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that's just not fair - what has he ever done to deserve that might I ask........ Ok - I'll get my coat! lol Up to the dirt-bike show tomorrow so hopefully I may get to see one in the flesh if they're there.

So I'm not the only one who does that then?

Please ensure that the 'green lanes' near you are legal byways. To ride on them legally then you must have a road registered bike fully taxed, mot'd (if over 3yrs old) and insured. You are going to need a bike license too. Getting reported will only add to the various groups such as the ramblers etc argument to get the green lanes closed and turned into footpaths only. If you know all this already then I appologise, if you don't then I'd suggest in joining your local TRF (Trail Riders Fellowship). Their website and members are a font of all knowledge regarding the legal states of lanes including BOATS and RUPPs. Their website is here . Shaun.

This may help you all. It was correct at the time of writing back in 2007 so you'd have to check for yourselves if any of the rules have changed but as far as I'm aware they haven't but that's down to you. The following is quoted from my own website and is a response from one member (not me!) to another regarding Day Time MOT's etc however it does have relevance to the original question. My own penneths worth would be that if the bike is going to be used on the road at sustained higher engine speeds then it may be worth while dropping your oil mix ratio down a little. I normally run at 70:1 on my Beta but if I'm doing a bit of road work then I'll drop it down to 50:1 to hopefully make it easier on the engine. Also on the over-run when you've shut the throttle, then I normally pull the clutch in to let the engine idle. This should prolong engine life as the piston isn't belting up and down with minimal lubrication. I've done a run of 65 miles (standing up all the way) on the Beta, it was more of an endurance than fun and you'd soon be bored of your commute after the initial novelty has worn off. Also as previously stated, the lack of security is a big issue and carrying a heavy chain and lock to keep your bike safe isn't all that practical. Once or twice would be fun though. One other thing, you may find that your bike doesn't meet the power to weight ratios which are also play a part in the learner laws - suffice to say if it was a road registered 125 motocrosser or enduro machine, then it would be illegal to ride it on the road on 'L' plates as it has too much power to weight. You may find that even if your 125 trials is less power than a standard 125 road bike, it's lack of weight could take it over the power to weight ratio. You'd have to look into that for clarification yourself and do some maths.

I have recieved the following from the Staff at Beaulieu Motor Museum regarding the future of Motorcycle World. The annual Motorcycle World, which was such an innovation in its time, is a show of which Beaulieu has been very proud. It proved hugely popular and was greatly enjoyed by many thousands of people over the years. However, in recent years a number of factors have prompted a re evaluation of the show. Ongoing economic uncertainty has increasingly put the motorcycle industry under pressure, making it difficult for major manufacturers and traders to commit their budgets to outdoor shows. The rising cost of Health & Safety infrastructure has also had an impact on the show's viability. Overriding both of these factors, the last two years has demonstrated that this is a show that relies heavily on fine weather. Given the increasing unpredictability of the English summer a decision has been reached, not to run the event for 2009. Beaulieu continues to develop its motorcycle collection and currently has on display, the largest collection of Ducatis outside the Ducati Museum in Bologna, including 'Airwaves', which has attained the pinnacle of technology in superbikes. Beaulieu also plays host to a number of other motorcycle events, most notably the Graham Walker Memorial Run which, in 2009, will be extending an invitation to classic bike owners to display their bikes in the grounds of the National Motor Museum at the event. We thank you for your support of this event in previous years & if you are happy for us to do so, we will maintain your details on file so we can contact you if we hold a motorcycle related event in the future. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us in the Events Department on 0 1590 614614 or email us at events@beaulieu.co.uk. Best regards Judith Maddox Events Manager It's a shame as there used to be a great man-made trials arena there and some big names have been known to come and display their skills there including a certain Mr. Saunders. It's also a shame as I enjoyed organising the Supermoto Displays there which I did for the past 5yrs Ah well - there you go. Those who've attended the shows in the last two years with us can't be surprised though. The weather has kept the crowds away and this must have had an impact on their ticket sales. Some of it is (I believe) down to poor organisation and also the costs for the trade and manufacturer stands - I'm lead to believe that it was costing Honda around

mine leaks slowly to 0 psi over the course of a week or so - I don't have a problem with that as I often adjust the tyre pressure to suit the ground and terrain on which I'm riding. If I'm playing on very soft soil without rocks etc then i drop pressures to suit - if it's hard or rocky terrain then pump more in. The change from 3psi to 5 or so is only a couple of pumps which takes seconds so I don't see it as been a major hassle.

i think that you'll find that it was back in Jan/Feb of this year. I was a pupil at that day - my rear brake packed up so I spent some time back at the van sorting it. ....... I remember you flipping the 300 about inbetween Steve showing us what to do. I'm fairly sure that it was your first time upon the bike and you did your write up for it on your site shortly afterwards. Steve found a huge steep incline to run up over which had some tree roots to navigate near the top and just picked 3rd and nailed it from the bottom. There were a lot of dropped jaws at the bottom of that climb watching him belt up over it with a little flip at the top just for the camera! Shaun.

Last Saturday I was due to take part in a local trial with the Waltham Chase club at a venue in the New Forest. I was to be riding my Beta 270 along with my lad on his TY80. On the morning of the trial, we decided to run the bikes up on my drive just to have a shake down and get my lad used to the bike again after not rideing for a while. My back brake seized and would not apply so a hurried hour spent trying to strip it and bleed it through proved fruitless so I dropped it off at Inchains in Ringwood for repair and I had resigned myself not to ride. When I was booking my lad on, I was offered a loan of a Sherco 250 as it's owner had a 'hangover from hell' and wouldn't be riding. "Great! " I thought and hurried over to pick the bike up. The owner was looking slightly worse for wear but offered me the loan of his machine, even filling it up with a fresh fuel mix and I scarpered off to get going. The bike felt good at first but was very fluffy at the bottom end and took a bit of reving to clear itself. It then started to stall a lot and it was causing me allsorts of problems leading to me dropping marks left right and centre and getting 5's at every other section. I persevered on and put it down to being a new bike to me and not used to the 250. I had completed about two thirds of the trial when I noticed that it was using a lot of fuel and was getting very low and was thinking about returning to the pits to fill up again when it conked out completley and refused to restart. I was resigned to pushing the bike back to it's owner and thanking him kindly for the very generous use of his bike even though now it wasn't running He was puzzled as it was running fine before I got hold of it. He had a look around and started to grin. "You know why it's not running right?" he queried. "No" I responded "It doesn't like running with the choke full on" "That will be the problem then!" What a bloody wally! I don't believe that I didn't put the choke back off and had struggled all that time on a bike which was fluffy and lunging all over the place. A mate commented that he thought it was "a bit smokey on the exhaust" . A valueable lesson learn't and one that I won't repeat again! The guy who lent me the bike wouldn't let me give him any money for the fuel that I had used - I think that I had cheered him up out of his hangover. And to be honest - I don't think that there are many other sports where you'll find people like that, willing to help you out in such a generous manner. Shaun.

Here's a daft one of me (you could call it a 'Mug for a Mug' I suppose.....

Just behind the waterpump cover on the underside of the casing and about 1/4 inch back from the cover is a small pin hole which is jetting water as soon as I put any water in the radiator. This part of the casing houses the water pump impellor by the look of it and I can only assume (until the casing is off) that the corrosion has eaten it's way through. Shaun.

I was competing in the Taunton Jubilee Trial yesterday and had completed 47miles with only 13 to go when I noticed the bike was over-revving when I had pulled the clutch in to coast down hills, trying to keep the engine cool. At first I thought it was clutch drag, then I figured it was going on to reserve, so I pulled in to switch the fuel tap over when I realised that it was very hot and water was appearing from a small pin hole in the casing by the pump. The bike was pre-detonating with the heat and I was lucky not to seize it. Game over. I had a good chance at winning my class at this event too as I only dropped a few marks throughout all the sections that I had completed.. So now it's off to get a new casing and fill up with the right coolant. The bike's previous owner must have had the wrong coolant in it, or it's been like it from new as it's only an '06 model. Bloody magnesium ! More expense! Shaun.

Thanks very much for that. I'll have to pay a visit down there and check it out. Shaun.

speak to this fella, there's not a lot that he doesn't know about suspension - being a multi-brit MX champion may have given him the edge a little! He should be able to either supply the parts or rebuild it if you supply the kit. Lampkins should have the kit me thinks. Neil Hudson Motorcycles Address: Emlett Farm Itchington Alveston Bristol BS35 3TA Contact: Neil Hudson Telephone: 01454 413185 Category: suspension / wheel building County scope: bristol hopefully not too far from you either. Shaun.

Thanks guys, I think that I'll start by going back to standard settings and then set for my weight and then I'll adjust them bit by bit and see how it goes.

Right then..... I'm getting much better at balancing the bike at a standstill as the practice has paid dividends however I'm trying to hop the front and rear now and I'm finding it nearly impossible to get either wheel off of the ground. I can bunny-hop a mountain bike (yes I know it's much lighter!) however I'm using the same technique with a lot more effort without any real result. Could it be that I need to adjust the suspension to give me more re-bound - (less rebound damping) when the forks and rear shock de-compress? I've seen a few instructional vids and other riders do it on their bikes and it looks as though they are not having to use half the effort that I am! I've a '06 270 Rev 3. I've not adjusted the suspension on the bike since I've had it and I don't know if it's ever been altered by the previous owners so... What are the standard suspension settings? What do you recommend that I change them to if that is what is required to help me with my little problem? I'm 6'2'' and 15st suited and booted - would I be better off putting heavier springs in? Or should I stop eating for a month and give up the pies! ?? Thanks Shaun.

I've been suffering with occaisionally losing the rear brake on my 270 rev3 since I've had it. I've got recent pads in it. I've stripped the caliper and lubed and cleaned it and bled some new fluid through it. However the problem still persists. What happens is that after a short while the pedal travels all the way down and touches the bash plate and is not stopping the rear wheel from turning. I took a couple of pics of a 125 rear brake set up to see if I could set mine up properly with regard to the position of the lever stop (adjustable bolt by the swinging arm pivot) and also the actuating arm/rod which goes to the master cylinder. My initial thoughts were that the piston in the M/C was being pushed up to far inside the cylinder and fluid was by-passing it. I adjusted it back so the actuating arm/rod wasn't so far up inside the cylinder. It was fine for a short while but now I'm back to square one again. I've got a couple of trials coming up in the next 4 weeks and I really don't want to be in the position of riding with only the front brake after a couple of sections! any idea's? A mate suggested a new M/C but the bike is an '06 and hasn't done a great deal of work really so I can't see how the components in it could be worn already. All tips and hints gratefully recieved.... ta Shaun.

Just got my entry off for this event. It's Sunday May 18th and is being hosted by the Taunton MCC. It's a LDT (or 'Sporting Reliabililty Trial' as they call it) and is around 55 miles or so around Exmoor and the Brendon Hills and will cover some public highway so a road reg'd bike will be required. Is anybody on here planning on doing it too? I'm looking forward to it but not to standing up all the way on my Rev 3! Shaun.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooo Chav's moving into trials!

Sammy Millers Shop has gone! It went around 6 months ago. The only one that comes to mind is my local dealer - www.inchains.co.uk they are down at Ringwood.- I bought my Beta 2nd hand from there and I've been dealing with them for a long time. Nigel and his wife who own it are very knowledgable and extremely trustworthy. There isn't a lot that Nigel doesn't know about bikes and how to set them up so they are worth a try. Last time I was there (last week) they had a lovely '04 montesa in great condition for

Did you replace the small end bearings and gudgeon pin at the same time as the piston? If not then there may have been some wear in the old ones and it's caused the new piston to pick up. You say small scratches - you will get some if the bore of the cylinder has worn slightly, even a new engine will get some slight scratches as the piston beds in - it all depends on how small the scratches are. Could you have mixed up a wrong ratio of oil/fuel? This can lead to the engine running hot and cause in extreme cases a seizure? I'd be inclined to take the barrel and piston off to be inspected. Are there any corresponding marks on the barrel? If there are, then maybe re-honing it will sort it. (TBH I don't know if it has a nickelseal lining) If it has then it will have to be replated to get rid of any marks. I doubt if it was dirt that caused the problem else you would have had it just on the inlet side. If dirt had got in then it would have swished around a bit and then remained in the bottom of the crankcase, unlikely to have been pushed back out through the exhaust ports. Shaun.

Hi, Have you tried here (I haven't had a search for torque settings specifically - don't most people just tighten nuts until they squeak! ) Beta Technical pages Shaun.

I've got an '06 rev 3 too.... There must be something in the coolant which is having a chemical reaction to the casing (Magnesium you say...??) If so there must be an alternative coolant which we could use to prevent this happening in the future....

G'wan - name and shame them! lol You've still got the trump card by asking for your deposit back - but like I said earlier - you could find yourself having to travel to get the bike that you want from another dealer which will probably now be at the same price as your dealer is now asking for.....