dadof2

I Suggested cleaning out the fuel tank on hrmad's 4RT poor running post. In stead of posting again on their I think it is worth starting a separate topic. Dependant on your location / country ethanol may have been in your fuel for some time. The detrimental effects of ethanol are now becoming apparent. A few key points Fuel containing ethanol can deteriorate significantly within 15 days Ethanol absorbs up to 50 times more water (from the air) than petrol Ethanol has a much lower energy output (calorific value) than petrol Ethanol attacks plastics and some metals used in fuel systems. In 2T premix the lubricating oil only binds to the petrol, not the ethanol. If left standing the ethanol settles out and you will be running your engine on near straight ethanol with no lubricant until the tank gets a good shaking. So far I have seen damage (that did not occur before ethanol) on vehicles / motorcycles made in Japan, Spain and the UK It is an unfortunate fact that fuels (both CI and SI fuels) containing constituents not derived from mineral oils do cause damage to fuel systems and engines. Motor and component manufacturers are fully aware of this but can't openly criticise fuel companies or say you should not use them because the fuel as it leaves the pump does meet the legal specification. To advise against the use of a fuel that meets the specification could leave the vehicle manufacturer open to very costly litigation. Several motor clubs are lobbying their MPs (members of parliament) in an attempt to get the ethanol content of fuel stated on petrol pumps and to ensure that a supply of ethanol free fuel remains available. At the present time it seems the only ethanol free pump fuel in the UK is BP Ultimate bought outside the Southwest of England. I have already written to my MP regarding the above and will be writing again, I hope others do the same.

Why have £several hundred of laptop and leads - carb can be adjusted with 50 pence screwdriver any place any time.

Is the reason they did not sell an economic number of bikes because people did not want to buy them or because there was insufficient cash in the company to pay parts suppliers to get parts to make bikes to sell. There seemed to be customers waiting for bikes, that suggest a credit / supplier problem.

Original question answered but I thought I would post again because of a couple of posts using the term "overgreasing" which I did not. see http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/28664/dangers-of-overgreasing-for a full explanation of what overgreasing is. The issue I was referring to is that when you initially pack a bearing there is a much thicker film of grease on the bearing surfaces than there is after a few rotations of the bearing. If you do not rotate the steering head bearings several times with the correct torque to load the bearings you will not set the bearing at its correct operating fit. After a bit of use when the grease film settles at its correct thickness the bearing will be slack. A slack taper roller bearing concentrates the load on a few rollers and causes them to dent the races and put flats on the rollers.

Have T & MX ever tested a "bad" bike?

My suggestion is each time a rise in entry fees is considered those involved in the decision need to think hard if it really is necessary. I think it would be a good idea if clubs provided a breakdown of what the entry fee is used for. Best management practices need to be identified and copied. If one club can fund purchase of significant amounts of land yet another nearby running a similar number of events with similar entry fees does not, is that right? Why is entry fee in Netherlands only 5 to 7 Euro? Why can't that be the amount in the UK.

As above due to straight cut or near straight cut gears and float on the clutch basket.

Give it time and they will probably insist on a transgender rider as well

Why do you think the advice given by posters on TC will be better than the manufacturers advice / handbook?

Regarding "armour type" protection I have never worn more than knee protectors for trials. In MX my trousers had built in knee and hip armour, My upper body armour was fox which consisted of chest and upper back protector and shoulder protection. Elbows and forearms I use sinisalo protectors. Lower back is protected by a Protek belt. I know the UK is not that hot but never felt it uncomfortable to wear. The Upper body protector actually hold the shirt off you and allows cool air to circulate. I would not think wearing body armour will be a problem

I was reading the post on French trials licences in the European section a few days ago. When you see what,s happening happening in Spain as well it good reason to leave the EU. The more bureaucrats that have to option to regulate us, the more likely it is we will get more regulations. The restriction of under 19 year olds to 125ccs was EU driven for example. As for Jotagas it would be interesting to know exactly what went wrong.

Looking at it from the angle in the photo (colour excepted) it looks remarkably similar to a 1995 JTR Gas Gas

Check them with a magnifying glass - any dints they are scrap Thoroughly clean them then lube with WD 40, put rollers and inner bearing in and rotate wth your fingers, any notchiness / roughness they are scrap

This post was not written to wind people up nor to denigrate those who provide their services for free. It was written because I feel if entry fees continue to creep up relative to disposable income it will have a very negative effect on trials. Every rider less, is an entry fee less, a bike sale less and less sales of spares and consumables. "pricing itself out of the market" There does not have to be a similar cheaper activity, people just give up and do something different. The argument that people spend £?k on a bike should not have an issue with entry fees does not hold up, perhaps logically it should but in practice people spend several £k on a bike never to ride in competition at all or to do just a few events. Some things are now much cheaper (cameras and electric goods) compared to average wages, some are much more expensive, houses for example. I know of 2 trials last year one a centre event and one a national where afterwards the organisers were wondering if it was worth the effort to run the event because of the small numbers entering. Entry fees were a factor in quite a few riders staying away from the national, but not apart from the odd moan at the centre trial. I think the difference was £9 but it had a significant effect on the riders attitude.

Unfortunately that is the price they are. Before buying any rings I would get your bore and piston measured accurately. Often the bore does not wear evenly and the original rings match that. New rings can be a worse fit than the worn old ones. Bore will probably need a light hone - depends on measurement and ring suppliers advice. May be best getting bore honed and fitting large grade piston kit complete

It does not matter if there is a warranty or not. Goods sold in England "must be fit for the purpose for which they are sold and of merchantable quality" Unless defined as a wearing / consumable part (such as a brake pad or oil filter) it is reasonable to expect the part should last 6 years of normal use. If your dealer will not exchange it FOC then try Honda UK, if that fails go to Citizens Advice, it is surprising what a effect a letter from trading standards can have on even the most awkward seller. Just for your info I once had trouble (heat build up and poor damping) with Ohlins shocks on a MX bike. Even after about 1/2 seasons MX, Ohlins rebuilt them for free. I also know of a rider who bought an ohlins shock secondhand. It had nearly a seasons use on it and the spring cracked - replaced FOC no questions asked by local Honda / ohlins dealer.

The symptoms you describe are almost certainly indented bearings. There is a chance you could have got a piece of dirt or metal shaving under the bearing seat causing it to tilt. Indented bearings can be caused by over tightening, Indents can also be caused by having the bearings too slack. slackness results in uneven distribution of load on the rollers. I have seen this happen on MX bikes. New bearings have been fitted or old bearings re greased. The mechanic assembles the bike in the workshop until there is no play in the bearing. However the reason there is no play is because of the thick grease especially in cold weather. A few laps and the grease pumps out, play develops and the bearing becomes indented. Steering head bearings should generally be bedded by applying a constant torque of about 15 ftlbs whilst repeatedly moving the handlebars from lock to lock. Once the nut no longer moves then back it off a shade until the bars fall from side to side with minimum input, say 1 ftlb or less.

Practice the following without using the clutch. On level ground or slightly uphill, with the bike running at only just over tickover in bottom or second close the throttle ever so slightly and depress the forks at the same time. Then open the throttle slightly and lift the bars towards your chest pushing down on the footrests at the same time. The whole sequence has to be done as one smooth almost instantaneous movement.

That is a very intuitive post and if correct clearly states what many suspect - trial bikes have not actually improved that much for a long long time and most of the improvements are imperceptible at club man level sections.

I may not be 100% correct but in general I am certain that relative to the average wage of potential trials participants the cost of entry fees has risen. The reason I quote Autograss is because if they can have entry fees of £6 why can't trials be less than £10. Trials and Autograss are very similar from many aspects, both are the lowest cost forms of 2 or 4 wheeled motor sport, both are mainly amateur with the organisation being done by unpaid volunteers and both need a bit of land and some marking out. I agree to some extent with what Rabbie says, especially the land purchase issue. I quoted my wage but I know of a lot who were on similar and for many years I also had access to Chamber of Commerce wage figures for a range of industries and PAYE occupations and year on year entry fees increased more than PAYE pay rates. Take the recent closure of the last deep coal mine, most of those men were on £30 to £40k. I reckon the majority of those will be lucky to get anywhere near that when they look for new work. Similar trend in industry after industry (Redcar Steel etc). Look at the age of a lot, maybe the great majority of trials riders, 40 and 50 years old. Mortgage minimal or paid off, kids left home or earning and a reasonable bit of disposable income. Now look at the 16 to 25 year old group where new trials riders should be coming from, struggling to find a job, often poorly paid or having costly long commutes or student debt to pay off. Increasing entry fees no mater how justifiable could do a lot of long term damage to the sport - it will price itself out of the market.

I only very occasionally rebuild wheels. I always number the spoke holes both in the hub and rim so I can't get it wrong. Sounds like you have got a set of spokes 2 holes out on the hub. I suggest you try to find another MAR wheel to look at or perhaps one of the forums MAR owners can post a large scale photo.

http://www.cv-library.co.uk/cgi-bin/searchjobs.cgi?posted=28&search=1&fp=1&q=welder&geo=Bishop+Auckland%2C+County+Durham&distance=15&salarymin=&salarymax=&salarytype=annum&tempperm=Any ND - before you throw insults look at the above Job advert link. I would not pick up a welding torch for that but it does show the financial constraints some are facing. Even if you pay your welders £18 an hour that is still less than a £20 entry fee whereas as a newly qualified welder my hour;y rate used to be more than twice the entry fee. In spite of trying to disprove my point of view and saying I was inaccurate what you have written actually supports the point I was making. ENTRY FEES HAVE RISEN MUCH FASTER THAN PAY RATES. Instead of throwing insults why do you not come up with reasons why autograss, a higher risk speed sport needing a circuit has so much lower entry fees than trials.

Loan it to Sunt for the Scottish.

Furthest I ever rode to a trial was about 35 miles either way, trial was 3 laps of 12 to 15 miles. Had to carry 2 cans of petrol and refill one on way home. Bult 325 was pretty good on the road. Decent seat and I had it geared up so first was where second should be.

Surely the TRS can't be any good, its got one of those horrible unreliable dellorto carby thingies