toetoe

my 1999 sherco does not want to start, their is a spark but it doesn't look very strong, i have looked at the wiring and it is very shoddy to say the least, their is little breaks in most of the wires and the earth is not so good, it doesn't look to hard to replace but where can i buy the right colour wire in 1meter lengths and the connectors i need, i have managed to get one of the harnesses i need from ebay and i can get a cdi for £26 and coil for £20 if the rewire doesn't work but with it being 14 years old it is hard to get the harnesses i need already made up, at least time is on my side as this is my spare bike now but it's nice to have ready to go for others who want to have a go at trials.

if it's a light grey colour, my sherco as always been that colour, i looked at a few threads on this site and it seemed quite normal so i didn't worry or try to find a problem, it's just like that, some people commented about water getting in from some where but it did seem to be a more common thing than you would think.

i'v just bought a 2013 gas gas 250, i have also got a 1999 sherco which i have rode for about six months, the biggest difference i noticed is how much lighter the gas gas is and it's a delight to work on, a good set of allan keys and a 10mm ratchet and i'm away, the cloths are an expensive item where ever you go but if you want gas gas stuff then gas gas uk is about the best, they seem to have deals on different things at different times, they had some boots for £80 the other week but i missed out on that one and they are back to £120, you would have to buy on line though, it's a bit to far to travel to from where you are.

I was the same, these videos really helped me along, i can't repair a broken engine but i can now service my bikes to good standard.

trials uk is great for general sherco maintenance, go to trials uk and then click on the how2s at the top of the first page and then all of the dvd titles are on the left of the page, it helped me out a lot when i first started.

i nearly did the same thing when i got on my sherco 250 for the first time, nothing seems to prepare you for the absolute power of a modern bike, the thing that sticks in my mind is your clutch is your best friend and i can't agree more, especially at the beginning, you could really do with riding with someone who is considerably a better rider than yourself and the best place to do that is by joining a club, i really was billy no mates before i got into trial riding, now i meet up with friends every week who are more than keen to help me with my riding, you will not meed a better bunch of people, the most important thing is to have fun, take it steady and enjoy your new sport.

Hi m8, i have sent you a private message.

where about in the midlands are you.

if i where to tell you my story it would be exactly the same as your, even the river part, i did a trial and five sections where up a river but once i started their was no going back because all of the sections where in a row and their was about 30 bikes in line behind me, i to have only managed to do 2 round of 10 sections but i always go home with a smile on my face and keep going back for more, saturday i went to the Loughborough 2 day trial and on the saturday it was fun day so i rode in that and only managed to do 4 sections and on the last one the observer had to come and rescue my bike because i couldn't get out, on the sunday i offered to be an observer and i would highly recommend that you do the same, just by watching and talking to other riders i picked up a lot of tips, i did have a moment of confusion and sent a rider the wrong way and he wasn't to happy about that but i just asked him to do it again and things seemed ok again, i still went home with a smile, good luck and keep at it.

Hi, I live in burton on trent so just down the road, i'v just bought a gas gas but have been riding a sherco for about 5 or 6 months, i have made some great friends in just a small amount of time and learning to ride a trial bike is the best thing i have done for a very long time, i'm meeting up with some of them tomorrow at loughborough for a two day trial and some beers at night, we are camping out for the night, we all go to earl shilton to practice, it's good for all levels of rider.

trials uk do them, I think.

the one concern i had after getting my new bike home was it had a clicking noise, coming from the clutch area but if i puled the clutch in it disappeared, i went strait to the internet and i found out it's quite normal, there is a great little video on youtube about it, i don't know if the older models do it but don't let it put you off buying one if you here it, as long as the noise goes away after puling the clutch in.

i would go for the latest one you can afford, i have just had a 2013 txt and what a difference from my 1999 sherco, im going out on it tomorrow for the first time and my goal is to be able to do everything i can do on my sherco by the end of the day, if i drop it, so be it, from what i can see unless i have a major crash it will take quite a beating, on my last outing i lasted about 2 minuets before i went one way and my sherco went the other and snapped my clutch lever in the process but it's just part of the sport, good luck with your search.

Hi, I am 52 and i have just started, i didn't know if i would take to it so i decided to buy a second hand bike first, for £650 i got a 1999 sherco 250, boots, helmet, gloves and bike rack, although the bike is around 14 years old it is still a great bike to learn on and now i'm looking for a more modern machine, my friend who i ride with rides a TY 250 twin shock and he can do more on his bike than i can on mine so don't worry about the ability of the bike, it's experience that counts so what ever you choose to start with will be more than capable, im from burton on trent and i ride at earl shilton every sunday and one day in the week but on the sunday their is always plenty of people their who will be more than happy to help you out with setting your bike up and get you started, good luck i'm sure you will enjoy it.

i just need it to last a few more weeks may be a month and then i should have a new bike, their is no reason it shouldn't because i ran it on the same oil for about 4 months before without a problem.

I was using putoline gp10 gear oil 75w but then I read some of the old posts on this forum and came across one that recommended a 5w/30 fully synthetic and it was half the price of the other oil, now I’m back to the putoline and lesson learned, I don’t know what I have spent on trying to get my bike to run right but it’s well over the amount I tried to save by using cheaper oil.

I took mine out not so long ago, quite a few people on here suggested tyre levers but mine wouldn't budge so i used, i think it was 16mm, raw bolt and taped it out from the other side, it came out a treat.

yes, thats my point, I have gone back to the original oil i was using and it's fixed the problem, their seems to be problem with the word FIXED.

if all that i have done is confirm that the crank seal is bad then it would still be running like a bag of nails but it isn't it is running perfect and until the crank seal completely fails that is if it ever does fail then in my eyes it's fixed.

this last 4 weeks i have tried everything to try and fix my bike, it was running rich and the plug would be black after about an hour of using the bike, yesterday i ran out of things to try and so i started to think why as it just started to do this, the only thing i have done different in the last 4 weeks or so is use different engine oil, in desperation i went out and bought some of the engine oil i was using before the problem started, i drained the old oil and replaced it with the new and that was it, just as if nothing had happened, the only thing i can think of is the other oil i used is lighter than my normal oil and some how it was getting in to the cylinder but my knowledge is very limited so if any one can think of any other reason please let me know, i had a good two hour ride today without a problem, great now i can concentrate on my riding again, thanks for all of the help, it was very much appreciated.

i have been reading through some of the old topics and i came across this, For some unknown reason the bike started running really smokey (white smoke) Felt like it was running really rich as the power at the bottom end was incredible, but anything over 1/4 throttle and had nothing to give. I changed the two stroke mix, changed/cleaned air FILTER, I fiddled with carb, cleaned exhaust, took for a massive blast up some private tracks. still smoking. my bike doesn't smoke as bad as his but my friend who was with me on sunday said that when i went up an incline their was a lot of smoke coming from the exhaust so is it possible that engine oil is getting into the cylinder or maybe it could be the crankcase gasket, i have sent a pm to the person who had this problem to see what fixed his bike.

i don't just potter about in the garden now, that was when i first had the bike and i was waiting to get my driving licence back but even then i didn't have this problem and i now ride twice a week at earl shilton where i get chance to open it up, i know it as been mentioned a few times about giving it some revs to clean it out but it just isn't as simple as that, their is some good steep inclines where i ride and i need to open it up to get up them, i will take the front pipe off to see if it is full of oil, and i should have new jets from the splat shop tomorrow so i will keep you informed, just as a side note, i started to think am i doing anything different and the only thing different is i started to use a different engine oil but the oil i mix with the petrol is the same oil i have used from when i had the bike and i put 12ml per liter of petrol, i think that works out at about 80-1.

i see your point about the starter but after i have used it for about an hour and it starts to bog down, if i put a new plug in it the bike runs ok again, it will bog down a small amount if i go up a bank, even with a new plug but slowly gets worse, i thought it could of been the exhaust but the person i had the bike from said that it had just been repacked and i would of thought if it was the exhaust it wouldn't run very good even with a new plug in it, i did move the needle yesterday but i moved it up one so i think i have moved it the wrong way so i will try it the other way later.

I wish it was just 2t basics, i wouldn't have to keep trying different things, i had a friend with me on sunday, so i could show him what was happening, i started off with a new plug and after about an hour of riding the plug was sooted up and then some of the banks i could get up easy became hard to even get up half way, the bike looses power, it's like riding with the choke on, their is defiantly a problem because it didn't used to do this, it has only just started to do it, the plug that came with the bike was in it for about 4 months without a problem and my riding for that time was no where near as hard as it is now, i couldn't take it out of my garden for the first 3 months of having it so i used ti just run it on tick over and everything was fine.

as i have said before my plugs are getting very sooty after a few hours of riding, a friend checked the compression for me, it was 140 psi cold and just over 100 psi warm, i have cleaned the carb and re set the floats and would like to change the jets but i'm not sure of the sizes, i read it was pilot 30-33 and main 124-126 so what size should i go for.