desertrat28

I'm updating this original thread to help vindicate Betas. History repeated itself twice (broken gears) until we discovered that the new style 1st gear had been installed by a previous owner without utilizing the supplied new shaft. This shaft has slightly different splines that engage first gear and installing one without the other spells disaster (and expensive repair bills) in short order. The moral to this story is, when you tear into a bike that you didn't buy new, don't assume anything! Suspect every part inside that trans when rebuilding it and you keep in mind you may have to purchase a new shaft to have one to compare. There is virtually no way to tell if you have the new or old shaft unless you compare and put a mic on them to tell the difference. The comparison of the gears is straight forward enough, the old gears had a spoke like pattern IIRC and the new style has an alternating triangle shape next to a round hole repeated around the interior of the gear. Don't take my word on this, check with someone more knowledgeable to be sure. Another issue we found is that the previous case cracker had not put the correct thickness shaft end shims in so check those also. All this new found knowledge was gained at high expense of both dollars and frustration so be diligent in checking out your parts before re-assembly. The bike has been back together for about 6 mos now and no issues, works and runs great and trials is as fun and challenging as I envisioned it would be. Just wish it hadn't been so expensive (and I got a deal on repairs) to figure out what I'd bought. Next time I'll buy new unless I really trust the previous owner. Used buyers beware and yes.... Beta's are AOK!

This is a newby to the sport asking a simple and possibly provocative question. I'm not trying to stir up a hornet's nest, just looking for honest opinions and not intending to be critical of anyone's choice of trials bike. (note: I bought one!)

PITS it is. If I get some practice time in, I'll go to one of the first trials of the year this month. Roger on the school, I'll gladly staff the business end of a shovel to get some free schooling on what the heck I'm supposed to do on my Beta.

Ditto that and the timing light. Mine did the same thing and it was a sheared Woodruff key.

Yup, Hairdryer and a plastic squeegee (body putty paddle) worked for me. Goof-off now makes a water based cleaner that is friendly to plastics and worked well for any residual glue. New stickers are hanging in fine and look great.

The repair bill ended up at $665 US so the "fair" price I paid for my 04' Beta just went up. The short time I've had it (less than 2 hrs ride time) with this repair puts the hourly operation costs over $300 @ hr! The bright side is I'll start bringing that figure down with hopefully trouble free riding from here on out. Another issue was the previous owner wasn't diligent in getting the head pipe bolts straight and cross-threaded one for me. A tap and some crossed fingers fixed that, but need to pay special attention to that area as it is a bit tight to see that threaded hole. Maybe next time I'll go new, (warranty would've been nice), but since this is a new variant of motorcycle riding to me, thought I'd go used to try it out. Thanks for this forum to exchange ideas and get tips on maint and training.

I started by draining the gear oil and found a large piece (pencil eraser size) of what appeared to be a tooth stuck to the magnetic drain plug, so I omitted removing the side cover and pulled the engine. Split the cases, found 1st gear in pieces (broken in half) and 5th with a few teeth rounded off. Looks like the gear just let go and bounced around in the gearbox then jammed up the works. Luckily (if you can call jamming in 3rd gear lucky) only minor damage to the inside of the case and both shafts appear to be in good shape. Not looking forward to the total of the repair bill, but in too deep to stop now. Dan, in response to your suggestion I speak to the seller, both this and the woodruff key going south so soon is, although suspicious, can both be explained away as just one (two) of those things. I've been told that breaking a gear is not common, but not unheard of. Me thinks the previous owner didn't properly torque the flywheel when changing out the stator, which lead to the woodruff key shearing, but I'll never know for sure. Yeah, I'd like to have some recourse, I paid a fair price and should have gotten something that would run for longer than the few hours I've had it run. So goes life, nobody died so things are good. Still looking forward to actually getting to ride instead of working on my first trials bike.

Thanks for the replies guys. I've only had it for about a week and have a hour or so on it. Had to replace the woodruff key right off, but things had been fine until yesterday when the trans decided to stick in 3rd. I'll post up what I find out after tearing into it.

Today first time starting out in 1st, shifted to 2nd, rear wheel locked up (almost put me over the bars!). Restarted and things were fine , but while riding, heard a loud clunk from the gearbox while shifting from 1st to 2nd. Everything normal after that for a few minutes, shifted up to 3rd, another clunk and it stuck in 3rd gear. Won't shift up or down engine on or off. Clutch works, allowed me to start and ride back to the barn in 3rd, but won't shift. Bike won't roll (engine off) just drags rear tire which is locked up. If I put pressure on rear of bike, it gets enough traction to roll in gear. 2004 Beta Rev 3 270cc. Gear oil at proper level in window. Any ideas as to where to start would be appreciated.

Just to confirm, you are recommending ATF for the gearbox? I have it from a very reliable source that the Beta Rev 3 gearbox capacity is 500cc (1pt.) and uses 75W gear oil. I haven't yet changed my oil, but plan to add 75W gearoil. Is there a source for this info? Thanks much Found my own answer. ATF is used by many, just need to change it more often and seems to be a matter of preference. I'm going with the 75W PJ1 Clutch Tuner.

Thanks for both referrals. I'm closer to the PITS guys and after a bit of practice, I'll probably try to humiliate myself in public. Might even pay an entry fee to further the pain! Funny thing with trials bikes, I've been riding for many many years and these things let me know how much I've been missing and how much I have to learn about finese and balance. It's a hoot!

Dan. Thanks for the welcome. Just picked up a 04' Beta Rev 3 so I'm off to the rocks to practice. I agree, little victories are what makes this all worthwhile and being able to ride around the house and having a blast is priceless.

Greetings from the foothills of California. New to trials (been riding dirt/street 40 yrs) and after riding a friends trial bike, I've been bitten. Been watching Toni Bou videos and figure I can at least start my bike as well as him, but that is where it would end. Have rocks on my place that beg to be ridden on so figured I'd have built in practice area. Might get a friend's backhoe over to roll some rocks and obstacles together to built up more challenges at I improve. Looking to get a good starter bike, might trade a DRZ400S for one if the deal works. Suggestions welcome on what to get. Thanks for this forum which has a wealth of knowledge, now to just get through all of it.