jse

I'm with Copey on this. The "all the adjustment is used it hits the stop point in the master cylinder " comment makes me think that you are possibly adjusting the screw on the lever in too far, which will have the opposite results you want. You may want to take the lever off and pull the rubber boot on the master cylinder back to see if the piston is returning back fully to the stop at the circlip (sometimes the piston return spring breaks). Also check that the holes in the bottom of the reservoir are clear so fluid can be fed to the master cylinder bore. Jon

I think that the Fortuna stickers were on all the models. he only real difference I ever saw was a different muffler (non-repackable) available. The gizmo in the tank (I had a 96' 370 with the Fortuna stickers and gizmo) was a speedo, clock etc. and it might still work if you put a battery in it (for road use in Europe, like the current models). The speedo pickup was the magnet on the back rim. Not good for mileage in the dirt if you had any wheelspin, but neat for keeping track of time during an event. The bike looks pretty clean. Jon

What I'd do first to take the plunger rod off and then depress the lever and check underneath to see if the lever can be trimed to allow more downward movement, then you can usually make a smooth cutout with a Dremel tool to clear the frame tubes better (it usually does not take much and you want to polish the cutout to avoid a stress riser). After you've got maximum travel to the lever, put the plunger rod back on and see if you have enough thread to screw the rod back enough to get it to where you want it. You usually have to grind a little off the threaded end as it will bottom out against the lever. If the rod is still too long, you'll need to take a little off the other end that goes through the M/C boot. I'd start with about 3mm, and be sure to round and polish the end like it was to fit correctly in the piston depression. It only takes a little juggling to get it right. I've done it to my GG bikes as I also found the lever too high for my liking. While you're at it, add a zerk fitting to it and you can give it a lube easily and in the future avoid a bad case of the flops (the only thing I allow to flop around on my bikes is me, which is unavoidable). The rear brake lever is easily overlooked when lube time comes. Jon

I run a taller set of Hebo fatbars on my 02' Pro so I'm not hunched over the front end, and can get back farther on the rear fender, as with the standard 7/8th bars, but where they really help is on the slow, tight, uphill turns and steps where I would hit my chest on the crossbar pad every time. If I had the tall bars with a crossbar brace, the matter would be even worse than the standard low bars. Jon

The ATA guys are a really good group to ride with, I've ridden a few "down south" at times. If you are in the upper Central Valley area, give my old club, PITS, a look. They have a lot of Trials going on all over Northern California and you might be able to attend a couple: http://www.sactopits.org/ . Jon

Got it: http://www.bjmotorsports.com/ Looks good. Jon

I have a water-based solvent in the shop tank and use it and the PJ1 filter cleaner. Then, when my wife's looking the other way, I sneak in the kitchen and use straight dish soap to finish it off. Don't pull on the filter, just squeeze it to clean the oil out so as to not rupture the seams. Let it dry and then you can use a large plastic bag with some filter oil in it to re-oil. The filter oil has a dye in it so you can tell when it's evenly distributed throughout the foam. Then take paper towels and blot the extra oil out of the foam and re-install on the cage. Even with spray filter oil, you'll want to gently squeeze the foam to move it through the filter. Otherwise, you'll only have oil blobs on the outside of the foam. Jon

Sam, If it's dirty, it's doing it's job. You need to clean it when it is dirty and never oil a dirty filter. Cheers. Jon

Do you mean http://www.bjracing.com/ ? Jon

Provided the fitting itself is not broken, I think there is an o-ring there that could be replaced. Jon

It kinda sounds like you may still have a leak somewhere and you may also want to check the pilot jet (probably a #45 or #48 would work well). The most common area for an intake leak is the manifold-to-reedblock sealing area. A lot of riders overtighten the manifold, which causes the sealing surface between the bolt holes to bow out. The lower part of the manifold area is first prime suspect as you won't be able to see the telltale oil/grit spot that often shows up with a leaking sealing area. Lower ambient air temperature and increased humidity will also tend to lean out jetting slightly, so if your jetting was marginal to start with, the weather change may exacerbate the condition. What is your jetting now (don't assume it's "stock", take each jet out and record the number)? Jon

I'm surprized they told you that, I think the rear M/C on the 01' TXT takes the "R350004" Kit and is a Brembo unit (#R350100) that fit the GasGas models from 1990 to 2004. It's an 11mm bore and I think several other brands used the same M.C. It's a very common M/C unit and you might try another dealer. Jon

Looks like a 1995 model, first year with the "banana" swingarm. Jon

My guess is that if you can horse around a SuperMoto anywhere near it's limits, you'll have little problem with a 300. Jon

Look for "caliper grease", which is high-temp, as regular grease will not survive the pad temps as well. I like the anti-seize route too, especially the Copper ones, as the suspended soft metal particles act as a good buffer between the pad backing and the puck. Jon

Generally speaking, I've found that bad maintenance is the problem, rather than bad bikes. All the brands will serve you well as long as you take care of them. What problems have you had? Jon

Not knowing what your skill level was/is makes it difficult to advise you. Give the bike a try, if you can, and that will give you an idea. I've had new riders get along very well with the 300 and others find it too much of a handful. All bikes will react to your input, and your ability to "communicate" with the bike I think is an important factor to consider. Most new riders will generally find a smaller displacement bike easier to start out on. Jon

That's a good idea. As long as you don't run into coil-bind territory, you are in good shape. Provided the rider weight is in the 11-13 stone range (I may be one of the few riders in the U.S. that has an idea of what a "stone" weighs ) you can probably work with increased preload spacers and oil level (the size of the air pocket at the top of the upper tube) to get you to where you need to be, heavier than that and it might be a good idea to start with new springs. I didn't have an old 99' 321 spacer handy, but I had the old 96' JTR370 spacer I took out of my old bike (forks are similar internally) and it measured 2 3/8th inch (60.85mm), so that may give you an idea of what the stock spacer length may have been. So, time and cost (and interest) will dictate your decision. I'd follow Graham's advice if you want to work with the old springs and make a spacer to adjust, or you can just opt for a new set, but if your weight is greater than the load the forks are set for (or your riding style puts an extra load on the forks), you'll still probably have to make a new spacer. I like the "process" of playing around with the components to see what I can make up that works better than the original design, others are more interested in the "goal" and just replace the parts and be done with it. So, your level of interest will also be a factor in new springs or not. Jon

I doubt that the 06-08 springs will work as they are for the 40mm Marzocchi tubes and you have the 38mm GasGas tubes. The "shim" you refer to is the preload spacer and my guess is that it is the stock one. I'd try adding about 8-10mm to the length of the ones in the forks by making another one from schedule-40 (thick wall) pvc and I think it's the 1" size (take one of the old spacers with you to check the size at the hardware store). If you are having bottoming out problems with the forks, try adding 30cc's of fork oil to each leg, which will reduce the air pocket at the top of the tube. The air gap, or pocket, affects the last third of fork travel and the compression of the air in that pocket acts like a secondary fork spring under full compression. Last resort would be to replace the springs (your local GG dealer can get them for you), but my guess is that you can fix the problem for a lot less cost. Jon

Not sure about the 09' retrofitting the 08' and earlier Pros (I had an 09 fender, should have checked with my 02, but they looked the same from what I remember) but I think that the fenders fit on the Pros from 02' to 08'. Haven't checked one with the Edition model to see if the Pro was the same. The part numbers for the 01' Edition red rear fender (latest Edition parts manual I have) and the 03' Pro red fender (I don't have an 02' Pro frame parts manual, only 03' on up) are different. Probably the best way is to borrow a fender from a buddy with a newer bike and see. Jon

That's a pretty good site, I hadn't seen it before. Maybe we could supplement it with sites that carry unusual or older models that are not included there. Say a link and a short description of what it contains? Jon

Very impressive. You are truely a man of considerable wind resistance. Jon, of some resistance himself......

Rather than the manuals themselves, maybe a list of sites that have manuals, for instance TrialsPartsUSA and the German GasGas Deutschland site has a bunch of GG parts and owner manuals going way back to 1989. I'm sure most of us have found sites for the various brands and we could pool our knowledge. Jon

That's quite Python-esque, to coin a word. The other scooter videos were very interesting and I followed a few for fun. Those guys get pretty serious with some of the mods (who knew about a drag scooter? Must be a handful through the lights!). I had a builder from England contact me a couple of years ago about performance mods on a YZ250 engine he had installed in a "sleeper" Lambretta, which is when I first heard of some of the unusual stuff they do to the donutwheelers. He sent some photos and the frame design and fabrication were outstanding. Hmmmmm, wonder what ever happened to that old Vespa GS I used to ride to High School............. Jon

Well, that will probably cost my health insurance at least three hours of psychiatric care...... funny Jon