scooterspal

There is a product available here in the US and maybe elsewhere that claims (yah, I know but it does seem to work better than the others... read up on it before you poo-poo it) to solve a lot of the issues of using E10 gas in small engines. It is an entirely new formula unlike anything else on the market. First made for use in marine engines and now found everywhere including local bike shops. http://mystarbrite.com/startron//content/view/14/37/lang,en/ I have had great luck with it. Add it to the tank of my Honda CH250 scooter and that, together with my $9 battery maintainer, lets me ride all year when it's safe to do so. BTW: I have no connection to this company or this product. Had to say that : )

Wiggling and removing that old (rubber?) fuel line may have dislodged some crud or rubber bits into your carb. The E10 fuels are hard on rubber lines. One reason to get away from them. I had to clean my carb after I installed the new lines. Does not take much to clog up the jets... especially the idle (slow) jet. I use an old projector lens to make sure my jets are completely clean end to end and I have a small industrial ultrasonic parts cleaner to do a pretty thorough job of it on all the carb parts. Finally, do the reassembly in a modified "clean room" setting. Lay down some clean paper and wear plastic gloves. Finger oils will glog up that idle jet in no time. Works for me : ).

Many folks seem to have gone the manual way but it won't hurt to make sure your OEM system is working correctly, first, before tearing if all off. http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/31549-decompression-system-demystified/

Were you able to get Tygon F-4040A where you live with no trouble?

I posted a fix for that : ) http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/32584-tlr200-fuel-line-fix/page__p__248113__hl__fuel__fromsearch__1#entry248113 New fuel filter... the OEM Honda works best and, as has been said already, clean your carb.

My question for you is... does age matter? Can you learn perfect balance if one is middle age? Thanks for the tips on riding the unicycle. I saw a few small videos on YouTube. There is one young fellow who is quite good at explaining the basics... how to mount (same as you said) and to take it real slow. Just sit there and rock one leg and then the other for 10 minutes at a time. Your tip to use the walls of the house is great. BTW: That guy on YouTube... his first tip: get a bicycle helmet and wrist/palm bands because you will go down and often.

I like your idea of the balance board. That's something I can even do upstairs in the living room watching the TV. Thanks for the reply and the link you provided. Great information that I did not have.

I read in a great old book on trials that unless you have perfect balance you will never be able to ride trials. The author also said the best way to learn perfect balance is with a unicycle. Wondering if anyone has tried this route. Seems to make sense but a unicycle is very hard to learn I would imagine. At least with Winter coming it's something I can do in the basement to get ready for next season.

Thanks. I ordered a copy of the new 2010 edition from a company here is the US that caters to vintage trials riders. Looking forward to watching it and learning something.

So are you saying this new 2010 version DVD (I think I found a place in the US that is settling it) would be suitable for a complete novice such as myself?

Thanks. Apparently this book is hard to come by but I will be on the look out for it.

Spent most of this Summer rebuilding a 1986 Honda TLR200 and now I'd like to learn to ride it. My practice area is my back yard for now. I put on about 8 miles this weekend tooling around the yard but mostly I'm making this up as I go. Here is my first question: How much is the throttle used for level riding. That is, do you have your idle set higher so you can leave the throttle be and use the clutch/brake to control speed?

I solved this problem on my TLR200. I posted my results, here: http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/31606-going-for-the-brown/ Get to know your spark plug intimately! You can tell most everything about your engines operation by just reading the plug.

Found this video on Youtube and thought others might be interested. I was especially impressed with the fellow in the purple jacket at 2:42 minutes in. Just amazing to watch.

Judging from some recent parts I've gotten from my local OEM Honda dealer, Honda (in Japan) is apparently having some parts made in Thailand. The bags are marked as such. You do need to watch out for the part #'s though. I have seen where they will list a part for many models of Honda bike when the part clearly does not match up to the OEM version. I purchased some rear signal lights for my TLR200 (actually no longer offered by Honda USA) and found they were very close to the OEM version but the threaded mounting shaft was shorter. I machined a new collar and it worked out fine.

I switched from using the stiff rubber fuel line to using Tygon PVC fuel line tubing and found I can get access to the carb choke lever much easier now. Tygon F-4040A is sold throughout the world and can be found at most well stocked auto supply houses. This is their 3/16"I.D. tubing (about $2 US per foot) and I'm using the flat steel spring clamps for a very secure fit on all connections. Note the OEM Honda fuel filter has plenty of space, now. I like the fact that I can see the gas so I know it's getting to the carb.

Yikes. These babies are close to $300US. Looks like the riders in the picture appreciate the qualities of fine imported Italian leather : ) Not sure I'm quite in this league at the moment... but they sure do look nice. Are they really more comfortable than the others?

Saw these on some of the riders at Exeter, RI this year and I'd like to check out these trials boots but I cannot seem to find the manufacturer. Wondering if anyone out there can identify them for me. Make and/or who sells them. Thanks

I can answer my own question now. The bends are correct and are there to clear the chain on one side the the engine casing on the other.

You can read my posting about it here... http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/index....showtopic=31606

Installed the Falcon shocks on my TLR200 and they look great!

This carb mod kit for the TLR200 is probably no longer available from Honda as I bought the second to last one earlier this year. (see my earlier posting on Going for the Brown) I spotted this one today on Ebay in case anyone is interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-HONDA-TLR200-JET-N...=item2a097a06aa

Perhaps if I understood the process better I'd see why folks are saying to remove the linkage entirely. The way it looks to me, setting the lever directly on the shaft places it far away from my boot when it's on the peg. That means to shift I need to lift my foot forward off the peg. Now, for street riding (which I still plan on doing) this seems less than ideal since you would be making many shifts to get the bike up to speed and back down again. Is this "linkage less" suggestion mainly for those who use the TLR200 only for trials? That is, you pick your gear position for the section at hand at the outset and then pretty much leave it there? Please understand I have not ridden any trials as yet so the theory is all unknown to me at this point. Any help will be appreciated.

Sorry. I assumed they were similar bikes.

Just do what I do. Search the parts list at any online Honda dealer to see if they match. Try this one unless you have a favorite... Honda Parts Lookup