rick1

This is actually a common problem on Beta's. For what ever reason Beta uses cheap bolts in this area. Do yourself a favor and remove both bolts and replace them with a high quality type. My friend and I both used bolts out of our old vintage Bultaco stock pile. If you over tighten it will brake.....these pinch bolts do not need to be tight. I've heard and seen many people riding with just one. But if your down to one change the other one out.

Mike, I recall Trail Rider magazine having a spread of photos. I know this magazine has changed hands a number of times and I do not know what kind of archives they may or may not have, but you may want to try them. Rick

I agree with Toofargone. You want something that will evaporate. Any water or soap left behind will settle out into your spokes and rust them from the inside.

Mr. Clean.......dido that's how I bought my first bikes in the mid 70's and early 80's. Your the only sane one in this group. New trials bikes are insanely expensive and considering the lack of "break through technology" as compared to MX and Enduros they should be sold for much less. The manufacturers are taking advantage of the limited supply and manufacturers available. Also, with the Japanese brands not directly competing (because of low volumes) in this market the trials manuf. have a very easy time at ripping us off. Whoever said that replacement parts for trials bikes are cheap is daft. $50 bucks for a break pedal! $35 for a clutch lever! NUTS! and the tires.......lets not go there . The only thing cheap about trials seems to be the local entry fees. $6,000+ for a new bike, that's just plane stupid!!!

I don't think that question can be answered without describing what each of the classes above and below Advance. First, how many classes above and below are there. Pro, Expert, Advance, Intermediate, Novice, Beginner? Would there be more or less. Then you have to work from the bottom and progresively add to expectations to each level. For example; Beginner: Basic brake, throttle, clutch control and beinging able to balance a bike. Novice: Above items plus able to: - accomplish small to moderately steep off camber turns. - accomplish step ups of up to 2' - accomplish a turn within a 6' radius etc. the fewer the classes above and below the greater in difficulty each class would have defined. The greater the number of classes above and below the more gradual the skill level increases. thats my two cents.

I had a pair of used boots that last 7 years on the uppers replace the soles once. I now have new boots and care for them the same way. 1. While still new and clean coat with Kiwi Wet Proof (grease type product) per instructions go heavy on all seams (this will seal it up nice). This will darken up the color of the boots some. You can get this or similar products at horse riding or hiking shops. 2. After each ride brush off mud and dirt. 3. Every 3 or 4 months (depending on how much riding you do)hose down the boots, scrub with horse hair type brush, and clean with Kiwi Saddle Soap. Let dry then pop in a trials video , pour yourself a pint and apply a new coat of Wet Proof. This will keep the leather soft and pliable, keep your feet dry, and make the boots last for years. By the time you need another pair trials bikes will all be electric powered.

Help! I have a fiberglass Bultaco 199A fuel tank that is leaking along the bottom edge seems. The tank was sealed at one point in its life with a "Kreem" type product. What is the best way to proceed in resealing the tank: a. Pour a new sealer over the existing one? b. Try and remove/disolve the old sealer? c. Apply resin to the drip edge seam and hope for the best? I poured and flushed the interior several times with Laquer Thinner, although this did a wonderful job of cleaning the tank it did not remove the sealent material. I have considered flushing with Acetone, however, I am concerned that this would eat in to the fiberglass resin. I have also considered other solvents such as MEK (methylketone) but worry that this will have a similar affect as Acetone. Any experiences or suggestions

Diggler, I just purchased a 199a that I'm in the process of getting back to competitive form. How would us guys across the pond get ahold of the person selling those rock shocks? Also, where did you source your parts from?

Very interesting thanks. A freind of mine also has a 199A. He took a rear wheel off of an Alpina Mdl 137 and mounted it on his Sherpa. The 137 has the brake assembly on the right (sprocket left). He then modified the brake pedal to fit and used a brake rod from the Alpina instead of the cable. He welded a piece to the swing arm to mount the aluminum arm from the break hub face plate. I am told that the left side shift lever is difficult to find, I will check with Hugh's. Thanks for the info.

I recently acquired a Sherpa 199A. The bike was set up with a left side rear brake pedal and a right side shift lever. Was this a stock set up for Bultaco in the US. The gearbox is set up to move the shift lever to either side, but the drum break is on the left side of the bike. Is there a way to convert this bike over to a right side brake pedal. On the right side frame there is a cable guide (looks original) welded to the frame, I assume for routing a cable from a right side brake pedal to the left side brake assembly. Any suggestions?

In Northeastern US and other parts Michelin tires seem to be the most popular. I always hear how they are the best. Curious as to what is most popular in the UK? I have always used Michelins but I am considering Dunlops next. Any comments?

Rumor on this side of the pond is that 2007 will be the last year of the 2-stroke and that 2008 will be a complete change over to the 4 banger. Supposedly a Beta 4 stroker and not the previously rumored Suzuki motor. Who knows with Beta, they seem to hold their cards close and spring them at the last moment. Even with new year models, they are always last among the major builder to release a photo.

I have some plastic fenders that are scratched up pretty good. I've seen these plastic repair/restore kits advertised in bike/dirt bike magazines that show super results. Has anyone tried these and how well do they work?

Way cool, thanks folks

Does anyone have a link to a site that has exploded parts diagrams and parts list for both the motor and frame of a REV 3 (all year models). I did manage to find it for the 2001 model months back but can't seem to find the same site again.

Buy direct. Here is a place in Japan that sells them and they ship worldwide. http://www.hlj.com/product/AOS31223

I found this in the history form Billy T Mikuni Carb Setup By Billy T After receiving my 02 Beta Rev 3 I am very pleased with the bike. I am getting quite a few recommendations on how to set the bike up and what areas to change or set. One particular area is the carb. I have heard many statements regarding the float level and how to set it up. This setting of the

The bikes are and will still be to damn expensive and even more now that your adding a seat and a bigger tank.

Everyone I ride with has trimmed their bars to some degree. Some more than others. Matter of preference. I took 3/4" off each end of mine, some have done more.

You guys are way off the mark. Multipurpose bikes don't cut it. Especially when its a trials / something else. Yes, the dual purpose on off-road bikes aren't bad, but even those are not excellent at one or the other style of riding. Multi purpose bikes just don't work. The reason more people don't ride trials bikes is that they are simply too expensive, probably because of low production numbers, but that is why people don't buy/ride them. In the good old days when trials was much bigger everyone had a bike for every occasion. Even as a teenager I was able to buy a new bike every couple of years just from paper route money, kids just can't do that anymore and neither can the parents. Today, the average person can't afford multiple, single purpose bikes. Back in the 70s and early 80s just about everyone had a couple of relatively new bikes, now it's just too expensive. Hell, I can buy a top of the line KTM enduro for the same price as a trials bike. On top of that there is a whole lot more technology in an enduro/mx than there is in a trials bike. People have to choose between one or the other style of riding. I choose trials like many of you, but most of the other, younger, hormone raging, younger guys choose the fast bikes. Make the bikes cheaper and more people will buy them and more people will enter events.

OK tell me is you see it differently. I zoomed into the picture several times and I don't see even the likeness of a carb but rather something very different. Is it fuel injected? Can't be could it?

As a veteran of working on two nationals in the last two years here is my two cents. Ron is correct in saying with the right motivation, resources and people any club, even of the smallest in size, can pull off a National event and make money. That being said not every club has those ingredients. For motivation our club wanted money. We needed it to establish our clubs footing, gain landowner buy in for long term club use, and to make contributions to support younger trials riders in the local area and NETA. We had resources other clubs may not have. First, we had an experienced Pro rider (Ron) in the club. How many clubs have that? Ron's expertise in gaging what is or isn't a good Pro/Expert section was invaluable. With a club made up of 1 Expert/Advanced rider, 7 Novice/Senior guys and 2 beginners (and a couple of kids) you can understand why a club would need a person with Ron's background. Second, we had committed, hard working folks willing to spend 8 weekends of their spring/summer working instead of riding. Many did it simply for the love of the sport. For our club having enough people for checking was critical. Without the dedication and backing of the folks in NETA (New England Trials Association) to help in checking there is no way in hell we could have pulled off a national. We had 36 people (experienced checkers, spouses, kids) sign up the first day to check and 33 on the second day. Some of those people we weren't sure on until the morning of the event. In addition we needed a Clerk of the course, people to man the gates, people to score and I'm sure I am missing a few. That is a total of 60 to 75 people to cover both days. As an organizer that is a scary thing, as a club that is an extremely good reason not to host a National. Not many clubs have those kind of resources to fall back on or count on. The Vermont club chose to take a break simply because we are burnt out. After puttting on two nationals in as many years, the 10 or so folks who did all the work are exhausted but most of all just want to spend next year riding and having fun. Keep in mind we are a bunch of old farts, the average age of our membership is 50, the youngest adult being 35. Fact is we were so toasted that even coming to the decision of putting on a local (NETA) event next season was met with considerable discussion and debate. We even postponed the vote for 3 months just to wash the National experience and decision bias out of our system. As I said, we just wanted to ride and have fun. But we feel indebted to pay back NETA for their support in helping us with our National. So to that end we agreed to host a 2-day local event, but again people are needed. A minimum of 16 checkers each day. Where will we get them, hopefully NETA will come through again. Will we put on another National? That is still up for vote. Our club is torn on that issue. We want to have fun, ride and grow our membership (which is hard in rural Vermont.) We also have a goal to purchase our own land, for that we need bucks and the National is the most attractive way to do that and there in lies our delma.

I like Beta and will be buying another new one soon, but what ticks me off is when they do stupid things like the custom Beta brake and clutch levers. Apparantly, if you bend or break one you can only buy replacements from Beta. You can't use an AJP or other aftermarket lever and worse yet the Beta levers cost substantially more. Yeh! its great for Beta, but it sucks for the customer. Its bad enough bikes are expensive, now they are trying to find ways to soak us on parts.

Will you be posting the survey results on trialscentral