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Ryan's school is one of the best bargains in Trials. He is a top notch teacher and a master when it comes to helping his students Trials scores drop and them having more confidence and fun. I highly recommend anybody interested in making a big improvement in their riding skills to take one of Ryan's schools, trust me, you won't regret it. Jon

Hi Martin. 70 or 80:1 premix, full-synthetic oil. 300cc's per leg for fully drained fork. NGK BPR5EIX set to .024". Jon

Don't trust that Jon Stoodley guy, he doesn't know much..... Jon

Not since the tubeless front tire years of the Fantic. They came off the rims in wet weather Trials. Jon

Try: http://www.trialspartsusa.com/manuals/GasGas_Trial_Contact-T_Parts_1993_Nomenclatura.pdf for an on-line parts manual. Jon

Gary, Any good welder should be able to weld the bracket. Tell them the frame is ChromMoly and they'll know what to do. You might look at taking the electrics off just to be sure they are not damaged. Usually there is not a problem if the welding ground is on the bracket, next to the weld but I've had advice both ways from competent welders about taking off the electrics so I do so just to be safe. Broken brackets are generally caused by loose engine mounts that allow frame flex and combined with the engine harmonics, lead to cracks. Loosen all mounts (including the two 4mm head capscrews on the back of the engine) and when the welding is cooled, tighten everything up and you should be o.k. in the future. Jon

Mineral oil but a special type just for hydraulic systems (mountain bikes use it in their brake systems), like Magura Blood or Royal Blood. Your dealer should also carry it. Jon

I think the 07' was an 11/41 combination so yours is geared WAY low. I run a 11/44 on my Pro and like it a lot (stock was 11/42). Other riders like the 10/41-42 combo. I'd try an 11T countershaft sprocket as you already have the 44T rear and you can always try a 10T. If you know any riders who have gone to the 10T, they will probably have the stock 11T in their toolbox and undoubtedly allow you to borrow it to try out. I'm still trying to imagine why someone would gear a 300 that way.....tractor pulls maybe? Jon

I'm with Steve on this. I've spent a fair amount of time working with both two and four stroke technology under severe racing circumstances and I find no overall clear advantage of one over the other. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages, depending on the application, and to pronounce one as crap and the other as great indicates a lesser rather than a greater amount of real knowledge/experience has been brought to bear on the subject. When properly cared for, both types of engines can be long-lived. The re-introduction of the four stroke to Trials competition is relatively new when one considers the beginning of the two stroke domination started in the mid-60's with Mr. Miller's development of the Sherpa-T. I doubt the four stroke will fade away but that the decisions made by the various manufacturing companies to fund further development/refinement of the 4T will have a direct effect on the acceptance by the general riding population. Jon

I just got an e-mail from Jim Snell at TrialsPartsUSA and he has added the digitized parts manuals (pdf.) for 1991/2/3/4 models to his website. He will add 1995/6/7/8/9 and 2000 when he gets time. The parts manuals for the 2001 on up models are already there so this will make the parts manuals from 1991 to present available to all riders who need them. Jon

Welcome to the forum. You'll find a lot of Fantic riders on here. Jon

Welcome! Is Trials a popular sport in Greece? Jon

Welcome, Jase! You'll find fellow countrymen here. Jon

Now THAT made me laugh, and I tend to agree with it pertaining to non-AHRMA events. Jon

No problem, we can handle chainsaws too. This one I built for my Brother to use in the Lumberman competitions in Northern California: outer cylinder built up to allow larger intake ports, dual pumper carbs, special expansion chamber and Nitromethane fuel. Jon, "I love the smell of Nitromethane in the morning, it smells like victory"......

Yep, I also remember the Bultaco days. Stuck up high on a steep muddy bank and starting to roll backwards one quickly finds out there is no way possible to get off/away from the bike and you're just along for the ride to the bottom..... Jon

I haven't read the tie-breaking rules lately but it used to be at the sole discretion of the Trialsmaster to select the way to break ties. I remember a very high-level Trials decided at Hollister Hills in California by a wheelie contest. AHRMA "classic" events are held under the same rule as I remember. The famous Geritol Trial that PITS puts on each year uses age as an element of score so the concept of age in selection of the winner is not unusual. Jon, the older I get, the better my chances of winning....

The stator/trigger position on the older engines can be changed to a degree limited by the slots on the mounting plate. The Pro has a fixed stator plate and "external" trigger, which can be changed slightly by slotting the mounting plate holes. Most ignition timing adjustments now are carried out by the electronics. An early version of the Pro CDI had a programmable ignition system that required a wiring harness and laptop (and infinite possibilities of developing maps) but the current systems have two timing maps pre-programmed into the CDI module that are toggled by a switch on the bars. Jon

Amos, I'm guessing the stator is good as you have enough output to develop spark. I'd take your time and double check your wiring job against the wiring diagram. Usually the CDI wiring is "plug and play" as the connectors only go one way in most instances. Jon

Don't apologize, we all have/will run into this problem. The best way I've found is to block the exhaust with a gloved hand and when the rev's drop the ignition kill switch will then work, so use the combination of the two techniques. The porting arrangement and fairly high compression of a Trials engine will tend to lead to auto-ignition under no-load/open carb slide conditions. As an aside, I like to mount my kill switch in the center of the bars so that if the bar end (with the killswitch) gets buried in rocks or brush the switch in the center of the bars can always reached easily. Jon

I doubt the shaft is bent (it would take a massive amount of pressure to deform the short shaft) but there is the possibility that maybe something else in the system is bad, maybe a bearing on the gear or something? A good way to tell how things go together is from the GasGas parts manuals (TrialsPartsUSA just added one for the 1991 model I see) but the parts lists also give the measurements for washers and bushings in most cases so if you have a suspect washer the last owner may have substituted, you can look up the washer in the parts list and it will usually give the measurements so you can check it to be sure. Jon

Hi again Amos, Jon here. I doubt the stator had anything to do with it as it's just a power generating device and no timing of any sort is involved. In unusual cases, the CDI can cause a retarded spark, which could lead to reverse running (spark close to TDC), but that's pretty rare in my experience. I'm no expert in the inner workings of the CDI system but maybe someone with a BSEE or MSEE can give us a clue as to the possibilities within the CDI or other components possibly causing the reverse running. Jon

I'm assuming you used a new sidecover gasket and re-installed the original thickness washer on the kickstart shaft and did not just use sealer (or another thicker washer), which will compress down and reduce the clearance between the shaft washer and the sidecover (and cause a stiff kickstart). You might need to remove the sidecover and check if the shaft itself is binding or the binding happens when the sidecover is installed. If it is you will probably need to reverse the installation to see where the component is installed incorrectly. Jon

Your symptoms would also be consistant with floats incorrectly installed or hanging up in the closed position. Although your carb is a little different than the standard PHBL on the new bikes, I had a rider experience your symptoms and then the engine died (repeatedly)on a new 2010 bike this last weekend at a Trial (he had earlier taken the float bowl off and very slightly bent one of the rods the float rides on, which stuck the float in the closed position). You wouldn't have noticed the bent rod unless you were looking for it. Jon