mr neutron

Thanks, Guys! Well, I guess I have a "different" attitude about loaning a bike out. I've been the beneficiary of having a bike loaned to me, and truly appreciated it. It helped convince me that I wanted to stop off road riding & mx, and go with Trials. I'm thinking if someone else rides my bike, and decides they'd like to go Trials riding, buy a bike, and all the gear, then I've helped the sport somewhat..... Plus, it's only material stuff; not that important in the Grand Scheme of Things...... But I do definitely understand what y'all are saying here...... Here's the pics of the bent mid box. It's got some wrinkles in it that, to me, look fatal. It looks like it would be hard to bend it back to anything close to the original shape that clears the master cylinder, frame, airbox, tire, & etc.. I've got the airbox cleaned up, and pretty much ready for glue/sealer & zip-ties. May possibly get that done tomorrow, I hope. Maybe I'll take some pics of that after it's done, but it won't have any graphics on it, however..... Jimmie

Thanks, Fellas!!! Seems like reading what you folks have written here, and taking a moment to back away & think about it really helps! You're right; I believe the airbox is repairable. I actually already have a repair on it that has held up very well, with some "Black Gorilla Snot" (black 3M Weatherstripping Adhesive), and then stitched together with zip-ties, Frankenstein style.... I should be able to do that again. And thats_a_five, I've used that Shoo Goo Marine sealant stuff for a variety of things. It does indeed work very well. Should work well in this situation., That, and some more zip-ties....... I do have a line on a used 2009 Raga airbox. It's got a crack in it, and the owner already has a new airbox for it. He doesn't want to sell the new airbox, but has said I can have the old one, after he gets around to removing it and installing the new one. Until he got his new Racing model last year, he's been riding with that old box with the crack in it...... The fender, well, I'll just deal with & live with it..... One of the holes where the factory push fastener went through is ripped, but I think I can still figure out a way around that.... On the exhaust, I'll try to get a photo of only that & post it. But it's bent & squashed more than I feel I can take care of. I'm not certain the average welder could work a miracle at straightening this mid box/silencer combo. Where the midbox ends and the silencer begins is where it's wrinkled up pretty badly. The mount tab (for the midbox) that attaches to the upper shock mount is broken, and the lower one at the rear master cylinder is stretched pretty good. There is a pipe repair place in the very state I live in (Pacific Pipe Repair) that has done some miracles with big off road bike pipes that have been squashed. ( www.piperepair.com ) I'll call them Monday (tomorrow) and see if they possibly are up for a challenge, hee hee.... I'm fairly certain they don't work on this type of exhaust, however, but it's worth a try...... Anyway, I guess I pushed the panic button first, thought the worst, and then took the time to actually think about it later. My apologies ot all again for that. Thanks to each of you for your help, solutions, and words of encouragement. You guys truly do Rock, and I appreciate you all taking the time to reply here. I think it'll work out where I might be riding again shortly.... Thats_a_five, I'm surprised you're not at the 2 day event at Lolo Pass? I'ts a PNTA/COTA event, I believe. That's a really great place to ride, but I do understand it's a bit of a drive for you. It's the one trial on our schedule that's practically "in my back yard", and I badly wanted to ride it this weekend, as well as the 1 day event next weekend..... Oh yeah, on the throttle..... Stu at Jack's Cycles informed me about a throttle housing that is a direct replacement for the Domino throttle I have on my bike. But it has a built in screw adjuster that keeps the throttle from opening up, or to allow it to open to whatever degree you wish to set it at. Kind of like those throttle slide stops on kid's bikes that don't allow them to open up to full throttle. Except on this deal, the "limiter" keeps the throttle tube from opening up to whatever you have it set for. I've got one of those ordered now, but it's a few days too late, I think...... I would still let anyone interested in riding a trials bike ride my bike; I just think I'll have this as a possible insurance policy...... Jimmie

Hi. Mokwepa! rob214 is right. Bernie Schrieber said that you shouldn't practice the things you're good at/sections you can clean, but practice what you're having struggles with. Now, ya gotta keep it fun and satisfying; that's why we ride, after all...... I have at my place obstacles that by tightening up the turn before them, I've made them much harder. Some of them I've managed to clean a few times. After I'm tired of practicing various turns & drill that I can't clean, I like to go back & hit the deals I am able to clean, just for fun, and as kind of a "confidence builder", I guess..... I hate ending a riding session frustrated because I wasn't able to clean something I felt I should be able to clean. So, I'll go back and run through a few easier ones, and then sit and think about the hard ones. Sometimes, an answer comes to me that way..... Heck, most of the time I simply get so tired that I can't clean much of anything. The short break helps out on that end of things..... Keep it up, Mokwepa! You'll conquer it! It ALL takes practice & tenacity..... Jimmie

Wow.... I just re-read my above post, and realized what horriible Whiner I am. Sorry about that, Fellas! I seriously apologize for that...... Thanks for the replies, 0007 & Lineaway! I wish I was set up for welding aluminum; I'd probably try to do something with the bent up stuff I have ....... I think I'll just Man Up, and save the cubic dollars for a new exhaust. The old one was full of dirt anyway, hee hee...... Jimmie

Yeah, i agree with you 100%, Glenn. I'm no "Exhaust specialist', nor am I an engineer of any sort. But everything I've ever read about 2-stroke exhaust theory dictates the need for the "expansion chamber" portion for scavenging, as well as keeping the incoming charge of fresh fuel from flowing out of the exhaust port. There's probably other key points as well...... Sigh. I guess I needed to hear someone tell me this is a stupid idea. I know that the the stock exhaust would be much better than anything I can possibly engineer. I've been told by a dealer here in Oregon that the cost of a new midbox/silencer portion of this Gas Gas model is very pricey. The airbox is around $480, the fender is $168, and there's still some miscellaneous items like a throttle housing (how in world do you break a throttle housing??? I've been racing since 1970, have broken throttle TUBES, but can't recall ever breakng a housing.....). This dealer told me that I would have almost 1/5th the cost of a new bike into these few parts...... Basically, repairing this crash means I'll be off the bike for several months. Worse things could happen to a person, in the Grand Scheme of Things. Right now, I simply cannot afford to just go out & plop down the necessary coin to fix the bike. I was just being hopeful (and stupid) that I could possibly cheapen the cost, in order to get back to riding. I do have a line on a used airbox with a crack already in it, which will possibly help keep my costs down a bit, if it can be repaired. Maybe I can then afford the new exhaust after all..... Does anyone possibly know of any aftermarket exhausts for these bikes, like, say, from Jitsie, S3, or whomever? Jimmie

Hey, All!!! Have a weird question here. Let me preface it with this: My 2010 Gas Gas 280 Pro was being ridden by a newbie a few afternoons ago (not me; a true "Trials Bike Newbie), and got crashed. It was a loopout from doing a wheelie that went terribly bad. Fortunately, the rider wasn't hurt in the least. He has a strong "self preservation gene" , and just basically threw the bike away.Myself, I'd have sacrificed my body somewhat to minimize damage to the bike, but that's probably because I have dominant stupidity gene...... Anyway, my bike's airbox, rear fender, and silencer/midbox portion of the exhaust are all trashed. This is turning out to be an expensive crash to repair. In an effort to possibly save a little bit of money on the exhaust, I've been wondering..... How badly, or possibly how well, would a trials motorcycle run without the midbox? In other words, if a person simply ran some tubing from the header pipe to a universal type silencer/spark arrestor, does anyone know first hand what it does to performance? How about noise? If it is noticeable performance wise, would that be a terrible thing for someone riding at the Novice level? Thanks, Jimmie

I'm impressed with how well you're doing this, KozzR!!! Nicely done!!! I don't think you're doing badly at all. Keep it up!! You're almost there, Buddy!! So how is this done, in a nutshell? I'm 57 years old, and just took up trials last year. I still need to work more on the basics than anything else, but wheel hopping, & what you're doing here are on my "Bucket List"...... I'm also kind of impressed with how much your sky looks like ours here in western Oregon (grey & cloudy, most of the time here..... ). I live only 3 miles away from a town called Boring, Oregon. I guess we're a "sister city" to Dull, Scotland. There's an organized group tour from Boring to Dull that I wish I could go on.... Always have wanted to see Scotland, Ireland, & England..... My family's heritage is there.... Jimmie

Well, Congrats on the good finish there, Mokwepa!! If I recall correctly, I finished dead last at my first Trial, and thngs haven't gotten much better in the year since that first one, hee hee..... But it's fun, ain't it?? Did you learn much? Now you know the types of things you need to practice on for the next one....... Jimmie

Man, is that ever a subject for debate...... Zippy, maybe you could wear those "Depends" undergarments for people with no bowel control, and get "filtered air" that way..... I personally have a used, open-faced Airoh (aren't they all open faced?), and really like it a lot. Like the snap deal for fastening & unfastening. And I definitely get more air/ventialtion/the goofy thing just feels cooler & much lighter than my mx helmet. But I do like the full face protection I get from my mx helmet. I'm curious if anyone has tried mountain bike helmets? Some of them are full face, and I'd assume that they are lightweight with some ventilation...... Jimmie

Very Cool, Mokwepa!!! Very Cool!!!! Jimmie

Getting through a tight turn on slick terrain is tough, Mokewepa! Whether it's snotty type of mud, or loose marble sized clods of dry dirt/rocks/gravel, it's not easy. Try to lean the bike as as much to the inside of the turn as you can, while you keep your (your body's) weight as a counterbalance to the outside. You'll have to bend at the knees a good bit, and sorta squat down to do this. The inside knee will be bent quite a bit to allow the bike to lean. At first it feels funny, but eventually, you figure out it works pretty darn good. As Zippy said, modulate (slip) your clutch, to help things roll/flow smoothly as you turn, along with your rear brake. Keeping a little "tension", or pressure, on that rear brake helps a bunch. I generally try not to even breathe on my front brake. It seems like even the lightest pull on the lever sends the front end diving while I'm leaned over for a turn, and will make me dab. When this is done right (you won't see any videos of ME for that example ), your motions on the bike just sorta "flow" smoothly, and you "ride away like a champ". It looks really sweet, and works for getting around stuff even better. As I've been learning, I've kinda adopted the attitude that if I can learn to turn tighter, it allows me just a little more space to set up for whatever obstacle is next. So I spend much time learning to turn. The weird thing is, I didn't like practicing turns at first. Then, after getting quite a few dabs while turning in the competitions, and kinda liking a challenge, I've began actually liking to practice turns. I had to be creative to make it fun. I've set some deals up that I can't clean (yet), but they did help in my last Trial last weekend. Now, this doesn't mean don't practice the logs, tires, rocks or whatever. Learning the timing, technique, & unweighting & such are invaluable, and lots of fun. It looks cool, too! But if you compete at the typical beginning level, cleaning the turns in sections seems to really help your scores...... Oh, did you get that OSET for your son? That looked like a good one! Man.I wish it were within my means to come see what you get to see over there. My wife would like that too. She just got a Canon 7D camera, and likes wildlife photography. Here, she mostly gets pics of deer, and occasionally, elk. Nothing that wants to eat us, but are themselves great to eat....... Ooooh, that reminds me. my elk season just began. Man, so many distractions...... Jimmie

I like the idea of a turn in the rocks, Mokwepa!!! Make that turn as tight as you can, or if it's the right size, try practicing tight circle turns in the rock section. And try to make yourself get used to working in a "compressed area". In other words, don't allow yourself very much room for an approach to an obstacle, and try to have a good tight turn just prior to your obstacle (left and right handers). Maybe even set something up where you have to do a floater over it. Much of my practice area on my property is basically "natural stuff". I have a stump, a log I cut and decided not to use for firewood, and a small mound of dirt about 3/4 of a meter high, and 3 meters long. I can't really control where the stump was put, nor the log, and neither the dirt mound. so I have other junk in between them, like wood that I try to ride as a balance beam, construction safety cones to make tight turns around, and a couple of homemade wooden deals to hop over. Since I ride a trials comp. about once a month, I try to make my practice similar to what I know the organizers will throw at us Novice level riders. We get a few small logs to go over, typically, lots of rocks, quite few creek beds to snake through, and lots of tight turns. In some respects, at some of our trials, the Intermediate guys above us Novices have easier lines. Bigger obstacles, but fewer tight turns. However, they don't get much room for the approaches for these obstacles. I guess what I'm saying in my "trying to help" kinda way, is if you plan on competing some day, try to make your practice close to what the organizers are gonna throw at ya. I do definitely envy your practice area. You've got some neat stuff there. and at least the stuff you've put in there doesn't work very hard at trying to eat you! How many guys did it take to move that tire? I'm not certain I have that many friends with healthey enough backs & such to move something like that. My friends & I are an aging lot...... Jimmie

Thanks for that, John!!! It's much appreciated. It also kinda confirms that I pretty much did everything the correct way when I put the new kickstarter idler gear (and other related parts) a few months ago when I had to remove the clutch. Except I left out the special, hollow screw and the special washer...... (No ill effects from that, btw. The clutch slave cylinder & taper on the mainshaft do a nice job of holding the clutch on...). By any chance, would anyone happen to know the thread pitch on that tool used to remove the clutch? I could make one on the lathe at work.... Jimmie

There's all kinds of ways, I'd imagine, but that's how I've seen it done/ridden on. The tire I've ridden on used plywood cut about an inch or two bigger in diameter than the inside of the tire. He then just used sheetrock or deck screws to go through the wood, and right into the tire...... You're gonna have fun with that one, Mokwepa!!! How high is it? I'd imagine those are fairly heavy,huh? Jimmie

Good Work, Mokwepa!!! Your postition on the bike looks great; the knees are bent, back straight, weight where it should be & stuff like that..... Have you found any one else you can ride with? Sometimes there's a "competitive" aspect of riding with a buddy that helps each of you to learn & improve. Or maybe you can get lucky, as I have, and found a buddy that rides at a really advanced level, but is great at explaning & showing what he's doing, and how he's doing it. This can really help a lot! Keep it up, Buddy! But I think I have to agree with 0007 on them Yoga Pants! (Actually, I'm jealous. Wish I was skinny enough to rock a pair of those. Right now, it'd be really ugly if I tried to..... I've never been more thankful for the "Baggy Look" style than I could be right now, even if I look like a large tent riding a trials bike..... ) Jimmie

Cool!!! I own one like yours, and really like it a lot!!! I'm not certain that owning a 3 year newer bike would make me a better rider..... Jimmie

Maybe like this??? Jimmie

Hi, Mokwepa!! Riding at what's called the "Novice" (Beginner?) level here, if I've learned anything, it's "Turns, turns, turns!". Practice the turns on hills, going up & downhills, right before a rock/log/obstacle, and immediately following one. They will never give you any room to set up for an obstacle like we do when we're learning how to Zap, Double Blip, Foater Turn, or whatever. You will likely lose most of your points in turns on your first Trial competition..... But remember to have fun, and learn, above all else! Jimmie

PM I'm certain I've read, somewhere, that the adjustment screw on those Sachs rear shocks controls both the compression & rebound, like what Laser said. Scew it in farther, get more compression & rebound damping. Screwing it out should decrease both. That said, and since I couldn't recall where I'd read it, I checked my 2010 owners manual, even though the OP has a 2008 model. Sitll, it was kinda funny what it had to say. Under Rear suspension, page 31, there is a photo with a view from underneath the bike. Shows the lower shock mount, bell crank, links, and the other linkage parts. Has capital letter D" with a line pointing from the letter to the adjustment screw on the shock. Quote "The Hidraulic brake compression can be adjusted by turning the screw (D) located in the lowest area of the shock absorber it should be at the midpoint of his career." Something definitely got lost in the translation, I'd say. But it sounds like that adjustment screw does only control compression???? So the "midpoint of our career" is determined by an adjustment screw? Geez, i was hoping to retire in a couple of years. It'll take me that much time to find the little screw, probably........ Jimmie

Pythagoras would be proud, Mr. Zippy!!! Jimmie

Perhaps he's trying to say his Beta motor isn't running right at idle? Is it possibly doing what we call "four-stroking"? If so, you probably need to adjust your fuel screw and may need to change your pilot jet to a leaner (smaller number) jet. I'm really just guessin' here....... That truly is a tough post to understand..... At any rate, you will likely get more help in the Beta Forum than this one. Jimmie

I guess you should probably shoot your footpegs before every ride, just to show them who the boss is, maybe?? Actually, b40rt does have a good point about pegs bitin' ya; I've got a couple of scars on my shins to prove that.... Yet I still rock the ugly shorts fairly often, and feature even uglier legs. Go figure..... Have you gotten to look at the Ryan Young dvds yet, Mokwepa? If I recall correctly, there is a "lesson" on one of those DVDs, where Ryan rides back & forth over a log that is on a slight hill, and the log is approximately half a meter in dameter. I believe the lesson is on Zaps, but can't recall; need to go watch the dvd again. At any rate, when he goes over that log, the rear wheel pretty much comes up to the top of the log without actually having to climb up. It gets there with help from rebound, and from Ryan's legs. It's almost like his "Bunny Hop" technique. Added in EDIT: The video I have is Ryan Young's "Trials Training Techniques and Cross Training Tools". The part of the video I'm referring to is under "Advanced Techniques", and is called the "Jap Zap". He gets enough lift from his suspension & technique to pretty much either set the wheel on top of the log, or has enough momentum for it to roll smoothly up & over, or clears it completely..... I know that painted drums can be slick, even when it's dry out. The dust on your tires alone can make it really tough to find traction. Here where I live, we get a good bit of rain. This makes our logs & boulders really slick. Those logs are pretty easy to get over with poor technique (I speak from experience here... ) when they are dry. There's not much room for error when they're wet, however. You really need the technique Ryan uses to get over them when they're slick like that, along with the minimum amount of throttle. Finding out what that "minimum amount of throttle" becomes an experience thing, however. Just gotta practice the right technique. Sorry, it's a hard thing to give you a verbal on. Actually seeing it done would help more than my text can.... JImmie Here's a good video where the guy gets some really great lift from his Zap, and has s ome good slow motion & text explaining what's going on as he does it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTSd4MbzoGc&list=FLM7a7xBGdVDokQi9gf_OQfA After looking at what you're wanting to do Mokwepa, I'm not sure if a regular old "Double Blip" is more what's needed, or the Zap. Done correctly, either one can get you the lift you need for your rear wheel to get up on top of the obstacle, and then to roll over smoothly. You don't want the rear wheeel "slamming" the obstacle. you lose forward momentum then..... Hope this helps! Jimmie

It sounds like you & I should be two of the smartest riders around, huh Mokwepa? At least we learn what not to do, I guess...... For getting more lift, it's pretty much a function of rebound after compression of the suspension (both ends), and spring from the legs. You can influence how much compression (and then rebound) of the suspension you get by your wheel placement on the obstacle. Too high of the front wheel on the obstacle, and the tire either skips over it, or doesn't make enough suspension squish to do much for you, as far as "lift" is concerned. Just don't do like I occasionally do. Sometimes I'll accidentally pull the clutch in when I want to do the first blip/lift the front wheel, or I'll simply have my timing WAAAAAY off, and wont get any front wheel lift. The bike then runs into the log, and I get "Yard Darted" over the bike and log. A good reason to keep speeds down while learning, i say.... For getting the timing down, it really helped me to break down each aspect of a double blip or zap, and go through the technique very slowly. Focus on obstacles about the size of your front wheel or smaller, and just practice them slowly. You'll find that you don't need a lot of speed at all to accomplish this, also. I probably should've been going a bit slower in my video I linked to..... Hope this helps! Jimmie

Here's a link to that other video I mentioned. A guy who posts mostly on www.thumpertalk.com with the username of "2PLY" made this video. It helped me a lot, and I kinda like his choice of music in the thing.... If you go to the hosting site ( www.vimeo.com ) & type in "double blip", a search will bring this video up, and more trials "How-To" vids he has done. Just about all of his vids have been really helpful to me. The Ryan Youg vids will help you out too, mokwepa! Hope this helps! Jimmie

Of course!!! (wink wink, hee hee....) Here's a video of mine I made when I was learning to do this. I want to stress that it is NOT "textbook technique", but it got the job done back then. I could only do this about once in about every 14 attempts in the beginning. I'm not sure that I've gotten much better since..... Again, I'll try to post the "Good How-To Vid" later...... Wink Wink again.... Jimmie Added in EDIT: If you look quickly, you can see the forks & shock compress at the same time. Probably not as much as they should, & I don't seem to ever put enough knee/leg into it as I should. But the basic gist of it is "sorta" there..... In an ideal world, I guess the rear wheel would've hopped up higher onto the log.......