thats_a_five

I found the same thing in my airbox. Bike runs perfectly, not losing oil from the case. I assumed it was from some oil running up the breather when the bike was on it's side or upside down.

I run my '05 4RT at about 1900 RPM idle. Yes, I have a tachometer / hour meter on it. Like Ross Brown said, I found that running less than that I would stall the bike creeping around a corner or just cracking the throttle from idle. I do have a 9 tooth front sprocket so can creep pretty well just on the throttle.

I modified the shape of the brake pedal for my 4RT to get it tucked in closer to the engine. In the process, I had to grind the top of the plunger rod about 3 to 4 mm. Works fine. Remember to grind the same shape as the original plunger and as Guys said, be sure there is some play between the plunger and the piston. Otherwise, it might prevent the pads from moving away from the disc fully. When this happens, the brakes will drag and things will get very hot! Hot enough to oil the fluid and the thermal expansion will gradually lock up your brake. Don't ask how I know.

As trials riders, I think we probably have better control of our vehicles than many other people. The problem that started this thread was when the rider no longer had control of the bike. Once that happens it does make sense to me to have the bike shut down. If I do a lanyard, I will probably wire it in addition to the existing kill switch and with an override function in case of lost lanyard (as simple as a way to unplug the switch).

I do not use one yet, but stories like this make me seriously consider a lanyard type kill switch. Good luck on the bike.

It depends what you find inside. 2 main areas: upper jug and bottom end. Upper jug: Piston seized in bore. These engines have nikasil coating on bore. If the nikasil got scored to the point where there is aluminum showing, the bore needs to be recoated and honed and new piston fitted. In USA, the importer does a refurbished jug, piston kit where you send yours, they send replacement. If no aluminum showing nikasil might be able to be honed for new piston and rings. If the piston broke, there could be bits of nasty that fell into the bottom end. Doing just the upper jug is a relatively easy job, engine can stay in the frame. Bottom end: Main bearings seized, crank or connecting rod broke. Engine has to come out, complete tear down and rebuild bottom end. *** You need to figure out what caused it to seize so it does not happen again. Common items: No coolant Gas with no oil Not letting bike warm up adequately before revving too high Excessively lean mixture Bad water pump Riding like a street bike or motocrosser - Trials bikes do not have big enough radiator for prolonged high stress running. Good luck

I had not thought of using a vacuum gage like Biff suggested. Brilliant idea! I think any automotive test type vacuum gage will work fine. Here is an example. ( know its in USA, just an illustration) http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Dry-Utility-Vacuum-Pressure-Gauge-Blk-Steel-1-4-NPT-Lower-Mount-30HG-0PSI-/121304699145?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c3e52d109 I prefer vacuum gages that show plus and minus of -0- pressure (pressure and vacuum). Check with some of your buddies (mates in UK?), many guys who work on cars or bikes have one that get used once in a while. Probably let you borrow it for a pint.

Awesome! Lucky kid. And happy Dad I bet to see him enjoy and get to spend riding time together. it doesn't get any better than that.

The best thing you can do on your first trial is to simply remember to have fun. Meet some people, find someone or a couple good ones to ride with. Ride what you can and if it looks scary, just punch through. Be sure to walk the sections before riding, watch others to see what lines they take, and stay loose. Heck, I didn't even finish my first couple trials. It wore me out after being off the bike for more years than I want to admit. Oh, one more thing: keep your feet up! Cheers!

Haha, don't worry about sounding stupid. We all do sometimes. Hebo makes 2 different aux tanks: one that mounts between the forks (got one on my 4RT) and one that looks like it mounts on the bars (I have only seen pics of this). The between the forks type mounts very easily with 2 large zip ties. Not knowing your bike, I can say that most trials bikes, vent through a hose in the fuel filler cap. By connecting this vent hose to the Hebo tank, when the fuel runs from the main tank it creates a vacuum that pulls the fuel from the Hebo tank. For this to work properly, it is key to have good seal on the fuel cap and cook tight connections on the hoses. Otherwise it will not create the vacuum needed to syphon the fuel from the Hebo to the main tank.

Quote "I went from a SR 280 Scorpa which I loved to a Tr280 Ossa. The ossa is a great bike but just feels too light in the front end for me." If you like the Ossa for other reasons, why not slow down the front end? Here are some things you could try. 1) Turn your rebound damping to max with the clickers, even increase the compression damping some. 2) Drain and refill the forks with heavier oil, if clickers don't do enough 3) Get different pegs that are farther forward or move the mounts forward if possible. 4) Get a 13mm thick lead number plate (just kidding)

Awesome! Great result. Now, get out and ride!

I think the Mr Gasket material should work. It is only 1/16" thick so you may need to stack more than one to fill the gap. Better ask them how you are supposed to cut it.

You say the flywheel is moving in and out 2/3 mm. Do you mean the flywheel is loose on the crankshaft? Or do you mean the flywheel and crank are moving in and out that far with no play between the crank and flywheel? If flywheel is loose on the crank, keys will break. Are threading the nut on fully and using proper torque? Most bikes have a washer between the flywheel and nut. If that is missing, the nut may bottom on the threads and still not clamp the flywheel. If the flywheel is tight and there is no play between that and the crank, yet the whole thing moves in and out, it sounds like you need new main bearings. Bad crank bearings will ruin crank seals and make the bike run poorly.

Quote "It only seems to want to start with the throttle part to full open, won't even try to fire with choke on. I have been trying different plugs as I bought a set of 4 as it is wetting the plugs when not firing up and I still have a nice chunky spark." Sounds to me like a carburetor problem. Float sticking? or Sunk? Was the tank clean inside before you added fuel?

Cheers for her getting out and staying active.

I would definitely NOT recommend riding it like this. I think that the engine is a stressed member so without these bolts holding the engine, there will be additional stress placed on the other parts of the frame, in particular the welds near the steering head. I know that around that time of manufacture there were some weld failures of the frames near the steering head so I would take a very close inspection of that area as well. For the swing arm, hole, the best option to repair would be to bore the hole out round, press in a sleeve and line bore the hole to be properly aligned with the other side of the bike. It could be possible that the mounts broke and the frame got bent enough to put excess stress on the swing arm bearings. Or it took a major hit breaking the mounts and bending the frame at the same time. Either way, it's not a happy day for you.

2 mm too big? A little time with a file or some emery cloth will reduce the OD of a copper gasket pretty quickly.

Wow, what else you got hiding in that henhouse?

I don't think even high temperature silicone will handle exhaust pipe heat at the head. Copper is used because it will not burn and it is soft enough to seal. With copper, you should assemble, run things up to temperature to fully anneal the copper then retighten. For sure use anti-seize on the threads (preferably high temp anti-seize of you can get it). If you have to use a hammer and drift to tighten, do it gradually working your way around the nut.

How long do your think the water was in there? If a long time, I would be worried about rust. If only a couple days, less worried about rust. The key things at this time are to get the water out and get some oil on those metal surfaces. Avoid spinning it too much until you know there is oil on the bearings, etc. You could start with some spray oil (WD40) in the jug and in the crankcase. The spray mist will carry oil to many surfaces. Also there is some water dispersing qualities. Than I would put a teaspoon of real oil, in the spark plug hole to lube the rings. You could put small heater under the engine to help evaporate the water before starting it. Not so much heat as to damage the seals but certainly it could get hot to the touch. Water will make steam, oil will not so that could be a clue to when the water is mostly gone. While doing this would be a good time to tear down the carb and flush out any remaining water. Then put a couple teaspoons of oil in the crankcase and lay the bike on one side for a few minutes, then the other side to get some oil into the mains. With the plug out, turn it by hand to spread the oil. Is all seems smooth, good. If rough, then it probably got rusty and it may be time for a tear down. If it feels good, put it together, leave the plug wire off , or hold the kill button and give her a few slow kicks to pull some fuel/oil mix in. Then, give her a go. Run it for 30 seconds, then shut it off for the oil to work its way into everything. Do this 5 or 6 times, running longer each time. Gently warm it up to displace any water and then if all is good, go ride and have fun! Remember it may have extra smoke for a while to burn off the extra oil you put in. Then let us know how you get on.

If 62 is too old then I will have to stop riding next month. That's not going to happen! There are plenty of us in the "over 60" range that ride on a regular basis. My best advice is get to some local events, meet some people and find a group who welcome you and have a great time. Remember we don't stop riding because we get old, we get old because we stop riding.

Dadof2, Yes, I have had the master cylinder problem you described on a GasGas clutch. The brake problem was on my Montesa and it was related to my efforts to reshape the pedal to not stick so far out and catch on many things. I bend it in and it fits under the clutch housing. I could not adjust it with enough free play and it dragged the pads slightly., I ended up needing to grind down the plunger lever about .100" so I could get more free play with the pedal in the revised (lower) location. Brake pedal is tucked in real close now so no more snagging, bending or breaking of $60 pedals.

You will probably have more success with this type question when asked in the Bike Specific Forums below.

I would not mind lining them up as long as I get to take them home! Dream-on, eh?