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Introduction and What to buy?


Chapel444
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Hi all,

New to this forum and returning to off road and trials riding after a looonnnng time away. I rode trials a little bit as a very young kid but then my teen and adult years have been spent on road bikes, surfboards and in, under, on and behind (pushing) a variety of mainly clapped out vans.

Hoping some of you guys and gals can help me out here please. I have around £1500 burning a hole in my pocket to spend on a used trials bike for some gentle, slow speed fun in a mates field, and also a bit of green laning. The bike needs to be as reliable and user friendly as possible considering my budget and long absence from off road riding, but also have good parts availability for the inevitable running repairs if that's also possible within my budget. 

What bike should I be looking for at that price please? 

Also if anyone on here is selling something suitable currently, I'm based in mid Cornwall and don't mind driving a couple of hours to collect. Budget is a little flexible but not massively.

Any and all advice or offers much appreciated.

Ta very much.

Best wishes ?☀️

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At that price and taking in spares availability and usage, I don't think you'd go far wrong with a Beta Rev3, either 200 or 250.

Still loads about, second hand spares around as well, well proven, there's still a Uk dealer, lots of people bought em, so loads of advice around, and out of the bikes in your price range, I reckon they'll be about the best of the bunch.

A monty 315r, if you can get one, also wouldn't be a bad bet either, but good luck finding.

as for green lanes, get an extra Acerbis 1litre tank for it, it'll give you a bit more range!

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I bought a Rev 3 a while back with the idea I might green lane it as well as trials.  In all honesty the two are just not good mates.  As a cheap trials bike they are OK but for green lanes it really is sub optimal.  Mine never got ridden on a road and for that task I still fancy a CRF250.

If you really really really want to do both something like a 4ride Montesa is much better (if over budget).  But I still think it is a poor halfway house.

Beta do/did a tank/seat unit that "converts" the bike to a green lane bike and can be removed to ride trials again if you want.

Green lanes are great but you really need a comfortable bike to potter about on and maybe stop for lunch and have a nice day out.  Lights and so on are really handy so you can ride a while to a good venue.  (Unless you have one on your doorstep).  To me the two tasks are different and need different machines. 

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Hi and welcome to the wonderful world of trials.

I Agree with all of the above. At that budget you’re looking at at least a ten year old bike so could have had some considerable use.

However, the main thing is that it’s been looked after, so try to find one that the current owner has maintained well with oil changes, filters, chain & sprockets, grips & levers etc all in good order & don’t be fooled by a new set of stickers ! It’s going to have some signs of scratches & scrapes but you can usually tell how hard a bikes been ridden & if damage has been put right.

I think beta (late Rev 3, might even find an early evo) or gas gas pro (So post 2002) would be your best bet as they are still a relatively modern bike to get started on, and parts are readily available on the whole. Read around this site for info on the potential problems of the different makes, Rev 3’s have problems with coolant corroding cases, gas gas have a reputation for gearbox & clutch problems, but as said, if they’ve been looked after during their life those problems will have been dealt with. Honest sellers will tell you what’s what. 
I’m just a plodding club rider & had both and can’t say that any of those problems have been an issue, accept they’re not perfect, one has one problem, one has another. As pointed out before trials & green laning really are two different things & need two different machines, but a road legal trials bike is good if you have a riding ground not too far away.

In an ideal world you’d be able to go to a trial & talk to people about their bikes, maybe even get a test ride & possibly find one for sale, but sadly any trials running at the moment don’t allow spectators so good luck with your search. One last thing, however much you think you can ride & have experience, don’t be tempted to go bigger than 250, you really won’t need it.

Good luck & enjoy.

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4 hours ago, feetupsbetter said:

..In an ideal world you’d be able to go to a trial & talk to people about their bikes, ..

Torridge this weekend - https://www.acu.org.uk/events/August-2020/Torridge-DMC-Ltd/Trials/Lower-Wembsworthy-Farm-HartlandBideford-EX39-6EN-ACU59464.aspx

Supplemental shows spectators allowed if distancing.  Not a million miles from Cornwall.

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18 hours ago, faussy said:

4rt, better than any 2 stroke for green lane work and raking about. And you have the option to turn it into a free ride. Bit more expensive, but im sure theres plenty about beneath 2k

If you can find me one for under 2k let me know, I wouldn't mind trying one out for a bit at that price, only ones I ever see are at the 3k mark, let alone under 2.

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Wow guys thanks so much for the welcomes and all the advice, tips and info above.  Blown away I am! Lots there to be absorbed and inwardly digested over breakfast this morning!!! 

Apologies I'm only just now responding but yesterday turned into a very busy one quite rapidly. The reason for this was that I was doing my normal e-bay breakfast bike ogle, when a 2001 Montesa Cota 315r came up for sale within budget, only 40 miles from home. 

Happy to announce that after long and protracted labours yesterday, I followed Jonboy883's advice and I'm now a proud Dad again. Little Monty is currently nestled in cosy and warm in his new home, amongst his siblings both older and younger, out in the shed. Over the moon I am ?

The bike starts 2nd kick, is a runner and rides ok on old boots, but shows signs of quite a bit of use. I suspect the correct maintenance schedule hasn't always been so strictly adhered to, so I'm confident there will be a bit of spanner work to do down the line, to get it back purring sweetly again, but that's all part of the fun for me. Quite looking forward to getting the tools out and seeing what's what. Seller supplied a few small parts with the bike, but no doubt there will be some more winging their cardboard covered way in the this direction soon.

I'll obviously be milking the forum here dry for as much info as possible, but could someone please spare me five mins to list/share a link to, any common issues and things to look out for/give special attention to with these bikes?

Thanks again one and all. Great forum! Looking forward to being an active member here, almost as much as getting out on my new old Montesa Cota 315r ??

 

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Not a 315 expert, but without knowing how well maintained it is from the previous owner, Id say just start with the general cheap things and hope you don't run across something major. Gearbox oil, wheel bearings, grease headstock bearings and regrease possibly replace rear suspension bearings if theres a lot of slop, repack silencer. \

You've probably already checked the montesa specific forum on here, if you want to ask anything specific you might have better luck there

https://www.trialscentral.com/forums/forum/9-montesa/

Edited by faussy
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1 hour ago, faussy said:

Not a 315 expert, but without knowing how well maintained it is from the previous owner, Id say just start with the general cheap things and hope you don't run across something major. Gearbox oil, wheel bearings, grease headstock bearings and regrease possibly replace rear suspension bearings if theres a lot of slop, repack silencer. \

You've probably already checked the montesa specific forum on here, if you want to ask anything specific you might have better luck there

https://www.trialscentral.com/forums/forum/9-montesa/

Nice one Faussy, cheers??

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I had a couple of 315 Montesa’s from new back in the day. Bomb-proof and terrific build quality. Faussy’s said it all above. Also worth checking all the other fluid levels (rad/brakes/clutch) and (rather obviously) cleaning air filter.
 

I honestly can’t recall having any issues or niggles whatsoever. And it will likely go up in value!

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1 hour ago, rr62 said:

I had a couple of 315 Montesa’s from new back in the day. Bomb-proof and terrific build quality. Faussy’s said it all above. Also worth checking all the other fluid levels (rad/brakes/clutch) and (rather obviously) cleaning air filter.
 

I honestly can’t recall having any issues or niggles whatsoever. And it will likely go up in value!

Proper job, can't wait to get stuck in now ?? cheers.

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From the photo it looks like a pretty clean example.

In regards maintainence, do the basic stuff well, abit like your riding, and the rest will just follow on and should be fine provided it you keep on top of the small stuff.

Have fun.

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