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Martin, Don't feel too bad, I get weird readings at times too, even with an expensive digital meter. Just keep trying and your readings will be more consistant with experience. Get a good wire sparkplug gauge and it will have a tool with small slots used to bend the outside grounding wire. A wire gauge is much more accurate than a feeler gauge or the type that have a ramp when working with plugs. Most plugs are factory set with a much wider gap than we use in our engines, so check the gap on any new plug before installing. Jon

Yep. I'd count that...... Jon

Hi, Victor! I got your e-mail, but thought it might be good to explore the topic on this forum. Sometimes, fork springs can be cut down to increase the rate and this, coupled with a higher oil level will help. You, of course, need to be careful of coil-bind if the spring is shortened too much. As you seem to be well over the acceptable limit for the stock rated spring's adjustment range, it might be a good idea to have special springs made. I would think that fork springs in the neighborhood of 0.50/0.52 Kg, and shock spring in the range of 9.0/9.2 Kg would be minimum. Look on the bright side, at 6"8", you have a LOT more leg "suspension" range than the rest of us..... Jon And, yes, only the first bottle IS expensive....

The unusual thing is that the V-Force block actually broke, which was really surprizing to me. Many years ago, when Tassanari was developing the 8-petal cage one of my Pro riders brought a couple back from Belgium to test (I think they are made in Italy). They were machined aluminum, not the phenolic resin type now, and I found them to be quite good and with minor modification, used them in some of my GP engines. In my experience, V-Force makes a very good product that does what it is advertized to do, and I'm sure this was a fluke (I'd never heard of it before). The symptoms were like the bike was flooding out, not taking any throttle and hard to start. Luckily, Ron found the cause, as a broken reedcage would be at the bottom of the diagnostic list of possibilities. Sherlock Holmes deductive reasoning comes to mind: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"........ Jon

Yipes! That's a lot more exciting than the venomous snakes we often find in our sections. Usually they are only a problem for the people setting up and clearing out the sections, all the critters are generally gone by the time the event starts. It does, however, help keep the scores low as nobody really wants to dab.......... Jon

Hi! You have the older type engine, often referred to as the "Edition" model, after the last ones off the assembly line. It's fairly straightforward to work on and and the features are common to most two-strokes, unlike the Pro engine which has features unique to only the Pro design. You'll need a flywheel puller and I'm pretty sure the 2000 has the Kokusan Analog System. The flywheel hub threads will look exactly like the normal Japanese pullers will work, but you will need a special puller with right-hand threads ("regular" Japanese pullers are left-hand threads). Possibly a crank puller will be needed, but otherwise, normal shop tools will be all you need. Jon

As you can imagine, I've seen a lot of reeds/cages in my lifetime, but those were probably the most mangled I've ever seen in any Trials engine, which is why nobody checked for that condition at first. You did a first-rate job of uncovering the issue. I've definately archived that cause for those symptoms in future diagnosis..... Jon

Hard for me to tell without actually inspecting the engine and CDI system. Try checking the resistance to see if there is a problem there: http://www.trialspartsusa.com/diagrams/200...0CDI%20ohms.pdf You also may want to check for something like an intake manifold leak, which is more often than not caused by the somewhat common practice of overtightening the capscrews (it happens on a lot of bikes). The trick for setting the tickover on a Trials engine, especially the Pro, is to (after warmup) put bike in gear, hold lever in the position you normally ride with (usually pulled in with one finger to the knuckles) and THEN set the idle RPM. Most riders set the tickover with the engine in neutral, which then, with clutch drag, will be too low and contribute to stalling in the on/off throttle applications of a section. The 300 does take a hefty kick, kinda like my old 338cc GG, which promply rewarded any non-commited prod with an explosive kickback and knee into the handlebar (luckily the Pro's are not that brutal). The newer 300's have a different kickstart mechanism (less angle to the spiral cut that the partial gear slides on) which engages the lever higher in the arc and gives a more effective throw. Jon

I tend to agree with you, Ron. The sections were neat and spectator friendly, but the top of Section One looked like they were having a square dance up there. Heal quick, Ron, or Esther will have to carry YOU over the threshold on the 24th...... Cheers. Jon

I'm assuming you mean that the tire has rubbed through the metal and you don't have an actual "split", which could easily be welded. Any good welder will be able to cut out a square and TIG in a patch plate. Be sure to check the muffler after your next shunt to be sure it was not pushed in and is rubbing on the tire. Dirt on the tire acts as a grinding compound and quickly wears the metal. Jon

What year and model is it? The earlier "Edition" models are quite different from the newer "Pro" engines. Jon

The Denki will probably not work on your Ducati system. Try checking the "air gap" (the distance between the pin on the magnetic pick up and the nub on the flywheel), it should be 0.7mm (.027"). Get an NGK BPR5EIX plug and set it to .024" ( 0.6mm). I've had several 05' 300 owners report back to me that the recommendation of the EIX plug solved their starting problem. The GG engines tend to act "cold blooded" when cooled off a little from warm, so if it does not start first or second kick, use the choke and it should fire right off. Jon

Some photos from today of Pat, Cody, Dustin and the Flying Mizell Boys: Jon

Well, After being drenched in the rain all morning checking PM (Intermediate through Master) section 5 (good SSDT weather here this morning) I was able to take a few Pro photos. Pat had some trouble after running the first three sections of the Pro event as his bike broke the reedcage and it took a little time to get him going again, but it obviously didn't hold him back. Tomorrow should be lots of fun as the weather is scheduled to clear out some. Jon

Absolutely! And just think, you get to watch Copey and me hassle each other endlessly at no extra cost! Should be a good turnout and we don't expect any tornadoes.......... Jon

If you can, post a photo of the installation. It might be something as simple as the main jet access plug vibrating on the top of the engine case (the Keihin usually needs to be spaced out farther than the Dellorto to clear the case) and causing frothing and needle valve vibration leakage. Jon

Sam, The Marzocchi's have a different cartridge setup than the GasGas forks and need to be set by oil level, not volume. See: http://www.trialspartsusa.com/diagrams/ALU...NSIONS%2006.doc for the info. The Zoke cartridges do not drain in the same manner as the GG ones, so level is appropriate as a service technique. Jon

That certainly could be the case. A good technique in blowing out the passageways in a carb is to apply pressure in the opposite direction that fuel/air flows. Some of the orifices are funnel-shaped and if you only blow in the direction the air or fuel flows, for instance, you are only further lodging the particle in the bottom of the "funnel". Kinda like having a golfball in the bottom of a cone and trying to blow it through the small end with air pressure. Jon

The website: http://www.trialspartsusa.com/diagrams/Kok97to00.jpg should give you the wiring diagram. The yellow wire is for the fan and if you get a consistant 12V DC reading you should be o.k. The problem will be that you may not know when the fan needs to come on, so you are risking potential problems with overheating and if the fan is on all the time, it will have a shorter lifespan, so you may want to consider fixing the primary problem as it may be a lot less expensive in the long run. A two-wire killswitch, like a YZ250 or KX is best in my experience and they ground to a frame connection under the tank. I use the YZ type and have never had a problem, even in torrential downpours. The older one-wire switches that grounded on the bars often had "shocking" results in wet weather....... Jon

As mentioned, the 01' #R350100 is a Brembo unit. I think this is used on the "Edition" models, up to 2004(?). The 05' is a GasGas unit #BT280222010 used from 02' on for the Pro, but I'm not sure if they will interchange. Jon

Martin, I really agree with you. From my understanding, most of the newer CDI systems are "matched" to a resistor plug and the engines must use resistor plugs for a proper "talkback" to the electronic ignition. However, I'm not sure how the shut off/restart solves the problem, but I bet there's a MSEE or two out there on the forum that can explain it to us. As an added example, in some marine CDI systems, the engines require a spark plug with a special inductive type resistor (such as the NGK Z-type plugs). These types of ignitions systems produces less voltage and use of non-inductive type plugs can cause misfires and poor performance, so you can see that it's really important to follow the manufactuers recommendation as to plug type. Jon

What specific jets are you running in the Keihin? main pilot needle type/clip position slide angle of float arms in relation to the bowl sealing surface with the carb held at a 45 degree angle. Jon

I'd make sure that the carb is getting proper flow of fuel. Check to see if the petcock is operating correctly by attaching a hose/catch-can and turning it to on and reserve positions and you should get a fair amount of fuel coming out. I'd also try a length of fuel line on the fuel tank breather without the one-way valve. The fact that it "runs great" for an hour, at least brings up the possibility that the carb is not at fault. What does the sparkplug look like when you examine it? Jon

Wonderful videos, thanks! Athough I've never, as yet, been able to attend, I'm a real fan of the SSDT and in fact, ordered the 08' SSDT and Scottish Pre-65 DVDs from France and had them converted to play with our format here. Maybe someday I'll be able to attend, but in the meantime, your videos really help me with my addiction. Cheers. Jon

I checked the 03' parts manual and they list the 6004's for front and rear (with the GG forks). The Marzocchi forks take a different front bearing in the later models. Then again, I've found parts manuals to be a "loose guide" at times........ Jon