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I remember riding Clive's Merlin when he first got it. A very interesting bike. I understand it was not allowed in the SSDT as the wheel "spokes" were considered a safety hazard and they were afraid some rider would lose an arm.... Jon

Most factories have a "Handgrenade theory" in naming bike displacement, where being close is acceptable.... My 280 Pro is 272cc's, my TY350N Yamaha is 349cc's and my old 96' JTR370 was 338cc's, in spite of the cylinder having "370cc" cast into it. My guess is that the testing prototype cylinder was at 370cc's and was a little too much output, so it was reduced to 338cc's but the cylinder casting was kept. The "Engineer's Rule" of rounding numbers for convenience appears to be in effect in the marketing departments. Jon

That's also my understanding. Jon

I'd be careful of the solvent properties of tire patch adhesive on the soft grips. Just to throw another variable in, during my flat track days (Copey should remember this, he's almost my age....) we used "mechanic's tape", which was a black, cloth tape with adhesive on both sides and was popular before the electrican's tape was available. We would wrap the bar with it and use a little solvent on it and slide the grips on. Hmmmm, come to think about, the buggers still came off at the worst times.... It's hard to beat Renthal glue and safety wire, three strands, one in the center, one about 1/2" from the end and one at the front. Never had a grip come of with that proceedure on any of the MX, roadrace, drag, hillclimb or Trials bikes. Jon

Chad, Have your friend e-mail me off the GasGasUSA tech website and I'll see if I can help him. Jon

I use the Renthal grip glue and safety wire on all my grips with good results. Some grip glues, like Honda, will split the Renthal soft grips due to the solvents in them, but the Renthal has always worked. The trick, especially for the throttle side (the thin grip) is to apply the glue and then spray a light coating of alcohol and then slide them on quick. I always had the glue set too fast and the grip would stick halfway on, but the alcohol allows the grip to slide easily and quickly dries. Jon

I spoke with the U.S. importer this weekend at a Trials event and he will be going back to Spain to ride the new prototypes soon and we should get one here possibly early next year. He's going to call me when it comes in so I can get an early ride and do an in-depth tech article for Trials Competition News. I know they are doing long-term engine reliability testing and final adjustments to the details of the design in Spain. Apparently my guess was right that the engine mounts are the same as the two-stroke, so same frame, with the choice of engines, which really simplifies things. I saw and rode several 08' Ragas at the event this weekend and that new frame is really neat. Everything is really easy to get at, as the frame design is really open. Shercos 4Ts are starting to show up here in the Mid-West now as are the Betas (my friend has a 300 kit in his) and we have a good crop of Montesas in riders hands and they all are fine machines. We're pretty lucky to have so many to choose from, considering Trials is a relatively low-profile sport. Jon

Alan works on a neat base (I especially like the Saddam's Army Iraqi tank with the backend of a U.S. missle sticking out of the top of it) I've visited it a couple of times when my youngest son was stationed there. Clarksville also has a pretty cool winery (Beachaven Winery) that Copey should stop by when he visits Ft Campbell.... Seriously, the area around where Alan lives looks like it was made for Trials, it's beautiful! Jon

Hi Jan, The "pick up" (also known as a "Hall effect sensor") can be replaced without replacing all the other parts. The pick up is a magnetic trigger for the CDI system that tells it when to fire the plug and as far as I know, they can be ordered seperately. Jon

I installed an 87' CR125 reedcage, with Boyesen dual-stage reeds, in my 85' TY350 a couple of decades ago after I first saw the 8-petal, steel reed setup that was stock (a lot of the 350 components are based on the big-bore MX engine of that year). The CR cage is a 6-petal and has a "stuffer", or an insert that's a formed piece of plastic, that maintains the charge shape and increases velocity over the jet tower at low slide openings. It increased throttle response and slow speed smoothness quite a bit. Later I cast/machined a one-piece TY350 manifold/reedcage that was similiar to the later Boyesen RAD Valve and it worked even better than the CR mod. I'll post photos if you want. Jon

Yep. I made a gun-type tubeless tire inflation attachment that has a locking tip (that attaches to the valve stem) and is "ported" to allow maximum air flow so it puts a ton of air into the rim all at once, works really well. Jon

In a pinch (no pun intended) you can use a 20" bicycle tube and lots of soapy water as a beader. I always carry my vintage bike in my trailer with my new bike so I like to carry extra tubes for it, so I put the spare tubes in my spare front/rear new tires and inflate them to spread out the beads during storage. This makes installing the new tires, especially the rear tubeless, easy as the bead is wide apart, the tire is easy to lever on the rim and I don't need a "beader" to get them inflated and the spare tubes are always at hand. Jon

I plan on being there, the quarry is a really fun place to ride and Allen Guyot assured me at the Octobertest that he's more than willing to donate his bike for the bike launch......... Jon

Peter, One of the things on this side of the pond we think may cause problems with the fan motors is pressure washing. A lot of riders here use commercial car pressure washers to clean their bikes after a Trial and the soap in the pressure wash is highly corrosive (alkaline) when it is forced into the fan bushing. I always tell them to use low pressure, rinse only, setting to wash areas of the bikes that have bearings/bushings. Jon

Ron, I thought your morning #3 section was great-wide, visually busy and a lot of ways to ride it and a quick reaction to changing obstacles was rewarded. After you and I tweeked it, there were at least three lines at the top for the Amateurs to take and only a few riders found the first, easier line we made that set you up well for the drop-off and next split, which really surprized me. I guess it was a good lesson for them in looking beyond the obvious. Jon

Jan, I think the thermoswitch is kept in by a spring clip that grips the switch on two sides. If the gasket is missing and you can't get one from your dealer, you might try a thick o-ring or other rubber gasket type material (it only has to seal in a few PSI of pressure) and safetywire the clip ends together so they don't spread out and release their grip on the switch. As you found out, it's important to not block off the overflow tube (on the Pro's, it's usually because the hose is over the frame cross tube there and the tank squashes the hose closed when the tank is installed) and the blocked tube can also cause excess pressure to force coolant past the waterpump seal into the transmission case. Jon

Absolutely! Great fun and good sections from what the riders told me, except for mine, as usual. They like to put me on nasty sections, like #3 morning on Sunday. I guess the reasoning is that I remind the riders of their kindly, old, sweet Grandpa so they are less likely to cuss me out. It does make it a lot easier to check, however, I don't even have to watch the riders, just add up the number of times I hear "Damn it!" and punch that score..... Ron Lee set up great exhibition sections that allowed the Pro's to show their talents. Jon

That's my guess. The 125s are easy to light off, just be sure to not open the throttle when kicking and expect it to idle a little higher with the "choke" on. Cheers. Jon

The lever needs to be vertical to open the starting mechanism, 10 degrees will not usually start to open the bypass orifice which the starter jet feeds. If you drill a small hole in the end of the lever arm and attach a small ziptye, it will be easier to pull on the ziptye end as the upright lever is hard to find with gloves on. Jon

Thanks, Nigel. Here in the Midwest U.S. we ride in some pretty cold weather and the #80 jet seems to help cold starting. Riders on the East and West coasts also find the stock jetting works well, as you mentioned. Kev and Shirty are very sharp and should find the problem in a couple of minutes, I agree the first trip should be to the dealer on a new bike. Cheers. Jon

I've never had to do it myself, but I've been assured that, as a last resort, it usually works. Jon

Assuming all other things are good (connections tight, including the plug cap screwed on well, a good plug gapped to .024", .6mm, absolutely fresh premix etc) you might try a larger "starter jet", which is the jet on the brass tower that feeds the starter circuit. Some come with a #60 and they seem to work better with a #80 (or you can drill out the jet with a .031" drill). Be sure to NOT open the throttle when kicking it over as that defeats the starting enrichening device. When kicking it, be sure to engage the racheting mechanism easy before putting weight on the lever and the parts will last as long as you have the bike. It's the slamming down on the kickstart lever that breaks parts. I'm guessing you are opening the throttle like a four-stroke carb when you kick it cold. Jon

Tom, The recommended plug is a NGK BPR5ES or the equivalent. The "best" I've found so far is an NGK BPR5EIX, and set to .024" (.6mm). Jon

Chris, As the engine itself is a "stressed member" part of the frame structure, sometimes loosening all the engine mounting bolts takes the pressure off the swingarm pivot area. It's fairly easy to do and when you re- torque everything, you'll know the frame structure is tight. Jon

Sounds like a good possibility the seal is malfunctioning. It's fairly easy to disassemble, but take the M/C off and try to keep it up high when you take it apart (so the line does not drain out) to make bleeding it easier later. Just keep track of the parts as they come out and you'll be fine. the "BT280222220" Kit fits rear master cylinder number BT280222010, which I'm pretty sure you have. You can't get just the seal, but the kit will have all the internal parts you need plus the new rubber boot for the outside. Jon