I have got a beta rev3 200 '03

It seems to make a banging noise when it is running at medium revs but not pulling and it sometimes does it when i shut off. I thought it might be coming from the exhaust somewhere but i'm not so sure now. Sometimes it doesn't do it so it is hard to track down. I ride with a guy who has a scorpa and his does it abit aswell.

I thought it could be the ingnition timing. Does anybody else have a bike that does this?

It seems fairly common with Betas...mine USED to do it.

Like Hondars says...get the BEST fuel that you can....and make sure you are using the correct spark plug, and probably all will be fine.

Mine is!...never use standard unleaded, else it will start knocking again.

Thanks alot.

I had heard that spark plugs were a problem and I am using a platinum plug which a guy who used to have a beta reccomended to me.

I'll get some proper petrol as soon as possible!

bob. had the same problem myself. if you do a search in the beta forum, enter 'pinking beta' as the key word you'll find lots of feedback. The 2 main things that cured mine was using shell optimax, and raising the needle on the carb slide. if you need anymore info, send me an email

Thanks everyone.

I'll get some more shell optimax tomorrow if possible, and if that doesn't fix it then i'll contact you stuart 3871.

One other thing is, is this pinking niose doing any damage to anything inside?

in the short term, i dont think too much damage will be caused. Just not entirely sure of the effects if its not rectified. I am pretty much 'old school', when it comes to mechanical problems, and in my opinion these engines cannot be running right while they're pinking!

Besides, if you're like me, it'll annoy you like hell!

Yeah, it was the annoyance that made me begin to question it, I just wondered because my nearest shell garage is quite a distance away, I can get there on monday afternoon and get a decent stock of it, Are there any other petrols similar to optimax because my local petrol station only does Texaco.

I'll maybe try abit of super unleaded first and see how i go with that, but I will only mix a tank up and see how that goes. afew people reccomended that on that other forum and i can get that from my local garage.

Edited February 5, 200521 yr by bob

At the risk of muddying the waters, I had a very bad engine knock on my '03 that was eventually cured by going up one size on the pilot jet from 30 to 32.5. If you've tried everything suggested here (as well as checking the timing), it might be worth a shot.

BOB...if you struggle getting optimax, maybe experiment with regular fuel but with some octane booster added. You should be able to buy octane booster somewhere in UK

As regards plug...personally I would stick EXACTLY to what the book says.....without wanting to p*** anyone off...who would know better than BETA???

they say that you should use a Champion N7YCC and our Beta importer here was told by the factory that you should NOT use any other plug. I even find that an NGK BP7ES which is the equivelant plug to the Champion, still creates some knocking on mine.

I've never changed any jets on the carb or anything...but the people who suggest that here, I would say are very reliable posters!!..and I'm sure they'll be right, but you might be able to cure it without doing that.

Not sure if your 200 would have the same plug as my Rev3 250 though..and mines a 2002 model

good luck again

Thanks everyone,

i'm off to get some of that shell stuff, or rather my dad is going to, thought it was better for my dad to drive abit than risk my engine. I thought about octane booster but mixing two stroke is complicated enough to get just right for me , especially since my mate ran his at 140:1 rather than 70:1 (accidentally) and siezed his engine. As for spark plugs i think mine is reccomended a BP5ES so i will try and get hold of one of those.

Thanks again.

Bob, if the fuel doesn't cure it, pay close attention to the position of the throttle when you hear the "pinking". This will give you an indication which carb circuit is lean. It helps to make little marks on the throttle housing with something you can remove later, like "white out" (that liquid eraser stuff you use when writing on paper).

By over run do you mean 'tick over' or when i shut the throttle off after revving abit.

Thanks everyone, i went and got a tin of Optimax today, i went out today for about 2 hours and there was one small cland when i was pottering up the road and I reckon that came from the exhaust. I was pretty suprised how much it quitened the engine down overall aswell, and the power delivery seems alot smoother. I would have tested it for longer but i rode through a bush (intentionally of course) and filled my mouth with 'spiky balls', unforturnately some of the spikes lodged themseves in my throat and are causing me quite alot of pain.

I will allways use this petrol in future and if I have any other problems then I will tinker with the carb.

problem solved!

Thanks again

Sorry to hear about your experience with the bush bob...but (hope you've got a good sense of humour)..'cause it kind of sounded a bit funny..sorry mate..

Next best one to that was when my missus had a go on my bike, in an open field (VERY big field...but with one huge pile of nettles in the middle)...well..you can guess where she fell off. It was her first experience of nettles to, 'cause she'd never been in UK before that

Pleased your bike is running better..good luck with your mouth!