dan williams

I can appreciate that. I've yet to fall off my Nikon.

Check your cooling system to make sure you're not low on fluid. Check to make sure you have the proper plug and have a look to see if it is hotter then it should be. Clean carb to eliminate dirt/water in jets. Check fan to make sure it is operating and radiator is unobstructed. By high octane petrol do you mean racing fuel or just pump gas. I've had batches of "premium" pump gas that were awful.

Always a concern that the previous "owner" obtained it in a somewhat less then sterling fashion. Which could lend you in trouble for receiving stolen property at the least.

What year Techno? Carb? Mikuni or Delorto. The iridium plug is a waste of money. They are meant for use in cars that go 100,000mi on a set of plugs because the iridium is extremely hard and doesn't erode from the spark. In a premix engine you'll have to change the plug long before there's any advantage.

Oh yeah and your flywheel holding tool.... brilliant mate.

Glad to hear it. The more screwy the problem the simpler the answer. Occam wins again.

I'm not sure the Beta and Sherco use the same clutch plates. Not really worth the risk. Call your local Beta dealer. If you're in the UK call Lampkins. spares@beta-uk.com Phone: 01535 655970 If you're looking for a single plate they might just have one laying about they can post to you. In the US call Commo. WINRCS1@AOL.COM Phone: 802-425-2081 Same thing. He might have one slightly used he can send you.

MSR Fuel bottles. They're made for camp stoves that use "white" gas. They are deep drawn aluminum and pretty tough.

Roger that! OK I'd say pull the clutch pack out again and look for contamination, debris between plates, plates assembled out of sequence (been there, done that) peeled up pads basically anything out of the ordinary. If the plate's moving 1 cm it's not the hydraulics and it should disengage properly. Spin the basket and center piece to make sure there's no eccentricity. Make sure all the nuts are still snug. Even if you find nothing's out of the ordinary there is no substitute for peace of mind.

On a bike that old you may need new components in the suspension. If things haven't been regularly greased things can start binding and no adjustment will fix it. Dropping the rear end to have a look-see may be your best option. With the wheel off and the shock disconnected the swingarm and linkages should move freely.

OK start with basics. With the engine off lay the bike over and pull the side cover off and actuate the clutch. That will show you if the pressure plate is moving from the start of the lever travel. If it is then it's not hydraulic. Don't panic. Bad decisions are made in panic. Trust me on this. Usually the more screwed up something seems the simpler the answer.

Well you won't "need" it but you'll want it. Don't worry Tim, we're not down on you. Those of us who've been long time customers and friends of the Commo clan are stinging a bit though. As a Beta rider since '89 I'm concerned about the GasGas tide that has washed over a traditionally heavy Beta market in New England. It's important to get the dealer network in place and make sure that info is available on the American Beta website. Right now it only shows dealers in four states. That's a big issue that you need to resolve muy pronto. Nothing makes riders more nervous then seeing their long time trusted dealers missing from the distributor's website.

The uneven wear is a little disturbing. Could be a worn bearing or wear in the rubber bushing under the basket. I just measured a new plate across the pads with a caliper and get 2.74mm average. The aluminum base plate measures 1.70mm.

Hmmm, if you did the fix as outlined including the polishing of the tabs and removal of the excess glue then the only thing I can think of is warped plates or a weak throw from the actuation mechanism. It is possible for an older bike to have damaged or worn the return spring in the master cylinder on the bars. That might cause it to not return all the way and properly refill the system with fluid. Another possibility is wear in the clutch basket fixing the plates under load not allowing them to properly come apart. You didn't by any chance lose the ball bearing at the end of the actuator rod when you reassembled the clutch. Can you describe the drag better? Does it always drag from the moment of pulling in the clutch? Does it change? i.e. while you're holding in the clutch does the drag get progressivly worse over time? You could have air in the hydraulics. That would effectively reduce the clutch throw because air is compressible while the hydraulic fluid isn't (well it is, but to a much lesser degree). What are you using for tranny fluid? Two years in on my 08 and it still has NO drag. Sometimes I forget that it's in gear. Very entertaining to my friends.

Yeah I'll admit I'm not happy either. The new importer will have to go a long way to impress me and putting the burden of national support on the local dealers is a bit too much like outsourcing. As for Ron Jr's riding experiance I can relate two stories about the respect he earned in the trials world: At the Canadian world round in Tweed Ontario I watched all the top US riders and most of the top European riders practicing the day before the event. There was a huge rock wall and the top guys were doing, the then, "new" technique of what is now called a splatter. After watching for a bit Ron rolled up to the wall and let fly. After a few tries he had it down. I noticed something curious then. Several of the world guys stopped what they were doing to watch Ron. I also noticed they didn't even glance at the other US riders. The other story is from the TdN in Belgium. It was extremely muddy and slippery. Ron was riding a Fantic and had made sure the other guys on Fantic were aware of a problem with the front caliper mounts breaking off the fork if they got loose. Sure enough on one bike the mounts broke. Ron finished the last couple of loops with his front caliper taped to the fork leg to keep it from falling into the spokes. Here's what really impressed me though. I was watching at a section which was a series of extremely steep serpentine climbs and drops when Ron rolled up to the start. Eddie LeJuene was walking the section and looked at Ron as he entered the section. Without saying a word Eddie casually walked over to the ribbon at the bottom of the first drop and backed up with his ankles against the tape giving Ron a critical couple of extra feet to stop at the bottom. After Ron turned and slingshotted up the next climb Eddie sauntered over to the next drop and did the same and again at the last drop. Once Ron had reached the exit at the top without a word Eddie walked over to his bike and prepared to ride the section. The LeJuene's are good people but make no mistake Eddie is a fierce competitor who during an event wasn't going to help the competition certainly at any risk to himself. That more then anything else showed me that even the top world guys had respect for Ron.

I think the relative weakness of the Euro vs the dollar has more to do with the prices coming down at this point. I can tell you the Commo's haven't been living the high life off profits from importing Betas. I think they made more money from the chainsaw business. Especially given the cost of supporting the frame/swingarm issues from the initial EVO production run. No profit there.

Make one of these to hold the flywheel for tightening. It's cheap and it works. Just be careful the bolts don't go too deep or you'll destroy your stator coils and the poor buggers are delicate enough as it is.

Sucks to be a spectator. Why bother going to an event where you may see the top guys ride maybe 20 minutes total for the entire day if you run like hell to the next section. A little more if two sections happen to be right next to each other. Without walking the sections they'll be even faster through. When are these guys going to realize one of the main things that keeps the sport interesting to spectators is the variety of seeing multiple sections. Reducing the number of loops and cutting time in the sections as well as reducing the time spectators can see the riders analyzing the sections have all made the live sport boring even to other trials riders. Welcome to the world of "short attention span" trials. I think it's time to stop worrying about the TV production logistics and start thinking about the what's important to the sport again.

My guess is the three plates change the total thickness of the clutch pack to accommodate a change in the throw of the actuator. The do look like there is a step in thickness between the fingers and friction surface. But that's just a guess. The anodized clutch basket may be a harder surface finish.

Got me.

http://www.betatrialuk.com/

It would help if we knew what country you're located in. Then we could point you to a dealer/importer.

Almost sounds like a bent tube or mis-alignment. Loosen the front end and make sure everything is aligned and working smooth before you re-tighten.

You can have one wound to fit. See here. http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/index....heavier+spring#

Do what I do. Take the prepaid reply envelope, seal it (or if you have the time pack it with material from other junk mail so it costs more. Just make sure your address isn't on any of it.) and send it back to them. If enough people did this they'd see a huge spike in the cost of direct mail and might back off a bit. Think of it as creating jobs opening the returned mail. I like to help the economy.