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The middle muffler is packed with a coarse steel wool, kind of like what you scour pots with. You can't pull it out or replace it without destroying the whole thing. You can throw the whole thing in a fire pit and burn all the oil out, and with fresh packing in the silencer your bike will have a new bike sound for a while.

Check to see if your fan is running slow. Mine overheats after 20 minutes and my fan is about half the speed of my buddy's brand new GG. If I connect a 12v battery the fan is fast, but on the bike it is slow.

I use a nylon strap from a dog leash attached at the ball and hose clamped past the dogleg with enough room to fit your index finger between the strap and lever. I also soak the strap with black enamel paint to make it stiff with some flex. This setup gives me more leverage on both clutch and brake and reduces fatigue. I can still use two or four fingers on the lever for shifting or full clutch disengage.

If you have the Ducati regulator/rectifier, check the back for burn marks. I've had 3 go bad on my 2007. http://www.flickr.co...05/10612379923/ This last time the fan began running slowly and overheated. Compare your fan speed with a new bike. Mine ran about half speed. Another time the rectifier for the spark plug burned up. The top one is for the spark plug and below it is for the fan. I dug away the epoxy, pulled a good circuit and attached it to another unit. http://www.flickr.co...05/10612106504/ I think the soldering damaged the circuit because it burned up right after the fan kicked on. I identified the circuit and it is a Taiwan Semiconductor S3M. I can by 20 of them online for $7. I want to find an alternative that I can clip on and not have to solder. Heat damages the rectifiers and I think the mounting position over the radiator causes it to overheat and fail. I'm going to move it to behind the numberplate. If I can't fix it I will have to spend another $200 on a new one for a failed circuit that costs pennies.

I had an 89 Fantic during the early 90's when I was crashing a lot. The rear fender would regulary snap and the aluminum subframe would crack and break, things that don't happen with modern bikes. It should be a fine starter bike if you are going to take it easy. If you do a wheelie and the rear fender hits the ground, it will break. Look closely for cracks on the frame and any aluminum part because Fantics will likely have some. All 89 Fantics had rear hubs that cracked. That forward kickstarter left bare will cause your boot to slip and hit you on the shin. It looks like there is a case repair above the countershaft sprocket. I had my chain come off and it broke through the case. $1500 seems to be too much for such a rough looking bike.

According to Mike Rapley's column, no-stop is here to stay for another two years. FIM Trials director, Thierry Michaud, seems to like it.

The thing I notice about riders inexperienced with crossing RR tracks and having trouble is that they are going way too slow.

Frozen railroad tracks are the most treacherous when everything looks dry and grippy but the rails are like ice. Dry tracks are easy once you get the timing down either straight or at an angle. I can cross them in 4th gear with speed at an angle by doing a couple of quick bunny hops.

You need to set your camera to a higher shutter speed on some of your photos to prevent blurry subject and sharp background. Really good sports photographers use expensive lenses that blur out the background so your eye focuses on the subject.

My Ducati burned out twice in the past six years. I doubt there is an alternative to OEM. If you could take off the epoxy backing maybe you could replace the bad resistor. It should be easy to find under the darkened spot on the epoxy. After the second time I burned out the box I noticed a loose wire hanging that was almost touching the radiator. The original owner cut off the lighting wires and left that live one hanging which probably caused the short and burned out the box.

Cody Webb is scheduled to race EnduroX this weekend in LA yet didn't ride last weekend in AZ. His foot must be healed but I wonder if he will be back to trials? Same situation with Louise Forsley. Talent goes where the money is and X-Games gold nets $50K while a trials national win gets $500. He could have easily won $300 for 2nd in AZ but even a 10th place in X-Games wins $1000.

Jap is a racial slur. As a Japanese American with parents who were sent to internment camps during WWII, I'm offended by the word. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jap

Here's another video I shot in Tennesee where the rider gets away with stopping and a body dab! http://www.flickr.co...N05/8969488869/ Three different rides on the same section. This one is true no stop with a clean. This other rider could have gotten a clean if he stopped and hopped but he chose to dab to keep going forward. The first rider would have never made it up the first big rock if he didn't prop himself with the tree, yet he only got a one.

From what I saw at the Tennesee WTC round, stop and hop is alive and well outdoors. If you prefer no stop, there were plenty of riders who rode that way. If you like stop and hop, there were even more, with many of them not even attempting to ride no stop and yet not getting a five. For them it was about how much stopping and hopping you can get away with. Turned out to be a lot. Common scenario was the top riders watch the lower riders try to ride no stop and fail, so the top riders figure out a zig zag, stop and hop route that will get them a clean knowing that they need to try for a clean loop to win it as shown by Raga's 1 point for two loops.

Here's one where he goes backwards. They could have gone over the big rock on the left but everyone I saw chose to stop and hop through the gap. http://www.flickr.co...N05/8868710048/ Bou gets a one. http://www.flickr.co...N05/8868668378/ Fuji stops and dabs for 3 seconds. http://www.flickr.co...N05/8868174097/

I was there and the observers were instructed to let them stop for up to two seconds. Everyone I saw this weekend who stopped without penalty only took two seconds, borderline three. Some even went backwards a little which they also got away with under the old rules. We should call the new rules pause allowed. Since they were allowed to stop and hop, the riders picked the easier line that zig zagged instead of the straight more difficult line. At the section on the video I noticed the observers were recording everyone's time. Everyone I saw was taking 1:15-1:17.

Yes! If it gets TV coverage like on X-games it would help bike sales. Already done before with judging on style points but too much like fmx on trials bikes.

Thanks for the measurments. 3.5 inches wide is the same as my 16 inch tire. I'm looking for a better tire than the hard Cheng Shin or Shinko. Vee Rubber makes a soft trials tire, the 17 inch VRM-308 which I think will work well if it fits in the swingarm. I know where to get one for $85 but the seller drop ships them and can't measure it.

Bike is a 2003 Suzuki RM100. That year Suzuki and Kawasaki had a partnership where they branded certain Kawasaki models as Suzuki and vice versa. My bike is a yellow KX100. Modifications: Geared down to 13/60 Steahly flywheel weight Rox Risers Skidplate Thin seat foam (to be added) Steering locks trimmed Double width footpegs Trials tire Standing position is very much like a trials bike. I can do trials, trail riding, and MX. It's a cheap, scaled down version of the KTM Freeride, Randonne, XRide. Mine cost $900 stock and since there are so many KX100's being parted out, spares are dirt cheap. I have a second rear wheel and seat to swap back to stock. This bike would be good for teenagers and small adults who want to try trials riding without committing to a trials specific bike. One drawback is the only 16" trials tire I can find is the small, narrow Shinko. I'd like to put on a 17" rim and install a real trials tire like the Vee Rubber that is used on the Gas Gas Cadet 70. Does anyone know what the width and outer diameter of that tire is? I think it will fit in the swingarm.

Who's going to be riding in Tennis E in the new Guest Class? It looks like anyone can who pays the entry fee. From TTC site: New for 2013 is a 5th class called “Guest”. The Guest Class will allow for a greater number of American riders to participate in the Trial World Championship. This 5th class requires the rider to be on a 125cc bike (or larger, per request) and ride the green line. This will allow riders who are not looking for World Championship points to compete with their international peers. So now if you would like to participate in the “Guest Class” You can send the FIM a request to ride larger than a 125 CC bike! http://trialstrainingcenter.com/blog/post/3629/

Check out the sticky thread in the Gas Gas section about replacing the fan motor with a model boat motor for about $15. It's the same motor used in vacuum cleaners so you might get one for free if you take apart a broken vacuum.

I was riding in the backyard yesterday and when I tried to kickstart, the lever was locked up. I layed it down and took off the clutch cover, clutch and looked at the gears. Idler gear was fine and kickstart gear had the same chipped tooth it had for years. Put it back together, started right up with no problems, and then made a video with my new gizmo called a Swivl that is an automated cameraman.

Did you buy it from the guy in Gadsden, AL? If so, how much? Without seeing a photo, I offered him $800 and he passed. I paid $760 for my 95 Section that didn't look as nice. The shock was toast and I replaced it with a brand new one made for a 90's Gas Gas. Now I need to figure out how to replace the heim joints they use in the linkage. My 89 Fantic had cracks on the frame and so does the 95. The aluminum frames are known for cracking. Even with the flywheel weight removed the power delivery is way mellower than my 2007 GG 250. The power valve doesn't seem to do anything. I had an overheating problem that took a while to figure out. The intake side hose on the water pump was so soft it would suck itself closed.

I'm also wondering how good the 20.0 will be for adults. I'm 5'4", 145lbs (162cm, 65kg) so the bike looks very appealing to me. The stiff forks sound good and I would use the 1000lb shock spring to make the bike like an electric pogo stick/trials bicycle. The delayed throttle response concerns me. Has anyone tried the technique of using the front brake like a clutch where you hold the brake, give a little throttle, compress forks and release the front brake like you are popping the clutch? Combining that with compressing the rear shock, you could get the bike to jump off the ground. I'm also interested in the Lipo battery conversion but would consider putting them in a backpack like the do on the EGO conversion kits. http://www.ego-kits.com/en/ego-kits/ The EGO kit looks like a good alternative to the Oset but it costs more than and doesn't include a bike. It would provide more options and not look so strange out in public. Plus it could be ridden like a regular bike when the battery goes dead.