hario

Would that be a specific 10w40? I read somewhere that synthetic was a no no, would normal car mineral oil be ok or are they likely to have an additive like moly in them?

The fan at least works as it should! I ordered the parts for the pump today, so should get the engine back together later this week. Hopefully that will be the end of it. As for the aluminum paste in the engine, i think i will try running dexron II, buy a big cheap container of it and change it after every decent ride for a while.

the coolant level seemed fine when i drained it, so i guess it didn't boil. I really haven't ridden it much myself, so hopefully the previous owner didn't ride it in this condition too much either. I think i will replace the gear, as you suggest, and see how it behaves. I may end up selling the pampera before too long anyhow, in order to finance a true trials bike, so i don't want to spend a ton of money i won't get back. Having said that, Im also not going to sell on a bike im not confident is 100% reliable

Thought i would post an update on this.... Being a bit of a bike maintenance looney, i decided to change the water pump seal for good measure, and found the water pump gear looked like this: So i guess that hasn't done its job for a while :/ Not surprisingly i also found a nice aluminium paste, presumably the product of the clutches impromptu machining of the clutch cover: So i guess im now looking at an engine rebuild, just to clean out the ally residue if nothing else :S Am i being a bit overboard? perhaps i should just replace the water pump gear and bearing? This strikes me as a pretty simple engine to strip and rebuild, but im a little concerned about the cost of all the parts from GG, does anyone of a maker of a complete gasket kit for this engine? Also, is there anything to look out for, particularly given that it should have been overheating? Thanks!

I think you might be right, unfortunately i didn't think to check the hub for any freeplay when i was in there. It must be either the basket wandering out or the bolts being taller that stock. Of course its possible that this problem occurred earlier in the bikes life, and has already been sorted but without replacing the damaged cover. That gouge is very deep though, its nearly through the case completely. Thanks for your thoughts on this, I will let you all know what it turns out to be. I think I have everything i need to fix it now, except the time

Thanks for the tip, is the top hat bush you're referring too the one in the center of the clutch basket, visible in the second pic of my original post? I thought i saw something along those lines mentioned somewhere, this clutch is probably just worn out then. Thanks for the link, that's great info to have

Thank you John, i really appreciate the help

I think my springs and fibre plates are in spec, but i did look at the clutch about a fortnight ago so i might recheck to be sure. I can't find a figure for the total pack height, despite them showing it being measured in the manual I'm certain the lever free-play is good, as i spent an age bleeding the clutch and chasing air bubbles out of the lines, but i had no idea there needed to be play between the slave and pushrod, how do you set that up? i assumed it would sort itself out like a brake piston. I did inspect the pushrod and check the ball bearing was still in there, so i may have upset something then. The only thing the PO mentioned about the bikes' history was that he fitted a new clutch slave after a thrown chain killed his last one, so he may have set things up wrong also, perhaps that even caused the clutch cover damage. While im in there i will look at the clutch basket and check it doesn't have any free play, and perhaps remove and refit it just to be sure. As i have a shiney new cover i will try to test fit that and see if it seems to contact those bolts. As a side note, i bought some dexron 2 to try in the engine, is that stuff ok in the older GG engines? most info i see is for the pro models. Thanks

Hi all, Im hoping for a little advice on the clutch in a gasgas pampera 250 i recently bought. When first going over the bike before riding it i had some issues getting the clutch system bled correctly and took the clutch cover off to check it was actuating well, and found the inside clutch cover was being eaten away by the bolts on the clutch basket: I took the plates out too, to look for any metal remains but they seem fine. I did notice that the plates were arranged oddly though; there were two fibre plates together at the end of the stack, plus the bottom plate (fibre one side, steel the other) was arranged fibre on fibre, with the steel facing the back of the basket. I rearanged the plates in a standard order, flipped the bottom plate over and put the others all fibre to steel. However on the pamps maiden trail ride the clutch seems to slip and generally be a bit gutless. The bike seems to jump into nuetral too, but that might be my big feet catching the lever. Is my reangement of the clutch plates a possible cause for the slippage? I refilled the bike with Motul Transoil 10w30 (650ml) which should be fine? I was thinking the cover damage might simply be down to the PO using the wrong bolt size? do these look right: GasGas apparently don't supply the bolts and washers anymore :/ Any advice on how to proceed with this would be very gratefully recieved! Thanks, Hario

I know the pamp is a very popular LDT bike, i was hoping that with trials tires and with its trials engine it would be accepted into "proper" beginner trials events as a trials bike. I know i would be at a competative disadvantage with the extra 20 or 30kgs but competing isnt a major aim for me right now. I suppose the thing to do is just ask the organising clubs, im probably not the first. Thanks for the heads up on the 20th jfc, i think i will drop by and watch to get a feel for things.

Thanks for pointing me toward West Of England MC, i will have a look at their events. Do you think my Pampera is up to the task, and would be allowed at events? Its not strictly speaking a trials bike. Also i was wondering is it generally prudent to spectate at a couple of trials before entering one, or should i just go for it? Thanks

Hi all, Ive been visiting these forums for information for years, and thought i should finally sign up! I live in Devon, England, and have been trail riding for years. I find myself enjoying the more technical riding more and more these days and so have decided to try and get into trials riding. I use a Suzuki DR350 for trail riding and have had it for about 5 years now, but recently picked up a MK3 Gas Gas Pampera 250 im fixing up in the hope of using it for trail riding, starting out in long distance trials and hopefully beginner trials too. Thanks, Hario