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Before you decide to split the cases, I would check a couple of things just by removing the clutch cover. First check if your idle gear are kick start gear have been damaged again. If you installed the kickstart lever too far forward you could have chipped the gears giving you the grinding noise. Next, try rotating the shift adjuster eccentric to try to fix the gear engagement issue.

I know the trials bike factory is in Spain, but the enduro bike factory is in France and the founder is French. Sherco graphics have a French flair. Are Shercos French designed and engineered?

Someone who also has a Section told me that he took his bad hoses to an auto parts store, found ones with a similar bend and cut to fit. This Hebo Beta shock can be used as a replacement with a couple of washers added on top. I've been trying to find linkage replacement parts.

The weather forecast for next weekend is 96 for Saturday and 99 for Sunday with a heat index well above 100. It's been dry so the humidity won't be as bad as it could be. Overnight lows will be in the mid 70s and even with a 9am start time, 1st loop should be in the 80s, 2nd loop 90s, and peaking by the 3rd. It's more humid in the morning so it will feel hot all day but all the sections will be well shaded. After 6 sections, the loop comes back towards the pits so riders could fill up their water bottles. A Camelback would be a good idea. If your coming from California and think that 105 heat in the desert is not a big deal, southern style heat is a different matter. The STRA doesn't schedule any local events from June through August. If we had normal temps of upper 80s, it wouldn't be so bad, but 10 degrees above normal can be dangerous. That being said, I've entered on Sunday and am looking forward to riding. For those not riding, the Pro class shootout starts at 3:30, spectator friendly, closely grouped in the creek.

Some photos here. Nasty looking mud section!

If you are short like me, it is hard to start with you left foot on the ground. I always lean the front wheel against something for balance, stand on the pegs, then kickstart with more leverage and no problems. Always no throttle.

For the high price you pay for trials specific boots, I don't think they offer enough protection. Even inexpensive work boots have steel toes to protect your foot against dropped objects. Several times sharp rocks or cut off roots have hit my foot while riding. I'd sacrifice some comfort for protection.

Following Sherco's footsteps, now there is a Gas Gas Econo model. A brand new 2008 280 with Sachs suspension for $5,000 USD. $400 less than the Sherco Econo. Only 25 available. http://www.lewisportusa.com/ My Sachs rear shock works fine on my 07 250, so the only real difference is heavier forks?

I took a test ride today and it's shifting normally again. I guess I'll take my chances. It will cost another $150 to replace the pawl and lots of trouble splitting the cases. In the meantime, perfect riding weather this week!

I don't know about the UK, but in the US you can get a Beta replacement shock here: http://www.trialspartsusa.com/for-the-bike.html Hebo closeout for $250. I bought one for my Fantic Section and it fits perfect with a couple of washers added. My old shock would bottom easily and this shock fixed that. If you put a new spring on an old shock you could still bottom out because the damping is gone.

I was able to replace the cross bar on the shift shaft locator. I took a deadbolt plate, cut it, pressed it in with a little overhang and hammered the ends to lock it in. I did the following mods and now it will shift into second but have not done a test ride yet. I'm wondering if I can leave it like this or could I be risking more damage or potential to jump into neutral when going up a rock?

Thanks for the info. I see the piece that you mean. It looks like a small chain link. Expensive part? I was watching the engine disassembly video and splitting the cases does not look like fun! It's going to take some time and money. That little shift shaft center locator and spring cost me $65USD and it looks like I could have replaced that cross bar myself for free.

I hit the shift lever on a rock and the crossbar on the shift shaft center locator broke loose. Easy fix and I replaced the part. The problem now is that I can't shift into 2nd unless I double shift. All the rest of the gears work fine up and down. I followed the shift centering procedure on the GasGasUSA owner's DVD but I can never get the centering click into 2nd, even without the spring and tophat. It will shift into second without the tophat and under load. When trail riding, one shift up from 1st always goes to neutral and two shifts always into 2nd. When stopped with the clutch in, it won't go into second. Time to split the cases?

I ordered a Dunlop D803 rear tire for $76 USD from motorcycle-superstore.com with free 7-day shipping.

The sign industry uses products like rapidtac. I wouldn't risk wasting your stickers with soap and water. You can also use window tint film application spray from an auto parts store. Use a mini squeegee.

Electric motorcyles used to be much more expensive than gas but now the made in USA Zero X is about the same as European trials bikes and less than 4T. Also Less than $.01 per mile to operate!

Denali (now called ElectricMoto,) electricmoto.com made one in 2001. Info here. They just modified their MX bike. There are a few electric MX brands available. Zero motorcycles If battery technology improves, this could be the future.

My source of pain has been coming not from the lever but the clutch perch, with the bike stopping and my body continuing forward. First time it hit my hip bone and the last time it bruised my ribs. Now I have foam padding covering the length of the bars.

My 07 fan started squealing for about 5 seconds when it first turned on, then it stopped squealing. The motor is a Comex brand and after taking the fan assembly off the radiator, I pulled back the rubber cover from the motor. It is glued so I carefully used a razor blade. I sprayed a little chain lube on the shaft and put the fan back on. No more squeal and the fan is much quieter. The fan had always been loud even when new and I noticed other 07s with loud fans so I thought it was normal. I could always tell when the fan kicked on because it sounded like a hair dryer was turned on. Now it is quiet and I can barely hear if it is on.

I found the tool to take off the rebound side cap. It is called an adjustable face pin spanner. Make sure you get the 3mm pins. I got mine here for $12. http://www.reidsupply.com/detail.aspx?R=AM...20pin%20spanner Made in Germany by AMF (Andreas Maier Fellbach)

I have a quick and easy method to change the oil in the compression side for the aluminum forks. Remove the allen bolt at the bottom of the fork, loosen the fork cap all the way and unscrew the air bleed screw. The fork cap won't come all the way off but the oil will drain from the bottom which you should collect in a measuring cup. Replace the bottom bolt and tighten the cap. Take a big syringe and replace the same amount of fork oil that drained, through the air bleed hole, then replace the screw. If you want softer compression, use less oil and/or 2.5 weight oil. The correct way is to disassemble and measure the oil level but I'm too lazy for that. The rebound side is a mystery to me. Very little oil drains when you remove the bottom bolt and you need a special tool to remove the cap. A tool with pins that fit in the 10 little holes in a circle. Does anyone know where to get one?

I've been riding all summer in very hot and humid weather which is normal here. I'm using an ice water cooling system from http://www.veskimo.com which works well but it only last about an hour before it needs more ice. It's bulky, heavy and expensive but I can ride any any kind of heat. Those cooling vests like the one you saw do work but I don't think they cool as long as advertised. About an hour is more realistic. I made a cheap alternative by using this http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/produ...Id=HPProd100629 I take two of the ice blankets ($3 each), cut off a row, and join them together with sticky back velcro so it can wrap around your waist and used velcro to join the ends. I then made a waist wrap made out of compression shorts material with a velcro closure. I wrap this around my waist, then wrap the ice blanket, then cover that with a neoprene waist trimmer belt ($12) and put on a t-shirt and a bicycle helmet. This also works well, is light, and last about an hour before needing to switch out the ice blankets.

The Trials Training Center website tells you to turn left to hop left and Ryan Young's video shows you to turn right to hop left. Both ways work but I found when you are learning it is easier to turn left to hop left and straighten the bars when you land. If I do a downhill nose wheelie and turn left, my back wheel kicks to the left almost automatically with a little left lean. If you don't straighten out the bars on landing, you will keep falling left. Another tip is not to load and unload the rear suspension too quickly. If you slow it down, you will use more of the shock's energy.

I discovered a technique where I can make small hops with very little effort. It involves a pre-bounce before the second bounce to get the rear wheel up and over to the side. It's like if you were doing a stationary jump, you do a smaller leap motion with feet planted before your final leap. I think it makes you get the timing right and use all the suspension energy instead of fighting it. Turn your front wheel slightly to the right and lean it against a tree or wall so you don't have to worry about losing balance. Using knee bend, leaning forward and extra pressure on the left hand, with front brake, do a small bounce followed by a slightly larger one and your rear wheel will move to the right. It should be one continuous motion and with very little effort you can get 6 inches of side movement. After that you can try it with forward motion and bigger distance.

True, the lever should not slam the footpeg, but it is designed to hit it. The key is to kick hard and fast at the top of the stroke, then the lever slows down and hits the peg, but not too hard.