dadof2

You bike should fire with the timing anywhere between TDC and 20 degrees before TDC. Mark the flywheel / crankcase with indicators of those positions. Attach a strobe light and spin the engine with a power drill. Spark plug out and earthed with a little oil down the plug hole. You will then soon see when (if?) a spark is occurring. The spark should easily jump a 0.9mm plug gap out of the cylinder. Edit - Check the little sprung loaded pin on the float valve plunger moves freely with not notchiness.

Mostly agree with Dan's comments. Judge it on condition. The asking price would be very high for this bike in UK, you would get a much newer EVO for that.

As far as I know trials bike lights are usually AC with voltage limiting diode(s) to stop bulbs blowing at higher revs. Unless its properly designed in the first place you are going to have trouble with indicators on AC, particularly when the voltage is varying. The stator on the Beta will easily power everything you list once it is well above idle, at idle it will not even power a decent head and tail light. If you want everything you list that continues to work at low revs, you will need a regulator rectifier (less than £20) and a small gel type battery (Yuasa do them - try MDS battery) All the other bits you need are then standard 12V DC car parts. Liquid cooled trials bikes generally already have a 12V regulator / rectifier for the cooling fan. You would need to look at your bikes wiring diagram to see if the lights are normally supplied from this DC supply or the more traditional AC setup.

http://www.smithandallan.com/products/transport-antifreeze-and-coolant/2731-smith-and-allan-long-life-anti-freeze-antifreeze/ is OK in Betas The pink VAG / Comma long life stuff does not suit Betas, it leaves deposits in water pump and seems to react with non OAT coolants.

Nigel me and you are clearly not going to agree on this one and this is my last post on this. Perhaps the best advice to africajohn should have been to bring a few sizes of sprockets and different chain lengths with him and then he can change them if he finds his gearing too far out. I do understand the arguments for a lesser capability rider using first where second is really the correct gear. There are many variables, for example if you are feeling fresh and fit early in the week you may choose to use second in the hope of a clean, when you are knackered at the end of a long day later in the week you may choose first and go for a few well aimed dabs, the aim being just to keep going with minimal effort. I think it was the 349 Monts that had a quick release gearbox sprocket mechanism to enable gearing changes to be made quickly by the rider, In this case the main aim to give the motor an easier time on the roads.

Different maps do affect the noise but only slightly. The best way to reduce noise is to make a small silencer extension that directs the escaping gas downwards. It may not sound much different at the bike but it makes an enormous difference to how far the sound carries. Get some 1.5mm thick aluminium and and bend it to an upside down U shape same as existing silencer. The slot in the bottom only needs to be about 15mm wide. Fold / crimp the end. Fix the other end to the silencer with a large hose clip or cable ties. Needs to extend about 100 mm beyond existing silencer outlet. On a 500 2T MX with this mod I could practice and sheep would continue to graze 60 to 100 yards away, without the mod they would all be cowering in the far corner of the field several hundred yards away.

Store in black plastic bag to keep sunlight off them. Cooler constant temperature is best. Some claim tyre paint contains chemicals that reduce aging. Surprisingly tyres age less when used regularly.

gizza5 I pretty well agree with all your sentiments in previous post. Getting a bit off topic here but condensing trials bike history into a sentence as follows. Trials started as a means of improving road bikes / every day use bikes whereas now they are single purpose WTC replicas. What is is, and I can't change that but i know trials bikes were more attractive to a larger number of people when they were more multi purpose. When I consider the group of people I now ride with the reason they have trials bikes is to ride trials or play on practice sections. In the 1970s / 80 the group I practiced with had them for many different reasons (farming, commuting, green laning etc) several never rode a single trial but some days or evenings we would do runs of even over 80 miles and comfortably get between filling stations. We also had reasonable working lights, legal speedos etc. I know of 2 major Northern trial where organisers have taken them entirely off road to avoid bike legality problems and although I have not spoken to the organisers of other trials who have done the same I am fairly sure bike legality / suitability has been a factor in their decision. If a manufacturers return to the SSDT gave us suitable bikes and restored some of the longer traditional trials. Before anyone posts an argumentative response please bear in mind I am not claiming I am right and others are wrong. The current sport is what it is. Its just my opinion based on the eras of the sport in which I have taken part.

Quite a few cars run the crankcase a less than atmospheric pressure to reduce oil consumption and the chance of oil leaks.This is done in combination with bleeding crankcase air into the inlet tract before and after the throttle. Engine braking is by vacuum on the top of the piston when the throttle is closed. Altering the crankcase pressure alone would probably not have that much effect on engine braking as the pressure acting on the piston underside on the downstroke would be similar to the pressure on the upstroke, thereby cancelling each other out and giving little or no net braking effect. The piston moves at a leisurely 10 to 15 m/sec so you would not think air resistance would have much effect either. Some cars are fitted with a throttle body damper that slows the rate of final throttle closure, this was done to remove jerkiness which was a problem on early EFI engines. This significantly reduces feeling of too much or sudden engine braking. Another way to reduce engine braking / pumping losses is to have variable valve timing and lift but 4Rts don't have this. I would think the reduced 4RT engine braking is by a combination of reducing mass of air in crankcase, combustion chamber and subtle valve timing and throttle body actuation but its just a guess.

If I had suggested a side valve engine I would have been accused of being a luddite. I reckon side valve would be ideal for 99% of riders but probably could not compete with OHV / OHC at highest level.

"I can't comment on Vertigo gearing for the SSDT as I have not ridden one but if I were on say a 300 Beta I would probably gear it up so first was about 1/2 to 5/8 way between standard 1st and 2nd. This would give a decent gear for most sections, a 2 &1/2 gear for faster sections and give the engine an easier time on the road." The above is what I posted previously so it seems two of us agree on something.

Manufacturers should send teams to prove the reliability of their bikes. Modern bikes ideal - look at the list of checks / changes suggested by the factory / importer mechanics prior to recent SSDTs. A decent comfortable seat, adequate radiator and mudguard sizes would be useful for a start. Old bikes had similar problems but the increased complexity and "squeezed in tight" construction of modern bikes makes faults harder to diagnose and fix in the field, especially within the SSDTs time constraints. Note another posters comments on the 1981 Bultaco rider.

"they justifiably want him etc" It seems I am not the only one pondering if the decision was entirely JDs. A general comment - One function of forums such as TC is to illicit speculation and try to find answers, its a pity some don't realise this and resort to insults and accusations.

The original question was "Which is the best to ride for a Clubman?" I have a choice of bikes to ride, but I do not get to try all bikes. However when we have our local practice sessions there is a very good range of bikes and rider ability. At these sessions there is a lot of discussion and scrutiny of the bikes. I also observe trials from evening club trials up to national championship level. Based on that my feeling / opinion is that out of the crate the Beta will suit a greater number of riders than other marques. Not that it is a better bike but just that its riding position, suspension, gearing and engine characteristics seem not to need changing whereas I find more owners of other bikes are changing gearing, bars, shocks, compression etc etc. As I said all the modern bikes are pretty close, its just some have odd quirks. I have had many bikes, mainly 300cc and over 2Ts and the only bikes I ever actually disliked were TYZ250 (riding position) and Aprilia and Armstrong with the slug like unresponsive motors. Why would I buy a 4RT? I like the build quality and as its 39 years since I last rode a 4T in a trial I just fancy a change. Although maybe not as competitive as 2T it will be any amount good enough for me. When I was riding regularly and practiced plenty I had no problem with a 300 2T but now I feel a bit less power and easier starting may suit me more. I rode a friends 4RT a few years back and with the exception of big steps felt more comfortable on it than on my own 2T.

Straight out of the crate I would say Beta just shades it ahead of TRS, but it is very very close between all of them. If I were buying a new bike it would most likely be a 4RT which is probably the least competitive.

On a TY80 I fitted brand new points that turned out to be faulty. Intermittent spark. The points had resistance where they were riveted together. Faulty source coils or condenser can also give intermittent running with symptoms you describe. Also known fault at spade connector under tank where HT coil connects to giove problems.

The course for the three-part series was devised by trials rider Sammy Miller and constructed within the Donington Park Race Circuit. The 3 part series being BBC Kickstart (forerunner of arena trials) filmed at the same track as this saloon car race.

I did not single out GG, I pointed out that all major WTC teams do not send an A team to the SSDT. The point I was making was that none of the modern bikes are ideal for the SSDT and because of this there is a fair chance over 6 days of riding of a manufacturers efforts being thwarted by what could be called random bad luck. Look at Dougies and Dabs / Dibs problems at fairly recent Scotts for instance, a seize, dirt in carb, 2 battery failures and 2 ignition failures.

I draw your attention to what I posted previously. Your reply claimed that I advised second for all SSDT sections - which is not true, unlike the above which is sound advice to anyone contemplating the SSDT. Edit - The above reads rather oddly because of the way TCs quote system works, It was dadof2 who wrote what the quote system seems to attribute to Nigel. Africajohn asked a perfectly valid question, after reading the the responses I wonder what his thoughts are?

The proper name for the stuff I advised is Autoglym Bumper and Trim Gel. I guess the vinyl and rubber care is pretty similar, may have addend scent to make your tank smell nice.

Nigel, before you criticise my posts you should read the original post properly. Dan Thorpe (a pretty decent SSDT rider) agrees with me Africajohn state he struggled to maintain momentum in first, not that second was too fast, it was therefore perfectly rational to suggest using second where loss of traction / momentum is less likely. He also states "similar sections" he did not restrict the question to SSDT sections. I have excellent SSDT type practice sections available to me and this has been commented on by BTC, WTC and SSDT winners who have ridden there. I can't comment on Vertigo gearing for the SSDT as I have not ridden one but if I were on say a 300 Beta I would probably gear it up so first was about 1/2 to 5/8 way between standard 1st and 2nd. This would give a decent gear for most sections, a 2 &1/2 gear for faster sections and give the engine an easier time on the road.

My post has nothing to do with an agenda. Had Dabs never entered the SSDT the question would not have arisen. It is his withdrawal at this stage that is puzzling. He clearly had the intention to ride. My question is still valid - is the decision entirely Dabs or is there significant Gasgas influence? It is clear that all the main WTC teams take the same view - the disbenefits of the SSDT outweigh the benefits. Rather than entering a true A team with all the expense and risks some enter a "B" team. If it does well its good advertising, if mechanical failure puts them out it is much less visible than having a top factory rider drop out. In answer to your first question - Gasgas have probably never had an A team failure at the SSDT because they have never entered a true A team with their top WTC riders.

I pretty well agree 100% with what you have written above and it says pretty well the same as I posted so i am surprised at the tone of some of your later posts. Even Nigel (who pretty well disagrees with me on anything) points out that a TLR 200 grips because it has little power. This illustrates the point I was making which is that at any given speed a the higher the gear the less power is being transmitted to the ground and therfore the less likely is loss of traction. I was in a section queue at a centre trial, with a previous SSDT winner and as I was on the same bike I asked him what gear he was using. I was thinking 3rd would be best unless I got into trouble, in which case second would probably be the easiest to keep going. He did not tell me which gear but said that whenever you are not sure of the gear to use choose the higher one. From what africajohn had posted it looks like most of his practicing is on dry grippy sections, where first may well be the preferred gear. Most of my riding is on sections very similar to the SSDT and based on that my advice remains practice as much as you can on slippy rivers using second, if you can master it it will be to your advantage. What is the best way / gear to ride a section is not the same as how any given rider should ride a section when they are tired or lacking confidence.

It was the announcement that Dabs was not riding the SSDT that prompted me to think about this. I started off road riding on old bangers that we had to get along the roads (at risk of prosecution) to get to where we could ride them. I had been to motorcycle events (MX grasstrack and road racing) from about the age of 3 and read MCN and MCW and MCM about as soon as I could read but despite reading about trials and watching the Scott had no interest about taking part when I bought my first trials bike. The reason I bought it was to get along the road to my off road areas legally. It was only after some time and because of someone I got mechanical help from (who already rode trials) that I decided to ride in competition. I rode regularly for quite a few years the motivation to get better and better. After I "peaked" that was no longer a motivation and I just ride occasionally for fun. I seem to have reverted back to my origins were most of my riding is about having fun on any off road ground rather than competing. I intend to ride a few trials but no longer really know why I do it. Wonder what dabs motivation is - 3rd in WTC?

Self marking unfortunately nearly always results in cheating. If not enough observers far better that riders circulate in groups of 6 to 10 with alternate 2 or 3 doing the marking jointly.