True enough but the BRC has done nothing around here and that is the problem. We have been divided and are being conquered. The heart of the issue is all politics are local. An organization like BRC and AMA are only as effective as they can be at getting the people they represent to get off their duffs and make themselves heard. Unfortunately as a group off-road riders are notoriously independent and getting them to work together is like trying to herd cats. This has worked in the favor of those who want us gone all too well.
I think this is a good move. AMA can't be promoter and service organization. It's almost impossible to be promoting the same sports you have to regulate. It's all too easy to start chasing the dollar. Now people usually sign up for the AMA because they need to for insurance coverage. The problem is that means a significant number of the non-racers don't sign up believing there's no reason to. If those people can be shown a real benefit to sign up such as a more active AMA political structure more will sign up and the clout of the AMA grows making it even more effective.
Tough call - Satisfy your desire to win a competition or satisfy the people who pay your wages and provide the machinery and team that put you there in the first place! Unless they are rich, I think I know what most people would do!
According to the articles I read the other team riders were there solely to advance Broc to the championship. None of them was in contention for the overall and Yamaha "stacked the deck" by entering riders who had contested other series all year long. I find that more disturbing then just the team order to let Broc by.
This is exactly the reason why NETA does it's end of year trials scoring by recalculating the event points placement only by riders who qualify for year end points. It's a pain but it ensures the scores are rider to rider and can't be influenced by any third party unless they are also in contention for that class.
You can probably get used to a stock 250 or 270 and much of the difference from bike to bike has to do with the state of tune. I've ridden my friends 250 quite a bit and compared to my 270 his is more aggressive. Then again his bike was Donato Miglio's minder bike so I think it's a little... er tweaked. One thing that most will agree on is a bigger engine is more tiring. If you're not able to ride 2-3 days a week or work out the upper body in the gym then a stronger engine is not your friend. It may seem to be no problem in the parking lot but after a few hours you may find it getting ahead of you and that seriously can ruin your enthusiasm. Proof of that is any review of the 125-200cc bikes that usually end with a rave about how much fun the little bikes are.
There are very few novice obstacles that require even the power of a 250 as is demonstrated by my friend Bill who routinely cleans stuff I crash on with his little 200cc four stroke Scorpa. It's more important to find a bike in good shape that feels good to you.
Don't worry about being on the large side. You've got lots of company.
Ohhh the knocking ain't right. I think that's more then the clutch but I'm sure the dealer will straighten it out.
I polished both sides of the tabs. They get jammed into the basket one way under power and the other way when decelerating and I want them to slide easily in both situations. Besides I wasn't too picky about putting them back in the way they came out. Just to be sure we're on the same page here I'm talking about the sides of the tabs where they fit into the slots on the basket. I was looking into making a sort of UBER-clutch for the Beta with nickel plating the basket fingers and coating the tabs with some lubricant like teflon but I sort of ran out of interest once the polishing trick worked. I might still investigate it in the future.
I left the bolts out. They're in my toolbox next to my jet kit. I ordered an '08 but it won't be in for a month so I can't tell you if they have the same issues as my 05. Only way to know is to pull out the clutch pack and look at the tabs on the fiber plates. If they have the rough finish polish them, clean them and put them back and it's a world of difference. Don't just remove two springs without polishing the tabs. That would be a colossal mistake. My theory is the heavier springs are a stop gap fix for the poor bearing surfaces on the fiber plate tabs. If I'm correct then just removing the springs without polishing the tabs will cause clutch slippage.
I've been riding for two years now with four springs and the clutch shows no slippage yet. I thought I felt some yesterday but it was a patch of ice. I'm about 220lbs and ride the clutch constantly It is soooooo good now and my clutch finger doesn't get tired after four hours of riding unlike the the stock clutch. There is one thing that you may find with the clutch and that is the oil is particularly important to the engagement characteristics. A lot of guys will tell you to use automatic transmission fluid. I tried that once in a Beta and the clutch was so grabby it was almost impossible to ride. I use Spectro Golden-Gear oil now and I love the clutch on my '05. After you get a few hours on the bike for break in you might want to change out the gear oil. Sorry to say that if it is the gear oil making your clutch grabby it will take a few oil changes to purge the gearbox of the bad oil.
It's too bad you're not in my neighborhood. I'd have that clutch pack out of your bike and you lovin' that machine in no time. Let me know how it goes and If I can be of any help.
If you've found a bike that makes your heart beat a little faster and puts a smile on your face you win. I wish you many years of trouble free play and may you only need to pick up a wrench when you buy it a present like a titanium muffler. If you come to New England I hope we can go riding.
Really the heart of trials is the local club. That's where you'll find other people to ride with and places to ride. Nothing advances your ability faster then riding with more experienced riders. So the big question is what part of the US are you in.
I hate to ask but is this the DelOrto or was it replaced with a Mikuni? I replaced the DelOrto on my '95 with a Mikuni because I couldn't get jets and it was the best modification I made.
For the money you get a top of-the-line, state-of-the-art competition machine. The fact that you may have to do a little tweaking every few months is pretty amazing. Buy it, ride it and enjoy. You're only going this way once. Besides if you buy a new bike you'll want to spend more time riding then reading the silliness on the forums.
I seem to remember there being a 280 kit for the Techno. In reality if this is his first trials bike and it is in good shape then a 250 will provide all the power he can handle. Welcome to the sport.
Make sure you don't have the lever adjustment in too far. Try backing it off all the way before putting the whole thing back together. The brake and clutch system is self adjusting but to do that the piston in the master cylinders must be able to return all the way back past the hole to the reservoir where the fluid is stored.
It's also possible that the hole to the reservoir is blocked.
4RT no, you can ride them virtually straight off a cold start up.
Scorpa 4T takes some warming up for whatever reason (I've tried 2 and both the same) Don't know why as the YZ250F I was using in enduros warmed up very quickly
From what I've heard the Beta's are rather cold blooded and like a nice warm up. My friends '07 200 Scorpa liked a little warm up time too but what a lovely little bike that is. I got off my 270 Rev3 and putted around on the Scorpa and felt right at home. Could be an EFI vs carb thing.
OH NOOOOO you Dalesman riders are always picking on the Montesas!
he he he
Thanks to this thread you may be able to tell him to replace a sheared off bolt and be done with a $2 repair. Hope that's the case. Then he can ferociously defend his brand and make us all smile.
I was asking about Woody Hole because he borrowed my bike in '92 at the US world round/TDN and I wanted to give him "mad props". While the Italian minder who borrowed my buddy's bike abused it terribly, we have a video of him throwing it down a waterfall, Woody returned my bike washed, lubed and obviously pampered. Even better was in the Duke video for the event on which he did the commentary he said, "The bike I had to ride was, quite nice to say the least." That made my day.
Oh yeah the OP first sentence seems a pretty general question about four strokes. Looks like a good fit for this forum.
No point in being defensive and going into attack mode. I like the fact that such problems can be discussed. In the long run it helps bike sales knowing that a problem is acknowledged and can be fixed. The one thing that will turn me off of buying a brand is denial of a problem.
I'm a Beta rider for many years and I don't have any problem with postings on problems people have had on their Betas. It's how I learned to fix my carb leaking (Thanks Billy T.) and what gave me the impetus to fix my clutch sticking. Did it make me not want a Beta? No, I went from liking my bike to loving it.
We spend real money on these things and the free exchange of information is the most useful function of a community like this. The, "Let's attack the guy who brings up an issue" mentality is the most sophomoric aspect of a public forum and the most likely to turn it into a useless fanboy slugfest. Save it for slagging your buddy's football team where it will do no real damage.
Dan
P.S. Hey Woody, are you the famous Woody Hole of world round renown?
Let's see.... by next endurocross season that'll be about 25 euros or a tank of gas.
Come to think of it the Montesas do pretty good at the endurocross. Maybe the importer should show up with a bunch of bikes and sell them at the races. Could be the greatest guerrilla marketing campaign in the history of trials.
I typed that as a joke but the more I think about it the less odd it seems.
I'm about 220lbs and ride the clutch constantly It is soooooo good now and my clutch finger doesn't get tired after four hours of riding unlike the the stock clutch. There is one thing that you may find with the clutch and that is the oil is particularly important to the engagement characteristics. A lot of guys will tell you to use automatic transmission fluid. I tried that once in a Beta and the clutch was so grabby it was almost impossible to ride. I use Spectro Golden-Gear oil now and I love the clutch on my '05. After you get a few hours on the bike for break in you might want to change out the gear oil. Sorry to say that if it is the gear oil making your clutch grabby it will take a few oil changes to purge the gearbox of the bad oil.
Chaos @ The Ama
in USA Trials
Posted
True enough but the BRC has done nothing around here and that is the problem. We have been divided and are being conquered. The heart of the issue is all politics are local. An organization like BRC and AMA are only as effective as they can be at getting the people they represent to get off their duffs and make themselves heard. Unfortunately as a group off-road riders are notoriously independent and getting them to work together is like trying to herd cats. This has worked in the favor of those who want us gone all too well.
Dan