scraggydog64

Hi If your son has never ridden a motorbike before i would suggest you try to start him off on a automatic with seat even if he's a bit too big for it just for his first ride or two. PW80 or similar, preferably borrowed as he will soon get the hang of riding it. It will not be too powerful / intimidating for him and he will get the feel for being on a motorised two wheeler. Trials is all about control so he must be able to mange whatever bike he gets. You will have to watch his progress and get him an appropriate bike. Its amazing just how quick youngsters progress. Some of my mates cannot manage a progressive clutch on a bike with no seat and they have been riding big road bikes for years.

Hi I am after some advice. My Mont was running well but the top end was a bit noisy so i thought i'd do the valve clearances. As per the manual I got the engine to TDC on the compression stroke. I removed the plug and put my finger over the hole to feel for compression. As the clearances are tight and its awkward to get the feeler gauge in its hard to actually check what the clearance is. To get the feeler gauge in i had to loosen the adjuster to get a bit of clearance, insert the gauge and tighten it back up. I appear to have correctly set the clearances. After doing the valve clearances, when operating the kick start it gets to a point where it becomes hard to move. If you keep the pressure on it will slowly complete the travel through the kick start's stroke. This does not feel right. I have only operated the kick start gently. I think the exhaust valves are not opening and the compressed air is blowing past the rings. I did take the flywheel cover screw out that tells you what position the flywheel is at to see if there was any particular point where the kick start is getting this resistance. When the kick start passed through the "resistance" oil blew out of the hole. I have obviously done something wrong but I don't know what. Any suggestions? Thanks Scragg

I had the same issue with my 4RT. Spent hours on it and did everything you did. I don't seem to have problems with road bike brakes but i do with trials bikes, especially rear brakes. Anyway after trying everything quite a few times I was told to get a Gunson Eezibleed. Its designed to bleed car brakes. It effectively puts fluid into the system with a small amount of air pressure. You use a tyre to provide the air pressure. You have to drill the reservoir cap to fit a nipple to attach it. Afterwards just remove the nipple and fit a plastic nut and bolt or get another cap. It got the job done in about 15 minutes.

Tyre beader every time. I have tried all of the alternatives and the tyre beader is so much easier. Use tyre soap or a weak mix of washing up liquid and water on the tyre and the beader, this will help the beader pop out. Take the valve core out to get a good rush of air to get the bead on the rim.

I have a length of stiff wire with a 90 degree bend at the end about 10mm long. The wire is used for relocating the air box rubber when installing the carb. Make sure the end has no sharp edges to damage the rubber. Can't recall how it worked on the both the Rev 3s we had but the carbs would have been off on a number of occasions and i don't remember any problems. I have used it on loads of different carbed bikes.

Can't recall what a beta sump plug looks like but I have mig welded a large nut onto broken bolts before. Even small M6 threaded bolts. Weld on the inside of the nut. As well as giving you something to put a spanner on it heats it nicely as well.

Have you reset the ECU by holding the throttle fully open and giving it two or three slow kicks (With the plug in.). Both of ours fired straight up after months of standing after a reset of the ECU.

The fans are made by a company called Spaal, or at least mine was. After trawling the internet looking for a replacement I bought a full price one from Beta. I was then told that a watercooled scooter fan would fit. A mate of mine has used them a few times. Should have asked him in the first place!

Try to get a go on a few different bikes before you spend your money. Some people love 4RTs others can't get away with them. I like them, I've had two. The build quality is very good, typical Honda. I would suggest the standard bike is better for a novice in standard form, however if you get a Repsol you can get a Laia Sanz fuel map that makes the power nice and soft.

I had an 05 4RT that i gave to my lad and never had these problems. We still have the bike. I bought a nearly new 09 (It had only done 1 trial.) and have the same problems as you. The bike has done this from day one. I often have to open the throttle and kick to remap before it will start. I have never checked the valve clearances and the bike has done so little they should not need adjustment. I have asked a few people who have owned 4RTs and the newer ones often have this problem. Think i might be getting the feeler gauges out.

Use an impact driver. Just done it on my FS1E, why don't Yamaha use bolts? Just make sure the bit is a good fit in the screw.

My 4RT is road registered and is not road legal, like you say they need a horn, brake light etc. Some people register them so they can be insured easily even though they have no intention of using them on the road. A few years ago I registered a new Kawaski KDX 220 off the "certificate of newness" it was dead easy and the bike was not road legal.

Get the Ryan Young DVD, it covers the basics through to advanced. It really is very good. You could also try Youtube.

I wear short sealskinz socks (because I can get them from work!) and knee length army type boot liners on top. I wear the boot liners under my pants as they come past the top of the boot. Got them off ebay i seem to recall.

I use Nikwax on my waterproof road bike boots. On my trials bike boots i use Neatsfoot oil. You get it from equestrian type shops. When the boots are dry brush it on, takes a couple of minutes, let it soak in. Sorted.

A bit of gentle heat on the hub with a blow torch or hot air blow gun and the bearings will come out and go in a lot easier. Agree with the comments on packing in extra grease. Works a treat.

On my old Montesa I made a piece of plywood to shield the side of the carb. This directed heat from the rear of the cylinder and kept the wind off it. Only had to use on occasions when the temparature allowed the carb to ice up. Didn't look very good but did the job. Others used to use duct tape.

A few years ago the fan went on my 06 Rev3, The fan was made by Spaal who make fans for all sorts of applications. I tried all over the place to get a replacement cheaper than the £75 (I think it was a long time ago) Beta item. After I bought the replacement a very resourceful chap who rides in our centre told me the same type of fan is fitted to loads of water cooled scooters. Very cheap from a breaker. Should have asked him in the first place but you learn the hard way.

I had similar issues with a Mont 315. Turned out to be carb icing. Often this is visible on the outside of the carb, in my case it was not. I made a shield to keep the wind off the carb and direct heat from the barrel onto it. As soon as the temparature got a little bit above freezing it ran fine.

Mine was exactly the same. New friction plates made the clutch 100% better. I used to use ATF in mine. As the oil filler is so small and in such an awkward place I used to lie the bike on it's side, remove the clutch cover and pour the oil in there. Great bikes, wish I still had my old one.

Hi I have a Brenderup as below;- http://www.brenderup.co.uk/commercial/products/box-van.aspx?ProductID=36967&PID=1707 Its 260cm by 130cm and two trials bikes go in no problem. The wheels go in the front corners and the bikes are strapped in. I can also get a road bike diagonally. I have carried a CBR600 but it would take something bigger. Its good because you have some shelter to get changed and you can also put your muddy gear in. It also keeps the road salt off your bikes and stops the thieves seeing what you have. On the down side it's like pulling a parachute and its a bit heavy, it kills the fuel consumption of my Insignia. I wasn't so bad with my previous car, a Zafira. All down to the shape of the car. Trailers like these are hard to find second hand. Bateson do a 4 wheel trailer that can take two bikes, or you could get a lighter one made. They do hold their money though. If you do get a trailer pm me and i will show how i have fitted mine out. Cheers Scragg

Day licences would be a good idea, theres a lot of people have a trials bike in the garage who can't be bothered with joining a club and applying for an ACU licence. I think your right, if they could turn up on the get a day licence and ride they would get into trials. More riders has got to be good for the sport. I think there has been a decline in numbers at trials over the past couple of years.

I was on an age try to bleed the rear brake on my last Mont. I tried everything, syringes, caliper up in the air etc.. I had spent hours in the garage. I was told to get an eezibleed kit from Halfords or similar, you have to get a spare cap for the fluid reservoir to drill or drill the original and fit the nipple supplied with the kit. The eezibleed uses air pressure from a tyre to push the fluid through the brake from the reservoir. It took minutes to get the brake bled.

I use a product called Seal - it. They've been making it for years. Used it in everything from bikes to tractors, the rad would have to be in a poor state if did not work. It is sold in small sachets. We used to carry when we went trail riding for emergencies.

If you've done the obvious, carb plug etc, it sounds like the crankshaft oil seal. Needs the choke when warm as its pulling air past the seal making it too lean to start off the pilot jet. It happened on my 05 290 when it was less than two years old and had not had a lot of use. Good luck, hope its something simple. Regards Michael