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1997 Beta 250 Techno


peter_fazio
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Hi,

I just purchased a '97 Beta 250 Techno. I have been riding enduro for 30 years, but this is my first trials bike. I have lots of questions, especially about the bike. I'm in the US, East coast, Pennsylvania. I am having trouble finding support for these bikes here in the US. I am in need of parts and some advice. Hopefully someone here can help me out. The Techno I bought is in good shape and runs well except for a couple of things. First thing I noticed was that the engine will overheat after just a short ride. I noticed that the cylinder was hot, but that the radiator and waterpump housing were relatively cool. (Ambient temp is about 30 F, -1 C) So I assumed that the waterpump was not working. I drained the coolant, which looked very clean, and removed the waterpump housing. I found that the plastic impeller was broken in half and just lying in the housing. The internal housing looked clean with no corrosion. Is this a common failure? Suggestions on where to source a new impeller, snap ring and housing gasket would be appreciated?

Also, I would like suggestions for replacing fluids. For the brake and clutch hydraulics, can I just use the typical (at least here in the USA), DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid ? For the transmission what fluid would be best ? I have used Bel-Ray Gearsaver 80W in my other 2 stroke bikes. Some people have suggested using synthetic automatic transmission fluid. And for the coolant, is there a preferred coolant type to be used ? I have always used a standard automobile coolant mixed at a 50/50 coolant to distilled water ratio in my enduro bikes. Any thoughts?

thank you,

Pete

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Parts should not be a problem, check http://www.betausa.com/for dealers.

Ebay is a good source of parts, with careful study of the parts catalogs you'll find a lot of parts carried over to the Rev3 (and EVO in some cases), which I think goes for the water pump impeller.

http://www.betausa.com/node/708

Jitsie do a bigger water pump kit for the EVO with a metal impeller and I think it also fits the Rev3, not sure it fits the Techno though, again you'd need to check the part numbers.

Once the water pump is fixed, make sure the fan kicks in when the coolant heats up, fan motors and thermoswitches can fail, and previous owners attempts to "fix" wires and electrics can be a disaster!

DOT4 should be right for hydraulic fluid, a large syringe and short pipe will help back bleed the clutch and brakes from the bleed nipples, they can be a pain to pump bleed as the master cylinders are so small, they only move a tiny amount of fluid, so you can be there all day, pumping the levers and still not get the air out, particularly the rear brake!

Putoline NF coolant is ok.

Again, Putoline make some decent transmission fluids, their Nano Trans seems to work well in my EVO, though it is expensive.

Their Light gear oil is ok though.

Anything designed for wet clutches and is 75w is about right.

Automatic tranny oils tend to give a snatchy clutch action and anything too thick will feel draggy.

Betas clutches do tend to stick when left a few days anyway, so don't worry too much about that, just make sure you free it off (rock it in gear with the clutch pulled in) before you start it up and slam it in gear as they tend to shoot you off through the nearest hedge!

There is a Beta clutch mod that worth the time.

http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/28407-the-beta-clutch-fix/

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Hi,

Thanks for the replies about my Techno. I have now contacted Stuart at Jack's Cycles in Maine, USA. Sounds like he has the parts that I need.

I checked my fan and it seems to come on just fine, just need to get a functional water pump impeller in there and some new coolant. I am not familiar with Putoline products, is their coolant anything special or can I just use a regular automotive coolant at 50/50 mix ? With the trans oil, I was thinking of using something like a Bel Ray Gearsaver 75W, does that sound reasonable?

Also, is there any chance I can locate a service manual for this bike (1997 Beta Techno 250) ? I already have the owners manual and I found the parts breakdown on the web.

thanks for your advice,

Pete

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