, the bike was effectively starting to run low on fuel in the float bowl.
So the actual fix?
👉 Increasing the float height.
That meant more fuel sitting in the bowl, reducing the chance of it running out during those long wide-open sections of the track. Problem solved. 💨
It’s a good reminder that sometimes a bike can feel like a jetting issue… but the real problem is fuel supply.
Congrats again to everyone who guessed it correctly 👌




12/05/2026

Westmorland Motor Club on Sunday was FAST… properly fast. 😳💨
Honestly one of the fastest tracks I think any of us have raced — huge straights where the bikes were absolutely pinned for a long time.
But one of my mate’s bikes had a strange problem…
Everywhere else on the track it ran perfectly.
Out of corners? Fine.
Through the tight stuff? Fine.
But halfway down the long straights it would suddenly bog badly. 🤔
So the question is…
What would cause a 2 stroke to bog ONLY on a really long, flat-out straight… and what did I change to fix it at the track? 👀
Put your guesses in the comments before tomorrow’s reveal 👇




Spotted this today - they probably don’t realise why this is a good plate!!
12/05/2026

Spotted this today - they probably don’t realise why this is a good plate!!

11/05/2026

Friday’s mystery 2 stroke failure… solved. 👀

And to be fair — some of you did actually guess it correctly. 👏

A lot of you guessed seizure, detonation, lean running and even foreign object damage… but the real cause was hiding much deeper in the bottom end.

Once we stripped it further:
🔧 The piston showed strange impact marks on the front skirt where it had been contacting the crank webs
🔧 There was barely any clearance between the piston and crank
🔧 The cylinder skirt had damage I didn’t show in the first video
🔧 The big end bearing had completely failed resulting in excessive up & down play
🔧 AND the main bearings had also failed with very tight spots as the crank rotated

The failed bottom end bearings are what ultimately destroyed this engine… although I do wonder if an incorrect piston with an overly long skirt may also have contributed to the contact marks.

This is exactly why you should NEVER just throw a new piston in without properly checking the condition of the crank and mains first. A worn bottom end can wipe out a fresh top end in no time.

What do you think — do you reckon the piston was wrong too, or were the bearing failures enough on their own? 👇





10/05/2026

Helsington pre 78 race 1

10/05/2026

Pre 78 race 1 Helsington

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