ridgrunr Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 I'll soon be getting my new bike after a two year layoff. I'm pretty excited to get back into it. I was a little burned out after helping to keep a club going and hitting it hard for twenty years, but I'll admit it...I REALLY MISS IT! I've ridden and competed against most everything since I started riding way back in 1975. I've also worked on most of them at one time or another. I have to say though, that I've never owned a Scorpa, although I have owned a TY80, three TY250's and a TY350 which were all powered by Yamaha. I'm not like your average trials rider in that I usually keep a bike for five years or more before I trade, and I ride a lot, both in monthly Trials meets and lots of "way out in the middle of nowhere" trail riding in places like the Five Miles Of Hell, so I need something that's stone reliable. I've been doing lots of research on the different brands, trying to come up with common problems that seem to be inherent, and in doing so, I've changed my mind a couple of times as to what I was going to get. At first I was going to get a Sherco, then changed my mind and settled on a Beta (although I hate that left hand kick), but as time went on, the Scorpa SY250R started to stand out. I've only ever ridden one, and it was well used and beat up, but it still ran great. The only thing I didn't like about it was those cutouts in the fuel tank, but then I didn't understand why there were there. I do now, thanks to the wonders of the internet. I'm not here to bash any other brands, but as far as I can tell, about the only common thread that seems to be a negative about the Scorpa SY250R is that the carb isn't as easy to access as some of the other brands. That's the only thing you ever hear about. That's it? That's the worst thing about the bike? That's pretty remarkable. I don't know about the rest of you, and maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't mess with the carb that much. Now I know the thing's not perfect, no machine is, but there seems to be nothing terrible about it like inherently bad shifting, or transmisson grenading, or hard steering, or terrible suspension, or bad frame design, or bad electrics, or bad fan motor design (been there with the KRoo), or impossible to get to spark plug, or brittle plastic, or hard to start, or peeing all over, or won't start pointing down hill, or twitchy power, or bad clutch, or tire wearing a hole in the exhaust or spring or air filter box, or bad dog bones, or needing lots of intensive maintenance, or any of the other continuing problems that seem to plague many of the brands. Hard to get the carb off? Anybody who says the Scorpa carb is hard to get off has never messed with the four carbs tucked down beneath the fuel tank of a 1985 Honda V65 Sabre. Now those carbs are hard to get out! I think that once I initially got it dialed in on the thirty some bikes and quads that I've owned, the one thing I messed with the least was carburation. So if that's the worst that anyone can come up with...the carb's not easy to get off, I'd say that Scorpa must be doing something right, and I'm feeling better and better about my decision to order a 2008 SY250R. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tombo46 Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 If your riding in nasty conditions then you should get crap in your carb, so inevitably will have to come off. I had an 02 scorpa and it was a git to get off, but once you have the nack/hand made tools to do the job your laughing. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2shock Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 Hi I suspect the British obsession with ease of carb removal is based on the amount of time's we have to clean them out due to the wetter, muddier conditions that we tend to ride in compared to Utah. In fact to only positive i can see in insisting on riding old worn out, under powered, underbraked twin shock bike's is that at least we can get the carb off easily! The often indulged in British ritual of carb cleaning goes something like this - carb off, bowl off and peer into the bottom corners for dirt or water, be dissapointed if you don't find any, remove and blow through each jet until the taste of petrol makes your head spin, reassemble carb, pretend to your mates that the bike now runs superbly due to your skill and knowledge!! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabnabit Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 Cordless drill with allen bits makes removal of screws quite quick. Used them for years doing auto carbs and dashboard work. All I did to my 2003 was move the needle down one slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmac Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 (edited) There is one thing worse than getting the carb off - because everything is so well designed, sorted and sealed, when you do get the carb off, unless you've had it upside down in a creek - there Edited February 7, 2008 by paulmac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montman Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Had a Scorpa for 3 years - I ride most weeks in all conditions, regularly clean the air filter. Carb off once! Not a big problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikb Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 My thoughts on the Scorpa are a bit different, as I have posted before, but way back in time.......... I found the bike hard work over the moors with back suspendsion that was either too harsh or too bouncy....I believe there must have been a problem with my shock as many people on here rave about the back shock. The clutch was far too sharp and was always stuck from cold Gear ratios next, to big of a gap to 5th! had to ring its neck before looking for 5th which again meant riding over th moors was hard work! Those ally foot pegs are like chocholate and easily snap off, I think the are different on the new bikes though! Then theres that big lump of an engine that needs clutch cases welding up when it fightts rocks, we cant afford new casings as the cost loads!! Mine also vibrated quite a bit and was often referred to as a Tractor!! To sum it up I would quite like to try a Beta but I'm afraid it might be a bit Scorpa ish.......... thers nothing worse than riding a bike you dont like and every 5 becomes the bikes fault. Oh and the carb I took it off once at a Trial and its will be the least of your worries At the end of the day the bike just didnt suit me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andat Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Carb?? Haven't found mine yet!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpa4banger Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Geez well since your riding a gas gas or considering a beta your taste in bikes is abit wide of the mark. scorpas in my opinion are the best built bike on the market .. they may not have the grunt of a 300 or a sherco 290 but they dont need to because there not designed for the top end of the market. Ive owned a Beta 270 02 and my old man has a repsol 4rt and when it comes down to it my 07 sy250 is the best bike ive ever ridden the only problem with scorpa is that they only make a 250 which has to cater or a large portion of the market unlike other brands running 3 or 4 model's which most of the time isnt a prob unless your a junior or an expert, the gear ratio's foot pegs and motor are just fine if yoour having trouble then its either your bike was an old model and not looked after or your not riding it properly infact my foot pegs on both of my scorpa's never went out of shape once no matter how hard they bashed on rocks or logs cheers oh an PS the carby just needs abit of fiddling once you get a routine there not hard to get out .. its just figuring out the sequence just get rid of the tank plastics and airbox and ull be fine cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andat Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 when it comes down to it my 07 sy250 is the best bike ive ever ridden I agree . As far as the carb goes, I have had my 07 SY250 for 14 months and I haven't touched the carb yet. It runs perfectly with good clean pick-up off the bottom and it revs out really cleanly too. I ride virtually every weekend and all I do is clean the air filter out after every trial (always keep a spare and swap over each week) and make sure there is no crud or water in the air box. The air box is very deep and the inlet tract is miles above the bottom of the air box where water collects. When I clean it out I use a sponge on a wire to get right to the bottom to soak up any water. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmutiger Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 A big negative for me would be the replacement part cost. That one aspect alone will keep me from buying another Scorpa. After riding a few other bikes, I really liked the Beta the best. My riding is much like the FMOH, but it's in the trees out of the heat. Before you go and buy a bike, call up where you might need to get parts from and price out the following between 2 brands: Sprockets (Try finding a 10T Yamaha sprocket outside of Scorpa!!) Cooling Fan thermoswitch Chain Guide block I went with the scorpa because I got a long ride out of the US for cheap. I love riding it, and for non-trials events it's amazing. But I was a better rider on the Beta. The Scorpa does have much more electrical output. I'm driving 2 35W halogens and I can easily ride at night. The other brands do not make enough power to get your way out of the woods after dark. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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