razorback

Here is the video. I balance the bike, lift my body then come down on the lever with my body weight. Takes some practice but once you get it, it's easy. Watch, rewind and rewatch his body when he starts it while standing up. http://www.youtube.c...bed/QdM4qkAqywk

Good tip. I really only need it for this dry season but I'll keep and eye on it. Is there a more open/better arrestor for a late model gasser than the SF? I see Adrian is selling an aluminum end piece to replace the plastic one.

I'm even taller at 6'-5" with a 36" inseam. I added a 2" set of pivoting ROX risers and a 6" Jitsie fatbar. Much better visibility and I can still kiss the front fender on a climb if I have to. Got the bar from Stu at Jack's cycles and the risers from ROX.

Sounds good. I need to call Adrian anyway and order a spark arrestor and extended tip to mount it as the entire state is in a burn ban. We still haven't had any rain in months and everything is brittle dry. I've got limbs breaking off trees about every day now it seems.

I picked up a fresh gallon of premium non-ethenol tonight and mixed up a 80:1 batch using Motul, drained the tank then refilled it with the new mix. Poped the aluminum end cap off the exhaust and sure enough, the packing is soaked! Put the cap back on and ran the gravel roads in 4th and 5th and climbed long hills to make the motor work while leaving a smoke cloud behind me. After 20 minutes the smoke got less and less. Starts with one kick now, two if it's cold! Probably a combination of bad gas and plugged exhaust. Runs just like when I bought it. It looks like I can remove the end piece (plastic) of the exhaust and soak the packing to clean some of the oil out. Or do I just need to repack it? Appreciate everyones input so far.

No, I have not been revving it out and have pretty much run low RPM since I got it until I ran it around the gravel roads around the neighborhood a couple of days ago when it pooped out so much smoke. The tail pipe does smell like oil and there is wet oil residue coming out when I ride so it has to be full of it. Is it better to disassemble and inspect/repack or can I just burn it out with a few more laps around the roads around here?

I have to admit, the 100:1 is hard to believe but the more I read the forum, the more folks I see do it without any ill effects. The 80:1 may be more my conservative style but 50:1 was definitely clogging things up so I won't be doing that anymore. Of course, there is always more to every story. I used Belray MC1 for the first few batches at 50:1 and didn't really have any starting issues. After several folks told me to switch to 70:1 or 80:1 I had a desire to smell the caster of my youth and bought some 927 oil and mixed it 70:1. During my ride, I really didn't smell a strong smell of caster and was somewhat disappointed that it "didn't take me back" to when I was 8 on my first bike. So, I got over the caster thing and kept looking for the Motul 800 so many folks rave about and I finally found some at a Kawasaki dealer. 5 days later, the Raga sits unused and this is when I realized I could not start it and had to bump start it. I mixed up a new batch of fuel using the Motul 800, drained the 927 mix out of the tank and refilled with the Motul mix. Once I got it started is when I ran around the neighborhood and once the exhaust was hot enough, the bike started fogging wonderful smelling caster oil! So I get her back home and the next day, still hard to start but within 5 kicks it was running. Now I am wondering if my race gas has gone bad. I bought 5 gallons of AP 101 race fuel almost 1 month ago. It is stored in the typical plastic race canister that sits behind the shop, outside and in the shade. However, we have just had 3 weeks of 100+ degree weather and now I'm wondering if the fuel may have lost some of it's spunk and it's not as fresh as I think it is. The guy I bought it from says it won't go bad like regular gas and that the only issue is with evaporation. Can anyone tell me if that is true? Anyway, getting race gas is a huge hassle around here so I'll pick up some fresh 93 octane, non-ethanol fuel tonight on the way home from work and see if the Raga starts better with it. I'm still perplexed as to why it's getting harder to start but maybe the combination of month old race gas that sits outside and 927 is the problem.

When using the over flow tank, about 1.5 ounces comes out after a fill up and when I put it back in the radiator, 1.5 ounces comes right back out when the pressure/volume equalizes. That makes me feel SOOOOO much better that it's not loosing coolant and over heating. Thanks for the tip thats_a_five! The bike started within two kicks when I got it but I've been lugging it around so much and using 50:1 on my first couple of tanks I think I have plugged it up. I have mixed up a 70:1 batch but it keeps getting harder to start and takes more kicks. I could not start it last night and had to point it down a hill and bump start it. It cleared out nice and ran good but not sure why it's getting harder to start. The kicker has positive action for the full stroke so I don't think my starter gear is knackered. I just ran it around the neighborhood in 5th and pulled some nice long hills and it smoked like an OLD 2 stroke would. You would think I was fogging for bug control. It's got a new plug, fresh fuel, a spotless air filter and runs great but it acts "flooded" when I try to start it. Do I have gunk build up in my exhaust and how do I clean it out? Do I need to pull it apart or? BTW, after the flogging around the neighborhood, it did have a good bit of wet fuel/oil mix on the inside of the tail pipe.

No, got it from a guy in Ft. Worth. Why do you ask?

Brilliant! Gatorade, it's what the Raga craves It got dark on me tonight but I'll find out how much fluid it's spitting out tomorrow with this contraption. Whoo Hoo!

Took the tank off my bike to pull the radiator overflow hose off so I could go buy a longer one while in town today. Left tank on a chair with the petcock closed thinking, that will be safe... WRONG! I got home and 1/2 gallon of fuel leaked onto the shop floor from the vent hose... DOH! I'm lucky that there was nothing turned on in the shop to ignite it. Hanging head in shame

Hi Jon. Yes, I've been to your site and am going to try and make the July 28th night trial. It sounds like fun without the heat of the summer sun... hum, I wonder if my neighbors would mind if I put up stadium lights on my 6 acre tract I've heard that iyengar yoga is good for back issues by my PTs. I may look into that. Thanks.

That is a great idea. It still spits just a few drops every few seconds when I stop riding and let it idle until the fan stops. The fan has cycled every time now so I think it's alright as others have said but a modified nalgene bottle as a temporary over flow tank would really help ease my mind. I think I'll rig something up this weekend. Appreciate the idea. Also, I'm STILL waiting on parts so no updates on mods yet.

It doesn't look like there is an Arkansas trials group anymore or at least it is not active. I found a website that was the group I think your talking about and none of the web pages had been updated for a couple of years. I sent and email to the webmaster and never heard back. http://www.winterscycleshack.com/index.html NEOTT is the closest to me in OK (they are the 300 mile folks I refer to) and have a night time meet in July that I may try to attend. I bet they will know some AR riders. There is MATT up around Kansas City which is 6 hours away and they have a 2 day event in Sept that I want to attend as I have family in KC so that would be cool. If anyone from AR rides, ping me.

Great posts. I made the mistake of reading them at work this afternoon and was chuckling to myself in my cube when a couple of my co-workers came in asking what was so funny. If I were to buy a brand spanking new Gas Gas Pro today, which cost about $7500, I would not hesitate for a moment to spend another $1000 to get the better components. I bought this thing used so I suspect I spent about an extra $500-$750 on the Raga over what I would have spent on a used '11 Pro model. In the scheme of things, the difference is really not that much. I spent almost that in gas to go pick it up! I figure I'll keep this bike for years so I wanted something that didn't need a lot of mods. There were two things the Raga had that I knew I wanted which justified the difference. One was a real tubeless rim. I'm 6'5" and a big boy and figured the better rim was the ticket. I've done the rim conversions and hate them. The second is the suspension. I've got a stable of bikes and I know about good suspension and adjustability. The better the suspension, the better I like it and the more I ride. Trust me, even though I'm not hoppping rocks and doing acrobatics on the bike, I can appreciate the differences in components. I competed in a few trials competitions as a young man but there were very few trials guys in the 70's so I found myself doing woods riding, enduros, hare scrambles, etc. I suspect that is a pretty common story. It's what my friends were riding so I happily followed that route just to ride every weekend and have fun. Many dirt bikes, street bikes and decades later, I had a back injury that kept me from riding bikes for a little over 2 years and I missed it terribly. I'm just starting to get my flexibility back and getting back in shape to do some riding again. I live in a rural area of Arkansas where there is NO flat ground. Every trail is cambered, straight up or straight down. Making a mistake on my mountain bike or muni cost me several days of recovery if I put my foot down the wrong way so I decided to buy a trials bike that I can ride slow, build new trails, get some exercise and be able to step off if I get into trouble. So far it's been working out great. I can only ride it about 15-20 minutes a day but that time is pure heaven. So in reality, I bought a trials bike as a tool for my physical therapy Plus I've spent more money on the medical industry in the past two years then if I had of bought a brand new Raga... so really, I got a deal on my choice of exercise equipment! As far as not competing, I'm probably a year away from doing any level of competition. If there was at least ONE other trials rider within 300 miles of me, I would consider attending events and possibly riding at the novice level but as it stands, I have to go to a surrounding state to ride with other trials riders. Since I can't ride very long, it's just not worth it right now. The good news is that my "honda 90" changes can easily be reversed when I'm ready. Oh, and about my jetting. Appreciate the tips. When reading the plug, it looks like I am pretty close. The bike came from TX and we are about the same elevation give or take a few hundred. I have already ordered a few jets to play with so I should get it dialed in soon. Apreciate the posts, they were fun to read.

I picked up some engine ice today, removed the rear water pump hose clamp and drained what looked like diluted ice. Flushed the water pump and filled with fresh ice and buttoned her up. So easy. The one bolt tank removal it nice! Rode some short steep sections until the fan kicked on then rode different terrain that would make the fan cycle on/off. It was still spitting a little fluid every now and then after 20-30 minutes of riding then it got too dark to ride. I'll keep an eye on it tomorrow now that I'm more comfortable with behavior. Appreciate the advice guys.

Thanks for the tips but It turns out that the radiator was low in the time it took to run a little more than 1 tank of fuel through it. That's not normal, is it? I was able to put 4-6 oz of distilled water in the radiator and the fan now cycles on and off while at idle. It cycled 3 times in the first few minutes but the over flow is spewing coolant in spurts. Every few seconds it squirts out several drops of coolant. Is this normal until a balance of fluid/pressure occurs? The oil looks great so water is not getting in the crankcase. Where else could the water go?

To make matters even more confusing, Gas Gas.com { http://www.Gas Gas.com/tech.htm ) says... "Trans/Clutch Oil Always 5W30 (Not 10W40), 350cc for the Pro, 650cc for other models, normal motor oil (Castrol/Penzoil etc). It is not recommended to use synthetic oil." I suspect many fluids will work but I believe that there are fluids that should be avoided based on the type clutch material used... problem is finding that info is like trying to find a needle in a haystack for a newbie.

As previously said, there is so much conflicting information on this topic and I have to agree. Even the technical bulletin you refer to recommends Dextron II and Gas Gas Spain only recommends Dextron III. At least they both recommend ATF but even they cannot agree on which spec of Dextron in the same message context. And to throw in a little more data, take look at this evaluation of several different oil types... http://www.gasgasrid...evaluation.html The previous owner of my 300 used Motul 75W light gear oil but when I got the bike and it shifted hard. I could not find the Motul locally so I used 75W Bel-ray gear saver oil which looks like red transimssion fluid. Shifts smooth now but has more clutch drag... DOH!

No, the fan continues to run. I let it idle for 5 minutes and no cycle off. The radiator fins are clean and the fan seems to be pushing a lot of air when I put my hand behind it. What's the limit to how hot a cylinder, cylinder head or exhaust exit should get? I've got a friend with a laser pointer temperature gun that can read up to 1500 degrees if that would help diagnose a heat issue. It's my first batch of mix. I'll go to 70-80:1 on next batch.

I'm still waiting on parts but I was curious if the fan should be running continuously while riding. When starting it cold, it takes a few minutes before the fan comes on but once it starts, it never turns off. Coolant level looks fine, power does not drop like it's getting hot but since it's new to me, I'm not sure if this is normal. It's about 90 degrees F (32C) outside and I am putting around hilly terrain when riding. I'm running 101 octane and a 50:1 mix. Is it normal or should the fan cycle occasionally when running slow? I'm not sure how to check for coolant flow but is there anything I need to check for if it's not normal?

I am already running race gas but interesting comment about the Boyesen reeds. Thanks.

I have already purchased them both but I do plan on installing them one at a time to see how they change the behavior of the bike. I do agree and plan to install the flywheel weight first. Thanks for the comments.

No, the bike is not really too much. It's torquey but really not to hard to control if I was wanting to compete. It's just a little rough when idling really slow. I'm using it to build mountain bike trails on very hilly terrain and I want it for very slow riding while I look for new trails and cut thrus. I am wanting to slow it down and make it smoother when idling through the woods and making new tracks. There is not another trials bike around me for 3-400 miles so competing in events is probably never going to happen. I just wanted a very light weight bike that can "putt putt" through the woods and give me plenty of time to look around. Thanks for the offer for the puller but the flywheel kit I ordered comes with one. Since you are from Dallas, the guy I bought it from might be your buddy but I had not meet him before. He lives in Ft. Worth (actually just above it) and he ordered a 2012 Raga and is still waiting for it... bummer for him

Great info Paul, thanks! I ordered the flywheel kit with the puller so it sounds like it will be an easy change. I love the fact that all of these changes can be easily undone if I want to. This bike is great fun. Being able to ride every night around the property is so nice.