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Welcome along to the wonderful world of trials ! Can only really echo what Tr1AL has said, best thing is to go along to an event & talk to people, they’re a friendly lot & they’ll give you more local lowdown and point in the direction of other events, dealers, useful people to get to know, maybe even a bike for sale. I’d suggest going with a cheaper bike initially, even if you can afford new or nearly new, as echoing why lemur said ‘crashes are likely to happen’ and it’s easy to smash a £150 mudguard. (A repair on an older bike doesn’t seem as bad). Having said that, somehow you learn to anticipate ‘get offs’ and mitigate the damage to bike & rider as you get more experience. Usual checks on purchase apply, general condition - should be clean if it’s been looked after, everything should work so - starts easily, brakes, clutch & gears all work & wear parts are good. Most bikes wear parts are quite easily replaceable if you’re anything like handy with spanner’s, but when comparing bikes for sale be aware that a pair of decent tyres (Michelin as above recommendation) will cost £250 ish, chain & sprockets maybe £150 so factor that in to negotiations. Tyres need the ‘cubes/nobbles’ to have sharp corners particularly at the driving edge (forward facing at the top of the tyre), but they can be turned on the rim to double up on working life. You’ll find a lot of talk about set up on here but just go with basics as per Tr1AL and find your own way as you go along. If you start to ride events or regular practice sessions amongst other riders you’ll also get continuing advice as you go. Be prepared for some tongue in cheek abuse too, I often find self deprecation is a useful personal quality when riding (or picking me or the bike up out of a stream) 😂. It’s definitely harder than it looks so be prepared, but go and enjoy, you probably won’t be the only one making silly mistakes as you start off, but there are usually loads of classes so you can start with simpler stuff. GOOD LUCK & please report back on here or ask more questions.

Hi Jimg, so sorry for a slow response to your questions. firstly my bike isn’t a jumbo, it’s an 83 TL320. Rest assured the shorter springs won’t cause slip on your 350. At the end of the day both 240,280 and 350 are downrated mx engines that would need the strong springs for that application and furthermore theyd be clutch less shifted so a heavy clutch wouldn’t be noticeable. I think 340mm is the stock shock length but I run rockshocks 360mm with no noticeable difference, if anything you gain a tad more travel when the bike is weighted. I also swapped the well tired fork springs for a pair from REH, a hard one in one leg and a medium in the other, they are shorter than the originals by about 20mm but a longer spacer solves this. As long as the springs are longer than the travel your fine. I recently rebuilt the engine and fitted a clutch hub off an Aprilia TX311, this has the last plate as part of the casting so uses one driven plate less than the SWM clutch and has a far superior actuator bearing. I get no drag at all with this set up even if the bike is stood for a while. If you go down this route just make sure you get the 3mm thrust washer that fits under the splined tab washer, the SWM uses a 1.5mm thrust washer with the standard set up. Hope there’s some useful info for you all.

Find some old guy that has a great place to ride owns 2 trials bikes and does nothing much else but ride and wrench trials bikes 👍 How do you feel about crashes because that is likely to happen, if you are in the habit of participating in rough sports you will likely have no problem. Riding a trials bike on trials terrain is a full body workout if you are doing it right, that will surprise you.

Nice photos, thanks for posting Brian

I have not seen any specs for that bike.

Hi mate did you get any results using a R4A plug. I just purchased a 300 JBR and was thinking about using a No4 plug.

www.tricksinthesticks.co.uk or www.inchperfecttrials.co.uk These have bikes to hire or take your own and pay less. It is harder than it looks but don't be put off . if you stick at it and put some time in it is a good cheap sunday out (Entries cost around £20 )and there are plenty of trials events around where you are. Find events @ www.tmxnews.co.uk/ whats on this week-end. Southend & District MCC has a trial on 30th NOV @ Poles wood (NEAR THE SECRET BUNKER), Ongar Rd ,Kelvedon Hatch . CM15 0LA Starts 10.30am finish around 15.30pm Riders will be there around 9.00am if you want to ask people questions about bikes and how to get started in the sport . Too find the venue look for a day-glo orange triangle at the side of the road that points to the entrance. Its free to watch and go in for spectators. There is usually a burger van at most trials events if you want to eat/drink there. Most important thing in Trials is a well prepared bike ( Handle bar and bar lever position makes a lot of difference plus I found that oddly footrest type and position made a big difference also) . Tyre pressures are very important in the newest tyres you can afford the best being Michelin X11 . Pressures for mud 5 psi Front 3/3.5 psi Rear and for riding on stone and Rock or dry conditions 6psi Front 4 psi Rear those being the usual starting points . Others will no doubt chime in with their recommendations.

The std 300 Beta in stock mode is weak. Beta used to have a bunch of factory parts to make it zing. My son had a 2015 with all the goodies and it was a beast. On the other hand I spent a day riding Ray`s bike and it was a monster, but was quite fun! If you look at the stock plate on the left, you can see the witness marks were a few springs moved off center. Just because you use different springs does not mean they don`t work correctly. The Japanese put alot of thought in the aftermarket parts they use.

Hi. I have just purchased a 2022 JBR 300 at the weekend it was a bit of a rough runner but got it nice and smooth now. However the exhaust seems extremely loud in comparison to the Beta I have, is it normal or am I missing something, I took the exhaust tip off and there is plenty packing in there. any advice appreciated. cheers.

50 yr old bucket lister… grew up watching Kick Start! Did push bike trials as a younger and always wanted to progress to motorbike. Where can I go to try it out? Essex, UK based….

Hi very interested in the ossa. Please contact me on this number 07772702504

That's a good question. It seems to be a mix of parts. As I've said before, only half joking, no two EFI OSSAs were built identically. What is the 10th character of the VIN?

Hello, Do you know what year this is and where abouts are you? And would you take a twin shock in p/x, Thanks, Steve.

I also think it would slip when removing springs. The 4rt clutch is quite grabby compared to other models, Elf and light gear oils emphasise the issue more so. The early ones with the small master cylinder were particularly bad. Setting the lever up correctly is quite important and the dimpled plates really do help, much more progressive and will not slip, ever. The Mitani clutch pack is awesome, starts in 1st gear and is quite a bit lighter…. expensive too, but a good investment. I believe there are titanium springs for these, not sure if they give a different feel or are just purely for weight saving

Hi, I have decided to sell my OSSA tr280i it's in fantastic condition and is keep in my house on display please have a good look at the photos you will not find a better example I'm looking for £2000. ONO

Want to know what will happen after you put lighter pressure plate springs then required in your clutch <- it's going to slip in high gear ranges, same as if you leave 2 of the 6 springs out. Rhetorical question but dimpled steel clutch plates in a wet clutch leaves more space for oil between the plates, do you believe that scenario will make the clutch grab stronger or slip easier 🤔 and with dimpled plates having more oil between the plates and less surface area contacting the friction plates, will that make your clutch feel any lighter to pull at the lever, I think not. Throw in some lighter springs and you have a formula for inducing more clutch slip.

Why do they rub? Do the springs have a smaller inside diameter? Is the plate just slightly thicker with the groove to center the springs.

They give a little more leverage for the shock, it’s hard to explain how it feels, but the shock feels a lot more responsive to rider input. There isn’t much difference when you line them up side by side but it does feel better to ride with. I prefer the feel of the Showa shock compared to the RCV thingy and run with about 7 threads showing below the lock ring. Be careful though as it can be a little more prone to throwing you over the bars until you are used to it. Make sure your bearings and bushes are good. 1mm of play in the linkage turns in to a lot at the rear wheel. Don’t skrimp and buy the all balls kit, Always get the genuine Honda bushes and most importantly the spherical bearing, it’s a world apart from all balls quality

What model tire exactly, is it a tube type tire that you bought? that would account for it, tubeless rims are different profile. ... if it is a tube type tire sell it to somebody that rides an old TY.

I live in the muddy South of England and was persuaded to buy an IRC insread of my usually Michelin. Well it may be very good in the mud but it would be nice if it didn't keep going flat (on my recent TRRS). I moaned about it to my regular riding mates and they said, "Oh yes they deflate all the time" and then they offered various suggestions to keep the air in the tire, sticky rim tapes and inflating to 70 psi were a couple. However my conclusion was that I would never buy another one, no matter how good they are claimed to be. To discover your tire's gone flat halfway through an event is a complete pain especially if you're nowhere near your wheels. And no I don't want to carry a pump with me. As far as I'm concerned they are not fit for purpose on my trials bike, but maybe they work properly on different shaped rims?

The problem you are noting with the Beta 4T throttle response is they fitted the bike with a CV carburetor. Vacuum operated carburetors rob engine intake vacuum pressure to operate the carburetor negatively effecting both the throttle response and the engine performance, in PGM-Fi fuel systems 100% of the engine vacuum pressure is dedicated to intake of air & fuel, Fi does not exhibit the throttle lag and occasional misfires inherent to the CV carbs normal operation.

Are HP and torque numbers available for the standard Beta 300 4t, maybe with rpm numbers? I have one of those too. In a tight section, the Montesa feels much more powerful so I need to use very little throttle. I thought it was overall more powerful. However, the other day I took it to some open trails with good size hills. There it feels similar to the Beta. I wonder if there is a real power difference or if the fuel injection just makes it more responsive.

Hello friends. I’ve become the owner of a wrecked 1987 BETA TR34, which is now running again, although it still needs quite a few things to be fully finished. In any case, it’s already rideable, but I have a problem with the clutch. According to the available parts catalogues, it seems that at some point in the past someone replaced the clutch basket with a 1989 model, because mine is an open-type basket, while the catalogue shows that it should be closed around the perimeter (and based on posts I’ve read here on the forum, the closed one should actually be better than the original type). The problem is that the clutch slips at higher RPM. I would like to ask if anyone has the specifications or measurements of the pressure springs in the clutch basket, and if you could share them. Mine seem visually a bit tired, and after measuring them they’re about 36 mm long — but I haven’t found any information anywhere about what the correct length should be when they are in good condition. The friction plates are in nice shape (around 3.6 mm if I remember correctly) and the steel plates also look OK — around 2 mm thick, not warped or discolored from overheating. Thank you very much for any clarification. Martin Gáborko

Yes that normal trashy clutch sound in neutral the 5 plate Montesa clutch does not exhibit, the TRS o-ring fail was very early after receipt of the bike, was leaking down from the start. Fortunately I rarely have clutch problems with any of my vehicles, that tractor lube works perfect, you just never even tried it to know better.

That is 'nornal' on a diaphram clutch! The oring should not go bad if you are using mineral oil. Must be that tractor lube!