liviob

This is an area i like to ride. There are more sections here than can be ridden in a day. I spent about two hours filming this section. I call this area Margaritaville because in the spring all of the vegetation is lush green. This is an intermediate section. Its on a slope and its off camber. Its rocky, lumpy and slippery even when dry. If you know this spot please do not reveal its location.

I shot this video of the NATC Cotopaxi trial section 8 with my cell phone while checking. The video doesn't do this section justice. Keep in mind these riders are the best we have here in the U.S. It was a very difficult section and some of the riders made it look easy while others struggled. if you recognize the riders post there names. The first rider is Patrick Smage

If your bike has the extra flywheel weight added to the ignition flywheel remove it and see if you have enough torque after its removal. I have a 01 rev 3 with 02 air box updates and I ride it at very high altitude. After a fresh top end rebuild it would not pull second gear up a gentle slope. I believe it has 11/42 chain wheels. To ride this bike at high altitude I had to remove .020 from the head, run the thinnest base gasket that beta recommends, add a v-vorce reed, the next hotter spark plug and remove the clutch side flywheel to get it to run strong enough for riding at 7'k-9'k. I have done the beta clutch mod and the clutch works very well but with the clutch side flywheel removed the low RPM power pulses come through while I am slipping the clutch while creeping through a section. I have considered reinstalling it. I also like how smooth and controllable the engine is while I am attempting a floater with the clutch side FWW installed.

Peter you haven't given us much information about your ridding needs. I have a 02-250 and a 09-290. I like both. I had to bump the compression and install V-force reeds on my 250 to get enough torque at high altitude. I know many fellas like the 250 because the power is softer and they may find traction easyer while riding clubman sections. The 250 engine is very easy to control. If I only rode intermediate sections I could live with my 250 rev3 just fine, but riding at altitude and trying bigger obstacles sometimes needs more snap-power than the 250 can give. I recently tried to climb something with the 250 that i knew i could easily climb with my 290 and found myself slipping the clutch halfway up looking for more torque. That's where the 290 shines. Just a twist of the throttle with a little clutch to control the over rev and your up and over. As far as finding traction with the 290 I have never had a problem. Beta has done a nice job of making the bottom torque easy to use. If after riding the 290 you think it's to much you can add more base gaskets or instal Boyeson #112 dual stage reed petals. They will soften the bottom power while making the engine more flexible and stall proof at very low Rpm's. I am sure you have discovered that the Beta clutch is your friend while riding the 200. It also is the same with the bigger engines. The 250 is going to be more like your 200 in that you use the clutch to find power and the 290 will require you to use the clutch to bleed off power. You will have to learn a new clutch technique with the 290 engine.

Interesting? I met a fella at the nationals a few years ago who had one mounted on his 09. He said it increased bottom & mid torque.

The only pipe i would use if your looking for more torque is the ti expansion chamber pipe from Beta. "Only because its quiet and doesnt need a heat shield and it works" Unless your trying to slow down the delivery. Then maybe the S3 header "loud" or just use the boyeson #112 reed or add more flywheel weight. What do you want from the engine that it is not currently doing? As an 09 if it has never been serviced it may need a piston and rings. You can also can replace the stock very thick base gasket for the thin gasket that beta makes for more bottom torque. I hear Boyeson has a new reed for more torque. The V-Force reed works. i installed one on my rev3 250. You could also remove the clutch side flywheel for quicker spool up. I did this to my rev 3 250 and noticed a quicker engine response. I have an 09 EVO 290. And ride at very high altitude. I have had to do some minor mods to make it work for me. I still use the stock exhaust and don't plan to change it.

Knock knock! Who's there? Worn bearings & piston! Worn bearings & piston who? Beta! Beta? Yeah, you Beta replace my worn bearings & piston before bigger problems occur!

You may need to replace the pads. Are they organic pads? Organic pads will not grip after getting them wet. I have had this problem with the pedal. it was caused by the pedal pivot bolt being set to tight and no lube between the pedal and the frame. I think you need to remove the brake pedal have a look at the bearings to make sure they work and put some water proof grease between the pedal and the frame before you tighten everything back up. Leave the bolt loose enough so the pedal moves without binding.

If the main bearings are worn so is the big end rod bearing. May as well change it while you have the cases split.

Demand to have your damper returned. Those are good dampers and there is a rebuild kit for it from Beta. Beta Part number 20-11222-000 I have rebuilt a few of this style damper and none of them had bad bladders. The bladder is very thick and well made. The bladders could have been reused in the dampers i serviced, But the Beta rebuild kit comes with a new bladder so may as well use it. Not saying yours couldn't be leaking i just think its doubtful that it is leaking. I don't think the red paint makes the internals any different.

Have you considered tapping the screw holes out to the next larger thread size? There should be enough material to tap the screw holes from 4mm to 5mm or 5mm to 6mm. Don't remember what size they are? I just read the last post. I discovered you fixed it. Disregard my post.

I rode the Fajardo racer once at 8500' elevation. Its suspension and engine are both quite a bit faster than my 09 290. At sea level it will require your full attention to keep it controlled.

You can buy fiberglass packing for motorcycles or find some house insulation and break it up into small pieces and stuff the canister around the perforated tube and stuff the plastic cap a little so you can get it fitted and before you fit it snug to the canister use a something like a pencil to stuff the end cap tight with packing. First time is a bit of a trick but once you figure it out the job is pretty easy.

It mounts by two bolts inside the swingarm in front of the brake close to the bracing.

I use Bertolli extra virgin olive oil mixed at 70:1 it is smokeless, smells nice and causes the other riders to wish they rode a Beta. No fouled plugs either. Infact I use it to oil the air filter too. Seems to catch the dust just fine. If you keep it in the fridge it won't mix well or pour onto the air filter. So leave it out on the shelf. Chiao

Not sure why anyone needs one. My 09 290 doesn't overheat and my friends 2012 300 Fajardo replica doesn't overheat. ????

Thanks NZRalphy. I had already rebuilt the damper and was looking for confirmation on the nitrogen psi setting. My other concern was regarding the bleed process. I have never handled a brand new damper of this design so while cycling the damper by hand I noticed something regarding the character of the damping feel that was different from the feel of my 09Evo damper or my 01Rev3 damper. Both dampers while of different design are not limited in how much pressure the nitrogen chamber can exert upon the oil. With the 03-08 paioli damper the oil nitrogen seperater piston is limited in how far it travels. Once it comes in contact with the damper wall it cannot compress the oil any longer. I think I may have answered my own question, but it would be great if someone with some rebuild experience with this design could confirm whether or not adding a small amount say 10 psi of nitrogen to the nitrogen chamber is a good idea or not during the bleed process.

I would like to read the tech info too. While The damper is easy enough to disassemble it is built differently than most other dampers and I would like to know if there is anything I may have missed.

Thank You!

Anyone know what is the correct nitrogen psi setting for the 03-08 beta rev3 paoli damper.

Your Welcome. I installed 2mm thick flat washers under the clutch springs of my rev3 250. I didnt have to grind down the cross hatch, but the lever pull is not as light as using the 3mm A/N washers. I will be changing them out soon. I have ridden the 2012 evos and the lever pull is almost as light as the 3mm washer feel.

I found them at the local ace hardware store. They are washers that fit under a allen head bolt. They are the same diameter as the allen bolt head and look more like a spacer than a washer. The fella at the store said that they were called army/navy washers. I told a machinest friend who rides a beta about them by name and he recognized them by name.

I did the clutch mod to my 290 and added 3mm thick Army navy washers under each spring bolt to reduce preload on the spring. Very easy one finger clutch pull now. You will have to grind down the cross hatch inside the clutch cover or the bolts will rub the cover. I did this mod about 2 years ago. Still no clutch slipping..

Anyone have a link to the results?

While the fox valve will work i have been told that they are not as reliable as the schrader type valve. You will mount it facing towards the front of the bike so as not to interfere with the linkage.There is another reason to use the Schrader valve which you will discover later. Set the valve at a steep angle like the picture and glue it in with loctite blue. You do not want the threads to leak and you will not remove the outside of the valve again.