bob

I am on 11 front 43 rear on a 250. (standard) I believe the 200 runs the same with a 42 on the rear standard, and I would expect the same with the 125. Bob

Erm, the simple answer to that is NO. Low North is owned by the Scarborough and District motor club, as I am sure you are aware, what with you being a member. The vast majority of these members, if not all of them will ride at Low North. As far as people on this website who ride there, I imagine it will be mostly members of Scarborough club, and people in the surrounding area. I have ridden there a couple of times myself. Bob

Hiya, I have changed them before on my 03, I assume it will be very similar on the 2001, if not the same. As rlracer says, some betas do suffer from corrosion problems behind the impeller if the correct coolant isn't used. If you pop your water pump cover and the impeller off it will be obvious if this is the problem, if it is then a new case, welding or some araldite may be the answer. If it is just the seal that needs changig, then this isn't such a big job really. I seem to remember that I had to take the whole side casing off, although now I can't remember why, so you will need a new gasket to go on that caseing, try to get a paper type one, the others have tendancy to wriggle out. Drop the oil first, and lie the bike on its side, once the case is off it will be pretty obvious how it works. You'll want to change the shaft, seals, and since your bike is a few years old, it might be an idea to change the two bearings as well. Once the shaft is out then everything should come out of the hole reasonably easily with gently applied force from a small hammer and punch, just try to to damage the casing. When you re-assemble it will, and should be a very tight fit to get the bearings and seal in. Don't forget to make sure that the gears are aligned when you put the case back on, you'd be surprised how easily it is to break those nylon gears if you try to force them back on and they aren't aligned. Smear a little grease on the gasket and make sure the faces are smooth and clean, I use a razor blade to shave any remaining gasket material off. oh, and don't forget to drain the coolant first by removing the drain screw on the side of the impeller casing, and then undoing the rad cap. Shouldn't be too bad at all.

I not convinced they ever sorted out the stator problems, they still get damp and can fail on corrosion if you're not careful. I think that the stators are about sorted out by 2005, although they said it every year, having said the the 125 may have a different stator, the 200 did in 2003 anyway. The forks on the 125 have always been chrome. Bob

I don't know how loud your popping is, but I thought that that was normal for a Beta at least. Bob

Whoops, sorry, I forgot about that. I do remember reading a thread about that a while back now but it slipped my mind. Yes, the flip flop levers won't fit the new grimeca master cylinders, but it will fit the older AJP ones. Bob

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I believe that <mention of this company is not permitted on Trials Central> have them on their online shop, and I am pretty sure that I have seen them on BVMs website. Bob

My 03 rev3 did this, I gave the radiator a rinse through a couple of times, refilled with good straight antifreeze and it never did it again. I seem to remember a few other people saying that their bikes had done the same at the time. I'm not saying there isn't anything wrong with your bike because I haven't seen the sludge, but it might not be the cylinder head gasket / o rings. Bob

I don't know the exact details of the 02, but I've done it on an 03 and 06. It isn't that much of a job really. While you're there you might want to change the master cylinder seals as well; it saves having to bleed it all again if and when they do go. Ideally you want to push the pistons out a reasonable distance with the pedal so you have something to get hold of when you take them out. Remove the banjo and then the caliper, you need to remove the wheel on the 06, but didn't have to on the 03. Let any excess fuil drain into a pot, it'll wash off with water or some brake cleaner if you have it. Seperate the two halves of the caliper and pul the pistons out. If you couldn't get the pistons to come out enough to get hold of them then you might need to use an air line to 'fire' them out. Wrap it all up in an old towl to revent injury from the piston or brake fluid spray. Clean everything up. Using some rubber lube carefully place the seals into the caliper. Push the new pistons in. Bolt back together and away you go!! Also, it might be easier to just loosen the studs which told the caliper shalves together just before removing it from the bike, they can be tight. Bob

You could try back bleeding the system using a large syringe. This is the best way to fill the system so that any bubbles rise with the fluid, rathe than perhaps getting trapped somewhere. When you bleed conventionally it is possible to push a bubble along the tube, but between pumps of the lever it may slowly move back up the hose. Also, check things like the adjustment of the lever such as the sonnecting bar which pushes the plunger. Bob

Surely you won't need to change the whole hose?! Unless the hose is only just the correct length as it is and cannot be shortened in any way. Why can't you just butcher the old banjo with a pair of wire cutters, trying not to damage the hose, and then put a new one on. If you haven't got the gear to crimp them then there are definitely bolt-on type banjos available. A mate of mine had this happen to a scorpa front brake, and he just put a fresh banjo on which he had spare from road racing. That shouldn't be such a difficult job. Bleeding is probably the worst bit of it. Bob

But I like the petrol smell

well, clutch cover bolts, not very tight because they only screw into magnesium, and the sump plug, just enough to nip the fibre washer, and then a tiny bit more. I can't find any torque specs really, so I tend to just do it to what feels right, which is normally about right. There are no torque specs in the factory supplied maintainence manual. Bob

I don't think this is specific to Betas, I've owned a sherco which had the same problem, and my mates Montesa does it. I think it is just trials bike clutches! Bob

Betas are overall a very well built bike, they probably aren't quite as reliable as the Jap engines in the Scorpa and Mont, but they are a well designed bike which requires relatively little maintainence. Having said that, the engines are very easy to work on, everything is relatively easy to get at, although sometimes you have to go what at first appears to be the long way round to get things off, such as the airbox and brake pedal; but that isn;t a problem because everything comes apart easily. Bob

You'll need to find some way of holding the flywheel, A bloke I know kindly made a tool from a HUGE washer and bit of bar welded together then drilled two holes in it so it could be bolted on; but some people put the bike in gear and use the back brake, or use an air gun to get a bit more kick. You might want to mark on the nut and flywheel where the nut was before so you can do it up to the same spot, or get a torque wrench and go back to 130-140 Nm. Once you've got the nut off you'll need a flywheel puller to get the flywheel off, not sure exactly on the sizes for that, Lampkins stock them though. Try to go straight out with the flywheel, avoid juggling as this might just further damage your stator. Take note that there is a small 'half moon' or woodruff key on the crankshaft which locates the flywheel on the shaft, it might be firmly stuck in, but so long as it isn't damaged then it will be fine. When you put the flywheel back on make sure that they line up properly, be careful not to knock the key out when you pit it back on. The woodruff key isn't there to hold the flywheel in place, just to locate it when you put it on. It shouldn't be as bad as I have maybe made out. good luck, Bob

Good luck with it, the heat seven plug is a cooler plug, they have those in as stock abroad where it is hotter I think, over here it helps to have a warmer plug in, although I sometimes run a heat six in summer if it starts pinking. Bob

The fork oil levels are all on lampkins site www.beta-uk.com I think, or could be .co.uk. Click on previous models. Bob

The mont and beta are both good bikes really, but both are quite different. The 99 techno is the last of the technos and will be a lot better than a 2000 or 2001 rev3, so bear that in mind with the beta, alhough it is older, it ha had lots of time to be developed. I've ridden a 2000 mont and found it to be really nice, but people have said that they aren't so stable, spin more easily in the mud and are a bit more of an experts bike. I would be inclined to go for the beta, they are well built, and even though they are a little heavier, if you hve the right technique and setup then you can do anything you would want to. If possible, have a ride on them both and see which one feels the most natural to you, but remember that just moving the forks in the yolks a little, or twisting the handlebars will make a big difference to the feel of the bike. just my opinion Bob

Rusting is oxidation, or loss of electrons. If two metals are in contact with each other, and one is more readily oxidised than the other then rather than both metals rusting at a steady rate, one will not rust at all, and the other will rust a lot. It depends on the two metals in question as to which one will rust. They use big blocks of magnesium to stop corrosion of underground steel pipes, they just have to replace the magnesium every now and then, which is a lot cheaper than replacing a whole pipe, especially since the magnesium only has to be wired up to the pipe, not actually underground. Bob

I had a 10T sprocket on my 03 200 for a little while, the previous owner was a beginner and wanted to slow it down, I just didn't get on with it and put an 11T on as soon as I could. I'm riding with an 11T sprocket on my 250, and I still ride everything in second! I guess it depends what you're into. Bob

Talking of which, I need a new fron tyre for my Rev 3. Any suggestions? Just go to the same spot you would get tyres for your car, they can order them in. Bob

Lampkins suggested to me to run the earth to the top bolt on the coil, it's nicely out of the way there, and well earthed. I've dont this with my last two kill switches with no problems. Bob

Have a search on the beta section on the forum, There are detailed instructions on how to adjust the float tangs so that fuel doesn't overflow into the crank case, If fuel still dribbles out of the carb onto your engine casings then you can do the carb drilling mod, there is a thread on it at the moment if you take a look. It is a pretty common query. Bob

In nearly all cases you should fine that once the float tangs have been adjusted the bike will run fine for club trials, although it might spill a little bit of fuel out every now and then. You might want to try to drilling mod, but obviously only if you're still not content with the way it runs after the float tangs have been properly adjusted. If after adjusting the float tangs, and you are riding big steps and drops and the bike bogs down then a float bowl extension is available. Bob