dan williams

Spring has sprung. Let the fettling begin. Clutch holder tool fits perfectly. (Edit) Oh this is getting interesting. After pulling it apart the stock indexer is different than the “stock” replacement. Where it contacts the cam is way off from what I expected. The shifter indexer/cam looks a bit like a thrown together assembly of mismatched parts. I’ll post an update later.

From the varied responses you’ve probably figured out we’re all just guessing too.? It’s not too complicated a system and I’m sure you’ll figure it out after noodling around with it a bit. Welcome to Beta.?

Won’t turn over as in motor locked up and won’t spin? Then seized which is unusual. Won’t turn over as in won’t start? Sheared woodruff key on ignition flywheel. Fairly common.

I’ve only had to have main bearings done once on a bike that sat in storage for the better part of a year. Just sitting did more damage than regular riding. When the Beta mains go there’ll be no question as it’ll sound like a rock crusher. The whirring noise is on every Beta I’ve ever owned and after a while you just tune it out.

10t, carbon reeds and a low compression head on mine. Not keen on extra flywheel as they tend to run on a bit more than I like. 13t is a street sprocket.?

The Beta gearbox is pretty robust. I had a prospective buyer (not the brightest bulb...) wind up and stomp on the shifter much to the horror of those of us watching. When I said, “What are you doing?!” His reply? “Starting the bike. Duh” Fortunately the bike just shrugged it off. He didn’t buy it either.?

I would not worry about a stand. Just take the bike with the engine off and roll it a bit back and forth while putting a little pressure on the lever up and down. It should be able to shift the gears pretty easily. If not then there is something bunged up with the mechanism. Is it stuck in neutral or a gear? Does the engine turn over? Your description isn't clear whether it's stuck in first and won't shift out of first or won't shift into first. Engine running or not running? It's a pretty simple mechanism so if it fails to work there's usually something like a part been dropped into it. Hopefully your mechanic gave you back the stock parts and you have six of each bolts and washers.

Is the lever moving? Can you feel the cam drop into place? It sounds like your mechanic might have pulled the shifter assembly out if he pulled the whole primary side cover off. To replace the clutch preload washers you only need to pull the round clutch cover which doesn’t involve disturbing the shifter assembly.

And I thought I was being precise! Nice work. By any chance did you see the hand made gold TRS piece made for Jordi Tarres by one of his riding buddies? The thing is absolutely beautiful.

Was many years ago so I don’t even remember.

I used to use the shorter levers but now I use the stock levers with the perch in as far as it will go. Gives more leverage to reduce pull and also makes it less likely to break a lever in a fall.

Have you got the clutch sorted yet? Inquiring minds want to know.

Seen this on a couple of bikes that were only cured with a carb change. Then one day a friend’s bike started behaving the same and it turned out the choke was on just a bit. So check your choke circuit to see if the seal at the bottom of the plunger is not sealing properly or the plunger travel is not going fully down. it’s kinda left field but I stripped, cleaned and checked float level on two seperate bikes that were later worked on by dealers and nothing worked. So the choke incident was the only correlation I’ve been able to find.

Maybe why it was cheaper, scared the previous owner. I think this can work to your advantage though. There is no substitute for displacement for sheer grunt. And it’s much easier to get right than this #%*+~#% Win10 computer I’ve been trying to sort out all week!?

Everybody should build a Frankenbike at one point in their life just to say they did. ?

If he's trying to torque the flywheel nut by a method other than holding the flywheel then he might be shearing it off while tightening the nut. And twisting the crank out of alignment too. I'll say this, he's got guts for even trying this. That expansion chamber's going to have a very strange effect with the trials engine porting.

I loved the look of the RTLs. Modern bikes in general look good but I think the Shercos have the best styling. The Ossas looked badass. The only Betas I think looked really good are the white framed Factorys. Other than that Betas are kinda fugly.

Do the math to figure out what it'll cost to swap vs change parts. I'll not debate the 200. It's a great bike and you'll really enjoy It if you get one but the 300 can be tamed without losing the best part of the power. On my 300s I've swapped the gearing by going to a 10 tooth front sprocket on earlier bikes or up two teeth on the rear for the 2018 (has a 10 front stock). Installed a low compression head to soften power and make kicking easier. Installed carbon fiber reeds (VForce V351C or V351B with medium reeds) which smooths out the bottom and makes it grunt like an old Bultaco. Only the pros really need the hyper hit of the stock 300s. Us mere mortals can enjoy them with mods but even the pros who've ridden my bikes with the mods say they're really good and they'd like them only a little sharper for big hits. In any case understand that the first time out on any modern trials bike is intimidating no matter who you are and it takes time for your body to adjust to the stance and the reactions necessary. Happens every winter in New England when we come out of hibernation. We always look forward and dread the first rides after the snow melts. And we really do understand a 300 has a very high pucker factor. The GasGas pros are even sharper! Stick with it though and welcome back.

Ouch, sorry to hear that. Hope your back gets better soon. There is one odd thing that has happened to me with the master cylinder. I once damaged the internal spring in the master cylinder in a crash. This caused the lever not to return properly and made for some funky adjustment. It's rare but it can happen.

So you're saying you have 3mm travel of the pushrod before it engages the throw-out bearing. That's a little odd since the mechanism is meant to be self adjusting. It sounds like somebody reassembled the actuation mechanism without the ball bearing that goes between the push rod and the shaft of the throw-out bearing. See parts 19, 20, 21.

Don’s been riding as a minder for his grandkids I think but yeah he’s definitely still around at the NY, CT events and just as smooth as always. Still looks like he’s in his forties and in better shape than any of the rest of us. It’s just not fair I tell ya! Thinking about it the other guy competing with Donnie was probably Mike Komer or Jack Stites. Mike owns the Tryals Shop in NY. I just read that Jack passed away in August.

Bike or wife? Silly me, wife is always right.?

I know mine is. The biggest problem is the ethanol. Without the ethanol the most likely problem is losing some of the lighter hydrocarbons changing the fuel vaporization characteristics but nothing should harm the engine. Just make it a bit of a pain to start. It’s less of an issue when it’s cold and when it’s really cold even the light hydrocarbons pretty much stay put. I usually leave VP ethanol free fuel in my tank all winter and since some will evapoarte just top off before the first ride and go. It’ll smoke a bit more because the ratio has changed from the evaporated fuel but it won’t harm anything.

The sheared woodruff key is very common in these situations. Having the primary gear spin off is not something I’ve heard before. Learn something new every day. ?

Would be nice if they didn’t look like they were hogged out with a hammer and chisel.