hi

very new to all this... just bought a used 2003 beta as my first bike

learning to go in a straight line before starting to play!! loving it

a couple of questions for you all

1. I was told the carbs are prone to leaking fuel.

Mine is really good at this , especially it seems when the bike is first started/ refuelled

I searched for a thread on this, and found one with a fix on; howver the pictures would not load

mine appears to drain petrol really quickly, from the longer clear hose off the back of the carb

any thoughts?

2. the bike appears to be leaking milky gearbox oil, especially when warm, from the rear of the casing; is there a gasket to replace or should i be more worried?

3. on starting the bike and engaging 1st gear i need to hold the front brake tight on, as when going into gear the bike is off like a shot; the clutch doesnt fully disengage drive

this is not present after ten mins or so of pootling around, when the clutch works much better

all the gears select well, although neutral is always difficult to hit!

look forward to your wisdom and answers (or links to answers) if you are all out of wisdom!

cf

It would help if you said where you are located ie Which part of the world? -If you are in the UK contact John Lampkin he will give you all the help you need.

hi, it could be that your floats are set wrong in carb, or you need a new needle valve assy ( not to expensive ). john lampkin also does a mod to the carb so worth speaking to him, milky gearbox oil sounds like your water pump seal needs replacing, as for gearbox oil, try using atf, normally prevents clutch drag, hope this helps . john lampkins number is 01535 655970, cheers

Not sure about the fuel and fluid issues. It's normal for the clutch to drag when first started. Just keep doing what you are doing or place the front wheel against a wall or something that won't move easily, pull the clutch in, rev the engine a bit engage a gear and let the clutch out.

Agree with above:

1. If leaking petrol you can either get lampkins to mod your carb or do the mods as described on this forum ( I didn't need to drill the carb just set the float height correctly and did the tube mods and it was fine) . For carb mod look here http://www.r2wtrials.co.uk/html_files/betacarbsetup.html

2. Milky fluid worse when hot - does sound like you have a water pump seal leak which in turn will make your clutch drag. Betas are known to corrode the water pump housing so you will need to take the cover off and have a look - even if it looks Ok I would take the whole side casing off and replace the water pump seal - if the casing around the water pump looks corroded then you will need a new one All of this is not a big job. The problem with Betas is if you don't use a lot of good quality antifreeze in your coolant the cases rot ( the newer ones are made out of different stuff so are ok) so always use a premixed motocycle coolant.

Hope this helps.

Jim

Most clutches drag / dont disengage when cold. My method is to push the bike with engine running and slip it into gear, they ride about with the clutch leaver in and wait till it frees off.

I think this method is slightly kinder to the gearbox / clutch.

ATF / TQF for gearbox

Most clutches drag / dont disengage when cold.

no they dont

If your clutch does drag the easiest thing to do is just ride off and put the bike into a high gear and put the front and rear brake on

Thanks for all the thoughts; looks like this forum is going to be really of help!

I am based in the UK so will use Lampkins No.

Back at work now... so will have lots to fiddle with at the weekend.

Thanks gain for all the ideas!

CF