joeninety

I agree that keeping the crap out is probably more important. I think air cleaner and boxes on most if not all trials bikes are of a poor design generally and could be much improved. I now put a peice of fine mesh over the foam air cleaner to stop any large debris getting so far as I would quite often find leaf debris in the foam filter, this seems to definately help. I ran at 65:1 at the weekend and it seemed to run very nicely, easy starting, no strange noises so might try 70:1 at the next event. Don'y think I'll be going any leaner that. Cheers for all your help and advice. Gary.

I don't think its a case of 'do as you like then', its just trtyng to get a balanced view on opinions. The bottom line is Sherco recommend 60:1, your mentioning upto 100:1, some folks in the local club are on 50:1, others mention 70 or 80:1 etc. I realise oils are getting better all the time and your link was very interesting. When I spoke to MRS after I had main crank bearings fail one of his questions to me was did I have oil in the petrol and how much, I said 55:1 to which he replied thats fine. After much consideration I think i will give 70:1 a try. I just can't help being a bit wary after having the crankcases split for new bearings and the barrel replated and new piston... dont want to have to do it all again anytime soon! Cheers.

Thanks for your input. Think I will defo change to 60:1 mix. Might alternate between 60:1 & 70:1 depending on the trial and how long the runs are between sections etc. I also think practice riding is more tough on the motor as your running for longer period of time whereas at events it stop start riding. Cheers.

I'm running my Sherco 250 at 95ml to 5 litres of fuel. As I've just done main bearings after one of the cages disintergrated I'm a bit weary about going any weaker on the mix. The new main bearings are fully sealed wheras the ones that came out were open so atleast the new ones dont need the fuel / oil mix for lube. After putting it all back together with new mains, piston, barrel replated it started on the 7th kick and sounded lovely with a nice 2T pop exhaust note. After the first trial something started to sound rattley. Not had chance to investigate yet but beleive this sound (top end rattle sound???) can be normal for even new Sherco's? Its really pronounced when you let off the throttle or pull the clutch in. With this in mind I do wonder if the mix is strong enough as the Sherco handbook (sheet of paper) says 50:1

I would suggest buying the bearings from a local bearing supplier. Just replaced the bearings in my linkage and the bearings were under half price from my local bearing shop. Still gotta the internal race ways from a dealer though...

I ended up using a mains electricity rattle gun that I borrowed off a mate to remove the nut. What a peice of kit! I'm not going to put the nut back on with it as its torque is not adjustable and it is capable of applying 450 n/m! Thanks for all your help with this... Gary.

Cool advice.... Will give it a try. Cheers. Gary.

Hi, Probably a long short but has anyone got a Sherco clutch removal I could borrow in the Hampshire area of the UK? There's a beer in it for someone as I'm loathed to pay

Got barrel off now and big end appears to be okay and it looks like main bearings are the culprit so a bit relieved! Many thanks for your help and advice. Gary.

Thanks for the reply Zippy. I thnk the next move is remove the barrel and have a closer inspection of the crank. If it is the crank big end whats the most ecnomical route to repair, is it £400+ from Splat / Rathmells or can it be reconditioned? Whats the best was to determine if its the big end bearing or the main crank case bearings as from the following copied and pasted thread it seems fairly economical if its main crank bearings. --------------------------------------- well guys, ive copped out im afraid.... i was recomended to use a bloke who's local and after speaking with him thought it easier to hand it over.... cop out i know, but i suppose in theory doing the job is one thing, but i could imagine a whole load of things that could go wrong and i just couldnt ber that sinking feeling of kicking it over to get nothing when ive rebuilt the bugger...hahhaha i took it over to him tonight and we run the bike..... it seemed alot quieter then it did before it threw its hand in....he said he'd heard plenty worse sherco's... he looked at the flywheel and everything seemed ok, he said the bearings just felt a bit notchy, probably due to the bike doing so little work and probably being stood still in the previous owners garage for some time..... but still, something wasnt quite right.... he stripped the clutch housing off and had a fiddle with the kick start mechanism... and allthough there were no teeth broken or any visable signs of damage, it didnt seem quite right either.... ive left the bike with him so he can whip out the clutch and have a look deeper into things... ------------------------------------ well, its all done..... what a differance, its like a different bike !! soooooooooo quiet and smooth...... the crankshaft bearings, one of them had melted !!! cost about £90 for all the bits/ bearings ,gaskets, oil n coolants etc, oh an a new spring in me kickstart mech.... but worth every penny..... -----------------------------------

Bit of a thread hijack here, but today I had the same symptoms as the original poster. The engine tone changed, then the bike felt sluggish, when you closed the throttle rather than just coasting like its always done it was like I was applying the brakes. Then the engine stopped. Tried kick starting it but the kick just felt totally lifeless when being kicked if that makes sense? Anyway, got home removed the head, carb and fly wheel cover and when I tried to rotate the flywheel it would at certain positions be almost impossible to rotate then it would free up. Couldn't even get it past these sticky points using the kick start by hand. Then after sometime rotating the flywheel backwards and forwards it started to free up and seem fine but then suddenly the stickyness appeared again. On inspection the barrel looks quite good and there's no obvious signs that the piston is worn. Does this point to main bearings? The bike is a 2004 Sherco 250, if it's main bearings is it a crankcase split job, never done that before and at the moment it all seems a little daunting. Any help much appreciated. Cheers, Gary.

Hi Everyone, A friend of mine owns a Sherco 290 - 2002 year with a AJP rear brake master cylinder. The seals in the cylinder have worn and he needs a new seal kit (kit # AJP150.00.196C - 9.5mm)... but here's the problem, AJP went out of business a couple of years ago and he can't seem to find anyone who has got the seal kits in stock (tried splat shop, Malcolm Rathmalls etc). Does anyone know where he can get a seal kit from or the uninque part numbers of the actual seals so he can try and source them individually and we are welcome to any other suggestions also? This also affects my bike too as it shares the same master cylinder but at the moment the seals seem okay! Apparently a brand new complete master cylinder is available but he doesn't want to go down this route due to cost and more importantly how would you re-seal it in the future. Will a later model cylinder fit, i.e. a 2011 / 2012? Cheers, Gary.

Hi Everyone, Recently back into trials after a 20+ year lay off and really enjoying it. Just wondered what people are using for chain lube? Going back some years after every trial I would take the chain off, clean with a degeasing / cleaning agent and then put in it an oil pan and heat on my mum's cooker to which she was never impressed about... there must be a better way nowadays??? Cheers, Gary.

Thanks for all the replies. I think smalley is right about the cost of maintenance on a older bike probably being about the same a the depreciation on something newer. Until this Evo came up I was looking at a around 2005 bikes but never really found too much local being on the south coast.. Cheers, Gary.

Hi Everyone, I used to ride trials as a youth back in the 80's, had a Fantic 200 back then with the 156cc engine. Been wanting to get back into trials and been looking around at bikes. Have seen a nice Beta Evo 300 4T that is fairly local to me but I'm concerned it maybe a little over powered for me getting back into the sport. Size wise I'm about 5'7 tall and weigh about 12 stone. I'm wondering if I would be better of with a smaller engined machine, even a 125cc as some of the lads in the local club do amazing rides on 125's. I know the 4T will be more lazy than say a 300cc 2T and coming from the south coast where mud rules the lazy 4T on the face of it seems ideal but what about a 125cc 2T? I know there will be replies saying try and ride the machine I'm interested in, which I will try and do but in the mean time just wanted to gauge peoples opionions on this... Cheers, Gary.

Hi, A maintenance trick sometimes used when the normal bolts aren't long enough to pull a part into position is to use threaded studding the same size as the bolts and screw this into all the bolt holes in the frame leaving them with enough length to get the sump plate started. Then use nuts on the studding to gradually pull the sump plate into position. Once the sump plate is home remove one stud at a time and replace the correct bolt until you have all the correct bolts in and the sump plate secured. Just be careful though you don't strip the threads in th frame doing this as I assume they probably don't have thread inserts in them. Hope you get it on soon... Cheers, Gary

Steve Saunders. If memory serves me correctly he's never one a world championship but should have as in his day (80's) he was superb. Think he won the SSDT 3 or 4 times. I used to be a member of the Waltham Chase Club in the mid eighties as a youngster, and been going along to a few trials recently with the idea of getting back into it again. Just gotta sort myself a bike and a licence. Glad you had fun.

Personally I think 2T's will be around for a few years yet.... but on the electric front as a lot of folks have said battery life, power and weight is getting better all the time but I don't think its just the case of replacing a internal combustion engine with a electric motor. I believe the whole bike will need a redesign. The batteries on the bike can be placed anywhere, maybe in two or more positions which could help weight distribution and balance. Why not put the motor in the hub of the wheel, no chain or sprockets and maybe no brake as the motor could be used for braking... how about putting another motor in the front wheel and having both wheels driven! With digital modelling maybe you're favorite engine can just be programmed whether its 2T , 4T etc. There's other benefits like no kick start, exhaust, air box etc. I'm not saying this is going to happen tomorrow but with the electric trials bike I believe a clean sheet of paper is required and no preconceptions of what's already out there with regards to petrol machines! Cheers, Gary.

I know someone who had roughly the same experience, the DVLA waived the fine at the time but this was when the new laws had just been introduced so maybe the DVLA were being a bit lenient. On a side note, from some when in June 2011 you will be breaking the law if your vehicle is MOT