trapezeartist

I use a Citroen Berlingo which is basically the same car as a Doblo. No wheelchair conversion. The bike goes in nicely with the back seats removed.

Great disappointment at today’s trial: the drag is back! After the first few sections I realised I had two bite points. One with the lever against the grip and one with my finger at nearly full stretch. After waiting to go into a section, first application of the clutch was the former. Any further slipping of the clutch and it was the latter. Next section: back to square one. For this trial I developed a technique of pausing and slipping the clutch just before the Begins card, so I could get the consistent full-stretch bite point all through the section. This was much better but it’s still far from ideal. I’m still scratching my head about what to do next. Another change of oil? Aftermarket clutch plates?

Exactly like mine then, Dan. My stand was a bit wobbly. When I took off the swinging arm and then removed the stand, one of the helicoils had partly come out so was preventing the stand seating properly. My local mechanic tried to replace the helicoil but the new coil wouldn’t go in properly. I drilled through the swinging arm and used a M8 nut and bolt.

Agreed. The long side has the ball-end on it so you end up having to apply torque with the short side (by bodging on a bit of tube, or mole grips, or something). Not nice. Dan, did you find the threads had helicoils in them? I'm not sure if Beta put them in as standard, or whether mine has already been repaired before I got it.

I can’t disagree with that. I had to do the job on the bench with the swinging arm removed. And checking the fixings is one of the items on the Beta UK SSDT preparation list. It might be possible to access them with a T-handle allen key, but I don’t have one the right size.

The previous owner seemed to have something of a passion for ground clearance.?

The 3mm washer worked perfectly and I now have play-free steering.

I couldn’t get hold of any Nanotrans locally so I put in some 10W40 motorcycle gearbox oil blended with 20% ATF. It worked a treat and the clutch is much better. Btw, I noticed on a Jim Snell video that he advises avoiding synthetic oils in the gearbox as they are too “clingy” and cause clutch drag. It seems a reasonable hypothesis.

Seems a bit harsh, Dan. I would agree it’s a bit agricultural, but it works. I’ve just had to rework mine a bit. It moved about slightly on the swinging arm. When I took it all off I found a loose helicoil on one of the fixings. (Do Beta fit helicoils as standard or has mine already had a repair?) We couldn’t get a new helicoil to go in right so I drilled through and used a nut and bolt.

The new bearings are in ?. Using a big bolt and various combinations of sockets and washers to make an insertion tool. I followed pindie’s advice with the copper slip grease. It took a pretty heavy force on the spanner to work them in. It’s much easier on insertion though because the bearings are pushed in one at a time from each side. Attempting to push them out requires both bearings to be moved at once.

Success this evening.? An hour and a half working away withe dremel and they’re out. It sorely depleted my stock of carborundum points though, and I was in danger of running out before finishing the job. Now I’m worrying about putting the new ones in. The old ones were not corroded into the arm as I expected so there’s not much reason why the forces should be any different. And brutality is not an option with the new ones.

I tried that last night, without success ☹️. I used sockets and one of the bolts from the linkage. The bolt was M10 which is the biggest which will go through a half-inch socket and wound it all up as tight as I could. It didn't even look like moving. It will need properly turned-up rings and a bigger bolt if this method is to work at all. Or a hydraulic press.

If you think starting in gear with the clutch pulled in is dangerous, it might be best to keep away from motorbikes altogether. They’re dangerous. I would think Beta spec the clutch pack for the most aggressive rider they can imagine (probably the works riders). For someone who goes at things more gently, I can well imagine that one or two thinner clutch plates would be helpful. I’m having a few issues with my clutch (250 2T). I’m hoping to find a solution by changing gearbox oil but I’m keeping the “thin plates” option up my sleeve in case I need it (and in case it works).

I spent some time this afternoon knocking seven bells out of them with a socket on the top. Cold, that achieved nothing. I have an electric paint stripper but I’d be reluctant to give it too much heat as it may ruin the powder coating. My bench vice went to meet it’s maker after being used too many times as a press, so I think I’ll take the swinging arm to someone with a proper press, who can also push in the new ones.

Any tips for removing seized swinging arm bearings? And putting in the new ones? I managed to remove the top hat inner races after a struggle but the seals and the outer races are still firmly in place. I would like to avoid the use of a hacksaw if possible.

I took the cover off tonight and tried to measure the release movement. I couldn’t really get a good place to get my depth gauge in, but full movement appeared to be about 1mm. The more I think about it, the more it seems like oil drag on the plates is the root cause, followed by over-adjustment to try to compensate. So I need to try a different oil. Probably something nice and thin. Is ATF really going to give an on-off feel?

I pulled it all apart again this evening and confirmed that the nut was bottoming on the thread. I forgot dabba’s Beta part so I’ve ordered a couple of ordinary M20 washers on flea bay. They will be 3mm thick which is a bit OTT but I’ll give it a go.

Why has she got a fire extinguisher strapped to her bike?

I completed another trial today but was frustrated by the continuing clutch issue. As before, it drags a bit when pulled right in, yet needs to be released right out to bite properly. It’s not conducive to fine clutch-slipping control on tight turns. I have a few ideas but no clear hypothesis on why any of them should work. It will be just stabbing in the dark. Add a shim to the thrust bearing. I don’t understand what this does but lineaway seems happy with it. Change to a different oil. I currently use Castrol 10W40 motorcycle gearbox oil. I might try ATF next as it’s a cheaper experiment than putting in Nanotrans. Swap one or both thick plates to thin ones. Hopefully this would reduce the clamping force and get rid of the drag. Then I could adjust the lever the get a nice engagement point.

Not tightening against the outer (that would generate noise and friction), but yes there probably is a spacer missing. Yes. The std Beta and Top Team designs seem a bit different, but I think I could find a home for a washer like you suggest that might work. I’ll have a rootle around in my fixings box to see if I’ve got a suitable washer. If not, I’ll try to get that part no from Beta UK.

The sum of the teeth on each pair of gears should be the same. 46 in this case.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I can see the movement at the top bearing. I woke up early this morning thinking about the problem. I'm wondering now if the thread on the spindle is too short, so tightening the adjusting nut is just tightening against the end of the thread instead of against the bearings. It would explain why the steering doesn't really bind up even when it is tightened hard. If that's the case I imagine I'll have to remove the spindle from the bottom clamp (I don't know how it's fixed there) and pack it with a washer or two. I won't have time to dismantle it all again now before the weekend so I'll ride it as is on Sunday and take another look next week. BTW Dan, there is no pinch bolt on the top triple. It's sandwiched between the adjusting nut and the top nut. It is a pretty good fit and I don't think that's likely to move.

There has been a bit of movement on the steering head ever since I got this bike, so this week I decided to do something about it. Being taper roller bearings, I expected it to be just a matter of adjustment. I took it all apart and cleaned the bearings. The roller races felt good and the bearing surfaces looked nice. I re-greased and started to re-assemble. I have the Top Team triple clamps and spindle, which may be slightly different to standard. Having got it all back together I dropped it on the ground and checked it: worse than before!? Blaming myself, I took off the handlebars and loosened the top clamp again. I was able to get a bit more movement on the adjusting nut (the one that is tightened with a C spanner) and then re-assembled. Still sloppy. I went through this a couple of times more with increasing frustration so finally decided to really tighten the bearing. So I wound the adjusting nut down hard and then eased it back a touch. I checked the steering wasn’t tight and then re-assembled yet again. With the bike back on the ground I found there is still play! What am I doing wrong? When I pull the front brake on and push forward on the handlebars I can here and feel the movement. Looking at the area of the top bearing, there seems to be 1mm+ of radial movement. Grrrrrrr!

My 2014 250 has a weight on the ignition. Overall the engine has an awful lot of inertia: revs are very slow to drop away and up changes are very ponderous. But the throttle response is sharp without being insane, so it can’t be bad.

Any idea what the Japanese mechanic was doing when operating the clutch lever against the Allen key? Feeling for free play? I’ll look forward to your report after full testing of the 0.5mm shim, lineaway.