dan williams

Well I've learned something new.

Well 1st to 2nd has to go through neutral. I suspect the slope of the indexing cam is not steep enough or the spring on the indexing plunger is weaker to make shifting easier so it never fully indexes into 2nd. All engineering theory aside sometimes the simple solution is best... I shift 1st to 2nd, bike pop out of gear, me crash, ow. I shift 3rd to 2nd, bike stay in gear... me crash but my own fault. ow.

Priceless!

Even though this sounds counter intuitive a properly jetted bike can seem smoother and less powerful than an improperly jetted bike. This often happens when the pilot/needle circuit isn't quite right and the bike will be boggy off the bottom and suddenly get interested in the proceedings once a larger throttle is given. A slow throttle is a good idea. Another thing I've found to make a large bike easier to deal with is carbon fiber reeds. One of the first things I do to my Betas is throw a set of Tassinari V-Force reeds in. The Beta and the Sherco take the same reeds. Adds great grunt and really smooths the transition into the mid-range. Another thing to try is a lower compression head. I have an S3 low compression head insert in my current bike. It mellowed the 300 out just enough to let me catch back up to it. It was starting to get away from me last year and I thought I needed to make it less aggressive. Turned out I had Lyme disease so my strength was going so mellowing the bike was kind of necessary anyway. Did the antibiotics bit and I'm back at the gym 3-4 times a week so I may go back to the stock head but I'm never going back to stock reeds. Oh yeah, the lower compression head makes it easier to start.

I've had excellent luck with Betas but all brands have their foibles. Betas are known for failures of the trigger coils in the ignition stator and erosion of the metal around the water pump impeller. First year EVOs (2009) cracked frames at the headstock but Beta replaced these for free. Beta clutches require a little cleaning up work to work properly. See pinned post on top. Betas with Mikuni carbs tended to piddle fuel due to having too long vent tubes. (easily fixed), 2000 Rev 3s broke swingarms. Betas are monster climbers but have a tendency to want to stall on downhills if the carb is not set up correctly. Has to do with the angle of the carb. From a riding point of view Betas are very stable bikes. They sort of feel like you are sitting in the bike as opposed to some other geometry where you feel on top of the bike. Hard to explain in a concise manner. You just have to ride a few. Engine wise Betas are somewhat schizophrenic. It seems that one year the factory wants a bike for experts, the next year for clubmen. Again you really need to ride a particular bike to get a feel for the motor in that particular bike. Betas have been traditionally rather front heavy. Again personal preference. Some people prefer the light front end of the GasGas but I find them tough to steer without washing out. Probably just means I've been on Betas too long to ride a GasGas. If you're buying a new bike they're all pretty damn good at this point but yeah they all have issues. GasGas gearboxes/starter gears, Ossa's hard starting, Honda/Montesa....Price. I have no knowledge of the Sherco problems and the JTG is also a mystery to me. If you are buying a used bike any one from a Senior rider who has more time and money to fettle than ride is always a good bet. A used expert's bike is, well, used.

I've had my 2013 pop out of second a few times. Put me down in the mud when it did. Now I follow the conventional wisdom and shift up to third first then down to second.

Yeah it sounds like you bought a former "expert" bike. They take a beating and it's common for newbies to buy from a top rider thinking the bike will be substantially better setup/maintained then they would be from the run-of-the-mill punters. Usually not the case if for no other reason than the impact loading of advanced maneuvers. Even with good maintenance trials bikes wear and all brands have specific foibles like the case corrosion. After 8 years almost any bike that's been ridden regularly will go through a set or two of fork seals and often wheel bearings especially if pressure cleaned. The broken radiator mounts says to me that frame has seen some hard service. The exhaust pushed into the back wheel happens so frequently nobody even notices. We just grab it and bend it back. Reeds don't usually wear, they may not sit flat but that's not really a problem as they are held closed by air pressure not the spring pressure of the reed material. There's no seal on the headstock. You need to open it up now and then and keep it packed with grease. Side stand and tensioner BROKEN OFF? That should have been a good indication of some ugly work by somebody. These are thoroughbreds and they need to be treated as such and even with extra care they will wear and they will break. The manufacturers have come out with heavier, more "reliable" models in the past and they didn't sell well so now they just give us bikes that push the envelope of performance far beyond the average rider's ability and we happily buy them.

Oh good point Billy about the carb touching something. Might also have something in the fuel system (fuel line) sitting up against hot engine/exhaust boiling fuel and pressurizing fuel line/tank side of the float valve.

On my 2013 there is just a short hose that tucks back under the plastic tank cover. Do you run some odd fuel that has an exceptionally low boiling point or some odd foaming characteristics? Does the bike run properly? Oh wait a minute, Aussie eh? There's your problem. You're upside down!

We need pictures.

Ok only two things I can think of here; 1. The hose on his cap is so long it ends below the tank level and acts like a siphon. The problem with this idea is it would only drain what was in the hose since the cap is above the fuel level. 2. Somehow engine heat is boiling his fuel. I've only ever seen this on a Bultaco with a fiberglass tank. Both of these are highly unlikely. More likely he has a bad weld or crack on the frame/tank and only thinks it's the fuel filler.

Excellent! At this point I'm curious if the mod has been done in any appreciable numbers to other brands of machines and if they have similar improvement.

Oh and bailing out when it gets dodgy is called wisdom.

HR don't be embarrassed. You have just tried a motor sport 99.999% of riders will never have the nerve to try. If you looked carefully at every other bike in the pits you would have seen they all have their scrapes. You will find a lot of riders encouraging you to ride better but that comes from the sincere desire to help you ride better. There is no judgment and no looking down on new riders. We were all new at one time and some of us are sliding backwards at a rapid rate. Trials is unique in that you are competing against yourself. It's every bit as much a thrill when you get over that 5" log that's been driving you crazy all day as it is for the expert to get up that 5' rock. Believe me we will cheer your success every bit as enthusiastically. Congratulations, you are now a trials rider. One of us! One of us! One of us!

Hey Cope that's cheaper than NASA getting their units wrong. Fortunately doesn't happen often.

Ugh, bolts, nuts... If it holds the head to the cylinder 15-16Nm

Cindy rulz, SHE RULZ!!!

Yeah this was actually a "Factory" bike so carb is set up properly. Full titanium vslve train and all. I was more looking to see if there were any blocked passages. Gotta go through ignition and compression check next. Just haven't got around to it yet. There has to be some obvious thing gone odd on it.

Welcome to the club.

Oh yeah, what I thought might be part of pilot circuit I finally sussed was just cover for TPS location. I never said I was smart. Only non-standard jet was a 100 air jet instead of stock 60.

Not as yet. Not really convinced it's carb but it was the easiest place to look first. Going to check compression and try to test ignition.

I think the original adhesive is "hot" glue and yeah mine popped too. I reglued them with a hot glue gun.

Gaernes are very close to your actual shoe size. Unlike some other manufacturers.

Yeah after a few years with Diadora boots I'm back to Gaerne and happy as they are soooo comfy. I think Billy had it right with build up of oil in the crankcase. It's not uncommon for even a new bike to smoke out on the trail after plonking about in the woods and at 50:1 I would imagine it was pretty bad. If I remember the '92 flattened out pretty early. You can't ride 'em like enduro bikes. You get the best by short shifting and staying in the meat of the torque curve.

50:1 is pretty rich for a water cooled trials bike. I typically run no more than 80:1