steve_earle

I think Beta moved over to the Braktec units as they are cheaper due to being made in higher numbers as the others are all using them. I'm not a fan of the Braktecs, The old AJP was better. Both my Factory and my sons 80 have Grimecas now. It's a numbers game for the factories and they will substitute for cheaper parts if they are reliable enough, Same story with the fancy calipers that have come out over the last 4 years, Bou and the others still use the old style AJP 4 pot for an example.

Open contact = fast map, Wires joined = soft map. My bike came without a switch so did some research. Most of the other brands of bikes with dual map have open circuit for fast setting. The map switch will do very little on a 250, The Factory 300 there is a difference in the mids.

What clamp setup does he have here, I cant find any better pics but looks heavy duty!

Alexandre Ferrer any good?

Oh yeah, just noticed the disk, I'm not a fan of the NG race discs on the older factory, I had to change one and went for a std, Much better. Hope these new disks are better. Beta should have used the Galfers like GG. Joroni Has always used the std disks too so if the top budget factory bike is running them there must be a reason. New bike rear end looks like the 14 factory with that rear mudguard. The 15 bike is stunning, I don't like this one too much.

Just seen this, Looks like a sticker and mudguard change for 2016. http://www.trialscentral.com/headline-stories/17824-beta-announce-2016-factory-models

Oz is spot on!

It depends on how high you want to lift the bike, I had 12mm rise on this old Sherco, A foot higher than the obstacles in the pics then I would have found the 12mm rise a struggle. I'm around 6 foot and don't bend like I used to. I used 12mm on the Gas Gas too but Have dropped to 4mm now on the Beta to try to counter act the engine weight when vertical.

I have used the very fast one for about 5 years, It's been swapped to various bikes as I have changed and is still standing up well. I got one because of limited wrist movement especially when hanging off the rear of the bike ready to launch at something. In the real world it's not much different to the white tube. If you are having trouble doing zaps, the tube will not make a difference, You need a different style of riding, I'm sure very few of the Factory boys use them.

1st thing I do with a Keihin carb is change to alloy idle and air adjusters. Jitsie, S3, CSP etc are just some of the brands that do them.

They are fantastic and until Gas Gas comes on sale, the new Sherco is a great bike.

As others have said it might need re aligning, Put bike on a stand and slacken off wheel spindle pinch bolts, fork clamp bolts, mudguard bolts and top yoke nut. While you are there grease the threads on all the bolts except the top yoke clamp, use medium threadlock on that. Don't overtighten anything when doing back up. Realigning is a good idea after a crash but i suspect the leak is due to dirt in there or the fork pushing oil out the seal under the pressure of the hit! If it still leaks replace the oil seal, The dust seal should be fine on a 15 bike. You remove the dust cover with the spring on, just tap round the base carefully, working round a bit at a time with a blunt screwdriver and it will prise up.

Good old bus the 303, pulls like a train and strongly built but feels heavy compared to a 305 or a JCM.

The newer rears are different, the Brembos are a larger pad with 2 pins and the newer inboard types have just 1 pin holding them. A 4 pot on the front works well with the standard disk, The heavier the bike the better the brake you need!!

The Rev 3 hub is set up for a different rear caliper arrangement and they changed also from 05 onwards on the Rev. Get an Evo wheel you will save yourself a headache spacing and re spoking to get the rim central.

Supposed to be a dirt cover but it's really a dirt trap, If you remove it your caliper will be easier to jet wash out, just be sure to blow it dry with an air line after.

Most brakes are the same from around 02 onwards when they changed to 32 spoke wheels with inboard calipers. Front calipers have different designs in the last 5 years but some of the Factory boys still prefer the std Ajp 4 pot, I can't tell the difference. The piston and seal kits are still the same it appears so its basicly 2 piece vs mono block calipers. If you are upgrading the 309, An Ajp 4 pot will bolt straight on and with Galfer pads will make a HUGE difference. On the rear your better off sticking to the Brembo as it's good even though the pads only cover some of the disk! I have some Ajp's kicking around reasonable if you want one. I can have a measure up on some of the calipers I have if you are keen to know the sizes.

The S3 pipe is a noticeable improvement, You could take the Mrs to Spain and pick one up while your over there!!!

If you spend your holiday money on the bike and the Mrs finds out the bike will be the only thing you will be riding!!!

My boy would love a Whitehawk 80, I had the 175 when I was about 12. I do look for them from time to time as my boy is at a level to ride one now. It would of been too heavy for him when he started. I've seen a few for about 600 but they would need more than that again spent to make them right. Problem is he likes his New Evo 80 so it will be a second bike, He has just over 2 years till he can ride over 80cc, then can go 125 mono or up to 250 twinshock. There's a lad with a TY80 at our club and after the trial They always end up on each others bikes.

Fit a smaller seat then!!!!! Just kidding, The Beta seat area is quite tall for a bike of it's size. Beta Big wheel 80 varys on specs but seems to be around 660mm. The Montesa should be 650mm.

Surely the factories wouldn't use sealed bearings unless it was for a good reason. I can see the pros and cons of sealed vs non sealed. I know of bikes with sealed bearings that are over 3 years old, used twice a month and have done the ssdt a couple of times and still on original bearings. Or could it be that they want to sell some more bearings and gaskets in a couple of years time? I would keep the seals in, If a bearing turns out to be faulty you have some sort of comeback to the dealer. Beta recommend checking them before the ssdt if the bike is over a year old!!!!!

Spend the extra cash on Steve Saunders training, Will be more benefit than shelling out on parts, You need to spend about 5K to make it as light as a 2 stroke.

Seems like run before you can walk, There's no point learning to hop until you can balance and that's the key point in trials. It seems a large number of people want to fast track their riding and learn all that junk they see in a Pat Smadge video.