mcman56

Are rod kits difficult to install on modern 2 strokes (Beta 125)? The only one I have installed was on a BSA C15. It was very old and rusty. My cheap 30 ton press groaned pushing it apart but got the job done. Any recommendations?

I can mention a couple of hard to find ignition issues I have encountered and a diagnostic idea. A friends Beta recently quit running. It would sort of start and die. I checked the carb. And then looked at wires. The power wire to the coil had a little cut in the insulation like someone screwed up when installing the connector. There were some signs of arcing. It got taped up but it was not the issue. I unplugged the kill switch and it was the same but I noticed a flickering light inside the connector on the bike side of the wiring when kicking/ running. I broke the connector open and found the two pins burnt due to arcing. I replaced the connector and all was good. I don't know how I would have found that without seeing the arcing. I never would have suspected something inside the connector of the main wiring harness. A continuity check at that connector could be a good idea but if it is intermittent may not be found. I had a little kids bike that would start and run fine but start to miss under heavy load. I found a bare wire under the flywheel. It was not touching so worked OK until the voltage got high enough and jumped the gap. It is not easy but If you have access to a lathe or mill, it is possible to set up the ignition system on that and run it off the bike. A drill press may work too. The stator needs to be properly positioned in the flywheel. (not much clearance to play with) Plug in CDI, coil and spark plug. Ground the side of the plug and use the machine to spin the flywheel. You can observe performance and a timing light can be used to look for consistent timing. If you mark the flywheel and stator to identify some degrees before center, you can see if timing is close.

Could the flywheel be loose and changing position?

When I first went to a bike with powerful front brakes, I struggled. To make them more progressive, someone suggested cutting an X in the pads with a hack saw. It worked.

At least on the 2016, there is a bracket holding a group of connectors right on top of the carb. (seen if you remove the fender) These are not very tight connections. Twice after changing jetting, I have had issues. Once the fan did not work and once the fuel solenoid did not work. I probably bumped the connectors when pulling the carb but upon inspection they appeared to be making good contact but in fact were not. Reseating the connectors was the cure. Since not very secure, they could be suspect for water contamination.

I once bought a 250 Techno that ran like that. It started and ran fine but lacked power. It ran sort of like a TLR200 but would rev a lot higher. When I pulled it apart, I found that the bottom of piston skirt on the exhaust side was bent in, maybe a 1/4" up from the bottom. It even had a crack but did not break off. It must have created a leak from the crankcase to exhaust pipe at TDC. I assume someone was turning the crank with the cylinder off and managed to wedge the piston into something. A new piston was the cure. I assume a shorter than stock piston could have a similar affect. An impact gun will also remove the flywheel nut without the need to hold the flywheel steady. Some people will paint a line on the nut and flywheel before removal so they know how tight it needs to be. They will then use an impact gun to reinstall to the same spot. That seems a bit risky to me so I prefer a torque wrench to reinstall. If you can drill some holes, you can make up your own "special device" that bolts to the holes used to mount the flywheel weight. Just be very careful not to thread and bolts any deeper than the thickness of the flywheel. The stator come up pretty close to the inside of the flywheel and could get damaged.

A friend had a Gas Gas stator done here: http://www.rickystator.com/page/rewinds Does a 2003 rev 3 have an advance curve? I have checked a couple. A 97 techno did but an 08 Rev 3 did not.

You should definitely include checking and greasing the swing arm bearings. They don't use a lot of grease from the factory. All Balls sells a swing arm bearing kit.

Who sells the AJP replacement system? Where do you get a Nissin M/C? I find that the Beta rear brakes are weak but have found nothing that would be a fairly easy replacement..

The Beta UK SSDT guide recommends sealing rim strips with sikoflex or tiger seal. I have never seen this stuff but have a very slow leak am thinking about giving it a try. Has anyone down this? Is there just on version of sikoflex and tiger seal? Is it easy to clean off for removal?

I managed to get some front compression but still no lift. Can you tell which direction timing is off? It looks rushed but I'm not sure why. https://youtu.be/ZJ_3kox93ns

The guy narrating this converted the Montesa and has been riding it in local trials since. He has a channel on youtube but I don't know if there is a way to contact him through that.

jacob429 I like the platform in your video. What size lumber did you use? Are the posts 6 x 6?

Beta 200 is a small bore 250 so just add 250 top end.

Sometimes I can get over this obstacle without smacking the foot peg mounts and kick stand bracket but mostly they hit. There is no rear wheel lift. What am I doing wrong? (I think it is everything but everything is hard to work on.) The one time you don't hear the hit, the front tire deforms a little so impact does help. How do you safely impact a sharp obstacle like that. Do you need to come down on it rather than hit the face or....?

lineaway - are you saying these will fit my 2016 beta with grimeca calipers? I thought ajp morphed into bractec

I recently changed from a Beta 300 2T to a Beta 300 4T and really like the change. It took me a while to get used to it but it takes me time to get used to any new bike. My riding skills are probably average. At my level it is still about doing things with throttle more than clutch. The 4t is slightly heavier but I can't say that it affects anything. The 4t has more engine braking but I can't say that it is a pro or a con. Mine is a 2016 and I bought the oil pump upgrade that is said to reduce engine braking but after getting used to it, I think I actually like the engine braking so have not installed. Pros It is very very quiet The 4t has more off idle power in that initial blip. This is good in coming right up to a large log. The 4t has less power at higher revs so you can be less precise with the throttle. It feels kind of fluffy. The 2t 300 produced a lot of power once wound up which could get away from you and was really no use to an average rider like me anyway. The 4t power comes on softer, more like a push than a hit. I find it less tiring to ride and it beats me up less so I am riding more. I think everything happens a little slower so I'm also in better control The 4t is very easy to kick. It takes a long slow kick with not much force. It gets better traction and seems able to regain traction easier if you do start to slip. No mixing of oil or cleaning of oily exhausts. It is hard to explain but it is more fun to ride, like a Reflex. Maybe it is the quiet smooth power. Cons That strong power on the initial blip tends to push the front end when doing full lock turns. To compensate, I changed my style to hold throttle steady and just use clutch in those situations. Full lock turns do seem a little harder. It could be a higher center of gravity due to the taller engine or maybe the geometry is a little different. The clutch is probably a little less progressive. It only has 5 gears so feels like it is missing 6th. For trials it is fine but if you want to do high speed road it could be a limitation. The gears are nicely spaced, not like the old Shercos that seemed to be missing 4th gear. Occasionally, after being dropped or stalled in some odd manner, it can take a number of kicks to get it going. It has 3 oil filters. One is changed out and two are cleaned. It is actually quite easy and quick to do. The carb is much more difficult to get out. Instead of a 5 or 10 minute jet change, it is probably more like a 45 minute or hour change....still not horrible. Valve adjustments are a lot of work. You come very close to pulling the engine to get it to rotate down and get access. The recommended interval is 60 hours so it does not have to be done often.

Message sent but does anyone know how to allow PMs. I looked at my profile but don’t see any settings for that

300s tend to be more slow reving than 250s so are stronger but a bit slower on response so can be easier to ride. However, if the throttle gets away from you and you end up at higher rpms they put out a lot of power that could get you in trouble. So, I think the answer depends on your throttle control.

I pulled out the parts. The smallest was thin and 1.3" ID. That must be the one I remember. The tapered part fits in the pipe. See picture. Send me a PM with your address, I can should be able to mail it. I have no use for it now.

I just looked it up. The outside of the spacer was shaped just like the exhaust flange with the two holes. The ID was 1.42" but I don't remember where that came from, probably some percent of the unrestricted area. It was 1/4" thick aluminum. I'll look for the actual part.

Front and back lighting wires simply unplug but the front plug is a bit difficult. If it is like the 2T, the ignition advance (sunshine/ mud) simply unplugs also. To go further seems to require cutting the harness.

I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with a 250 Rev3. (It is surprising what some people will do for entertainment.) - Instead of welding a washer in the inlet of the exhaust pipe, I made a spacer with smaller ID that fit between cylinder and pipe so it was removable. The pipe still cleared the fender but did not slide into the muffler quite so far. It softened the power quite a bit but also made it bog proof. You could use large amounts of throttle at low RPM and it would just chug along. If you are interested I may still have this spacer. I don't remember if I changed jetting. - In the US, Betas come without flywheel weights so adding one would soften power. - I made a carb spacer with small boost bottle. If you run the Mikuni manifold with a Keihin carb, you pick up an extra 1/2" to insert a spacer with port for boost bottle. IIRC this produced the same bog proof low end chug power but did not soften the overall power much. - A 26 mm OKO carb ran the same as a 28 mm Keihin but the response was just a tiny bit softer. - The expensive option is a 200 top end. The Beta 200 is a small bore 250 instead of a big bore 125 like most other brands. - Thicker base gaskets raise the ports to push the power band up in the rpm range. This would soften the low rpm power where most trials riding is done. It also drops the compression so would be easier to start. The 300 super Smooth runs low compression and is surprisingly easy to kick for a 300.

Water in gas can cause weird intermittent lean issues and be difficult to get out of system. I once pulled a carb and found a drop of water stuck in the main jet. Still, I can't see how that would cause a backfire.

Beta 4t engine maintenance schedule is based on hours so it is very useful.