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I've got a 2009 st290.. It has this odd inline thermostat that failed. I think the thermostat itself is fine but the rubber seal split in two pieces and the thermostat fell out and lost coolant. Are these things just hand pressed in? Does anyone have instructions on how to install.. It's hard to tell what holds it in and this clip is odd. Does anyone know where I can get one in the US or a place that will ship to US.. https://www.trialsuk.co.uk/GasGasSherco-Inline-Thermostat-Seal The entire thing looks like this. https://www.splatshop.co.uk/in-line-thermostat-sherco-gasgas.html Edit:It seems they do ship to US but the seal is $7 and the shipping is about $25. They sell it via ebay also.

It does seem nice. However. I can pretty much fix any mechanical problem on my own with a Beta and a carb.. But with FI.. if something does go wrong I'm pretty much SOL I think. Even though I have done plenty of FI tuning on cars and have no fear of it at all.. Without the software and diagnostic tools it could be a nightmare to troubleshoot. The bikes themselves do look amazing. There is a dealer about 4hrs away from me and I talked to him last week. He has no stock but he did say the US distributor does have 1 or 2 300 R models available but they are about 10k US. I'm definitely going to at least ride the 2018 the guy I know has and try to decide. I've never really had a single problem with my old beta besides maintenance items and crash related stuff. But that vertigo seems like a level up in tech for sure.

There is a one guy local to me that has a 2018 and that is what sparked my interest in them. Seemed like a really great bike. Downside is price and potential complexity and no dealer anywhere close. But still might be worth it.. The fuel injection is both a pro and a con I guess.

I've had two used trials bikes and this time I want to start with a new or nearly new bike.. (mainly because why not have some fun) The two used bikes I have had so far were a 2007 Sherco 290, then a 2011 Beta evo 290. Both have been great for the level I was at. I really like the beta and it is still plenty of bike for me, but feel i want something a bit lighter and fresh. I'm leaning towards a new Factory Beta 300 as my first choice.. But also considering a Sherco factory 300 or possibly a Vertigo. I've never had any issues with engine size and for where I ride the power is nice to have on tap.. So think I'm sticking in the 300 range, but could do a 250 as well. Just have no desire for a 4stroke at this point. I feel the build quality and reliability of the Beta is,excellent but the front end has always felt a little steep with the Beta geometry and that has me considering others although I can live with that as I like so many aspects of the beta. I'm still far from an expert rider and too old to go absolutely insane/expert. Obviously the answer is ride them... but that is not really an option given how rare some of them are around me. I may get a chance at an upcoming event to check out the latest of each. Curious to hear from people who have spent time on some of these bikes. At this point the most recent bike I have ridden is my 2011.

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying. It turns out it is is typical to have the compression/rebound side extend much further than the spring side when they are not linked with the caps off.. I was told they all do that to some extent. I think the fork I have is exactly the same fork that was on most betas and Shercos, the only difference was the spacer pucks in the bottom of each leg and the actual rod on the spring side (which controls extension) might be a a little shorter than normal. They are all a very simple design. There is clearly something different in the last bit of stroke on the spring side in terms of compression dampening. Something restricts the oil flow dramatically (which is exactly what you want before bottoming out). I can't say that I'm an expert or that my bike is optimal, just that it feels much improved and is starting to feel more like a modern bike.

Update. I removed the spacers/pucks (there was one in the bottom of each fork lower). I tried the longer spring, but it was not good as it made the front end too stiff and the bike was not balanced. Anyway, I did not gain much travel (maybe 10mm), but the fork feels so much better. Those last 15mm of down travel now have very strong compression dampening. There seems to be a special circuit on the spring side that kicks in the last 15mm. It can be easily felt with the cap off and moving the fork up and down. This was not present when the spacer was in place and that was the reason I was getting such a harsh bottoming out on larger drops. I'm assuming they added the pucks so that the fork tubes could be raised higher without hitting the triple tree on the smaller bikes. I still might be missing about 10-15 mm of extension and may machine an extension for the rod at some point. Right now it feels pretty good overall. Much improved!

I think I found the issue. I think it is/was a combination of the spacer that sat below the bottoming cone and a shorter than normal main spring. I have not removed the spacer below the cone yet, but putting in the longer main spring that a friend had gave it another 10mm of extension.. I think it will yield about 165mm of travel once I drain the oil and remove the spacer below the cone. I initially wanted to keep the spacer below the code because I felt it was allowing more overall extension, but I now think it is also limiting about 10mm of down travel (that I have room for up at the cowrn) that would be very progressive.

I rode the 2014 beta 300 a little today. It felt and rode fantastic to me. The only thing that concerns me is that some things about the newer bikes look pretty fragile. My good old Sherco is built like a tank. I'm not so sure these newer bikes will hold up as well. I also got the speech from a more experienced guy that it would be a horrible bike for me because it is a 300. There seems to be a general consensus around here that only master level riders should be on anything over a 250. Some are even riding 125s.... I'm not sure I agree with this view. My current bike is a 290 and it has all the power I need, but I don't find it being unwieldy to control... In fact, I feel there is an advantage to a bike with good low end grunt. The Beta felt very smooth and predictable in the short amount of time I was on it. I may be able to score better on a lower CC bike, but I ride trials mainly for fun.... I am pretty new to all this, so maybe I should listen to the advice.

I'm searching for a new bike. I currently have a Sherco st 2.9, but it is an access model from 2009 and it is a bit outdated at this point. I like it overall, It has been very reliable and sturdy, but I have recently ridden some more up to date bikes and they felt much more capable. I was instantly able to do things I could not do on my current bike. I could hop them around where the Sherco just feels too heavy. I think the main issue is the suspension and heavy frame on my current Sherco. It has a frame from a much older model.... I initially thought I could improve the suspension... but its really not worth my time to mess with it. It was perfect for my skill level at first and I could still continue to learn on it, but I feel I could progress quicker and have more enjoyment on a newer bike at this point. Anyway, I'm considering a new Beta EVO 300 or a new Sherco 300. I'm pretty much sold on those two brands as I know both dealers in my area and they provide great support. I'm sure Gas Gas is also a great bike.... but there is no dealer in my area. Montesa would be on my list for sure, but there doesn't seem to be any available in the USA at this point. I'm also considering a 2012 used Sherco 2.9 or a 2011 Beta EVO 290. There is obviously a big price difference to get the newer bikes and I'm curious if others think they are worth it. The new ones would be ~$7500 where the used ones would be ~$4300 I know each bike has its pros and cons. Just curious what other have experienced. I'm just looking to hear strengths and weaknesses of each bike, I don't want to create a war about which bike is superior... I plan to ride each, but would like to know what to focus on. I'm sure the 2012 or 2011 would be plenty of bike for me, but it might be best to just get the latest revision now if they are greatly improved. .

If anyone has any idea of what is non standard in the picture above that would be limiting travel please let me know. I think I know someone who has the full travel version of the fork and I'm hoping he will let me borrow it for a day to compare parts.

I took the fork apart tonight. The stanchion is plenty long enough to support the travel... but something is limiting the extension. My guess it is the the spring shown in http://www.shercousa.com/pdfs/2009sparebook_trial-2T.pdf On diagram 2 labeled #34. Here is a picture of the parts from my fork. https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/share?s=cllN1XEOR7QtCGt-e1mLLM

That is just something with the image. shadows.... It is not bent.

He parted out the original fork on the bike to someone who crushed their lower tube on a rock. He felt he was upgrading this one with the beta fork as he had ridden it on his 80 and really liked it. Yes, he rides an 80 just to prove he can beat people with that tiny motor, but I think it is very tricked out with more power than stock Anyway, the guy is not stupid... He is a very skilled fabricator and does some amazing custom stuff and is also a skilled rider. The strange part is if you look at the manual for the 80 SR in 2013... it says it has 165mm travel for that year. I think he may have gotten that bike used, so someone could have modified it before him. . I'm pretty sure this is the same basic fork for all bikes, but that something is tweaked on it to act as a travel spacer on the spring side. I'm not that familiar with these forks, but I have seen this technique used on many mountian bikes forks. I took the wheel and fender off and the attached shows what happened. The right side extended out to allow about 190mm of potential stroke. The ones I have seen have a rod that bolts to the lowers from the bottom. The spring pushes the rod down from within a cartridge tube, but if you put a spacer into the bottom of the cartridge it will limit downstroke and therefore travel. I have no idea what the insides of this fork look like on the spring side. So, if someone has any links or diagrams please provide. I want to keep riding. so I'm not going to tear into without more knowledge.

I talked to the guy I purchased the bike from and the fork is from a 2013 Beta EVO 80 sr. He said it is suppose to be ~170mm travel. I seem to be only getting 140ish out of it. I put a zip tie on there and bottom it out real hard while riding. Still only 140mm between zip tie and wiper seal. Maybe they just exaggerate the ratings on the travel.

I have a Sherco, I purchased it used, but the guy who had it before me put a fork on it from a Beta. I think it was from a 2012 EVO 80 Sr. He said it was a better fork than what was on it originally. It looks exactly like what is shown here http://www.paioli.com/paiolini/detail_en.php?id=36 It has adjustments for preload on the left and what I think is rebound on the right top caps. It works OK in general, but I noticed that the travel/stroke is only about 140mm and I seem to bottom it out easily when taking drops to flat. The link states it should have 170mm stroke. The stanchions are 38mm and the total length does seem to be close to what the link states at about ~760mm (not sure exactly where they measure that from though). The link also states Regulations: in compression, extension and spring pre-load. By extention, are they talking about rebound dampening or extension distance. Anyway, does anyone know anything about this fork and if there is a way to adjust the travel or stops internally that would be limiting the travel to 140mm. Thanks in advance for any insight,