Thanks for the info and the picture. I probably didn't word my question as well as I could have. I have had a new one myself every year since 13' and never had a problem with any of the clutches till this current one. I thought I imagined the lever getting stiffer but I'm also bothered with tendonitis so didn't think much more about it until I tried the clutch on another bike and realised there was a problem. I spoke to someone knowledgeable about it and he inferred quite a few 18's had this problem and advised me to dress the fibre plates on fine wet and dry as they were swelling? I also know someone that does a lot of work on trials bikes and he confirmed he had done quite a few. There was also some info about the composition of the fibre plates having less asbestos which was replaced with an alternate material that was proving absorbent. Sounds feasible enough and certainly concurs with my experience. Add to this the switch to Kevlar and it all makes sense.
Given that the use of asbestos has been illegal since some time towards the end of last century, Gas Gas will never have had the material in any clutch.
Doesn't matter what bike you're on or how confident you are, if you try doing a tight muddy turn without the correct body position then you're going to dab or spin out. Never mind something difficult.
Look at photos from the Seventies and compare them with modern riders. The "correct" body position for many sections has changed, but the more extreme body lean from back then still seems to work (for me at least).
I think it would be possible to revive a UK brand, but clearly developing a new engine is not cost effective. The obvious thing is to buy in an engine and build a UK frame. There are few engines available, The obvious one being Rotax as they are one of the few manufacturers that sell just engines. I have no idea if the Rotax is suitable for this application? They are sold for go-karts and I would think therefore have a different power delivery to that which a trials bike needs. I'd love to hear if anyone has any expertise in this area. Also I don't know if this meets the current Euro 4 needs? Even with the UK out the EU we will still need to comply with all the European standards if we are to sell into that market.
There is a good spread of technology there already with the Italian and Spanish bikes and Montesa Honda benefiting from the new EU-Japan deal. It would be a very tough market to enter, particularly as an outsider. That said the brands like BSA are very well known and could be a selling point, however you would first need to buy the brand from whoever owns it.
Basically we are reinventing the wheel and the way to go is to buy the Chinese bike!
Euro 4 is irrelevant with Euro 5 coming in to force in less than a year. I wonder how many of the current trials manufacturers will be able to meet it. I did read that it would require 30% lower emissions than Euro 4 but don't know how true that is. Perhaps there will be a way round it for small volume manufacturers.
On another point - a few years ago we were all very happy with the weight of bikes that were much heavier than the current crop. I''ve been riding for all but fifty years, in my experience the 4RT is a lightweight bike.
According to the ACU, "Trials competitors may use any appropriate helmet". You may or may not find somewhere in the regs what they consider to be appropriate. As your pudding bowl is still entirely legal for use on the road I think it could be seen as appropriate - certainly more so than the bicycle helmets some trials competitors wear where the design level of protection (from a 12 mph blow) is exceeded if you fall over whilst stationary (12 mph being the speed your head would hit the ground in such a fall). Puts things in to perspective a bit.
Every one that I have seen or seen a photo of. The downtubes crack just at the end of the gusset. You might get away with repairing a small crack if you catch it before it spreads but the problem would appear to be a combination of bad design and poor quality tubing. I had mine sleeved internally - not an easy job.
I was mightily impresssed when the first TRS appeared with a rear mudguard that could be tied in knots. That alone was a strong selling point but now they appear to have the same rubbish as everything else.
Because the SSDT now provides refuelling at intervals to suit the standard tanks (by and large). I remember having to buy a gallon and a half, I think, tank for my Suzuki to comply with the trial regs back in the days when petrol supply was a free for all but there was still the occasional filling station outwith the Fort.
Indeed I can recall operating the hand- operated pump at Bridge of Gaur when the Club sent a team out to run it for the day as the old wifie who ran that, alongside the local shop/post office, would never have coped.
Reliability was never the Italjet's strong suit. Can't see age having improved that - I know people who still carry the psychological scars. But no doubt owners will be on soon.
I 've never been happy with the thought of subjecting alloy bars to the prolonged stress of compressing the forks using hooks on the bars. But I'm old enough to remember when alloy bars were felt to be too easily bent and indeed subject to fracture.
The somewhat obvious best way to do this would be to remove the additional flywheel weight and fit a 200 top end. Perhaps not as expensive as you might think - I know at least one dealer keeps refurbished barrels in stock to exchange when needed. If you can locate such a barrel for a 200 then you're made. Or try a breaker.
Having the snail cams equal does not always mean that the wheel is in correct alignment. Sight along the chain and see if that looks straight. It's sometimes necessary to compromise on alignment with a trials bike due to the effects of poor build quality and/or bending of components over the years.
Long after people had stopped riding such things there, Paul Jackson (if I remember the name corrrectly) rode a rather special C15 in the SSDT. It had two rear sprockets and he removed links for the roadwork. A bit fiddly but probably worth it for the distances involved.
put in reg number and it comes up as Honda SH300I, when I spoke to guys at dirt bike show I was told this is Honda's official prefix
If that's what you have insured it as then you'll be in dead trouble if you get involved in a claim and they discover it does not have sixteen inch wheels and legshields?
You are completely changing one part of the combustion equation - something is bound to be affected, in this case the lower end of the "carburetion". Presumably the ECU needs to be told that the compression has changed?
cleaning titanium exhaust
in Montesa
Posted
I'll second the Harpic - returns stainless to silver when it discolours to brown. Saves hours with Solvol.