jaylael

Roy: I've had a good look inside this and it's nothing like my old 240 Fantic. This is just plain in house Garelli, which makes it very cool to me, if a bit frustrating. The guy has had my gear made but still hasn't got forward with the heat treating process. The shocks are also being built, and are going to be Falcon shocks custom for this bike. Soon, very soon... So to keep myself occupied I have been building a really neat '72 TM 400 into a racer. It's coming together nicely. I'll post a pic soon. Sure would like to be riding that Garelli though. Jay

Whatever it is, we are all very curious to know the truth about this very perplexing problem. I once had cracked cases under the stator plate on my '78 Husqvarna 250 which was easily found via the gasoline residue in the mag cover. It acted lean at idle, ran hot and eventually became hard to start. Removing the mag cover made the bike run worse. Hints for you Heathy.

O.K. perhaps you have covered this already, but you just provided a substantial clue which was not stated before. The fact that it has completely lost it's idle is a very significant point. I suspect it is also hard to start then. The vacum leak has got to be pretty dang big! The only thing that leaks this bad is a torn carb to reed plate manifold. Try removing the carb. and push around with your finger to find out if the intake boot is torn. I'll wager it has a pretty big rip in it. Jay

Steven: If you have given up the fight, disregard this advice, but I had another thought. Try propane enrichment during the runaway. I use a propane torch with a bit of rubber hose like fuel line attached to the propane outlet. When she takes off screaming, meter in some propane to richen it up until normal revs are obtained. The fact that it revs above what it would with normal wide open throttle indicates super lean condition. Is it possible the pilot jet is switched around with the choke jet? I'm not sure this is possible, but it's just a thought. It should have about a #38 pilot jet. What size are the jets in it now? Should be at least a #110 main but maybe going bigger would help this. Partially choking the air horn with two fingers should richen it up also and thusly slow it down. If you have thrown in the towel, I sure don't blame you. It sounds like a real tough problem. Jay

An extremely lean condition can cause runaway idle speed. It sound like you have eliminated air leaks as a possible cause. If the bike starts up and idles sweet, it is getting sufficient fuel at idle, and does not have an air leak. During a runaway episode, place your hand over the air horn on the carb. thus stopping intake airflow and creating a massive vacum in the fuel jets, sucking through alot of fuel and possibly any obstructions, then when you remove your hand if it revs up again, the obstruction has not been removed from the main jet or needle jet orifice. This step is helpful as a diagnostic for two reasons. One is that if an engine continues to run with intake air blocked off, it is sucking massive air someplace else. In your case this is not likely. I am thinking the carb is the culprit also. Look very carefully at the jet needle in the slide. Verify the needle jet has not rotated around or been intalled backwards, and that the needle clip is attached correctly. Also the choke plunger may be stuck. Make sure fuel flow through the petcock and screen are sufficient and the float level is not mis adjusted to the overly lean side of things. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Hi all: My little Hodaka trials bikes are being featured on Mid Atlantic Vintage Trials web site as playmate of the month Take a gander. Roger has built a really nice trials web site. Thanks, Jay L.

Well I wish it were mine. I nipped this photo off some other site, perhaps Todotrial, but I don't remember, as it's been a couple of years ago. It sure is a neat bike though and I suspect it works pretty good too. Just thought of it when I read this thread, and dug it out of the archives. Looks a bit like an XR-200 engine to me, although a pumped up TL 125 engine would be the best choice. I have a friend here in Oregon who has put a TL 125 engine in an old '86 Yamaha TY 350 chassis and it really came out nice! Too bad I don't have any photos of it, but I could try catching up with him and taking some pics this summer. Just makes one think these types of project bikes are certainly quite do-able. Jay

Jeff: If you still have a spongy pedal, try elevating the rear wheel on a large block of wood or something then bleed the rear brake with the old car method of pump it up tight, then crack loose the bleeder while holding pedal. This will require at least one helper. Take care not to release the pedal with the bleeder screw open. On most sytems air will rise up, so having the back end up should allow any trapped air to escape. On some older bikes , once the system is bled, then you must tighten the pushrod up beyond what is normal to get a decent rear brake pedal. The resevoir hose is connected to a drilled hole in the master cyl. housing. The placement of this hole allows the cyl. to be refilled with fluid once the pedal is relesed, so if the rod is too tight the hole will be blocked by the m/c piston, thus preventing the fluid from refilling the cyl. "normal" pedal adjustment is with a small amount of freeplay which assures this orifice inside m/c is exposed to the refill fluid from the resevoir. If you tighten it up until you get a sufficiently hard pedal, it may not bleed properly, hence my previous statement. Once the pedal is sufficiently firm, wash off the rear disc and pads with the garden hose, then ride the bike around, dragging the rear brake until it is hot, the douse it with the hose rinsing it thouroughly. Repeat this four or five times and that should do the trick.It is very common for fluid to get spilled on the disc, but these steps normally provide a cure. If after all this it still is not sufficient, it may be time to start replacing parts, such as the caliper and master cyls. Jay

How's this?

Boom-hower (Probably spelled Bumhauer)

What'a you guys think?

Crafty Piggy, you look like Bobby Hill! (american tv show called King of the Hill) Nice bike! JL

Donato and his minder showed up with two bikes and broke the kicker gears, shaft etc on both of them before saturday. No other riders that time. In 1987 at Bodines, PA Donato was riding a single shock Garelli with the same basic engine, and he never suffered any problems that I could tell. His '87 bike may still be here somewhere, but I really don't know where it ended up. Maybe Canada? Sure was neat! I would love to have it, not that I could afford it right now anyway. Jay

No really! Call him and ask him! His number is 555 1212

Jeff: Hope by now you have a solid rear brake pedal. You said all the fluid leaked out, but it's not clear if it came out around the rear caliper piston or not. I have seen cracked caliper housings which are maddening to diagnose. Perform the bleeding procedure with a large syringe, pushing fluid from the caliper nipple back up through the system. This will not work unless there is sufficient slack in the pushrod! Once the bleeding process is complete you should have good pedal unless the master cyl is bad or there is a cracked caliper which would leak fluid under pressure. Always eyeball the caliper and pads relative to the disc and MAKE SURE they run parallel! Often times the caliper is bent in a fall and is at an angle to the disc which will cause the rear brake to heat up and lock on! Please post your findings and let us know what is happening with it. Jay L.

Motohead: Bikes like this one (ok I mean the 280, ride the 200 and see if it runs ok before attempting repair. These are just general comments) come with incorrect jetting, so unless someone has fettled the bike before-hand it won't run up to par. They also can have pretty severe fuel starvation issues when run hard down a road etc. Typically they come with a 30 pilot and 120 main and a # 100 needle seat. I have had much better results with around #38 pilot, #109 - 110 main jet, and #200 needle seat with about 1 turn on the air/fuel screw. If the bike does not idle well with from 3/4 to 1 1/2 turns on the screw change the pilot jet size. Opening up the screw to 3 turn or something to get enough fuel at idle means the pilot jet is too small! Also the petcocks go bad due to internal swelling of the rubber parts causing slower and slower fuel flow. Keep the fuel inlet screen on the carb nice and clean plus swish out the fuel tank and clean the aluminum scurf out of the petcock. Manufacturing process leaves quite a bit of this stuff in the tank on most GG bikes when new and this must be cleaned out before it plugs up the fuel flow. As I have been going on about GG bikes let me say I think the TXT models are very good bikes once they have been sorted. I only want to help by giving what I consider to be real world advice, where the rubber meets the mud, so to speak. PLEASE DON'T ASSUME I AM JUST OUT TO BASH THESE FINE BIKES. Jay Lael

Hey, JTLaw, thanks for the tip! I'm already bidding on it. I'm moto-poser. Hope all the other Garelli riders don't outbid me on it! Sure is a kind of ugly shirt isn't it? I hope to wear it when I ride the bike for the first time hopefully soon. The kicker gear isn't finished yet , but I ghot a Del Orto carb for it this week. It keeps getting closer! It's so cool, I go sit and stare at it until my poor wife yells from the living room, "What're you doing?" It's just pure SEX!

Motohead: Do not cut the hose clamps! They are re useable and very nice to work with once you get the hang of it. They contain a latching clip which can be released by gently squeezing the latch part together with a pair of pliers while you disconnect the latch with a small 90 degree scribe. To re-connect them just squeeze the latch back together and they are dialed. If the trans oil filler plug (allen type) is not present on the top right near the kickstarter, I think you lay the bike on it's left side, remove the OUTER clutch cover then pour the oil in around the clutch. The TXT models hold 700cc's of thin high quality gear oil like silkoline etc. If there is not a coolant drain plug on or near the water pump cover, remove one of the coolant hoses the lowest one and drain coolant that way. The tranny drain plug should be an allen bolt recessed up in a deep hole in the skid plate. Actual GG owners may have more detailed information for you so stay tuned. JL

An old friend of mine had a Beta flywheel weight catastrophe when he used slightly too long allen bolts to secure the weight. Make sure your bolts are not over long because they scrape on the vital stator coils. Jay

The "pro" has a "unique" shifting mechanism which is incredibly light and compact, however it will break if the shift lever is struck or even shifted too firmly. When this occurs the cases have to be split, which is very labor intensive and time consuming. If light weight is worth this risk, better get yourself a flywheel puller and set aside a few weekends a year to work on this wonderful advanced design bike. JTT, I don't own one but I fix alot of them for others who feel this job is beyond their skills. I feel this qualifies me to speak on the subject. Jay

There is a very civilized and politically correct undertone being offered here. Heed the warnings or you will suffer the horrible fate of many others who have gone before you. If you are bound and detemined to get a GG try and find one of the regular models with the bigger engine not the teeny tiny "pro" which is a mechanical nightmare for trail use. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Steve: I think the Garelli will be running by that time, but your trials event will be 3 weeks after my hernia surgery. I will have to see how things go but I have been not sure how quickly I will bounce back. I am writing the trial dates on my calendar. My surgery is scheduled for mar. 29th. I have been needing it for over a year and denial is just not working anymore. I will let you know how things are going. JL

Steve: My next door neighbor has an '02 Pro 280 (blue) which he just loves and has had no problems whatsoever with it. He loves it so much he bought a second one, (red) which has required disassebly due to broken shifter internals, the clutch has a delay in engagement which is quite scary at times, the forks seals leak like hell, and the the thing is burning gear oil due to a bad crank seal. The lesson is that you should never buy a red GG pro! The Garelli is coming along nicely. I also have gotten my papers in order so if my health holds out I can and will be coming up to Canada for a much anticipated visit. Perhaps my wife and I will be able to stay at your place for a night or two? Jay L.

Dennis rode one with the 143 kit and trick exhaust last season for about half of the events. It was loads of fun, but he was giving up some points because it was not enough power for champ lines at times. We had an event with a big long steep muddy climb and the 2 strokes would fly right up it in fourth with a downshift to third at wide open throttle. The poor little four strokes were stuck clawing away at it in 2nd gear. That is a problem if you are going try these types of climbs, but for the most part the bikes are great! Perhaps if it is a full 175 it would do fine. Steve are you thinking of buying one for yourself? I heard you were riding a Beta now?

Well I finally got my hands on the Garelli! It is in fantastic condition, with fewer miles on it than I had imagined. It has a motoplat "semi-dino" points system and the timing was set a t 2.0 mm btdc so Donato and his minder are not resposible for the kicker breaking at least timing wise. I found that a new k/s shaft and k/s spur gear were included new with the bike along with a brand new countershaft for the trans which is not needed but what a neat thing to have spare! I have cleaned it out thoroughly and feel confident that I have removed all the broken gear teeth from the gearbox and clutch housing. The biggest obstacle to getting it running is the kickstarter idler gear is ruined/missing some teeth. Thankfully it did not hurt the ring gear on the clutch basket. I have nice hot spark and soon will have a Delorto carb for it. Today I installed a new chain and rear tire and put on cables and Domino controls. Friday I tracked down a local company who is going to make a new kickstarter idler gear for it. This should take about two weeks because they have to wait until they get a load for the hardening process. To custom build one gear is costing $175.00 and it should work as well as when new. For now I can just sit and gaze at this beauty! The tank emblems look so good on there and I have removed the lights and installed a nice blue front number plate with a Garelli sticker on it, plus stickered out the rear fender and swingarm like a Bernie probably had on the (one) day he rode his Garelli.. It is surprisingly light although I have not weighed it, it will do a magnificent nose wheelie when coasting downhill with a dead engine. I feel like a teenager again having this cool old bike which takes me back to another era in trials. I am very pleased! JL