trapezeartist

Only 25 years!

I spent a bit of time working on the new bike this weekend and finished with a generous spray of silicone everywhere (except the tyres and brakes 😁 ). It is GLEAMING!

1. Chain tensioner. I phoned Inch Perfect for advice on this. Apparently there's a special tool (not surprised) but it can just about be done without. With the aid of a couple of lumps of wood, a Workmates and a trolley jack I managed to get the tensioner on with the hook end not hooked around the tensioner arm. Then the final easy bit (well, easier) was to pull the hook onto the arm with a spring hook. I think I may get the special tool before next time! 2. I was just being a bit thick. The drain plug and sight glass are on the inside of the case facing the right hand side of the bike. Access isn't great and it would be messy to drain the oil with the bash plate in place so I took that off. Putting it back is a bit fiddly because all four fixing points rely on loose nuts, but on the positive side the sight glass is very readable, unlike my old Beta where I was reduced to just using it as a level plug. Given the simplicity of an electric bike, I was surprised to find it's not as easy to work on as I expected. No doubt I'll find all the shortcuts in time though. I hope this helps any other new EM owners who might be caught out like I was.

I've just bought a slightly secondhand Epure Race. First ride yesterday and I absolutely loved it. It's the Mutt's nuts, the dog's danglies, the canine's gonads, and every other euphemism you can think of. I'm now just starting on working through everything, cleaning, adjusting and learning, so I have a couple of questions to start off with: Does anyone have a clever way of refitting the chain tensioner? It came off with a mighty ping and looks like it will be a swine to get back on. Where is the oil drain plug and level window? So far I've only found the filler. Thanks.

As it happens I'm using GT85 instead of WD40 at the moment (because they were selling it cheap in Aldi!). Perhaps I'll stick with it. And silicone spray is already on my shopping list. Thanks.

It has been my habit to use WD40 to finish cleaning my bike. So I wash it, dry it, then go over everything with a light spray of WD40 and absorbent paper. It certainly takes off the last film of grime nicely, but I’m beginning to suspect it of slowly making the paint and stickers lose their gloss. Could I be right? How do others get a nice finish? I’ve just got a new bike so would like to start off doing it right.

Problemas?

Everything I see and read tells me that the current model is fully competitive. I’m less convinced about 2/3 year-old models but I don’t have enough information to be definitive. I have no idea about future values. If I could predict future values of anything I’d be a lot richer than I am.😀

Ouch, that looks nasty. I'm guessing it's just the lighting that makes it look like brass (unless someone has invented magnetic brass 😀 ). Presumably the oil is lubricating the clutch and whatever reduction gears link the motor to the drive sprocket. As you're not clonking gears in and out I would expect negligible swarf, much less than a conventional gearbox.

That's the way I saw it too. But a 0.25mm shim has improved my clutch.

I can't disagree there. +1 for Mechanix gloves. (I also used to find €1 gardening gloves were better for sailing than the pukka £25+ jobbies.) I'm inclined to disagree with turbofurball re trousers. In my view jeans aren't stretchy enough (even "stretch" ones) and properly designed trials trousers are much better. But watch out for the sizing! Reason 1: Cost Reason 2: Conservatism Reason 3: It's new technology and advancing quickly. A 2 year-old electric bike won't be nearly as good as a new one. Whereas a 10 year-old petrol bike in good condition is just as good as a new one. I envy you. If I could justify £8k for a bike I'd definitely be following your path. It is the future.

Sorry about that! I was cleaning my keyboard.🙄

90-] \qw=[]p0oqw

How is the clutch with that? I had horrendous cold stick on my 4T but I couldn’t use Nanotrans or any similar oil because the engine and gearbox share the same oil.

Well look at what a rugby player wears and compare that with an American footballer. ? Like most people, I don’t wear protection, other than boots, helmet and gloves. A don’t-fall-on-rocks device seems a handy idea, along with don’t-fall-in-the-mud, don’t-fall-on-tree-stumps and don’t-fall-in-a-stream devices. Actually I’m working on a universal don’t-fall-off device at the moment, but it does seem to need quite a lot more development! ?

Wife: If I died, would you get married again? Husband: Well yes. I couldn’t just stay lonely for the rest of my life. Wife: And would you bring your new wife into our bed? Husband: Yes. It’s a very comfortable bed. Wife: And would she get to drive my car? Husband: Well yes. It’s nearly new so it would be crazy to get rid of it. Wife: And would she get to play with my golf clubs? Husband: No, no point. She’s left-handed. OH ****!!!!

I use the clutch for every gear change on my 250 Evo with flywheel weight. Unlike just about everything else I’ve ever driven or ridden, up-changes are more clunky than down-changes. The heavy flywheel means that the bike slows down faster than the engine on up-changes, so the speeds never synchronise. I find it best to try to change up when going downhill and never when going up. In contrast, a little blip of throttle while changing down makes them silky smooth (well, fairly smooth). Now someone will come along and tell me I’m doing it all wrong.?

I find seeing anything in the sight glass about as easy as a splatter up a 6 foot step. So I use it as a level plug instead. When the first sign of all dribbling out appears, I stop filling and pop the glass back in.

With any other company I’d put it down to Covid and accept it. Unfortunately with Jotagas, I wonder if that’s an excuse for something else. (I take no pleasure in saying that because I would love to see them succeed. I get lustful feelings every time I see one.)

Black gunk dripping definitely sounds like the exhaust. Re your clutch cover, try putting it on dry, do the bolts finger-tight and then poke all around the edge with a feeler gauge. You may find a place where there is a gap due to something being distorted.

Interesting thought. Looking on dealer websites, all the photos show red springs for the heavy-duty version. Mine is black. It’s hardly definitive but it starts to look like I might have standard rate. Thanks.

Is there any way of identifying which rear spring I have in my 2014 250 Evo? I suspect the previous owner may have been a little large and fitted a heavier spring. I've just taken it off, expecting to find a part number or code on one of the ground ends, or perhaps some coloured paint dabs. But there is nothing! It has four and a half active coils and the wire gauge is about 9.5mm (ranges from 9.3 to 9.8 depending on where I measure).

According to the owner's manual, Beta recommend an oil change every 40 hours. Presumably other manufacturers say something similar. It looks like most of you guys think they are wrong.

Judging by the comments on numerous posts in this forum, there are widely varying ideas of how often gearbox oil should be changed. That's also reflected in many adverts for secondhand bikes. So I thought I would try to get a better handle on the subject: How often do you change your gearbox oil? What is the reason for choosing that interval? Which oil do you use?

I agree with your analysis, but that is about the cost to the restorer. Prices reflect the value. Asking prices are the perceived value to the seller. Selling prices are somewhere around the market value, and are what was acceptable to both seller and buyer. I suppose what I called "inflated prices" reflect the fact that I don't agree with the perceived value of the seller. If someone buys at that price, I'm out of step with the market. If not, the seller is out of step.