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Matt, Probably the 1995 model, 144cc's. Rugged little bike, the "JT" stands for Jordi Tarres, the GasGas factory rider at the time. Jon

Arlo does a nice version of this on the end credits for the 1980 Peter Starr film, "Take It To The Limit". The claymation feature used has a pickle riding a Honda... Jon

Thanks! Same to you and the family! Jon

At my age, I've come to the conclusion that I have become a figment of the Universe's imagination..... Jon, Existential R Us....

Marius, I'm not positive, but the 07' Kokusan may be more in line with your 2010: http://www.trialspartsusa.com/diagrams/KokusanDigital2005Pro.jpg . Not sure if you have the Ducati diagram rather than the Kokusan. Jon

My opinion also. In spite of our chants to the contrary, we are not the center of the World and maintaining an insular atttitude does little to promote the sport we profess to love. I've found that Americans are at their best when challenged, it always seems to uncover our greatest talents. Jon

Ian, I'm assuming you mean the crankshaft area, not the transmission. You may have ingested some water in the airbox if you washed the bike, especially with a pressure washer. This is why it's a good idea to run the engine for a short time after washing. The crankshaft cavity is separate from the transmission cavity. This is probably not a serious problem. Jon

Col, I checked my video service manuals covering the older engines but there is not much in the way of engine disassembly and repair. The 2000 model is a basic engine so if you have experience you should not have any problems. The parts manual will give you a basic idea of part relationship. The newer model engines (02' on up Pro) are a different animal but the video owner's manual covers engine repair in their case. I doubt that the Pro manual would help you much. As far as I know, there is no written service manual. Jon

And then there's the video I have in my collection of a very young Trials rider from Canada mooning the camera..... Jon ps. Steve, your secret is safe with me.....

The lower sump plugs have a magnet in the center so be sure you have that out also. If the magnet has come off the end it would probably adhere to a gear and then you have BIG problems. Jon

Purely for research purposes of course, I have experienced many instances of, if not anti-gravity, zero-gravity during that time my body followed the elliptic flight path relative to the center of the Earth that many refer to as "falling off a Trials motorcycle". In terms of furthering the Physics store of knowledge, I doubt it has made a significant contribution..... Jon

I've got two TY350's (one in the family since new) and they usually fire right up when cold or hot. I doubt that timing is the problem unless the Woodruff key is damaged and the flywheel hub has shifted on the crank stub. The carb float valve may be leaking, especially if you are using the stock TK carb, and this will provide an over-rich condition. Try shutting off the tank petcock each time the bike is parked for any length of time. If the condition improves, that may be the culprit and replacing the float valve will help. Most of us replace the TK with a VM-26 Mikuni. Check all the electrical connections and clean/sand the grounds, like where the coil bracket mounts. The killswitch may be a problem so make sure you have a good one (and relatively new) properly mounted. The newer two-wire rather than the old one wire types are much better. I use the same type sparkplug in my TY as I do my GasGas Pro, in the TY case, an NGK BPR6EIX set to .024". The 350 uses an 8-petal, steel reed setup and changing to Boyesen reeds is a really good upgrade. With 26 years of use, you might want to check the exhaust pipe for carbon clogging where it meets the cylinder. Jon

If at all possible, I spend time to open up the section to give several lines through/over/around/between an obstacle. This way a rider has to think and choose a line(s) and an "easy" line in one part will usually lead to a "hard line" in another part of the section and vice-versa. I don't like one-line sections that are just a path to ride. Trials, for me, should be a "thinking" sport where observation and creativity is rewarded. Riders invariably say that have more fun riding an open section with several lines than one that is tight and constrained. Judicious placing of split cards in a wide section can up the "fun factor" a lot. I also look for sections that do not rely on artifical tight turns for difficulty. I've seen organizers look at a section after taping it off and decide it is too easy so they put in a tight, full-lock turn somewhere to make it more tough. The section could be made more difficult by extending it or widening it to add something interesting to ride over/around. One of the things I keep in mind is to design a club section so that one observer can check it. It's not always possible but often with a little "tweeking", I can set it up so that the observer can stand at the end, see all the section and be where the rider will exit and get their card punched. Like I say, not always possible, but always a consideration. Jon

From what I've seen, they come backed off (it helps with assembly and adjustment of the fork internals at the factory). When increasing spring rate, you usually want to go "decrease" on compression and "increase" on rebound, all other factors being equal. Jon

"Hmmm from a personal point of view i feel youre way off here"(?) From what I see, we are essentially in agreement: "When I set up a club Trial, I usually try to shoot for the average skilled rider losing one point per section" means that the majority (average) riders come in with that score, the winners will be in the +- 5-10 point range. If the highest scores in a class are more than I expected, I'll talk to the riders who had a hard time to try to figure out where I can modify the course/sections to make it a little easier for them but not reduce the challenge for the better riders, if possible. In part, what we're trying to do is quantify an experienced Trialsmaster's "intuition" used in setting up loop/sections in order to provide some guidance for new orgnizers starting out in the field. For me, a "club" Trial should be inclusive, fun and a good time to learn. We also have our "serious" events during the year (like our Octobertest, which is part of a four-state series) that the riders know will be more difficult. Jon

"However, one of the great mysteries in physics is why our world is made up overwhelmingly of matter, rather than antimatter; the laws of physics make no distinction between the two and equal amounts should have been created at the Universe's birth." Maybe anti-matter is also anti-social...... Jon

When I set up a club Trial, I usually try to shoot for the average skilled rider losing one point per section. So a three-loop, eight section Trial will see a good rider having an average score of 24 points lost. Serial section difficulty is a bell-shaped curve with the first two sections being relatively easy for the riders to warm up and cool down is the last two being cleanable and the tough sections are in the middle. I like my riders to start out with a clean (if possible) and end with a clean. If we have a lot of beginning riders I will make a short loop for them specifically so they may cut off from the "regular" loop early. I've found that a long loop is very difficult for new riders, who are essentially still learning how to ride a Trials bike (or just a motorcycle). Something our club does (which may be difficult for most clubs) is take the new/beginning riders out as a group. I started out several years ago taking new riders out to ride the Trial with me. I don't compete anymore but actually have a lot more fun with the new riders than I ever did in competition. I assemble them before the Trial and take them through the sign-up process, check their riding gear and bikes (making any adjustments needed), give them some basics as to the rules and them take them out as a group when the event begins. We try to give them a basic Trials riding skills course, show them how to walk and "read" a section and uncover lines, show them what the checkers actions mean etc. The riders know they always have someone to help them or answer questions. I let them ride each section three times rather than run the whole loop so they can actually learn from changes they make each try. About half way through the event I have each rider check he section to see how it's done. That way they are not scared to help check a section in the future so we usually always have volunteers when needed. We almost always have new riders return for the next event and our club's membership has remained steady, even in these hard times. Jon

I'm guessing you may want to use a slightly higher ratio. The larger displacement bikes use a 41 or 42 rear sprocket, you might ask a mate to borrow his/her 42T sprocket to see if that's what you need rather than buying a new one. I think GasGas also has a 9T countershaft sprocket if you want to go lower and you could easily swap that on the bike for those Trials that have the nasty hillclimbs. Trials is one of the very few motorcycle competitions where we usually run the same gearing for all the venues we encounter so don't be afraid to change gearing for a specific event. Jon

Ray, I have an 02' 280 and took a shot of the hose that might help (it's kinda cramped in there...). As you can see, it curves down behind the shock and then goes into the swingarm hollow to the caliper. Jon

I think those are stock sizes on the 200. the "right" ratio will depend on your riding style, where are you having a problem? Jon

Nigel, You've probably rode just about all the available bikes through the years, if you were to compare the OSSA to a modern bike in terms of ergonomics and "feel", what modern production bike is the OSSA most like? Jon

I know we're getting off the OSSA topic, but in the absence of available info on the OSSA, I guess we'll pull on this thread till it breaks. In years past, both marine and road-going two-stroke diesels have used the supercharger to scavenge the cylinders, mainly the positive displacement "Roots" type, like the GMC. During my teen-age racing years in the 50's/60's we used to patrol the truck wrecking yards for cast off engines and take the superchargers off the two-strokes, the "8/71" being the prize at the time, to use on our drag engines after modifying them somewhat. They were classified as to displaced volume, usually 3/71 to 14/71, with a "3/71" for a "3" cylinder engine of not more than "71" cubic inches per cylinder, an "8/71" for an "8" cylinder engine of not more than "71" cubic inches per cylinder etc. Jon ps. I'm still looking forward to seeing the OSSA in person, I'm sure the details are as nice as the overall unique design.

As I understand, they use an oil injection system and special formulation oils made just for PWC use. The new oil injection systems are a lot more sophisticated than the old ones most of us remember with distain (and quickly disconnected for competition use). The PWC engines tend to operate at more consistant temps as one is essentially skating across the top of a huge cooling system that remains at a fairly constant temperature. Jon

Martin, The bike is quite impressive and I really look forward to seeing one in person. I can appreciate the OSSA design engineers willingness to work from a blank page, I know from experience how difficult it is, and also how good a job they have done so far. I agree that we need to wait to see the final offering. I don't even know what type of EFI system they are using, Alpha-N, Speed-Density or a combination of the two. EFI is really a good system and I'm glad to see OSSA pushing the technology forward. Jon

I doubt that emissions will be significantly affected by the OSSA EFI system based on the setup I see from the photos. It appears to be an "open loop", crankcase-fed EFI that, although it may provide better air/fuel ratio management, will do little to solve the inherent emissions drawback in a two-stroke, that being the escape of unburned fuel out the exhaust port during the "blowdown" phase/cycle where the transfer and exhaust ports are both open. Two-stroke engines in personal watercraft in California are certified as "low emission" vehicles but they rely on "direct injection" EFI where the injectors are located in the head and the throttle body modulates air intake and houses sensors. Jon