fourex

Hello khristi, I can only comment on Q4 about the clutch and even then I'm comparing it to the '87 TR 34 that I had new back in the day, but it may give some insight into the woeful clutch action that those early Beta's had. I bought a new 1987 TR 34 from Beta direct from Italy back in the day because we had no importer in Oz at that time, it had a horrible dragging clutch which couldn't be fixed with different oils .Me and my trials riding buddies tried to fix it by shortening the alloy actuating arm on top of the case to increase plate separation, this helped but gave me a very heavy clutch lever pull, then I went and got some softer springs made up which helped the action but gave me a clutch that slipped. From memory I think we even attempted to clean out the crud from between the friction pads and file off any sharp edges on the steel plates, basically we tried every thing we could think of and it was always an ordinary clutch. After a few "telexes" to Florence (no emails back then), I finally got a little packet of improvement parts the main one from memory being the toothed actuating push rod from down inside the clutch cover, I never got to try them out as I sold the bike with those parts still in the packet. I reckon your TR 33 has the same crappy clutch that my TR 34 had. I should add that the next time I rode a Beta was the '89 stripey or 'zebra' as we called them here, and it's clutch action was very good compared to my TR 34. So in essence, if you can't improve you clutch with the "Beta clutch fix" and different oils, than see if the '89 clutch parts will retro-fit your TR 33. Hope this long winded story helps? PS: There was a '88 model between mine and the stripey, it was known as the TR 34 'Replica'. This is the model that those clutch parts would have come from, but as stated I never fitted them so cannot comment. The '89 stripey did have a pretty good clutch for back in the day.

I think i've just answered my own question by finding this pic of Schreibers bike, it too has what looks like long blue or black dust covers on the betors.

Hello ppl, does anyone know if Jumbo forks ever left the factory with these overly long blue fork boots ? The boots on mine are much shorter black jobs, possibly not the original dust boots/covers. Refer attached.

I'll keep you updated.

I'm sure that this mod I've carried out will anger some of the traditionalists, however I was hell-bent on getting a one finger clutch that releases the plates completely on my 300. My solution was to go hydraulic with this Magura setup and Trialsparts actuating arm assembly, I only finished the conversion 2 days ago and have only ridden the bike in my suburban yard and local park but I'm confident I've nailed it, I'll have a better observation when I eventually get out in the bush and can spend a few hours testing it out, lately here it's been 30 to 34 degrees Celsius, beach weather not bike riding weather. The last time I rode the Fantic in a Trial was at the Australian championships in Sept '16 and the sections were so tight that you simply had no chance of a clean without a well sorted clutch, the attached pics give some idea of the setup, due to the cable not being braided steel (some carbon/pvc setup) I fitted some small springs around the cable where it came close to the exhaust and wrapped them with an adhesive heat reflecting foil, forgot to take a pic of this setup but can at a later date if anyone is interested.

Good find, cheers. http://www.srcf.fr/forum/t2592-BLEU-PERNOD.html

Have a read of this post from Trials Australia, admittedly it's regarding an earlier model 349 but some of the diagrams are of the late 349/4 (MH), it may be of some assistance. https://trials.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=9192&start=30

As above, the exact colour or colour code for the SWM frames still eludes me, I was told the Subaru WRX blue (code 02C) was a close match, and indeed it is close but still not close enough for me. I know I'm being pedantic here, but since I've started paint stripping my Jumbo which was obviously re-painted in the wrong shade of blue by a previous owner (refer attached pic), I have found traces of the original slightly metallic and darker blue underneath and it's not quite the same as Subaru WRX blue. Any advice appreciated. Also still chasing info on my previous post regarding seat/tank/shroud arrangement.

As above, can anyone please advise what is the correct fitment? The attached pic is something I found from an old post here on TC. I thought mine came with the bracket attached under the shroud(unlike the pic), I pulled it apart months ago and now I'm not sure. Next time anyone has their Jumbo seat off could you please check and post back here. Cheers.

Hello fellow banana bender, the following from my parts manual should answer all your questions.

Hi Wayne, just to clarify, are we talking Yamaha TY 250 or Honda TL 250?

Couldn't you use something like the Motul Transoil in both the clutch and gearbox as that's what it does in a modern bike ?

I have the shedworks extender on my 300 plus new venhill cable and new sureflex clutch plates with the Beta mod carried out and I'm still not completely happy, it still has a little drag and one finger operation is ok for half an hour or so until a second finger is needed. I'm probably expecting too much from this old cable operated design as I'm comparing it to my modern GG clutch. Has anyone tried converting to something like the Magura hydraulic clutch? If so, I'd like to hear from you.

Don't worry, you're not the only one not happy with the fit and I don't really want to make a spacer block for the rear 3 bolt mounting point. I was in email contact only last week with Martin regarding this issue and he is looking for a solution, they are fabricated in Italy I believe, so no fault of Martins.

A friend of mine here in Australia who is desperate for a new clutch for his 250T has been in email contact with Sureflex, after a long delay they have responded and said they can supply clutch plates for the Italjet but no part # has been mentioned. I will let you know more soon hopefully, I'm after a set for my 350T also.

I replaced virtually everything in this carb when I refurbed the bike a couple of months back which included new needle & seat, floats, banjo etc,etc. Turns out I could have bought an entire new carb for less, you live and learn, anyhow, I only measured the float height last weekend when I had it apart again to fit a clear plastic bowl, they measured at 24mm so I left them alone. The clear bowl proved what I had suspected and that was that the carb was tilted to the left and therefore not level, I had to fit an angled cable adaptor to the top of the carb and a different cable to allow me to level up due to the interference from the exhaust. It ran really well down low previously but was a little flat in the midrange on those trail rides between sections,so when it was apart for the new bowl I went 1 clip richer on the needle at the same time and it is noticeably better now in the mid-range, down low is still very good, almost as good as my modern GG.

You pair crack me up, you just love to hate each other don't you? Thanks for both of your input, I've got it sorted now, keep up the good work.

That's magnificent Joe, but what's the point of your post? Have you bought it or do you want to sell it?

What are peoples opinions of Newfren and EBC brake shoes particularly on the front. These are the only two that do shoes for the Fantic I believe, I'm looking for a front shoe where I can lock the front wheel. At the moment the new EBC's I've fitted are good in the rear but not so good in the front.

Thanks Gents, I found this that recommends 24mm (+/- 0.5mm) for both PHBH and PHBL. floatlevel.pdf

As above, can anyone tell me recommended float height for the 26mm on a Fantic 300? Thanks.

As above, what gives them this distinctive sound when in motion, is it the way the gears are cut? as I'm led to believe. I remember them sounding different back in the '80s but especially liking it now that I've finally got my own. What other old trials bikes had that distinctive whine, SWM may be? I can't remember for sure. I like it, and it's not from an old worn out motor either!

Here's a pic of the actual finished product on the Fantic with top guard on, but as others have said, this does not seem to be a problem due to the rotation. Even the modern day GG/Beta/Sherco have little to no guarding on top of the chain, but all have some form of protection on the bottom chain rung leading into the sprocket. Most of us here in Oz simply use something like that kitchen nylon cutting board stuff cable tied to the swingarm or brake stay and that seems to keep the scrutineers happy, we're simply doing what our rule book stipulates.

Just wanted to show off my shark fin I fitted to my 1984 Fantic 300, as oz thumper stated this is mandatory here in Australia for competition use. It's a right sided modern Beta fin bolted to a 5mm alloy bracket I made which has been Tig welded to the existing alloy Fantic rear brake stay. It almost looks like it's meant to be there. This is what we have to do in Australia.

I like what you've done there Matt, have you ridden it some more since your last post and if so are you still happy with the mods. I want to do a similar thing to my Fantic 300, but don't want to increase the noise.