thats_a_five

That's great to hear. Now get out there and ride!

The gear just drops into the hole. It is not a press fit if installed correctly.

Try this trick. Turn the bars so the clutch master cylinder is the highest point in the system. Squeeze the lever close to the bars, then wrap a bungee cord or Velcro strap around it so it holds the system under pressure. Leave it like that overnight. No promises but sometimes this will force the air bubble to the top where it can bleed out to the reservoir. Good luck. Let us know if this works for you too.

Copemech is correct. The impellor should turn whenever the engine is turning over. Check out this repair video form Jim Snell. Tells and shows you exactly how to repair the water pump. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmSkJCII0fY

That is a lesson we only need to learn once isn't it. I had a similar injury from hitting my shin on the end of the peg, just above the boot. The colors that the skin can turn in the next 2 weeks may surprise you. I can skill feel the indent in my shin bone some 40 years later. I never ride without protective gear now.

The IRC tires seem to have a stiffer sidewall so it does help to run them a little softer for grip purposes. b40rt makes a good point. If the tire is not seated correctly it can look buckled (out of round). If the rim is bent, it may be easy to fix, it may not, depending on how bad it is. Put the bike on something that will hold the front tire off the ground. Then use a tick or something to measure from the ground to the rim edge and spin the wheel. You can see very quickly if it the tire or rim that is buckled. Often you can straighten small buckles with proper adjustment of spokes. If it is bad, I suggest taking it to a wheel specialist. Be careful when adjusting the spoke nipples because sometimes they corrode and will not turn and can break a spoke. That is a bigger repair. Have fun on those bad (good) roads.

I also have the Spada open face. Same rust issue but a little dab of paint when new would prevent that. Ventilation is not great. I made some mods to the foam to move more air from the area outside each eye, above the ear and out the neck at the rear. It does have removable cheek pads and liner so they can be thrown in the wash. The best helmet I have seen for ventilation is made by Airoh. Lots of vent holes with screens. Friends have suggested duct taping the upper vents when riding in heavy rain.

Michelin, Dunlop, IRC, they are all good tires. I think IRC's have a little harder compound so might last longer on the street. I suggest getting a small bicycle tire pump to carry with you so you can air up and down easily when you go on or off road. I don't know what the roads you will be riding are like but if you are like many of us, you will soon be looking for any obstacles (rocks, curbs, drainage ditches, etc) to play on along the way. Fun commute!

Out here in the Pacific Northwest of USA, most of us run 6 psi front and 4 psi rear. Sometimes a little less.

You did put in a new spark plug, right? When you had the carb off, did you check the height of the floats? Set wrong can cause excess fuel. Remember that the mixture adjustment on DelOrto's is a fuel screw, not an air screw. Make sure the engine can breathe - clean air filter and exhaust baffles.

I think we can choose to pronounce the name as appropriate to the situation. When everything in our riding is like dancing, we can call it B'Ossa Nova. When all goes bad and we are flying over the bars on the way to a face plant, we can say it like comes natural: Oh Sh@#!

It sounds like you have good motorcycle maintenance skills and I applaud you for saving this bike from forced retirement. Good on you. Others have correctly stated the piston has been seized in the bore. The cylinder bore has been damaged as well so it will need to be bored oversize and a matching piston and rings will need to be installed. Seizing can happen many ways, mostly related to excess heat, lubrication failure, or a combination of them. Things to keep in mind to prevent future failures Let the motor warm up gently. This allows the metal to heat expand in a controlled way. Use good 2 stroke oil with an appropriate fuel:oil ratio. You bike should run 80:1 for trials. Riding a trials bike is lots of slow running with some short bursts of full power. If you are riding like a Motocrosser or full throttle for extended times, increase the oil in your mixture to the 50:1 range. You can also turn on your “choke” when running full throttle for extended times.This is why most carbs on trials bikes use and enrichment circuit rather than a traditional choke.They add fuel with richens the mix but do not reduce the passage of air.Richer mixture will cool the combustion chamber and carry more oil to the vital parts. Fix that water pump seal and check your trans / clutch oil often for water getting in. That happens from failed water pump seals and in deep water crossings. Water is a lousy lubricant. Water in oil mixes to look like a foamy milkshake. Check for loss of coolant often. Other things to maintain regularly: Clean the air filter and spark plug Avoid ethanol in your fuel if possible. Ethanol causes damage to rubber parts and binds with water in the fuel that can clog the tiny passages in carbs. Check, clean and re-grease the dogbone bearings at least twice a year. More if you ride in a lot of water or mud. Most importantly, have fun!

Good observation. The previous design had 10 years od refinement. The new model was a significant redesign with some "teething" issues like most new designs experience. Most frequent issues were with clutch and transmission. The previous model had a built in fail point in the shifter mechanism that protected the gearbox and was a pretty easy fix. Without that, the new design experienced more transmission problems from people using the shift lever to try to move large ricks and obstacles.

Most people use 10/42 sprockets. There are lots of good videos on GasGas work. Search You tube for Jim Snell Gasgas.

Heather, It could be you found the problem with bad reeds. It will be interesting to hear the result. I suspect the previous owner did go to the hotter plug to try to fix the rich running. That is usually the first thing to try. You know you can clean the plugs to keep for spares, right? People use various techniques for this. I tend to use lacquer thinner and a wire brush but have also used the gas torch method (search Youtube cleaning spark plugs). The packing in the silencer is not exactly the heart of the exhaust problem. The real problem is the closing up of the small holes in the baffles or spark arrestor screens. It varies by the design of the internals but if the exhaust gets plugged up, it will be sort of like trying to blow up a balloon while squeezing the neck of the balloon together. The air just can’t flow through freely. This will cause the bike to not be able to rev up cleanly. Too rich of a mixture will cause a build-up of oily residue and carbon inside the exhaust system. The system includes 3 parts: head pipe, center silencer, and rear silencer. There are threads and many techniques for cleaning each of these parts. Most people do just the rear silencer with good results but ultimately it makes sense to clean them all for optimum results. One clue that the exhaust is clogged can be that exhaust is trying to leak out at the connections between the 3 pieces. Another is the weight of the unit when removed. The silencer is basically an aluminum tube with fiberglass packing and a center steel perforated tube. All lightweight materials. I think it should only be less than 2 kilos. If it is heavy, it is packed with oil and carbon. To do the rear silencer, you have to drill out the rivets that hold the end cap on. Then pull out the packing and the perforated tube and any screens or baffles. This is a messy job. Bin the packing and clean the tubes and screens thoroughly. I had a GasGas that was so plugged it didn’t even look like there were perforations. If there is a spark arrestor screen, make sure that is thoroughly clean as well. You could try running the bike with the rear silencer removed but it will be loud. The main thing you need to be careful of is getting the perforated pipe correctly aligned to both ends when reassembling. Not hard to do. There is really not much you can do wrong. If it fits together easily you got it aligned properly. Reassemble with new packing material and new pop rivets to hold the end cap on. You are correct, the larger the jet number the larger the hole that allows fuel through so the richer it will be. I think the number is the hole size related to millimeters. #150 = 1.5 mm. 140 = 1.4 mm. You did check the float height in the carb, right? A float that is too high can cause flooding because the excess fuel has to go somewhere and it usually goes to the engine rather than out the overflow. As always, keep riding and letting us know how you get on with the bike. Cheers, Bill

I have a '74 TY250A with the stock frame. It felt quite skittish in the rear and was really hard to get moving from a stop on a very steep hill. It would either spin the rear tire or wheelie. I lengthened the swingarm with the premade plates from Motomerlin (35mm I think) and it improved both of those problems a lot. I still use the stock shocks and shock mount positions.

My buddy has a newer Sherco and the dealer gave him strap with Velcro to wrap around the clutch lever and bars (as if holding the clutch in with your finger) when he leaves the bike off for more than a day. If he uses it, no sticking. If he doesn't wrap the lever to the bars the clutch plates stick when he starts the bike.

Actually, worn clutch plates should increase the clearance between the pressure plates, reducing the drag, which should make finding neutral easier. That said, my 4RT is a PITA to find neutral. Change your transmission oil, bleed, and maybe rebuild, your clutch hydraulic system.

From what you said, the bike should be fine. All trials bikes make gear noise. Not to worry unless they get super loud. The rear suspension should not have more than 1/4" of free play at the rear wheel. Dogbone bearings and shock bearings do wear and need regular lubrication and rust if they don't get it. Ride and enjoy it.

There are many things that might make it feel more powerful. Some have already been mentioned. In 16 years, someone could have made many changes to the bikes. The bikes had only minor changes from '96 to '98. I suggest comparing the specifics of the two bikes for changes. Compare: Fast or slow throttle tube? Number of teeth on sprockets the same? Carbs the same? Flywheels the same? Compression test differences? Carb jets and adjustments the same? Timing the same? Air filter clean or plugged? Exhaust clean or plugged?

Help up out here AnotherFive. What bike and carb do you have? Your profile says "Rev3" and you posted in GasGas. What do you mean by "the feeling the bike is flooding." When do you get fuel out of the overflows? Can you see it when you are riding? Has the bike always done this or is it a new condition? Have you made any changes recently before this problem started?

There appears to be some missing text in the most recent post. Also, can't see the picture you refer to. ????

If the reeds are not sealing properly, it is more likely to run lean than rich. Same thing with the gasket. If it is leaking the bike will run lean. From all you have described, the engine is running rich (too much fuel). Unless the reed is cracked or chipped, I would not worry about that right now. I am a big believer in doing one thing at a time and starting with the easy (and cheap) stuff first. I also like to think that the bike used to run well so before I start changing parts I want to try cleaning and adjusting things. I think I remember you commenting that the previous owner had put in the wrong plug. Do you have the old plug? If it ran good with that plug, put it back in. Or get a new one of the same number. I want to be sure that the parts are in good condition Here is the sequence I would try: 1) Replace that plug. Preferably a new one. (Cheap) 2) Clean and repack the silencer to get rid of the excess oil buildup. (Cheap) 3) Drop the fuel needle in the carb. (Free - just time). Good to hear that the carb looked clean. Before you start changing jets, you can adjust the needle in the slide. Unscrew the top on the carb, pull up the slide and needle. Compress the spring and disconnect the cable from the slide. The brass needle can be adjusted by changing the position of the little C-clip. Be very careful when removing the clip because they seem to enjoy flying off and hiding. There are several grooves in the needle. Moving the clip toward the pointy end will make the bike run richer, moving it toward the flat end will drop the needle making the bike more lean. When reassembling the slide be sure to align the slot in the side with the little index pin inside the carb. Before you start the engine be sure to check the smooth operation of the throttle. If you turn the throttle then let go, you should hear the slide click when it contacts the idle screw. 4) Sometimes you can flip the reeds over and they will fit and work. Free to test. 5) After all these things are checked and good, then you can starting changing jets.

For road running, I would suggest at least 12 - 15 PSI air pressure. Remember that trials tires are a soft compound and will wear quite quickly on pavement. I don't know where you are located but in the USA, tires to be legally used on public roads must be DOT approved. The very things that make a trials bike good for trials, make them not so good for road riding. The frame and suspension geometry of a trials bike will make the bike quite twitchy at higher speeds.

Replace the rubber o-ring and reuse the plastic ring unless it shows damage. Replacing both pieces with two o-rings will not give a good seal.