neonsurge

First of all, stick a new plug in 'er. If that doesn't fix it, whip the carb off, disassemble and clean thoroughly making sure that all jets and fuel lines are perfectly clear and that the needle is seating correctly. Clean or replace the air filter. That'll sort it most times.

Um?

I was actually talking about the rear shock. Standing astride the bike the damping adjuster is on top of the right fork leg (it's a slot-headed screw on my bike) and the preload adjuster is on the left (large-ish allen screw).

The damping adjustment is a little screw at the bottom of the shock. Turn clockwise to firm up. No little knob, screw to the right to harden

Thick, clear vinyl is probably your best bet for the swingarm. It's surprisingly resilient and will protect the metal from all but the most severe impacts. It looks tatty pretty quickly but is easily (and cheaply!) replaced. My Rev-3 has a lot of wear on the swingarm about 1/3 of the way down. Not impact damage, the kind of wear that you see on the frame from boots rubbing etc. but as far as I can tell(!), no part of me rubs on the swingarm (except when it's lying on top of me which happens disturbingly frequently). I've seen similar wear marks on other Betas. Where does it come from?!?

I fancy a change of practise scenery for a couple of days. I've been to Addingham a couple of times (although not for some time) and I'd like to head over there if it's still available for practise. Who should I contact and how much does it cost?

I see what you're saying but I think what Boofont is referring to is the fact that the last time this subject came up for discussion on TC, a couple of people started posting messages like "don't buy a new GasGas in the UK, call these people who'll grey import one and sell it to you in the crate..." and suchlike. Which is all well and good but you need to consider 2 (unrelated) facts of life: 1. The UK importers end up having to service warranty claims on bikes that they didn't initially supply (and therefore made no money on). In the long term, all this means is that the "offical" price will rise to cover these costs. 2. TC is run "not for profit" and relies on the advertising income (and the less tangible support of) people such as GasGas, Beta etc. to pay the hosting and bandwidth charges etc. If the site is seen to be providing members with easy access to unofficial importation channels, those same people might quite justifiably withdraw that support and before long you'll have... TA

Where we practise there's a stream that runs down a deep gulley and there's one stretch that's a favorite for practising those 10ft vertical launches up the slippery bank and out - classic loop-out (or worse, slip and crash back down) territory! There are always broken plastics kicking around in the undergrowth and for some reason, they're usually Sherco rear mudguards. However, we were up there on Saturday and found two broken '05 Beta fronts. Why fronts? This section is known for eating rears but I don't see how these Beta parts would have broken unless the mudguard hammers into the underside of the yoke at full compression. Maybe that's it?

About a month ago I removed all of the stickers because they were getting tatty (gouged and scratched and several were starting to peel) with the intention of replacing them with new ones. When I'd finished I looked at the bike and thought "actually..." It's been like that ever since.

I prefer the "stealth" look myself. Introducing FrankenBeta...

Just looking at the compatibility list on that Japanese site that Trials Lad linked to... what's a "Condy 100"?

Yep, that was us. It was Ian Austermuhle that we were watching practising. That lad's a bit handy, ain't he?

Errrm, nope. I guess you're not who I thought you were There seem to be quite a few SDMC people 'round here these days and if I see you I'll be sure to say hello. I usually ride with lastplacebrad - I'm on a nekkid '04 Beta (I removed all of the stickers to save weight ) and Brad rides an '03 250 Pro.

Lew-GasGas, if you're who I think you are(!?) you might remember Steve M who used to ride with us and had an '02 250 Pro. He had no end of problems with the bike, the most serious of which was repeated water pump seal failures. It took a complete rebuild by GasGas themselves to finally fix it but by then (at which point the bike had spent more time in pieces than complete since he bought it), he (and everyone else!) had lost all confidence in the bike and got rid. The later models ('03 on) seem to be much better, but there are no end of horror stories about the '02s. I'd steer clear if I were you.

After the previous discussion on this subject got a bit political and some people got narked I think that a bit of perspective is required. It really doesn't matter where the anti-2-stroke crusade originated or whether the FIM are right or wrong in their decision to make trials exclusively 4-stroke from next year. It's happened and we all have to live with it. But not just yet. You might say that's a bit of a defeatist attitude but there are people out there (the learned g4321 below for example) who prefer 4-strokes and at the end of the day so like I said, does it really matter? OK, so it might take a while to get used to the 4-stroke power delivery and the inherent additional complexity of the engine means that bikes will be initially more expensive to buy and more difficult to work on than a 2-stroke, but progress has a price and its always the first wave of a new generation that pays that price. With the exception of HRC/Montesa, I believe that all of the trials manufacturers have stated that they have no plans to discontinue 2-stroke models in the forseeable future so they'll still be around for many years to come, at least at club level. And in the meantime, who's to say that someone won't come along with some amazing new 2-stroke technology that reduces emissions to below 4-stroke levels and is more powerful and quieter than current designs?

The way I look at it is this: 2-stroke or 4-stroke, does it really matter? It's still a trials bike and I can still go out and publicly humiliate myself in competition on a Sunday. I don't really give a stuff how the power gets to my back wheel as long as it's delivered reasonably reliably and I don't have to twirl the spanners too often. If I'm pumping fewer pollutants into the atmosphere in the process, well that's a good thing I guess.

Depends on the gearing. I seem to remember reading somewhere that John Lampkin had a 270 Rev3 up to around 80mph using SSDT gearing (13t front?) I'm sure that the Silsden rozzers have learned to look the other way over the years...

King Of The Hill... I loved that show! Is it still on in the UK? On one of the obscure Sky channels no doubt... You've got me thinking now - what was the name of Hank's friend with the unintelligible Texas drawl? Sorry for the derail - my bike's in the galleries: http://www.trialscentral.com/gallery//disp...e.php?pos=-2167

Trials bikes are the same as anything else (probably worse due to the myraid of European motor regulations). Or is my sarcasm detector faulty after the long weekend?

Since the '04 and '05 mudguards are identical apart from the graphics, it must be the mounting method that's causing the problems. The '05 appears to use a "flat" bracket while earlier models used that higher curved design. Maybe this meant that more impact shock was absorbed by the bracket instead of being transmitted directly into the mudguard via the mounting rivets. I've crashed the hell out of my '04 since I installed an '05 mudguard and there's no signs of cracking yet.

I think Heath means the "buy it now" price. Has anyone else noticed that older trials bikes seem to be fetching way over the odds on eBay at the moment? I saw a shed of a '98 TXT270 go for

I always put 550ml in. PJ1 Clutch Tuner Ultralight although everyone has their favorite oil I work on the theory that too much is better than too little!

Quite right, my bad. But I stand by my statement that if they're good enough for L&M Promotions... Professionalism is an attitude and does not necessarily imply a profession! Errrmm... hasn't happened yet. Or am I misunderstanding you?

I seem to remember seeing someone selling home-made replacement silencer shields for Rev-3s out of the back of a van at last year's DRE show. Anyone know if these can be bought online anywhere?

I've just installed an '05 front mudguard on my '04. Looking at the moulding marks and other markings (and after a "twist test"), I reckon that K's right - they're absolutely identical.