rick1

Disappointing, last nights documentary had no mention or video on the sport of trials. The general population will not make any association to this as a sport. Also, just like seeing a trials in person versus on film, TV just doesn't due their act justice...as Howie pointed out...video is on youtube if you haven't seen it.

I have watched the coverage and see one issue. There has been no reference to the sport itself. The general population is not making the connection to the intended purpose and use of these bikes. The bikes are being presented (by the judges and host) as "stunt bikes" not competition trials bikes. Hopefully the Hollywood coverage will have some background documentary showing Pat in action at a National or some other trials event.

You da man Dan. I also switched to synthetic ATF, which I never used before, maybe that is part of the chatter issue as well.

Hey all, I completed the clutch mod and love the results, with one exception. I find there is a lot more clutch plate chatter. Have others who have done this mod found this to be true or did I miss something in the mod instructions?

My god there is someone out there who is as annul as I am. My wife and son tell my buddies that I "floss" not wash my bike. A couple things I do to my Beta. 1) I spray the entire bike down with Simple Green (full strength) and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes or so. 2) Depending on riding conditions (if it was wet and even mildly muddy) I remove brake pads front and rear and clean them with a Scotch Brite pad 3) I wipe down the bike with a sponge and more Simple Green. This is where I usually find broken, bent or missing items. 4) I never, ever use a pressure washer. Don't need it, see item (8). 5)After rinsing bike down I take the bike for a spin to fling all water off chain (and heat it up), rotors etc. 6)Spray the chain down really well with WD (Water Dispersion) as well as all shock linkage and other bike joints. 7) I use a Scotch Brite pad to clean off rotors and brake pads (when removed). 8) I use a good quality car wax every few months to polish up hard to reach places and spots that get muddy easy. This does an amazing job of keeping mud and dirt off making it easier to clean like hubs and wheels. At one muddy ride this year my buddies were baffled at how my wheels stayed clean while theirs were a mess. 9) I always remove ignition cover after washing and spray with WD. Don't throw away old tooth brushes, they are great at getting crap out of places you can't reach, like the carb. A brass wire brush works great at clean crap off the chain.

The NETA (New England Trials Association) has been doing this for the last few years. This year we have 4 two-day events on our schedule. There are a number of benefits. One, as is mentioned above, the economics of one trip for two events. When traveling 5 - 7 hours to get to an event it is certainly more worth while if you can ride for two days. Two, for the event host, it is not really any more work to put on an event two days than it would be for one. In fact if you do it smartly it takes very little extra effort. For instance, using white section ribbons instead of red and blue allows you to run some sections backwards on the second day or quickly modify a section for the second day. Thirdly, all the administrative paperwork (AMA insurance , sanction, etc) is done once. Fourth, checkers seem to be more readily available especially on the second day. Fifth, its a great fun weekend. Folks hang around camping, bull****ting and just plain having a good time. Our club has found that more riders tend to show up if the event is done on a non-holidy weekend. In the past it seemed to make more sense to have it on a three day weekend figuring folks would want the Monday to drive home. As it turns out people seem to be fine with making the drive on Sunday night and I think a lot of folks already have family plans on the holiday weekends. It really does work out well..........even when you have three days of rain like we had at our 2-day last weekend.

The design is good just poorly welded. As Kinell stated, have the gussets welded up with a nice long bead and you'll be good to go.

I have done the carb mod on my Beta's (adjusting the tangs) and it has always worked perfectly as described. The problem I am having now is the hose coming from the float bowl spits out fuel when I lean the bike to put the side stand down or when I take the bike off the side stand. Essentially, any time I lean the bike to one side or the other it spits out fuel. Any ideas?

Brian, we are in Vermont. All the New England events give out trophies with motocross guys on the top. We thought it would be cool if we could locate a trophy topper that had a trials bike instead. Motofire, we actually gave out Maple Syrup with every trophy about 5 years ago, but at about $40 bucks a gallon right now that won't be possible.

Does anyone have a lead on where you can get a trophy top that actually has a guy on a modern trials bike versus another one of those dumb supercross / mx guys? I would even settle for a vintage trials guy.

Exactly what I have done for years and seems to work great and my chain and sprockets last as long as any of my fellow riders. I also don't hesitate to lube between loops during and event. Also I take the chain off before washing the bike. Also does a great hob of keeping your spockets clean. Doesn't have all that sand and grit built up to act like a grinding compound and wear everything down quicker.

There are a couple of New England Trials Association (http://www.newenglandtrials.org) events that are in the 2-3 hour range from where you will be (Meriden, CT, Brimfield, MA and Northville, NY just under 2 hours). A few others will be in the 3 hour range. Not bad considering my closest NETA event is 4 hours. There are also events in Western, NY that may be a bit further to drive too.

My job will be taking me to El Paso several times over the course of the year. I looked but couldn't find any trials activity in this area, is there any????

I couldn't agree more. I have tried ATF twice with horrible results. I have been using Mobile 1 synthethic for some time and find it works great. Being more readily available and cheaper I tend to change the oil much more frequently.

Holy Smokes! you may want to consider a new tire too. I don't think I have ever seen a trials tire worn down that far.

I had a 1995 Beta Techno for three years (bought used in 1998 and never had a problem with it. I bought a 2001 Rev 3 (new) and competed on it for 5 years and never had a problem with it. I bought a 2005 Rev 3 (new leftover in 2006) competed with it for past 2 years (beat the crap out of it) and only had one problem. The clutch cover leaked oil when new. Dealer ground a burr off of the edge of the cover, fixed the problem. Bike runs great no problem. Never had a stator problem (knock on wood) or any other serious, costly problem.

Since we are on the subject of 199s I have a question about the rear brake. I just converted my 199a from a left brake / right shift back to a left shift / right brake set up. I used an original bultaco cable that runs through the frame from the right brake lever to the left break drum. While the brake does not work nearly as good (as I expected) as it did with the rod action of left brake peddle set up it does not work nearly as good as I thought the cable might work. I find the right brake lever comes up to high for easy access with the foot and the braking action of the rear wheel is less than I thought it would be. Do any of you have any tricks or advice on how to get the most out of the original cable brake type set up of the Sherpa 199a. It would be nice if I could get the rear to wheel to lock up or is that asking too much?

were did you get your box from and how much was it if you dont mind me asking as i dont want to have the stator done and find out its some thing else cheers I got the box from BETA USA it was about $200 as I recall. Montman has a good idea though; if you know some one with a similar bike borrow theirs. It is, however, a son-of-a-bitch getting the box out and back in again as I recall.

I had the exact same problem on my 2001. It was first hard to start then it just died.........turned out to be the black box tucked up under the tank. Apparently this is a common problem with that model year. The replacement boxes are "supposed" to be improved.

In this case its not the bike its the owner. If the bike was looked after as it should be this problem would not occurr. My guess is the swing arm and suspension has never ever been looked at in the past 5 years. At the very least the swing arm and suspension should have been removed, inspected, and lubed once a year (as I believe is recommended in the manual). Had this been done with any regularity the lower bolt would not be siezed.

Why don't we start earlier? Well lets see, I just attended an event this weekend near Springfield, MA. I drove 4 hours in pouring rain to get to an event where it was still pouring rain with temps in the low 30s. There was some snow and sleet but mostly rain and mud. Quite frankly that was the best part of the day as the event was a blast. The worst part was driving back 6 hours through the mountains in rain, freezing rain, road incrusted sleet and several inches of snow. Cars were off the road everywhere and some trucks couldn't make it up the hills. How many of the quote "UK'ers" you refer to drive that far in those conditions. That is why we don't have events starting earlier or running all season.

Could someone please tell me; when doing a front wheel hop it seems to make sense to keep the front brake locked up, I think. But what about the rear brake. I'm new at this and still struggling with it. I can't make up my mind if the back brake should be apllied or not. Any assistance appreciated.

Yah right, your a little whacked bud. Up to last weekend I still had two feet of snow in my backyard. Ever try riding a trils bike in 2 feet of snow.....it don't work, I don't care if your Lampkin or not. That's why they invented the snowmobile. Rode for the first time this past Sunday, not bad, had a good time, but the ice just below the thawed 1 inch of ground is a might bit tricky especially on the big stuff. Up steep hills, forget it. But supposing we took on your proposal, how the heck do you prep sections and a loop in 2 feet of snow to pull off an event. It ain't gonna happen. I'll bet our buds in the UK aren't running events in 2 feet of snow, in fact I'll bet its a rare case when they get more than 6 inches of snow. There average temp for Jan is 41, Feb is 45 here in the north east its 18 degrees for Jan and 19 for Feburary.....you do the math. Despite this we managed to ride from March of 06 to the first week of Jan in 07 (very warm and unusal weather, thank you Global Warming).

I would change them all out since you have it apart. Then clean and re-lube every six months and you won't have to worry about replacing them for a very, very long time.........you'll probably sell it before they would go again.

How long is long enough? It has been around over 20 years and a similar procedure using knife blades before that going back to the 70s. Granted I haven't worked up the rocks to get the surgery either. As much as I hate glasses I like my eyes.