stu109

Its just one piece, about 5mm long, photographed from a number of different angles. I haven't started it since finding the object but I suspect its been there for some time. Started bike to heat up the oil prior to change and everything seemed fine. Have sent the bit to Beta UK to see want they think.

I changed the oil today on my Evo 300 4T. A small piece of metal was attached to the drain plug. Bike starts and runs fine. Anyone any ideas where it might have broken off from?

Have a word with DVLA first. I had a age confirmation letter from the relevant owners club but this turned out to be worthless as a inspection by SGS was still required to confirm the age.

I found my Sherco difficult to start because it was running a bit lean. Give the carb a clean with particular reference to the pilot circuit. Make sure the mixture screw is set OK and see if this helps. Can also run lean if the crank seal on the flywheel side is leaking. If you take the flywheel cover off there should be no up and down movement on the crank. If there is the bearings are shot and the seal will leak. If the bearings are OK it is possible to replace the seal without splitting the engine. I would try the carb first though.

I am trying to register a 1961 bike and it has been a nightmare so far. I initially completed form V55/5 and sent it to DVLA with a letter from the relevant owners club confirming age. This was rejected by DVLA the reason given being that I needed a NOVA certification. I duly completed the NOVA form which was returned by NOVA confirming I didn't need a NOVA registration. I returned the V55 and this confirmation letter from NOVA to DVLA but this was agan rejected on the basis I needed a NOVA registration. I reapplied to NOVA explaining the correspondence from DVLA and they registered the bike on their system and confirmed no VAT was due. I then resent the V55 and this second letter from NOVA to DVLA. This was again rejected and I was advised that I was required the have the vehicle inspected by SGS (another government agency). This was done today and they advised that their report would be returned to the DVLA. This should be sufficient to register the bike with a historic reg. number but I am not hopeful. The Personal Transport Unit of HMRC deal with NOVA registration. Their phone number is 0300 3227071. DVLA are on 01792 384253 they arranged my inspection by SGS. Good luck.

Managed to find a wiring diagram on line that showed a simple earth from the kill switch. Have rewired the lanyard button so that its goes to earth as suggested and this works fine. Thanks for all your help.

Mark I don't think the switch I had on originally made a earth. I simply cut the blue wire and fitted the switch wires to each end. I assumed the circuit would be complete with the switch on "run" and broken to cut the engine. I have seen switches that create a earth to the bars when pressed but this is not the arrangement I had. Might be better to go down this route.

Hi I have a JCM 323 that I use infrequently. At the weekend it started fine on the Saturday afternoon, but at the Sunday trial nothing (although there did appear to be a week spark). I suspected the kill switch and with this disconnected it works fine. The switch was connected to the blue wire on the Motoplat ignition coil and I think it just breaks the connection. Today I have fitted the lanyard type switch from my Beta (and it worked fine there). This still does not work, but again with the blue wires just connected it fires up every time. I have put a meter across the lanyard switch and this seems to show an open circuit with the cap on and about 59 Ohms with it off (which seems the wrong way round to me). Any advice on where I am going wrong and suggestions for an effective kill switch?

The mixture screw is located at the bottom of the carb near were it joins the inlet rubber. It is possible to adjust it with a small screw driver bit but it is very difficult to get to. I find it best to take off the rear exhaust and approach from that side. Generally the advice seems to be to go for richer carb settings for best running. The hot start button weakens the mixture to aid starting so not sure if richening the mixture will help with your hot starting problem. Is you issue just with the hot start? Does it run/start most of the time? Do you have a hot start issue all the time or just when it has been on the floor? There are already some other suggestions on this forum for hot starting, including I think no hot start and max open the throttle, but I have not tried this.

You say if the bike is brand new. If you bought from a dealer then the bike automatically comes with a six month warranty (even if bought from a dealer second hand). I would suggest that the dealer should be your first call before taking the thing apart.

I find with my 4T that hot starting is fine if I stop it with the kill switch but if it falls over it can be a real swine. I give it a couple of kicks with hot start on and no throttle. If that doesn't work then hot start closed, fuel tap to manual, and a touch of throttle. I use a firm steady push on the kick start. I think I read somewhere that the kick start gears are a little fragile and not really up to repeated sharp kicks.

Thanks for all your helpful comments. I can now see how my thinking on longer bolts was completely flawed. In summary my options look to be: Remove 2 springs. Replace one of the 4T's thicker plates with a thinner one from a 2T. Put small washers under the "top hat" washers. Fabricate new "top hat" washers with a deeper "hat". Fit lighter springs. Try different lever set up. I'm going to start with the washers under the top hats as this is simple and keeps all 6 springs. Will let you know the outcome. lineaway, at the risk of sounding dumb, when you say Gas Gas 160 springs, is this the weight of the springs or the springs off a GG 160?

I have the top hat type washers. They have the "hat brim" outwards so that the washers fit within the spring. Regarding clearance the current bolts, when tightened, fit flush with the clutch plate. There looked to be at least 5mm between the clutch plate and the casing. Also the OEM bolts have quite a deep head. Slightly longer bolts , particularly with a shallower head may well still clear the outer casing. The easier solution is to run on just four springs but not sure if this will result in slipping.

Looking to lighten the clutch on my Evo 300 4T. Was thinking of taking out two springs as suggested on this forum. Looking at the clutch the springs have a fair amount of pre-load. I was thinking that some slightly longer bolts (say 2-3 mm) would take some of the tension off and might produce the desired result. Has anyone tried this, or got any thoughts?

Have managed to fit the Jitsie mixture screw without taking of the carb. I took off the rear silencer and pulled the various breathers out of the way to get access. I unscrewed the OEM screw with a small screwdriver bit. It was very difficult to tell if the bit was engaged with the screw so, rather than screwing it in first to record the setting, I just had a go at unscrewing it. After a bit of fiddling the screw came out with the spring and O ring attached. Jitsie screw was relatively easy to get in. I set it at 3 turns open and it started fine. Will play about with the setting next time out to get the best result .

I have a 2013 300 4T and it does have the in-line filter you refer to. If it stalls or falls over in a section it is more difficult to start and I often resort to "manual" (lever down) on the fuel solenoid. Having said that once it starts up it runs fine. As your bike runs at low throttle it may be that its starved of fuel. Try running it with the fuel tap open (lever down) and the petrol cap removed, just to check the tank breather is not blocked. After that suspect you will need to remove and clean the carb.

I'd already figured out about taking the tyres off! Thanks for the comprehensive instructions I will get the carb out when I next have an hour or so to spare. Will probably do the work next time I re-grease the linkage bearings as the rear wheel and shock are out at the time.

Thanks for the info. Might I be able to rotate the carb sufficiently to allow the old screw out and the new one in?

I find the fabric gloves tend to wear through on the fingers. Used my gardening gloves on my last trial. https://www.dickiesstore.co.uk/product/GL0400-dickies-performance-gloves?fo_c=1112&fo_k=2f3195ed40fa0c69c5a620f1d492bc68&fo_s=gplauk&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9f7v-ai82QIVT7XtCh0ChwSYEAQYAiABEgK_GfD_BwE#{"col"%3A"tan"} These have a leather palm and fingers which is surprisingly supple so don't feel awkward. Waterproof which keeps your fingers nice and warm on a cold wet day. On problem is the rather strange mustard colour.

I have managed to source a Jitsie mixture screw for my Evo 3004T. Does anyone have experience of fitting these? The parts diagram shows a spring and an o-ring on the screw. Are these likely to come out with the screw? My plan is to fully tighten the existing screw to note the current setting and then put in the Jitsie item. Ideally I would like to do this without removing the carb. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Hi My 2013 4T has the standard throttle, which I found to be to fast for my liking. Under a quarter of a turn from nothing to max revs. I tried a Domino slow action but this was to slow and required more than 180 degrees of the grip to get to full throttle. The slow action item was not adjustable for cable length like the original, and to get it to work I has to use the other cable hole on the carb. You'll see what I mean if you look at where the cable attaches to the carb. As a better compromise I adjusted the stock item. I trimmed off some of the plastic on the throttle tube. If you take the throttle grip apart you will see that the throttle cable runs on a raised piece of plastic on the tube. By reducing the diameter of this, the cable winds more slowly as the grip is turned, and so the throttle speed is reduced. I cut it down to produce a gentle curve for the cable to run on. I got it to about 110 degrees of turn for full throttle, which suits me. I now have a spare, used once, Domino slow throttle if you would like it.

Had a go yesterday at cleaning and re-greasing the various linkage bearings on my Evo 4T. Overall not quite as tricky as I thought. Does seem to be designed though so that none of the bolts can be easily removed as each is baulked by the shock or the swing arm. In the end took off one of the foot rests to get things started. There was very little play when I started (which I took to be a good sign) and it was even better when finished. Cleaned out the bearings with a tooth brush and brake cleaner, which seemed to work well. Re-greased with waterproof grease which I got from a marine chandler. The "top hat" bushes looked to be in good order. The lowest sitting bearings in the dog bones where much dirtier that the others. There presumably get the most dirt when riding. Think I will look to replace all the bearings next time round. Didn't do anything with the bearings at each end of the shock. Couldn't see exactly how these came apart and didn't want to damage them. Do the bushes on these just pull out?

Happy to report everything now OK.

Thanks for all your replies. Have had a good look at it and conclude: Chain a little bit loose - have adjusted in line with manual. Front sprocket OK. Some wear from rubbing on the split link so have turned it around so clip is on the inside. Could replicate the noise by depressing the tensioner so the chain went a little slack. This caused the underside of the chain to "clack" on the frame. There is only just enough room for the chain to pass between the frame and the underside of the swinging arm. There was evidence of rubbing in this area. May look to put some plastic protection on the frame here. Will take it for a test ride and see if the problem is solved.

With clutch lever pulled in noise seemed to disappear. I do regularly clean and lube the chain but it is quite slack, although the adjuster does take up all the free play. Did consider the chain and wheels as the frequency of the noise seemed more in tune with wheel rotation rather that the engine. Will tighten the chain a notch or two and see if this makes any difference.