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2003 Contact TXT Pro 280 clutch not disengaging properly


NorthCust
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turns out what was needed was to put front wheel against a wall, engage rear brake and drop it into gear and just ride the clutch/grind the back tyre till it "unstuck". Then it seems to stay unstuck for a while but if left unridden for a week or so it might need unsticking again. I think it was just the old dodgy oil it had in and needs to work out of all the mating surfaces...so basically it just needs chasing round a field for a few hours and I'm sure it'll be fine.

 

Fortunately as of tuesday it's now got a full MOT (not just daytime) and I'm out exploring on her so the clutch is gonna get bedded in pretty soon ;)

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Edited by NorthCust
typo
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4 hours ago, NorthCust said:

on the V5 it says TXT PRO 280 so that's what I went by. i checked and the frame number matched too. What makes you say it's one or the other?

Because we've all had that model of those bikes.  Look up gasgas pro on the interweb searcher. "Pro" was a distinguishing term, they started production in 02, by 04 the version you have were phased out. 

you have the old version basically in production since early 90's (with slight changes.  the Pro model engine was completely new design and specs.  

The engines and such (clutch gears and everything) are hugely different.

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hmm ok well I might have to get in touch with gasgas and see what they make of it. they seemed to be quite good with pulling up inf based on a frame number.

 

I don't really know much about trials bikes, I was looking for something small and light to do exploring & urban freeriding and the motox 125s i'd seen were too big for me. This looked spot on (and is spot on) but I can't really claim to be any kind of authority on the details yet, though obviously I'm interested in how it's not what it claimed to be.

I had managed to establish that it's from the series which ran up till 2002, since it uses the sprockets from that series, but beyond that the info I have is what's in the (very brief) "service manual" and what's on the V5. Sounds like someone bodged the V5 info.

I'll see what gasgas have to say, thanks for spotting it :)

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  • 1 month later...

with more regular use, as I'd hoped the clutch seems to be getting less sticky. I still start it against the wall for the first time but it's less of an issue every time I go out. I think she just needed some <3. gearbox-wise, it seems like it's loosening up a bit. I wonder if whatever wrong oil was used gunked up other mechanisms, e.g. why it's so hard to find neutral when it's running.

She's now got a full mot (not just daytime) and I'm out exploring regularly and trying to get to know the bike. I'm going to try and add another silencer because I'd be able to explore and practice in more places without annoying people if she wasn't quite so rowdy, and there's plenty of power so if it restricts it a bit then I can live with that. Just fitted the other back wheel I had with a heidenau K60 dualsport tyre and a 40 tooth sprocket (13t front) which I just tested in the wet and much to my surprise it felt really good, but also wild.

Love this bike tho whatever it is, it's exactly what I wanted. Thanks for your help everyone :)

 

 

Edited by NorthCust
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  • 3 weeks later...

i'm not sure is mine similar.. but again i couldn't find my symptoms like you in any other thread. i have a gg jtx270 contact 1997, clutch felt a little draggy last time out as in i had to pull lever all the way in to disengage, but i bled up and seemed better, i changed out the oil in box which was atf replaced with dexron 3 as someone advised?,  but we were going well on spin through woods until drag started coming into bike and conking out on slowing down and stopping- but clutch still felt good on the lever- eventually i couldn't change gear- even with engine off bike rocking the gear selector seems free - no feel like its just moving up and down but not clicking or feeling like its going to elect anything! 

i suspect discs are swollen and stuck on but i thought i should still be able to change gears with engine off? just want a bit of direction before i tear into it! could still be hydraulic!

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You should be able to change gear with the engine off regardless of anything that's going on with the clutch, but you will need to roll the bike back and forward a little to align the dogs, expect it be be clunky/fiddly. Try that first, I suspect it'll be fine but confirming this allows you to focus on the clutch.

Hydraulics are likely to be ok if the fluid level isn't dropping and if you don't get bubbles when bleeding. 

Changing type of oil can swell plates, they can absorb components of the new oil before they have shed components of the old.

Plates/steels can warp. Can you find plate and stack thickness specs and pressure plate travel for the bike? Everything can look fine but stop working when out of spec.

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ya i have zero gear change even off and rocking bike,? thats why i was dubious about clutch locking up causing it, peddle travels perfectly and returns perfectly to centre every time but no feel of selector picking up change, 

ill replace all discs in clutch anyway but i would imagine i have some sort of selector issue? cases split time?

i have bled system again and flushed 100ml of new fluid through lines all ok and lever adjusted correctly, . 

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>> gg jtx270 contact 1997,

ah I believe that's quite similar to mine but that's about where my know-how ends unfortunately.

though werid behaviour/swelling of plates from either being stood for ages, or a change of oil does seem plausible given my recent experience. It's taken a surprisingly long time to clear whatever oil issues my box had but the actual gear selection seems to be freeing up too with use so perhaps there was also corrosion inside as a result of incorrect oil? idk. Again though, could speak towards "further-reaching odd behaviours" (other than just swollen plates) inside the gearbox.

Hope you get it sorted :)

 

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Not being able to select gears with the engine off does sound like a selector issue,  but don't dive in too far you can check some of the selector mechanism after just removing side covers.

It wouldn't cause clutch drag though so you've either got two problems or it's misdiagnosed, might be worth having someone take a look at it.

 

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3 hours ago, NorthCust said:

>> gg jtx270 contact 1997,

ah I believe that's quite similar to mine but that's about where my know-how ends unfortunately.

though werid behaviour/swelling of plates from either being stood for ages, or a change of oil does seem plausible given my recent experience. It's taken a surprisingly long time to clear whatever oil issues my box had but the actual gear selection seems to be freeing up too with use so perhaps there was also corrosion inside as a result of incorrect oil? idk. Again though, could speak towards "further-reaching odd behaviours" (other than just swollen plates) inside the gearbox.

Hope you get it sorted :)

 

 

2 hours ago, totty79 said:

Not being able to select gears with the engine off does sound like a selector issue,  but don't dive in too far you can check some of the selector mechanism after just removing side covers.

It wouldn't cause clutch drag though so you've either got two problems or it's misdiagnosed, might be worth having someone take a look at it.

 

Bit the bullet opened the cover! Found spring broken thankfully!! Pics attached. Also discs are a little swollen compared to the specs which would explain the drag! So new clutch and I’ll try find this spring part number! No opening of the transmission thankfully! 

8477AED4-234D-42B1-A0DC-58A3D89BA367.jpeg

557E3AAE-168C-4FBA-BA7F-D537887B0DF1.jpeg

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  • 1 year later...

ORIGINAL POST SOLVED!

In case someone arrives here by searching - here's an update on the original post:

when I got the bike I did a change of the engine oil and the (very brief) manual/pamphlet from gg said use "light gear oil". So I ended up with silkolene's "gear oil light". As it turns out they are not the same thing. 

It's only a while later I'm going to change the oil and happen to stumble across an old youtube clip from Jim Snell where he specifies that model needed needed 5w30 instead of 10w40 (which it turns out the "Gear Oil Light " is - AHA! got some 5w30, popped it in and now it still sticks a tiny bit initially but it's nothing like the grinding tyres on the driveway against the house antics I've had to do so far.

Gear selection also seems a little better and the odds of finding some sort of neutral seem to have improved slightly (if the drivetrain is weighted just right).

So I guess if your clutch is dragging, try a thinner oil perhaps.

Hope that helps someone..

 

 

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