ridgrunr

the JT250 is probably a 94 or 95. The 94/95 was long and low. Fairly easy to ride bike, but prone to frame breakage just above the cylinder. Had a plastic gas tank where the 98 has an Aluminum tank. The 98 is a superior machine. Better frame, better engine, better suspension, better brakes. Easy to tame down. Like has been mentioned, make sure it has a slow black throttle tube, the white is the fast one. Also retard the ignition slightly. That will tame it down a lot and make it much more rideable. It involves removing the flywheel and just loosening the two screws so you can turn the timing plate slightly. Easily done. Slows it down nicely and will even smooth out the power delivery. Doing this, you can make it as docilie as a 200.

You can see pics of the different years of most of the Fantics here: http://www.geocities.com/utahtrials/fantic/fantic.html The one in your pic is a 1995 Fantic Section. 249 cc.

If Jon said 300cc, you can bet it's...300cc.

Michelins work better on the dry stuff such as mega traction rocks. They mould better and get fantastic grip, while the IRC's don't seem to stick as well, but the IRC's hook up better in in the slick and mucky stuff. I think they are about the same as far as flats. If you run either of them with too low of pressure you can get sidewall pinches. The michelins are a little more expensive than the IRC's, at least here in the states.

The Tryals Shop here in the U.S. are the Fantic guys. Contact them, they can probably help you. http://www.motorcycle-trials.com/tryalsshop.shtml

Inside the on/off switch on the handle bar is a wire that simply grounds the ignition to the handle bars, which in turn kills the engine. So you just have to determine which is the "hot" wire, then run a wire from the "hot igniton wire" to the lead wire of the kill button. The button itself should be "grounded" through the bars once it's mounted, then when ever you push the "kill" button it will do the same thing your kill switch did and ground out the ignition. If you want to get rid of the switch all together, simply follow the ignition grounding wire from ground wire in the kill switch up to the connector plug which is usually in or near the head light shroud. Then you run a wire from the connector plug in the head light to the new kill button on the handle bar, allowing you unplug the kill switch all together and remove the kill switch. But be aware that you'll probably also lose your headlight control if you remove the stock kill switch. Be sure to tape up the plug to keep it water proof once you've wired your kill button into it. There are more complicated ways to wire a switch that require rewiring the voltage regulator up iside the head of the frame, but just going to the head light plug is the easiest and works everytime. Simply unplugging the switch and running the new wire to the new kill button will allow you to re-plug in the switch should you ever decide you want to run the headlight somewhere down the road.

Keep em out of the rocks or they don't look too neat for too long. Be real careful with tire irons too when changing the tire. A slice out of a plastic milk jug between the rim and the tire iron will help. That's what I use to keep the irons from scaring up the rims when I change the tires on my road bikes.

We've got a passel of Gassers in our club, from 93 to 2005. Nothing gets hotter and melts riding pants faster than a Gasser pipe. Worst burn I ever saw was a gal at a California national riding with shorts. Bike fell over and she got pinned under it. I'll never forget how that burn looked! Must have hurt like holy h-e-l-l!! I got tired of melting pants. Tried a Hebo carbon fiber guard. Cost $60, and broke it the first time the bike fell over on the granite. So I went on the hunt and found a cheap solution. Here's what we use for exhaust pipe shields. Take your header pipe off or make a paper cut template of the bend and take it down to the local auto parts place (I use Car Quest). Tell them what you need a radiator hose and what are doing and they'll help you. Find an automotive radiator hose that has a similar bend. On my 1999 321 I found one that starts down on the first curve and goes clear to the expansion chamber. Cut to the lenght you want, then split it up the back side and slide it over the pipe. Secure it with some safety wire front and rear. Now you may think a radiator hose will melt under the heat, but it doesn't Yes, it gets warm, but not so warm that it will burn you if you touch it, and your pants will not melt if they touch it either. Plus that rubber will protect the pipe big time if you take a fall on the rocks. Guys in our club use them on Betas, Shercos, Betas and Montesas too. Cheap protection for you and your bike for about $10 and they look fine too...way better than all that melted nylon and skin you see on them.

Are the sections the same year after year? Sometimes if the same guy is setting the sections in the same place they can be very similar year to year. That said, I also believe that the sections evolve and get harder as time and years pass. Part of the reason is that the bikes get better and better, so the sections become harder to keep up with the bikes. Often I've seen cases where a rider drops out for awhile, say a year or so, then when he comes back he discovers the sections are way more difficult than they were when he was riding before. The guys who are still riding in the class haven't really noticed the difficulty increase cause they've grown up with it. It's sort of like seeing a nephew for the first time after three years. The folks around him don't see the everyday growth, but when you look at how he was a point "C" compared to how he is now at point "G" there's been a huge change. Trials is like that. Another problem is that many guys stay in the same class riding together for a long time. As they get better, the section difficulty increases along with their skills which adversly affects riders trying to break into the class. That's one of the reasons why we often see such huge jumps in difficulty between the classes. A rider may be top dog in the Intermediate class, but when he tries to move up to Advanced, he gets absolutely killed. This makes it very unworthwhile for a rider to try to move up, so he stays where he is and the class difficulty slowly grows with him instead of him moving up. It seems the hardest part for a Trials marshal to remember (I'm as guilty as anyone) is to set the section difficulty directed towards the lower half of the class. If the upper half finds the sections too easy they can then move up. That's supposed to be why we have classes. Unfortuantely, usually it's not like that though. Usually sections are set with the upper half of the class in mind, to keep it interesting for them, but this kills the lower half of the class and any new riders trying to break into the class. It's a viscious circle.

Yeah, but they sold a million of those Ty's. At one time our club was 90% TY monos. Worked good, were bullet proof cheap to buy. I just hope all of you guys go out there and buy new 7 grand bikes, then I can watch which ones work and last the best, then buy it from you a year later for $3500 while you fork out $8 grand for your new one.

It's almost impossible to bleed the rear brakes using the brake pedal. Not enough travel in the pushrod and piston to pump out the air in the top of the master cylinder. It is easy however to bleed them, just like you would a car brake from the master cylinder to the brake. Just take off the brake lever and pull the acuator rod out of the master cylinder. Then stick a phillips screw driver up in there. Put hard pressure on the screwdirver and pump the brake up, then open the bleeder valve at the disc (make sure you have a hose on the bleeder nipple to keep the fluid off the disk). When the screw driver bottoms out in the top of the master cylinder shut off the bleed valve. Keep pressure on it till you've closed the valve. Don't let it suck air back into the system. Pump it up again with the screwdriver (just like pumping up a car brake for bleeding). Do it a few times till the air quits coming out. Make sure to keep the brake reservoir full so you won't suck in air from the top. When you are only getting fresh brake fluid and no air, tighten down the bleeder valve, remount the brake lever and actuating rod, and go riding. Works everytime and is easy.

Ok, so I decided to order the Xpeed Capella. Everywhere I looked on the net all they seemed to come in silver, titanium, black or blue. I really wanted something white as the colored helmets soak up too much Utah desert sun heat. Then I stumble on this site called J&D Walter and they have white ones advertised. So I give them a call, and the guys says they have a medium white in stock, but instead of $65.99 like it says on the net, it's $55.99. Hot damn! So I ordered it. Cost $8.00 to ship it. It came four days later, from New York. Sure enough it's actually white. Looks neat, has good lines and great vision. It's lighter than the Shoei or the Bieffe. Has vents and a ventilated interior. The ear pocket is big enough that when I put it on I don't have to reach in and tuck my ears in. I ALWAYS had to do that with the Bieffe and the NZI. It's a little snug fitting, but maybe I was used to the loose fitting Bieffe that was constantly rolling forward on my head on the big drop offs so I would have to push it back. I wish it had a quick connect chin strap, but it didn't. Does now though as I abscounded with the one off the Bieffe before it went into the dumpster (I got to looking close at the rock gouge and it had some ugly star cracks radiating from the impact point, so it was toast anyway) The interior is really soft. Feels real comfortable and fits fine. I'll wear it in the meet next week and see how it works. Doesn't smell like the old Bieffe either!!

Thanks for the great feedback guys. I went ahead and ordered one. Heck the price is right, so I can't go too wrong. Thanks again.

I'm thinking about replacing my Bieffe helmet. Hung it on the bars at the last meet, and the bike fell over. You guessed it...helmet got sandwiched between a rock and the bars. Has a nice deep gouge in the outside of the helmet and a neat circle and a gouge in the foam inside from the bar end and the clutch lever. Sure saved the bars though! So I'm thinking it's time to replace the lid. Had a Shoei first. Heavy and hot! Then I had an NZI before the Bieffe. Didn't like the NZI, cheap buckles that started rusting right away and the interior material fell apart in a hurry. Both the NZI and the Bieffe pinch the tops of my ears. Doesn't help that I wear glasses. I mashed the foam in the top of the ear pockets a little, but it didn't help much. Man all three have been hot too. The Shoei is really heavy, and the Bieffe is heavier than the NZI and maybe hotter. I'm not sure the vents do much. So I started looking for alternatives and came across an Xpeed Capella helmet while doing some cyberspace research. This is what it looks like: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item....101&Division=1# Looks neat, is light, vented top and sides, and DOT approved. Anyone have any experiences with the Xpeed Capella?

Shhh! Do we really want "Mich Lin" back? I think we're happy where he is.

The new web address for Utah's Wasatch Trials Association is: http://www.geocities.com/utahtrials email is: utahtrials@yahoo.com

I've got a 99 GG321. It's been bullet proof. It's competed at a meet every month since new, and dozens of trail ride. Great bike.

I had the exact same problem. Sidi Tops last forever, soles don't. My advice, get some Gaerne soles and have a shoe cobbler put them on then you'll have the best of both worlds. That's what I did! Gaerne soles last forever. They are still going stong and are twelve years old now. I finally sold them two years ago to a new rider and he's still wearing them!

Try www.miniclips.com, then click on the Trials game. They have two demo games you can play, and you can buy the main game less than ten bucks. Don't know if it will help your riding any, but they should keep you busy trying to master them.

Two guys in our club have had ACL replacements. One did the cadaver thing and the other had a piece of his own tissue transplanted. The cadaver option seemed to be the superior option. Seemed like he didn't even miss a meet and had a very quick recovery time, like six to eight weeks, while the other fellow took a longer time to get back up to speed. Both are riding well now, but the cadaver replacement doesn't even wear a brace where the other does. I know of two other cadaver replacements with folks at work, and neither seem to have any problems at all and were up and around in record time.

That's weird. Works for me. Try going to the web page http://www.geocities.com/utahtrials then click on the bikes and stuff for sale. Let me see if I can upload the pic. That's Brock Fenton doing the nose wheelie thing. What a fun kid!

Here's a real nice GG50. I know the guy who owns it and it's a nice machine. 2001 GAS GAS TXT50 $1800 in Salt Lake City Runs and looks awesome 801-571-2501 Heartbeadz@aol.com click here to see it http://www.geocities.com/utahtrials/salepics/gg50.jpg

Gate Trials are fun. We ran one a few years ago. Although It's hard to get the riders past the idea of conentional trials I think the "Gate Trials" format has some real advantages. It's easy to score, and is there is more strategy involved in that you have to carefully pick your lines to ensure that you can successfully complete the section. Whether you win or lose not only depends on how well you ride, but how well you can pick lines and how much risk you are willing to take.

I've always wanted to put the riders in teams. One rider from each class to make up a team and have them ride together and help and coach each other. Instead of competing against other riders in their individual class, they are competing against the other teams. Would be best to pick the teams ramdomly so no one gets a team full of ringers.