jse

It's the type of oil that matters, not the changing. Type-F ATF seems to work better in the 06' Jon

You will need to pull everything completely apart (and I mean EVERYTHING), from what you describe. The initial failed part may have caused damage to other parts and you won't know until you carefully inspect all the parts. If you overlook or assume a part, bushing or bearing is o.k. you may just have problems later, and don't forget that tranny oil also lubricates the crank bearings. Before that big marble of metal stuck to the drainplug magnet, it was circulated throughout the engine. You'll need to get a Gas Gas specific flywheel puller. It looks like a regular Japanese puller will fit as it is the same size and thread pitch, but the GG takes a right-hard thread and not the standard left-hand thread. Jon

Copey, You must mean Dave Yonce. He rode the bike this weekend in the amateur class at the 2-day Sooner Cup Trial. I was VERY impressed with how the bike worked. It's a little disconcerting for us checkers as we have to look for him at the start of our sections as there are no engine sounds that alert us. It had no trouble with the obstacles and the conditions were creek water, mud, slime, grippy rocks, glassy mossy rocks, lots of off-cambers and boulders etc. He's still tweeking the controls to get the right "feel" but from what I saw, the bike is competitive with anything out there, at least in the low and mid classes (no testing yet in the Master class). Dale has been following it's development closely. Considering it is still in the development stage, it's a pretty cool bike (and you can practice indoors all Winter and not gas yourself to death). Jon

Depending on the age of your bike, you'll probably want to replace the rim seal. The newer seals are better and have an integrated stem rather than the old two piece ones. Jon

Some Silicone seal in the joints between the fender and airbox helps. Look carefully at all the places where water and grit can travel to the intake. Make sure the lower vent allows water to drain out. For a front intake airbox, like the Pro, a simple plate between the frame tubes works wonders to keep splash from traveling over the engine and into the air intake. Also, make sure the airbox seams are sealed and any sealing gasket is intact. Jon

I'll be down at the Sooner Cup Copey, com'on down (actually "up"). I need somebody to argue with. Everybody else wants to be too nice to me....... Jon

This is really the only way to do it easily. A 15 year old frame will have some misalignment normally. All bolts, sump guard especially (they elongate with rocks and time), should be just slid in for initial alignment. Sometimes the bike can be supported so no weight is on the back and if the swingarm pivot is hollow a thin tapered drift can be used to help the end slide into the recess. On some bikes, you'll want to only install the swingarm pivot first (all other bolts out), then the front and lower mounts. This allows the engine to tilt upwards a little if the fan needs to be installed later. Jon

Let us know what you find. Jon

If the weld broke loose, you would not be able to engage any gears, so I doubt that is the problem. I'd try adjusting the "centering spring" (it's part of the tophat assembly) and see if that solves the problem. Jon

I'm not sure they may be related. What are the exact symptoms and under what conditions? Jon

It appears to be a simple Schrader valve in the top cap and we tried this system many years ago. A company called Goki also had a tube that connected the top caps together to equalize pressure between the two forks. The problem lies in the fact that the air heats up in use and exerts greater pressure, however, the fork damping fluid also loses viscosity with temp rise. The decreased fluid viscosity coupled with the greater spring/air rate causes a loss of damping control in fork action. We found that the correct spring/preload combination along with the correct fluid quality/viscosity rating (and zero air pressure at full extention) gave the best results under most conditions throughout the whole Trial. I've often thought about developing a Silicone based fork fluid as I understand that Silicone, unlike regular fork fluids, thickens with temp rise and that's why it is used in automotive cooling fan "clutches". I'm guessing that the Silicone fluid, however, would make setting the damping a little difficult as it is slightly compressable (and why DOT-5 Silicone is not used in racing brake systems as it makes for a "spongy" brake pedal). Jon

I just did a temporary fix for this problem (until his new seat unit arrives) for a clubmember two days ago. I sealed the seat to the lower base with a generous application of Silicone and let it set up for a day. An issue you might want to check is your shock preload if the damage was not caused by a strong hit to the side. Our rider's shock retaining collar had backed off enough that the back tire slammed up against the rear of the box on a big drop-off. Jon

This must be a joke, I'm sure. The idea of restricting a rider's choice of powerplants in motorsports competition seems to fly in the face of our flag-waving, I'm-more-freedom-loving-than-you, too much is not enough U.S. heritage we seem to joyfully profess to pursue. I'm old enough to remember the cry to restrict two-strokes in the 50s and 60s so maybe this is just completeing the circle, yet again. Not sure about the FI thing, though, as a direct FI two-stroke is classified s a low-emissions engine under the stringent California standard. I'm an old dragracer, I say we ban gasoline and run everything on Nitromethane..... Jon

Here's an 02", they should be the same. Jon

That should do it. Just be careful as the axle is aluminum. It's kind of a weird size, just slightly smaller than a 16mm Allen socket. If you run into unusual Allens like this one, you can make an "emergency" Allen wrench by fitting a nut that just fits into the Allen hole with a short piece of fuel line so that it will slightly protrude from a socket. That will get you by until you get the correct one. Jon

Sounds like the previous owner was not a believer in torque wrenches. Depending on the quality of the repair, you may want to re-insert a new coil and invest in new capscrews that don't have worn threads. Jon

Mike, As I remember, most of us ran a one tooth smaller countershaft sprocket in the older bikes also, just like the Pro models. Jon

Cut off and dress about 5mm from the end of your old Allen wrenches and you will probably not strip any more. Jon

I measured mine (without taking the wheel off) and I think that 25mm should do. The axle step bottoms on the spacer and pushes it in so the length does not have to be perfect. I machine my own and cut an o-ring groove on the spacer where it fits into the drum and use an o-ring to keep grit out of the bearing area. Jon

Like Mike has researched, it's probably an 03'. Usually the relative cc's (in general) are cast on the cylinder on a small circle, left side I think, such as "30"=300 model, "28"-280 model, "25"=250 model etc. Not always a perfect indicater, however, and "370cc" was cast into the cylinder of my 96' JTR370, but it was actually a 338cc capacity. I'm guessing the prototype was 370cc's but proved to be too much of a handful, but they kept the cylinder casting assembly for production use. Jon

That's what I get also. Interesting that a 2002 model was built in November of 02', which seems kind of late in the model year when you think they would be gearing up for the 03' bikes. The 200's were around 175cc's from what I remember. I don't see an 02' 200 listed in any of my references and thought only the 250 and 280s were out that year (I have an 02' 280). See, ya learn something every day.... Interestingly enough, the 02' Pros were called the "TXXI" model for a short time. Jon ps. I have an idea that may or may not help. Check in the airbox and if there is a clear plastic flap that fits above/over the air filter (like all the newer models) it's possibly an 03' on up. The 02' models did not come with that flap, which made them prone to ingesting water thrown up from the front tire into the filter. Then again, small factories like Gas Gas, unlike say Honda which will crank out thousands of bikes in a short time, often incorporate updates into the assembly line as soon as they develop them.

I'll need all the numbers after "VTRGG". "BT280212002" is just the part number for the swingarm and is used on various models. Jon

If stevieb can post the frame number (or PM me if he does not wish it public) I'll decode it for him. Jon

Good to know, thanks! Jon

Frame numbers are the best way to determine origin. A quick way to spot models by how they look: http://www.gasgasmotos.es/en/previous-models.html . Jon Forgot to add: I don't think they made a 200 until 2004.