I went to look at an 05 Beta the other day. the engine had a slight tap on tickover that dissapeared when throttle was applyed. the seller said this was normal but i am not sure.

please help

Probably a bit of piston noise...............most people never change piston rings on trials bikes, and the worn rings allow the piston to move around in the cylinder more than they should, this results in wear on piston skirt, and piston rattle.

If you can hear noticeable noise on a watercooled motor, this can be reduced by fitting new rings, but almost certainly the piston will be badly worn also and will need replacing tom get rid of noise entirely. If the price of the bike is reasonble dont worry about the noise unduly, fit a new set of rings to it, and all should be fine.

I have an 06 200 that made the same type of noise. Mine ended up being a bad main bearing on the ignition side of the bike, not to the point of failure but when I pulled it out it looked over-heated and had a noticible thunk when you spun it. From the posts I've seen I don't think this is a one-off problem and I'm betting Beta got hold of a batch of marginal bearings about the time my bike was built. As for a cost of repair (just in case that's what it is) you'd be looking at about $100-150 US in parts. As for time, between taking everything apart (I think they sit the engine of a Beta on a bench and build the bike around it ) fixing the problem, and putting it all back together I had about 16-20 hours total in the job. As an aside I got a good look at everything in mine and every other part looks virtually brand new, not bad given there's probobly about 50 hours on the bike.

Have fun and enjoy the ride if you get it.

Joe

the best advice i can give when buying secondhand is , if it don't seem right walk away

Probably a bit of piston noise...............most people never change piston rings on trials bikes, and the worn rings allow the piston to move around in the cylinder more than they should, this results in wear on piston skirt, and piston rattle.

If you can hear noticeable noise on a watercooled motor, this can be reduced by fitting new rings, but almost certainly the piston will be badly worn also and will need replacing tom get rid of noise entirely. If the price of the bike is reasonble dont worry about the noise unduly, fit a new set of rings to it, and all should be fine.

Ive been down this road before , putting new rings on a worn piston fitted to a worn barrel wont make it quieter, pistons rattle and rings dont.

I think it could be the piston or the clutch as the clutch is a little noisey on the beta but its nothing to worry about. Why not ring Beta and get a price on a piston kit ? if the rest of the bike is sound at least you know what the piston might cost you if thats what it is .