dan williams

On bikes with clutch packs of six fiber plates like Betas and Shercos the clutch fix improves the clutch action significantly in a lot of bikes. Your GasGas clutch has a much smaller pack due to the use of a diaphragm spring so the Beta clutch fix will have less of an effect. Like all bikes it's critical to make sure the clutch mechanism provides all the expected throw (pushes the pressure plate the correct distance) but the diaphragm clutch is also sensitive to where that throw occurs in the transfer curve of the spring. So as lineaway said you have to set the height of the mechanism correctly or it will never quite work right.

There is an inherent sticky problem with the Beta clutch which the fix fixes but before you start replacing stuff you need to make sure the actuator mechanism is actually doing what it's supposed to. All it does is move a pressure plat approximately 1.2mm. Put the bike on its side and pull the clutch pack cover (the round one) off. Be careful not to damage the piddly little round O-Ring gasket. Now with your finger on the pressure plate pull the clutch lever and make sure the pressure plate moves. If it does good. The fix will probably help you. If it doesn't the problem is in the hydraulics or somebody left the ball bearing out of the throw-out assembly. A fairly common mistake. '97 is a Beta Techno. The EVO model didn't come out until '09

Thanks. I’ve got an EVO for trials. Just want a non-trials bike for chasing the wife around on her trail bike. Don’t need a 13” suspended race bike so this sounds perfect.

Not exactly trials but there’s an ‘02 Pampara for sale that looks in good condition. Are parts available at all or would this be a mistake?

Oh thank god! Given some of what’s come out of the FIM it wouldn’t have surprised me. Remember when the minimum weight requirement “leveled the playing field”? No? Just like the elimination of stop and hop “leveled the playing field”. Both made it much more affordable and greatly increased participation. Except they didn’t.

Saw an article in todotrial that a Chinese tire manufacturer is to be the sole supplier for the WTC and it will “improve” competition by having less traction. Somebody please tell me this was an April fools joke.

On a MX bike you are blowing a lot of oil out the exhaust. On a trials bike the engine speed is so low that a higher ratio will just pool in the crankcase and gum up the exhaust. Most run their bikes around 80:1 but 100:1 is not unheard of especially if you’re a plonker. For reference the Vertigo with fuel injection runs at 200:1. Modern engines with water cooling and electrofusion cylinders don’t have the same thermal stresses as the old iron bore air cooled engines. Even at the higher oil ratios I haven’t seen an oil related failure in a modern engine.

2021 should be significantly better.

‘93 Beta Gara. White rear with grey front. Orange fender is probably off a ‘96. 80:1 is fine with synthetic oil. Gearbox oil is not super critical as people run everything from gearbox oil to ATF to 10W30 motor oil without a problem. Clutch might be sticky when cold. Fix is noted above. Mikuni may piddle fuel. Fix is noted above. Don’t be too obsessed about oils. It’s an old bike. Take it out and have fun.😁

Probably the same place as my Color Computer and Amiga.😃

I remember working on the clutch in my ‘77 AW400 and it was miserable. My buddy used to work on his by jacking up his truck, sliding the bike under, and lowering the truck using the frame to compress the clutch pack. 😁 There is a difference I think with the Maico disc springs vs the diaphragm. With the stacked discs the spring rate is unaffected by the radial stress on the center of the hole in the disc. On the diaphragm spring compressing the spring should reduce the size of the center hole. Since there is a ring preventing that compression the compression in line with the fingers provides another torsion. I think that’s how the reduction in rate occurs as the diaphragm passes through flat. I never said the diaphragm clutch was new. Just that I never saw it explained in a way that made sense to me. I’m still learning.

Hi Billy, Yeah opening up the cockpit was what I had in mind. Haven’t moved footpegs. It’s a thought but just haven’t got that far into it. Moving the bars was cheap and easy to start with. I remember Ryan used to sell platform pegs that I liked because it forced me to foot back further but I haven’t seen them for many years. But you know me. I do enjoy tinkering.

Rode some today with the clamps forward and it felt pretty good. Took a little while to get the turning recalibrated.👍

Ok probably an odd question but… There’s three offset positions for the factory bar clamps. Mine have been set in the middle but I’m finding my weight is getting too far forward. Rolling the stock bars forward helps (yes it’s counter intuitive) but the sweep of the bars puts my wrists in a slightly strained position. Do any of you use the forward offset position and if so how do you like it?

I was thinking that bike looked familiar. Then I noticed I managed to sneak into the background of some of your photos.😁 Thanks to you and Warren there's some serious drooling over metal work going on at events now.