I bought an LED bulb from the discount bin for 12V lighting systems just to see if it would plug into my Beta's headlamp and work and it did but I never completed the project. I've been thinking it might be kind of interesting to layout a PC board as a number plate and populate it with bright white LEDs for night riding. Wide area on some and some narrow beams going forward with a few pointing down for wheel lifts. The Beta system is 85W which is a lot of light with LEDs. Something to do in my spare time this winter I guess.
Yeah one fork spring. Don't go into the preload heavy either. The point of having the heavier springs is to go light on the preload so the suspension stays supple over the smaller bumps. For us Clydesdales it's a big improvement over the skinny guy springs. I also go 2 1/2 viscosity on the fork oil. Seems to work especially well when the weather gets cooler. I also have a custom shock adjusting tool. An 8mm swivel socket on a 1/4" screwdriver ratchet thingy. Oh and you'll need a long thin screwdriver to get to the mixture adjust. I usually just buy a handful of cheapo thin flat blades and grind them round on the corners to fit the carb screw. Why a handful? Cuz you're gonna lose them. Leave 'em on the trailer, loan 'em to friends, lose 'em in the car, stick 'em in the ground after adjusting the bike....
Ride it and figure out what works for you. Bar position and suspension setup all work together so you are going to have to ride, tweak, ride, tweak to get it where it feels right to you. There is no standard recipe, especially with a trials bike.
Fair enough. I've gotten the same information from Mike but I'll not say the plates fit until I return the ones I have and get the proper set. The wrong plates are on their way back. From my measurements and Mike's comments it looks like the Barnett plates are approximately 0.3mm thicker than the standard plate I measured. That'll add 1.8mm to the clutch pack. It'll be interesting to see how that affects pull.
EDIT: Close but not quite. See post below.
I'm talking to them and have offered to send them a Beta plate. Barnett has asked for the information to be removed as they have gotten a few return requests already.
Well that was money well spent. The Barnett plates noted above DO NOT fit. They are considerably smaller than the Beta plates. You may now return to the usual filing and polishing. That is all.
You are not bending your knees and staying centered. On most bikes where you turn at speed the legs stay somewhat straight and you lean your body into the turn. New riders will keep that habit into their trials turns and it is incorrect. They will keep both legs the same length and try to compensate by twisting their butts which drops the inside shoulder and twists the body so the slightest pertubation causes the body to fall to the inside causing a dab. Try this exercise off the bike. Stand on a hill perpendicular to the fall line. Look at your legs. The uphill leg is bent more than the downhill leg. You are nice and stable and your center of mass is right between your feet. This is how a trials turn should feel. Now try to straighten the uphill leg. Your butt rotates to try and compensate and your position is much weaker. This is the mistake most riders make. Now get your bike and find a nice flat place to practice this. Bend your knees out and make figure eights while keeping your body between the contact patches of your wheels and your shoulders facing the front of the bike. Initiate and end turns with foot pressure. That is important. Stay centered and steer with foot pressure. When you get it right you'll find you can stop at any point in the turn and you will be balanced. Try it on a slight incline and the same rules apply. Stay centered and steer with foot pressure. You will also have to shift slightly forward and back as you transition uphill and downhill. Believe me you will absolutely feel it when you get it right. Keep those legs bent! Stay centered.
I ordered a set of the Barnett kevlars. Will report when they come in.
These plates DO NOT FIT. Barnett has asked for the part number to be removed from this thread.
They are beautifully finished but they don't fit.
Beta sells thicker base gaskets as well. I have a lower compression head on my '13 300 and it does reduce the starting effort significantly but on the later bikes the compression chamber is a separate piece. I'm not sure this is the case on a 2003.
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Ask the mechanic. Only way to be sure. A lot of people are using the non-toxic propylene glycol premixed stuff. I've been using Engine Ice. Silcolene pro-cool is the same. If you must mix your own up use deionized water as the stuff from the tap may accelerate corrosion.
I hate to say it but once something goes funny in the box it's in your best interest to open it up. First though pull off the side cover and check the shifter mechanism. You might get lucky and find the problem is there and not in the gearbox proper. At least I hope that's the case.
Look at the clutch fix pinned at top of Beta forum. Also dressing the steel plates with fine emory cloth may help as the steels get polished and can hydraulic lock (suction) if they are too smooth. You may also have a damaged plate. Sometimes the forged aluminum fiber plates crack.
