trapezeartist

"Does" in my case.

Although I don't know the ins and outs of a Beta 2 stroke, I'd be confident there is nothing to be scared of in the clutch. You could drain the clutch and work upright or leave the oil and lay the bike over. It depends on your workshop and which is easier for you. I think you'll probably find an O ring under the cover rather than a paper gasket. Once you're in, it will be a simple task to undo all the clutch springs and then lift off the pressure plate and friction plates. When I had a Beta 4 stroke I had the clutch in bits three times trying to reduce the cold stick. The "clutch fix" did nothing for me, though my bike was newer so you might get more benefit. The only thing that helped a little bit was to rough up the steel plates with emery and to clean off the surfaces of the fibre plates with fine wet'n'dry. Overall it was several hours out of my life for little benefit. Consider whether you can just learn to live with cold stick. When it's liable to happen (first start after standing for a while), you just need to put the front wheel against something solid, pull in the clutch and engage second gear. That should clear it, even if you have to crack open the throttle slightly and bump your backside down on the seat. After clearing, it should remain good all day.

Tyres are tyres, so the bike is irrelevant and your level of experience is almost irrelevant. I'll stick my neck out and say that the choice of Michelin/Dunlop/IRC doesn't matter at your level, but the Pirelli is definitely a step down (but cheaper). I would guess that a secondhand tyre will cost next-to-nothing (I have a Michelin X-Light rear in my garage that you can have for a tenner) but how it will compare with a new Pirelli is beyond my experience.

Irrigation machine? That sounds more like an water-cooled bike with a bad water leak.

Having gone back to the original post, it's very clear from photo 4 that the bakrak is not performing as it should. The flange should be vertical in side-view and it's not. The bakrak has rotated backwards on the ball, either because it hasn't been fitted right or because it is simply not capable of clamping tight enough to resist the moment of the bike rack. Whether the Dave Cooper bike rack is a suitable device is a separate issue. Personally, I think not, but it certainly is not deserving of the rant that has been directed at it.

I can't see exactly what is going on inside that Bakrak thingie, but it just seems a triumph of optimism over reality to think that anything is going to attach to a ball and then provide a stable support of an offset load of 80 or 90kg. Is the Bakrak intended for pushbikes? Although the Dave Cooper rack is ingenious and a lot of people have covered a lot of miles with them, I still find it unduly flexible and decided against it for myself.

Hands up anyone who hasn't made that mistake at some time.

Welcome. Where are you riding?

I don't expect anyone to do anything, but I think it would be helpful if the facility was there. I fully intend to talk to the clubs whose trials I ride in, and I'll give what help I can. Before doing that directly, I thought I'd post on here to get the opinions of others. With one exception, they seem to be favourable to the idea so I'll press ahead. It's also notable that the contributions from posters in other countries suggest that we are way behind on this topic in the UK.

Why would someone take two days out of their life every three years to train, and then not assist someone who needed it?

I'm not suggesting an ambulance, and as has already been said there has never been a case of a successful prosecution or claim against a first-aider who was trying to help a casualty. I don't believe my suggestions would push up entry fees, though personally I wouldn't mind a small increase to cover the sort of things I was suggesting. In the last three weeks I've attended to two people with suspected heart attacks (who I just happened to come across in the course of normal life). In the last six months I've attended to two injuries at trials. This may or may not be typical, but it happened. I would love to see a defibrillator available at every event but they are expensive and require frequent maintenance if they are not a semi-fixed installation. If a club chooses to invest in one, that's great but I wouldn't suggest it should be mandatory. On the other hand a bag-valve-mask, a tourniquet and a few sterile dressings cost very little and can be administered by anyone with a standard first-aid-at-work qualification. It would be nice to add in oral and nasal airways but that may be a little dangerous as their use falls a little bit further up the scale. Most people have a first aid qualification because they want to help people. All I'm proposing is that trial organisers could readily help first-aiders to help anyone at a trial who needs attention, regardless of whether that's a cardiac arrest or just a nasty cut.

It's gratifying to know that our chosen sport is just about the safest motorsport there is. But nothing is totally safe, and medical events can happen anywhere (especially as many of us are no longer in the first flush of youth). I do think organising clubs could do a little more on this front. I know Golden Valley have a defibrillator that is placed at Section 1, but I only know that from the time I observed Section 1 for them. It has never been mentioned at signing-on or rider's briefing. At signing-on with another club, I saw what looked like an old tupperware box marked First Aid. So here are my suggestions for consideration: Each club should have a decent first-aid kit. They're not expensive. A defib would be nice, but they are expensive. Riders and observers who are qualified first-aiders or above should be invited to sign-on as such. To be called on if the need arises. Signed-on first-aiders to wear a coloured sash so they can be easily identified. Riders briefing to include a reminder about first-aiders and the location of first-aid equipment.

A Methodist lady from the Yorkshire Dales went to the stone mason's to have made a head-stone for her recently-departed husband's grave. After choosing the stone, size, style and name/date details she asked the mason to include the inscription, "He was Thine". They agreed a price, which was considerable because of the quality and size, and the inscribing work. Some weeks later the mason telephoned her to say the headstone had been completed and erected over her husband's grave as instructed. The next day she visited the grave, taking a bunch of her late-husband's favourite Spring flowers, daffodils, to place on the new grave. The headstone looked magnificent; tall, robust, highly-polished and beautifully inscribed with his name, dates of birth and passing and at the bottom the inscription she asked for. "He was Thin". She was horrified and so disappointed. She went straight to the mason's to complain. "You must put it right immediately and not charge me for it. You missed off the e." A week later, on being informed by the mason that he had re-inscribed the stone she visited once again, there to read the correction:- "Eee, He was Thin."

Just to prove they've made more than one. I love the look and the engineering detail on the Jotagas, and nearly bought one last year. In the end I was put off by stories of the strange attitude of the company. It's a pity, and now even if they sort themselves out they've got an uphill struggle to convince people they have. I wish them well.

Greeves deserved more success with that, after finally ditching Villiers and the RSJ.

Punter to Glasgow prostitute---"What protection do we use?" Prostitute------"The bus shelter."

A 65 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she had a near death experience.. Seeing God, she asked "Is my time up?" God said, "No, you have another 33 years, 2 months and 8 days to live." Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck. She even had someone come in and change her hair color and brighten her teeth! Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it. After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance. Arriving in front of God, she demanded, "I thought you said I had another 33 years? Why didn't you pull me from out of the path of the ambulance?" God replied : "I didn't recognize you!"

Without wishing to psss on your parade, do check the manufacturers recommended trailer nose load. You're going to be hanging bike+rack on there. Probably 100kg, maybe a touch more with fuel and mud. Although many people use DC racks, I suspect most of them are a little bit over the vehicle manufacturers approved weight, unless they drive a Land Rover.

Nice curtains you have in your garage!

The Nigerian World Cup squad were so disappointed with their performance in Russia they have promised to personally refund all the fans who travelled to support them. All the fans need to do is send their bank sort code, account number and PINs, and they will transfer the money directly.

A man went to a private doctor on account of his rather diminutive 'old chap'. The good doctor agreed to an enlargement operation, but had these words of caution... "We can help you sir. We charge £1000 per inch, but don't go crazy. Some women don't appreciate the overly well-endowed man, it can get a little painful." "If I were you, sir," he said, "I would have a discussion with your wife about it, and come back next week" At the appointment next week the doctor asked the man, "So, sir, did you discuss things with your wife?" "Yes I did, and we have come to a decision" "We're getting granite worktops".

I asked my girlfriend to get me a newspaper. "Don't be silly," she replied, "you can use my iPad." That fly never knew what hit it..!

Cold stick is a pain, but not the end of the world. If rocking it in gear with the engine off doesn't clear it, put the front wheel against a wall. Run the engine, clutch in, knock it into second gear. It will probably just clear on it's own, but on my 4T it would just start turning the back wheel so I had to give it a sniff of throttle and bump my weight down on the bike. Done once, it was slightly draggy until the engine warmed up, then OK until it had stood for a few hours again.

Cold stick of the clutch is pretty normal on many trials bikes. As long as it clears quickly, it's not the biggest deal in the world. Try to free it off by putting it into gear and rocking to and fro before starting. If that doesn't work, put the front wheel against something when you first knock it into gear. Read the "clutch mod" thread in the Beta sub-forum.