mr neutron

I too have the Ryan Young video, and as a Novice-level rider, really like it a lot. So does one of my trials riding friends I loaned it to, and who has forgotten it's actually MY video, hee hee.... Another one I (we, if I include my video thievin' friend.... ) like is called "Learning Trial", with Jordi Pascuet. It has an English interpretation for those of us not fluent in Spanish, and it works out pretty well. Again, a decent video for the Novice rider...... Jimmie

Nice work there, Laser1 & Bruno!!! Would anyone compain if it were, say, Sophia Vergara in a flourescent swimsuit? Jimmie

Geez, I'm Sorry, Glenn. when I started this thread, it was because I was told the exhaust was over $800! With an aribox price of $480, a fender price of $168, and other smaller, less expensive parts I don't have prices on yet, I was easily looking at over $1400. I was hoping for a cheap alternative, not to lay a guilt trip on other Dads, hee hee. Was hoping to not embarass my kid, as well..... You all have convinced me to repair the airbox & fender myself, and with the cheaper exhaust, I don't feel so much like I've had my balls kicked as I did a few days ago..... I'm still hopeful he'll want to ride my trials bike again. He was just getting the hang of riding my 6" X 6" X 12' timbers I have as a sort of "balance beam" practice obstacle. He could ride the entire length of it about 50% of the time, and manage to wheelie over it or do a crude Bunny Hop over it. He'd worked on static (no engine) balancing, and then wheelies. Now, about the time he was getting small wheelies down, the bike ran out of gas. This bike does have a "Reserve" position on the fuel petcock, However, it's been my experience that if you need that Reserve to ride back to the truck, your truck had better be close enough to be in sight! We leaned the bike over to the left, watched fuel flow through the fuel filter for a couple of minutes, and decided he could make the distance back to the barn with what was now in the float bowl. After his crash,he said that as he was bending his knees down to load the forks for a wheelie, it felt like the wanted to just "take off" (his description) faster than he wanted it to. I've had bikes begin to run lean from running out of fuel before, and sometimes would start to rev to the moon just before they ran completely out of fuel. I'm kinda wondering if this isn't what happened to my poor kid..... I figure it's one thing for an accident like this to happen, but it's sad if ya can't learn from it..... Jimmie

Old Trials Fanatic, I had to chuckle when I read the part of your first post about "If you break it, you buy it!". Last Tuesday, not long after we figured out that he (my son) was alright, not hurt, & etc., I gave him the "If you ever get a chance to ride one of your friend's bikes, ABSOLUTELY DO NOT do it unless you're prepared to either buy the bike, or pay the $$$ to fix it" lecture. To my surprise, he told me that he had already turned down a couple of chances to ride some of his buddies' "Crotch Rocket" street bikes for that very reason. He said I'd already given him that lecture, and I had forgotten I'd done it..... I doubt that he ever reads anything here on this forum. But I was basically not wanting to write anything that he might take as criticism towards him, or anything like that, if he did read something here. It was, after all, an accident, and that's just the way it is. I was wanting to be "discreet" for his sake..... Anyway, I called the pipe repair place here in Oregon, and they do not work on aluminum exhausts. Largely for the reasons I can see on my pipe. The wrinkled up portion at the bend where the midbox becomes a silencer is too hard to straighten out. I'm not certain the pictures show the wrinkles to their worst...... I sort of wish I hadn't troubled you guys with this now. This deal isn't going to be nearly as expensive as I was originally told. I got an email just today from a dealer about the price of a new exhaust. I guess there's actually been a reduction in price on the complete midbox/silencer setup, from over $800 down to $406! It's cheaper than the airbox! My son has agreed to pitch in for half of it, and still split & stack the firewood I have laying around. I am going to try & patch the airbox & fender, and then there's the throttle. I ordered the throttle housing that can be adjusted for the tube's rotation, and won't allow full throttle. I've also ordered one of those magnetic kill switches that shut the bike off if the rider & bike part company. I'm hoping these will go a ways towards preventing another quick, violent crash that even some of us "experienced" riders can manage to have...... Hopefully, I'll have the parts and be back riding within a month or less. Will keep y'all posted on how the repairs go. I'll likely be riding with part of the grahics gone off the bike for awhile, which I suppose might look a little ugly to some, but at this point, I'd rather ride an ugly bike than not ride at all....... I used to ride almost every evening after work, and I miss it..... Thanks for all your encouragement & help, Fellas! You've no idea how much I appreciate it. Jimmie

Hey, Bill!!! Small World!!! I'm the guy that parked nearby to you & Barry for the Modern bike ride on Sunday (at The Dabber Trial/Karey Krahel's place). Have the big gold-ish colored diesel pickup & the white trailer, brought the wife & dog along that day, & etc.. Barry, after killing us in our class, took some video of the Experts didn't he? He's a very good rider! I did look into the plastic welders last night, for the airbox & fender. I dunno if there are people around here that do that sort of thing, but I did look into the soldering iron/plastic filler deal at http://www.urethanesupply.com/ . I'm on the fence anbout buying all the stuff (that they say) is needed to fix this. It would be cheaper, and probably useful for the future as well, but....... Anyone know if just a regular old pencil type soldering iron, along with the correct filler rod, would do a decent job of welding the airbox & fender? Polypropelene for the fender, I don't know what type of plastic the airbox is made of. Would sealant/glue & zip-ties do just as well? I guess it's time for me to come clean about the rider: He's my son. I'm not going to make a bunch of excuses for him, but I'll say that he's "struggling financially" (goes to college & works a low paying job). He plans on selling his own motorcycle (a vintage 1980 TT250 Yamaha) to cover the costs of repairs for my bike. I actually hate to see him sell his bike, because we ride together. But it's the last thing he owns, besides his pickup, of any value that he feels he can hock to get some money. Meanwhile, I have firewood splitting & stacking service from him for awhile...... Anyway, while he's an experienced big bike rider, I had hoped to get him into trials. Again, so we might do that together. I guess it'll slow down his ability to get a trials bike (or any sort of dirt bike), if he wants one, but that's his problem to deal with......He's a good young man. He felt bad enough to puke in his boots after he looped out the bike. He's not trying to get out of giving me any money; it's just not going to happen overnight (unless there's a sudden, huge demand for old 4-stroke monoshock Yamahas, I guess.....). He has learned a lesson here, I'm thinking..... Jimmie Jimmie

Thanks, Zippy!!! Yeah, it's the first time I've loaned it out that it came back in worse shape than it was before a newbie ride..... I realize that I take a risk when loaning it out, assuming that a crash is always a possibility. I'd just assumed it would likely be a broken rear fender, or bent lever to worry about, or something along those lines. These bikes are amazingly tough, and I'm still kinda surprised at how bent & broke stuff got...... I guess I'll get my chance to help the sport out by buying some high-dollar parts, huh? Jimmie

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