harryharls

Just to update on my clutch woes: It's now running absolutely sweet as a nut! I've done a few hours on it too on separate occasions and it's absolutely bob on :-) To summarise, all I really did in the end was change the two thicker friction plates for new standard thickness ones. I checked the steel plates for trueness (they were perfectly flat) and reassembled. I filled up with putoline gear oil (the nano-trans I'd ordered hadn't arrived yet!) and it was great; almost perfect with just the smallest amount of drag at times, it really made a big difference. once the nan-trans oil arrived I changed the oil again to the new stuff and now it's simply perfect! It's a dream to ride. The clutch feels extremely responsive at high revs and quick release and very controllable at low revs and slow release. I very highly recommend this putoline nano trans, it's fantastic stuff! Oh, just to confirm I has also done the clutch fix previously which seemed to help a bit at the time but strangely didn't last. Obviously it's all been down to the two thicker friction plates...and this mega oil. Btw, I didn't bother doing the glue filing and tab filing on the two new plates.

Well to be honest it's always possible that it was the connection at the junction of the wires and pulling it and replugging it sorted it.It's working a treat now and I've just done an hour on it. Thanks for the advice though.

Well, tested pump and reassembled and it's working perfectly. Strange one, must have been an airlock I guess.

Glad I didn't just buy a new one!

Oh, just tested the thermostat with multimeter with a pan of heating water and it seems to be working perfectly. Water pump? Airlock?

What a top tip! Such an easy test and it turns out it is the thermostat. Thanks to Sirdabalot for the tip :-)

Woops, sorry; I just found another thread but I had previously searched and didn't get a result: Put the two thermostat wires together then start it up. If the fan spins it'll be the thermostat. If it doesn't it may be the fan, but try a test bulb to the thermostat supply wire first (better than a meter as it'll show if the supply has enough guts to run the fan). I'll try this first

Hmmm, another issue :-( My cooling fan isn't working and it's causing the coolant to overheat. I've had a good practice in the woods this morning and It's steaming and spitting out coolant from the overflow. Does anyone have any tips for fault diagnosis by any chance? Thanks in Advance...

My 2014 Beta caused me headaches after I bought it because the code on the frame equates to a 2013 model...I thought I'd been had! After researching it extensively it appears that they can apparently use an 'old' frame for a later model. It confused the hell out of me though. Everything on the bike was 2014 spec, including all graphics and anything they changed between 2013 and 2014.

I don't actually mind the fact that it springs up on its own, it's the fact that it can't be put down with your foot that bugs me (see my previous thread!). A fix for that would be good. Good tech tip though for anyone who doesn't like the spring-back function.

From the Beta website: CHASSIS Changes to the chassis are shared on all the new models – 2T and 4T – and can be summed up as follows: BrakTec brake and clutch pumps for improved brake feel.

£52.36 on Beta-UK and it is a different part number to the 2014 and 2013 manuals. No more info though on how it's different.

I also think the rear brake on my 2014 is weak. I've recently been thinking whether or not a fluid change/bleed/new pads would help, but if it's a known weakness then probably not! I'd also be interested in the 2017 'upgrade'. I'll have a look on Beta-UK and report back on price

That's a great idea! I'll get some to fit my new one :-)

Cheers Spen, I'll give it a go. Does anyone else do this and has it saved anyone's mudguard?

Have you got a link for the plastic bolts? Do they just 'pop' out under pressure? It sounds like an interesting idea and at £70 a go for a replacement mudguard it's got to be worth a try!

Now there's an idea...:-)

Yeah I took the one on my old Gasser off and when you can't find a handy tree it's a real pain!

Well I actually like it because unlike my old Gas Gas side stand it actually tucks away really neatly and never rattle or jumps up or down.It's just a minor annoyance that I have to use my hand to pull it down

Does anyone else find it annoying that you can't put your side stand down with your foot? It's irritating having to reach down to do it with my hand, to the point where I usually look for a tree or wall to stand it against instead!

Oh no, I hope not!! I've never found any metal bits in the oil though. I'll take the clutch apart again and double check thicknesses and trueness, by bent plates do you mean the friction plates or the steel discs? It all seemed to be in order when I did the work though. The strange thing about the whining noise is that it hasn't got any worse, it's just always done it since I bought the bike and it doesn't affect performance in any way, that's why I was thinking it had to have something to do with the clutch dragging. Yes, mine has the 4 thin/2 thick configuration and no I'm not using any sort of additive at all. I've just reassembled the carb and run the bike paying particular attention to the whining noise (running great now btw :-)), the noise only starts when I start to release the clutch, right up to fully out and is proportional in volume/pitch to engine speed. It definitely seems to me like it's being caused by the friction between the plates as they are biting. Perhaps it's just normal on these Betas but I haven't had it before on other bikes. It certainly doesn't seem like a mechanical (metal on metal) noise. On another note, when I started it up the clutch was behaving perfectly; no drag at all and easy to find neutral!! Maybe the dragging is related to gearbox temp as it seems to get worse when the bike's nice and warm.

After taking the reed block out I can see that the reeds are in perfect condition with no fraying or gaps, however there was some water in and around it! I can also see a bit of emulsification of the oil on the surface of the crank as I turn the engine. The water seems to have got in by the gasket between the reed block and the case, presumably from cleaning it. I guess if water can get in there then air certainly can so it looks like you both may be right about the air leak. I'll put some hylomar on the gasket and see how it goes.

I think I'm just going to stick a new set of plates in!

Possible but I've run it for about 5 hours now and if anything the clutch drag is worsening.

Great stuff, thanks Dan. It's in bits now actually and it was pretty dirty (relatively speaking) in there to be honest.Unfortunately I don't have a compressor/airline but hopefully a few squirts of carb cleaner or similar will suffice. I've already cleaned it through with fresh petrol. The jets and needle/clip position are all standard luckily so hopefully a good clean will restore it to full working order. I'm going to take the reed block off now and inspect that, I still suspect that may be the problem but we'll soon see. If this doesn't work I'll check for an air leak.