neonsurge

Enduro? Been there, done that, got the scars. In fact, I went from trials to enduro and back to trials again. I currently have a Honda CRM sitting in the garage alongside the Beta but I think the most action that bike's going to see in the future is a bit of gentle trailriding. Nah, enduros are cool and all that but it's the relaxed, sociable aspects of trials I like - I'll leave all that daft high-speed thrashing around forests to the kids The more I think about the classic/twin-shock thing, the more I like the idea.

Actually.... I've been offered an old TY125 as a project. No wait, I'm serious. That might put the fun back into things

Lots of interesting advice here - thanks to everyone! I've only actually ridden the bike once in the past 3 weeks and that was only for an hour or so. I've still no great desire to get back out there but there's an easy club trial coming up next week which I think I'll enter on the easiest adult route and try not to focus on how well (or not) I'm doing. Treat it as a day out and see how it goes.

I've recently realised that I have no interest in riding my bike any more. I still love the sport and actually look forward to events so I can go and observe but as far as actually chucking a leg over the Rev3, I simply can't be bothered. It's disappointing in some ways because riding 2 or 3 times a week is really the only serious exercise I get these days (and bloody good exercise it is, especially when you're lifting the bike off yourself as often as I am) but my last couple of outings have confirmed that I'm just not enjoying it any more. Ability-wise I reached a (low) plateau some time ago and since then there's been absolutely zero progress. This is in contrast to how things have been for the past few years when an hour spent in front of the telly during the day was a wasted hour when I could be out on the bike. Has anyone else experienced a sudden loss of motivation and interest and how did you overcome it? I have extremely modest ambitions as a rider - one day I'd like to be able to ride the clubman A class and not finish in last place but mainly I ride for the exercise and enjoyment and the enjoyment's not there any more. I guess I could accept that it's one of those things, sell the bike and spend the rest of my Sundays as an observer and spectator. I know that this reads like a "Dear Auntie" letter from the problem page of a women's magazine and in some ways that's kinda what it is. Any tips on how to get my enthusiasm back or would I be better off asking this question in "Bella", "Women's Own" or "Emo Shandy-Drinking Poofter Monthly"?

I really hope that there's more to this than was reported in TMX because if those guys really were unpaid officials, off-road motorcycling (at least under the ACU banner) is in an even worse state than I previously thought. Investing many hours of your own time, often in adverse weather conditions to support the sport you love and enable others to do the same only to be dragged up before some "court" in Derby and slapped with a large fine for making an honest mistake? If it were me I'd be seriously tempted to tell the ACU to shove the fine up their a***, deal with any consequences and never have anything to do with running an event again. IF the details in the report are correct of course.

Can't comment on the price but as for the other things: The clutch drag from cold is common to many bikes although Betas seem particularly prone, especially if it's not used regularly. It's not really a problem and usually sorts itself after a few seconds but putting the bike in gear and rocking it backwards and forwards a few times with the clutch in prior to starting can help. It sounds as though your lower shock bearing has gone. The good news it that it's a pretty easy job, just remove the shock whack the old bearing out and whack the new one in. Oh yeah - the bearing is retained by a small circlip at either side - remember to prise them out before you start hammering (and replace when done)! If the subframe's only slightly bent or twisted, you can prevent the silencer from rubbing on the tyres by adding a couple of washers (or even better, a rubber spacer) to the mounting bracket.

Thanks for everyone's input. Since I'm now 60% convinced that this carb is ultimately heading for the bin I decided to take a chance on a tip I came across on a web site dealing with tractor maintenance(!) and decided to risk the "dip" method. I've stripped the carb down to the bare body and it's now soaking in a cocktail of Cillit Bang and degreaser. Guess we'll see what happens Woody: Thanks for the tip-off re. Sonic Solutions - they'll be my next call.

Can anyone recommend a company who will ultrasonically clean a carb, preferably in the North Yorkshire area? Alternatively, any recommendations for cleaning a carb from a bike that's been stood unused for 3+ years and is completed gummed up (the interior is coated with stuff that's almost like limescale)?

You may be right but don't forget James Dabill? I'm 100% confident that Britain WILL have a new world trials champion on Sunday. Go Team Atom!

Meh, never really understood all this bling on trials bikes. Round these parts, they all look the same 5 seconds after setting off to the first section (ie, brown). Maybe we should gather all these pics together and start a new site - barrybikes.co.uk is available I see.... Joking! Mostly.

Can't help with the paint but I've experienced the coolant leak problem problem twice, once on a GasGas and once on my old '03 Beta and both times it was the pump seal that'd failed. It's virtually impossible to tell visually but the parts aren't expensive so that's definitely the first thing to try. Replace both the seal itself and the impeller shaft - sometimes if the shaft is slightly worn or nicked on the surface for whatever reason, this can cause the seal to fail prematurely. Remember to buy a new case gasket too! Oh yeah, depending on the year of your bike you might not be able to get at the bottom case bolt because it's hidden behind the bashplate rubber so you'll have to remove the bashplate itself. The bolt is exposed on later Rev3s (05 onwards I think) but if not, it's worth cutting a lump out of the rubber before refitting so you don't have to go through the hassle if you need to remove the side case again for whatever reason!

Based on all AVAILABLE evidence, I'd tend to agree with everything you're saying. And having watched Lewis in F3000 last year, it does appear as though he's the real deal. All I'm saying is that as far as F1 is concerned (which is a different world compared to virtually all other formulas), he hasn't fully demonstrated the ability to handle the inevitable periods of fundamental uncompetitiveness or simple bad luck. For example, we haven't had a proper wet race this year so it's still unknown how he'll perform under those conditions. I just think that we need to wait until all these questions are answered before making any of these silly "best ever" statements that the press are throwing around.

The problem with F1 is that the very obvious differences in the relative car performances that give a distorted view of who is the "best" driver. Look at Jenson Button: Last year he was a hero, this year he's nowhere and the British press have essentially written him off. Is Jenson any less of a driver this year than during the 2006 season when he was getting podium finish after podium finish (including one win)? Nope, it's just that this year's Honda is a dog. Armchair pundit time: There's no doubt that Lewis Hamilton is immensely talented by any standards but remember that he's in one of the 4 best cars on the grid (McLaren and Ferrari seem to be pretty evenly matched in terms of car performance at the moment). If he'd started in F1 in a Toro Rosso or Super Aguri and managed to drag the car further up the grid than could be realistically expected, would he be getting all the attention he's getting now? THAT would be a far better indication of his raw ability. Also, there's a difference between being a brilliant driver and a brilliant F1 driver: Look at Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna - they regularly managed to qualify well and even win races in clearly inferior machinery and that's all down to mechanical sympathy and strategic thinking. Hamilton's winning right now and despite the immense pressure he must be under, he continues to deliver for the team. All the indications are that he'll turn out to be one of the greatest but it remains to be seen how he'll perform when things start to go wrong or when the car he's driving doesn't have the inherent performance advantages that the '07 McLaren has over most of the others.

It's about time I started changing my own tyres. The rear on my Beta is almost exactly a year old and is almost a semi-slick. Here's the thing: The only related tools I have are a couple of pretty decent tyre levers and a foot pump. Do I stand any chance at all? I'd rather not shell out for expensive bead-breakers etc. since it's not something I need very often (can you tell?)

Because off-road motorcycles are a very easy win for environmental legislators. They're seen to be addressing "green" issues AND sticking it to those noisy, irresponsible hooligans on scrambler bikes in the process. It's a no-lose situation as far as they're concerned and FAR less bother than going after the REAL sources of pollution. Such is the horrifyingly superficial nature of politics in contemporary society.

Agreed. I too have a lot of sympathy for the guy but the MSA is in an impossible situation to some extent. Quads ARE bloody dangerous in my opinion, far more so than motorcycles and if this guy is seriously hurt or killed the MSA will be right in the firing line for allowing him to race in the first place. On the other side of the coin, they'll no doubt be getting a hammering for alleged discrimination. Their decision to reject his appeal is the lesser of the two evils. This is a slight derail (sorry TFT) but I have a rapidly diminishing level of sympathy for quad riders and motocrossers in general having been indirectly involved with both groups recently regarding land use issues and been appalled at their arrogant and irresponsible attitude towards proper organisation and environmental sensitivity issues. The problem is, they're aren't doing ANY of us any favours. in the eyes of the general public.

Yep, I've had my current Rev3 just under a year (bought new) and while giving it a jolly good seeing-to recently I drained the rad to find loads of weird green sludge in there, especially around the rad cap area. Flushed it through with antifreeze and distilled water a couple of times and refilled with some "engine ice"-type stuff (I forget the name, it was recommended on another thread on here). I've checked a couple of times since and there's no sign of the sludge reappearing. The bike wasn't misbehaving at all at the time so I'm not sure that the sludge is an indication of anything sinister, more likely something to do with the type of coolant used at the factory.

See here

Try here: www.guisboroughdmc.co.uk.

The DRZ-400S (for "street") comes with a full compliment of road kit including a longer, softer seat, grab strap and passenger pegs. It's slightly less powerful than the "E" (for "enduro") and "K" (kickstart-only) models but is still pretty capable off-road (I rode mine in a couple of local enduros) and is very civilised on the tarmac. There are loads around as well.

Thanks for advice everyone. I'll try going one notch leaner on the needle and see what happens. Boyesens are next... The number that JLI gave you is Allen's Performance. Top bunch, they've always been extremely knowledgeable and helpful when I've spoken to them and there's lots of information (part lists and exploded diagrams etc.) on their web site.

Just a quickie: Now I've got my bike running properly again, I've installed a 145 main and 27.5 pilot jet and just like everyone says, it runs MUCH cleaner! However, it's still a bit "fluffy" right off the bottom - can anyone else who's got the lean jets installed tell me where their needle is set?

There's no connection between the water pump and the fan. The fan's controlled electrically by a thermostat/thermisistor on the radiator and the water pump is gear-driven from the engine. If the fan's stopped working it's likely that either the thermostat or the fan itself has failed. You can test the fan by connecting the wires going from the fan to the thermostat together and starting the engine - if the fan runs, it's the thermostat that's the problem (it should be OK to run the bike like this, at least temporarily). If not, it's the fan (or both). You can test the pump by removing the cover and rotating the rear wheel. If the impeller goes round, it's OK (although it's worth checking that the clip is still OK and that the impeller sits tightly on the shaft).

OK, remember when I said I'd checked the timing? Well I did but I didn't compare what was actually set on my bike with the diagrams and photos I printed off ages ago. Turns out that although the stator adjuster screws were 2.2mm from the end of the slot, they were 2.2mm from the WRONG end of the slot. Closer inspection revealed that the screws were actually loose and the stator had been gradually rotating on its own. Doh! I've reset the timing PROPERLY and she now runs great. Yes, I'm a doufus

It's never actually boiled over (yet). I gave it another short run earlier and now I'm convinced that it's a fuelling issue - it would occasionally cough like it was about to run dry and if I backed off the throttle it would pick up again. Don't know what could be causing it since I've checked and re-checked the carb but I guess it's time to take another look. I might try to borrow a carb from someone and see if it makes any difference.