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I kinda figured that too. Keep up the good work Clive! Jon

You may have broken a shim or wave washer. Most cartridges come apart but you really need special tools to keep from damaging the tube, like machined blocks that grip the tube (so the endcaps can be unscrewed) but do not compress it inwards (which would cause piston seizure). Unless you have a suspension shop nearby, you may need to replace it. Be sure, however, to have someone who has some suspension experience check it out before you do anything rash. I'm assuming you properly bled the cartridge and then set the oil level correctly? Jon

Clive, which one are you? Jon

Wayne does a good job on those tips. You also might consider storing the bike with about 25-30 PSI in the tire as it tends to keep moisture (always present) out of the inside seal and bead contact areas. Most riders just store he bike with a few pounds of air in the tires. Jon

I think so also. It was listed as a 2004 Raga (a friend has one). A nice bike to ride. Jon

Try http://www.trialspartsusa.com/tech.html and you should be able to find what you need. Jon

I would think that unless your therapist recommended this as a long term project that will probably take more money to finish than you budgeted for, you might want to save for a complete bike. There are a multitude of parts that you will most likely need and have to find, the least of which is an engine (hopefully in good shape). Talk to some guys who restore classic bikes and although parts for the GG are easier to find, they will give you an idea of how the details of the process works and some things you may not be aware of but need to know ahead of time. If you like working on a project (has always been good therapy for me) and this would be a good way to at least be involved in the sport to start with, it might work for you. If you are getting the bike to be able to ride soon without spending much money, you might want to reconsider. Jon

I checked the swingarm bearings for the 2001 TXT "Edition" type model (older model) and the 2003 TXT Pro model (newer model) and the part numbers, "C100001", are the same so the bearings fit both the older and newer models around those years. I then took a 2004 model for comparison and the bearing part number was BT280212032, so there is a possibility they may be different. I say possibility in that sometimes the part number will be changed (updated) but the actual part is the same. Jon

Life in the Australian Army Dear Mum & Dad, I am well. Hope youse are too. Tell me big brothers Doug and Phil that the Army is better than workin' on the station - tell them to get in bloody quick smart before the jobs are all gone! I wuz a bit slow in settling down at first, because ya don't hafta get outta bed until 6am. But I like sleeping in now, cuz all ya gotta do before brekky is make ya bed and shine ya boots and clean ya uniform. No bloody horses to get in, no calves to feed, no troughs to clean - nothin'!! Ya haz gotta shower though, but its not so bad, coz there's lotsa hot water and even a light to see what ya doing! At brekky ya get cereal, fruit and eggs but there's no kangaroo steaks or goanna stew like wot Mum makes. You don't get fed again until noon and by that time all the city boys are buggered because we've been on a 'route march' - geez its only just like walking to the windmill in the bullock paddock!! This one will kill me brothers Doug and Phil with laughter. I keep getting medals for shootin' - dunno why. The bullseye is as big as a bloody dingo's a*** and it don't move and it's not firing back at ya like the Johnsons did when our big scrubber bull got into their prize cows before the Ekka last year! All ya gotta do is make yourself comfortable and hit the target - it's a piece of p***!! You don't even load your own cartridges, they comes in little boxes, and ya don't have to steady yourself against the rollbar of the roo shooting truck when you reload! Sometimes ya gotta wrestle with the city boys and I gotta be real careful coz they break easy - it's not like fighting with Doug and Phil and Jack and Boori and Steve and Muzza all at once like we do at home after the muster. Turns out I'm not a bad boxer either and it looks like I'm the best the platoon's got, and I've only been beaten by this one bloke from the Engineers - he's 6 foot 5 and 15 stone and three pick handles across the shoulders and as ya know I'm only 5 foot 7 and eight stone wringin' wet, but I fought him till the other blokes carried me off to the boozer. I can't complain about the Army - tell the boys to get in quick before word gets around how bloody good it is. Your loving daughter, Sheila

For some perverse reason, Charlie, I believe you... Here's a little "trick" I've used for decades to bend or straighten parts, from spokes, subframes to sump shields and beyond. Two Cresent wrenches work very well, just imagine the pipe as a spoke or any part you want to put a lot of torque on and be able to easily control how much you want to bend. Better than a rock..... Jon

The plastic screws are available at most auto supply stores as license plate screws. My favorite are the pins that hold the valances on Honda ATV fenders. You will need to enlarge the holes slightly but they hold the fender on well (I'm the only thing I tolerate flopping around on my bike) and pull out in a shunt. Jon

Me too. Except the bit about being wrong all my life, just some of the parts..... Jon

There also are some differences in the way the final muffler mounts to the mid-muffler through the 02'-08' years. Jon

I can't find that number in my parts lists, but it appears to be a chassis part rather than engine part (BT="Bastidor Trials", bastidor is Spanish for chassis or frame) and from a 2004 or newer model. Jon

The machined spigots do a good job of fixing this problem, which unfortunately has been going on for some time. Or, you could get a 2002 airbox boot, which only fits the Dellorto, quite well I might add. The boot was changed in 03' to allow the wider bell VHST to be used, hense the required adapter for the smaller bell PHBL. Jon

I usually put the axle through the hub/backing plate assembly, it makes it easier and sometimes has an effect on the contact patch. Jon

You have the right idea, to assume that everything is wrong with a used bike and start from the bottom up. The lever adjuster screw tightened up too far is the most common issue I've seen. I think it comes from riders unfamiliar with hydraulic systems thinking it works like a cable. The coolant will usually look fine as the coolant system is under pressure and the fluid goes one way. If the head o-ring was leaking, you might find oil in the coolant, but this appears to be a water pump problem. Another possibility, other than the water pump, is that the radiator cap overflow hose got crimped under the fuel tank, which will force fluid past the seal into the tranny. Springs in both the forks. Knobs are damping adjusters, one of left (black) is compression and one on the right (red) is rebound. The 03' forks seem to work well with the compression all the way out and rebound all the way in. Inquiring minds now know. Jon

That's why you have us....... There are some good videos on YouTube and TrialsPartsUSA websites on servicing the water pump. They are a little tricky, so check out the videos beforehand and you'll need to index the shaft to the primary gear during installation. You'll also probably need to replace the W/P shaft as the early ones wore a groove easily. Jon ps. No one knows about the lawnmower thingie except you and me. Oh, and maybe YouTube......

Ah, yes, Charlie, the truth finally comes out....Much like the Psychotherapist's Syndrome, where the patient, just leaving out the door after a session, calmly remarks to the therapist, "oh, and by the way, I killed my Mother last night and then had sex with my lawnmower. See ya!".... The waterpump problem needs to be fixed and then take on the clutch issue, which may involve replacing the clutch pack, which should be a "drop-in" job as they are pre-measured from the factory. Jon

Also on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yRm-PkPUT8 Jon

I heard that, Charlie.......No matter how hard you try, I'll always have 20 years on you.... Like an old buddy told me many years ago "Ya know Jon? Riding Trials is like smoking cigars or riding Ducati's, you may give them up for a while, but sooner or later, you'll be back". Welcome back. Jon, older but not always wiser....

Andy, I mailed your DVD a couple of days ago and included a machined 1/4" drive 7mm 12-point socket (an extra I had and I doubt you can find them close to where you live) to take the clutch apart. Most sockets have a rounded tip to make them slide on nuts easily but with the 10 very short 12-point GG capscrews that hold the spring in, the radiused tip makes the socket pop off often. A couple of seconds with a lathe squares off the tip nicely and prevents that. Be sure to order a sicecover gasket before you check the clutch. Sometimes the gasket is re-usable, but must often it tears and you'll want to have an extra one handy. You might want to take the clutch lever off and press on the plunger that goes into the master cylinder to try to feel when it starts to build pressure. If it travels more than a few mm's before pressure starts to build, you mave have a worn (actually tapered) bore in the M/C. If the taper is not too bad, a new M/C kit should fix that as the new, unworn seal will have a larger diameter and provide better pressure for the seal lips on the bore wall. Jon

This must be Andy! Generally, the two critical measurements, provided the M/C seal is in good shape and there is no air in the line, is having a little slack at the lever adjusting screw so that the piston retracts fully back and, that the "fingers" at the clutch pack are around 17.5mm from the center hub. It could be that the clutch fibers have swollen (common on the older clutches) and the fingers will be low. Jon

Chances are you have the Dellorto PHBL and jetting for sea level up a couple thousand feet altitude should be in the neighborhood of: MAIN: 118 (116 OK, NOTHING SMALLER!) PILOT: 36 (38 OK) NEEDLE: D36 (3rd, or 2nd CLIP POSITION DOWN FROM TOP) FUEL SCREW: 3.5 TURNS OUT (screw on the side of the carb closest to the engine) FLOAT HEIGHT: ARMS IN LEVEL PLANE WITH FLOAT BOWL BASE (PARALLEL) Jon