Hi, does anyone else have the problem of their bike suddenly deciding to be in neutral in the middle of a section? If so, is tihere a cure? I am fed up with it and it's spoiling my trials and making me wish I'd kept my totally reliable 2012 GasGas.

As a new bike get the dealer who supplied it to have a look at it. Maybe the selector mechanism wasn't set up properly in the factory.

If you're in the UK and have no joy with the dealer talk to Beta UK. I have always found John very helpful. http://www.beta-uk.com/  

when was the gear oil changed as my 300 was much better when the oil was kept fresh.

I wonder if this is related

http://www.trialscentral.com/sub-headlines/21-trials-bike-news/15761-beta-evo-2014-2t-selector-fault

My 2013 has popped out of 2nd a few times in sections. Less now than before but I'm also much more deliberate in my gear changes from worry it will do it again. I know that's no help.

 

Which gear does it jump into second from?

 

Could you be catching it with your foot?

 

There are rumours that Beta changed the selector fork design and material for 2014 but I have not checked with Beta if this is true or not. It is the case that you are not the only rider to have this problem but in another 2 cases of which I have direct experience putting different riders on the bikes (myself included) solved the problem and then it did not re occur when the original owners got back on the bike and were a bit more positive when engaging gear.

 

The problem (following applies not to just beta) can be caused by slack in the gear change mechanism (loose rivet on Beta), faulty selector spring, damaged dogs on the gears, damage to or debris in the holes where the dogs engage, bent selector forks, selector forks binding on selector shaft, too thick oil or selector drum indent mechanism not working correctly.

One one occasion (KTM 2T MX) I found the cause was a lump of silicone RTV had gone into the dog hole in the gear preventing proper engagement. The rider continued to ride the bike with it jumping out of gear and rounded of the dogs and hole edges completely trashing these and other gears.

Thanks everybody for your quick replies. To answer a couple of your points. The oil is changed regularly and it is from second gear that it jumps into neutral.

Second gear is nearly always the first to suffer this problem (not just on Betas). It is the gear that gets a lot of use, a lot of rushed engagements from neutral or second and it is the gear selector that most likely to get forced when the bike is dropped.

Have someone else ride your bike and see if the problem still happens. Engage second whilst the engine is stopped and the bike is rocked back and forth, then start the bike and see if it still drops out.

If it drops out under load whilst pulling steadily and hard it is likely worn dogs / dog holes

If it drops out under light load, throttle on / off conditions it is likely selector

 

What oil type and viscosity are you using?

 

At least Beta engines are dead easy to strip if you need to.