hario

Have sorted this now, so thought i would report back in case it is of help to anyone else.... The pedal on my 2001 280 edition model is unlike that in the diagram above posted by heffergm, its held on by a bolt into a threaded hole in the frame. the bolt passes through an aluminum sleeve/spacer that is itself within a steel bush pressed into the aluminum lever. the sleeve needs to be longer than the bush and lever body or the whole thing will bind when the bolt is tightened. i guess inevitably the spacer will eventually wear flush with the steel bush and pedal body, the simple solution is the remove the pedal, take out the alu spacer and sand or file down the pedal body about 0.5mm so the inner alu spacer is proud of them again, and the bolt can be properly tightened.

i only used blue before, a little red might do the trick not a bad idea, i will bear it in mind when i get under there for a proper look at it all Thanks for your help guys, i haven't had a chance to spend any time in the workshop yet, but am ever hopeful

the diagram isnt much help, it shows a bolt but not in any useful detail, and a websearch of the part no. doesn't bring up a picture either i think perhaps whats happening is that there was/is a steel bush/sleeve inside the alu brake lever which the bolt tightens against, and the lever pivots on. I suspect my bush has either worn flush with the pedal or is seized together with it, hence the binding when the bolt is tightened. Does this sound right? Also, im used to a return spring on a rear brake lever which mine doesn't have, so it doesn't take much to prevent the lever returning properly just from the hydraulic pressure from the master cylinder. Should i have one or is this a trials tactic to shave of precious grammes? hopefully i will get a chance to have a proper look at it all tomorrow

The rear brake on my 2001 280 edition is constantly becoming loose at the main bolt that holds it on, which is getting really annoying as when loose the lever tucks itself under the clutch case and is hard to use Ive tried loctite to no avail, and figured this might be pretty common and have some clever fix everyone but me knows about.... The bolt itself is threaded along its whole length, and i was wondering if this is normal, it seems like a bolt with an unthreaded section could be tightened up properly without binding the brake lever, which exactly what is happening to me at the moment when i try to get it tight. Any thoughts, perhaps im missing something?

if the engine and frame no. do not match i think you have only two choices, either register on a Q plate as described above or find a frame which already has a V5 i went through this recently with a japanese import enduro, the engine had been changed over there so kawasaki would not give me the paperwork i needed for an age related plate

thanks all, some good ideas there Have any of you tried one of the stihl/husqvarna auto shut off spouts on a trials bike?

im sick of splashing petrol around from a cheap can like a chump, and was wondering if there is a decent product out there that suits trials bikes. I know the enduro/mx crowd are pretty well covered in this respect So, im wondering what everyone else uses, perhaps there's a particularly good fuel can out there?

i had ended up with the d803 as i needed a trials pattern tyre that day for a competition (poor planning on my part). Some places around here will only let bikes with a trials rear on as it is far kinder to the ground. Being a hardcore mo fo i rode the bike to the event and bike which was about 150 mile round trip at 60/70mph. it would probably have lasted a while if i were pottering about locally. unlike many, the d803 doesnt specifically say not for road use, presumably for events that use a bit of road between sections. Anyways, it was my choice to take the risk and fit it, so no one to blame but myself. totally agree about your statement on tyre importance, ive seen tyre totally transform a bike the MT43 is one of several hard compound trials pattern tyres that seem to be aimed at people riding classic trials and trail bikes and on the street, mitas and heidenau both do a similar tyre. They have no place on a bike to be used offroad in actual trials competition, practice or play in my opinion

I have been through stacks of MT43's trail riding in Devon, its a great tyre to have on the rear wheel over a knobby for trail bikes, particularly where there is little mud/grass and slippery hard trails but they are no good for closed course stuff where soft ground is common. The compound is far harder than a "proper" trials tyre, and will last some 1500 or more miles on the road, which is great vs a knobby. This is where the price is an issue as trail riders will wear a rear trial tyre nearly bald in a season if they are out every weekend. Put a real trials tyre on a trail bike and it will overheat and shed the centre line of knobs when you do any long stretch of road, i have literally destroyed a d803 in a single day in this way! A lot of trail riders in these parts are swapping their mt43's for the maxis trialmax now, which has a far softer compound but wont loose knobs at speed. for a trials bike i would never fit one, and strongly advise against it unless you plan to trail ride and do real speeds or distance. They may seem cheap, but its a false economy, especially so where a real trials tyre will last a very long time. For a classic bike, i would think a modern soft tyre would do wonders for improving performance dramaticaly without messing with the actual bike in any permanent way.

great news i appreciate the response, thank you

I have a 2001 280 edition, which i believe uses the same front and rear suspension as the early pro models. My shock has seen better days and during a bit of searching for the part no. bt280014004 ive seen some suggestion on parts sites that it was "superseded" by the later pro shock part no. bt300003013 does anyone have first hand experience of swapping shocks between years? seems like a good condition 2010 or so shock might be a nice upgrade over my old shagged one. I know splat shop offer rebuilds on them but the price is a bit hard to justify given the bikes age/low value

It hadn't occurred to me that the bolt could have a non threaded section, im not sure mine does so it may have been replaced by the previous owner Will pull it apart and check Thanks Rich

Hi all, I have an 01' TXT 280 "edition" and keep having an annoying issue where the bolt the rear brake lever pivots upon is unwinding itself as i ride If i try to tighten the bolt up to much it binds on the lever and prevents it returning as the return action for the lever is just from the brake MC and can't overcome much torque on the bolt, and as the bolt threads into the frame i can't put any kind of self locking nut on etc. I thought perhaps there should be a collar over the bolt that the lever pivots on and the bolt can be tightened against without binding the lever up? Mine has no real free play so it must be worn down if there should be one... I thought perhaps red loctite would do it (blue didn't) but thought i would ask on here first in case im missing something Thanks

Thats great info thanks Craig Now i just have to find one!

Thanks for the detailed replies, im really liking what i hear Its good to know the silencer is simple enough, im sure i can sort it out if the only ones i find are de-restricted. out of interest how much does the fuel tank hold? I would generally want 70 or so miles on a day on the lanes, so wondering how much extra fuel i might need to carry. I'm curious about what sort of speeds you coax out of the bikes on road as well, i ride green lanes with others and don't want to hold people up too much. As for the later models, unless im missing something they seem to combine being more expensive (newer) with having a superfluous elec start system and a bit of an unknown engine in the unbranded ttr clone so i guess i will give them a miss