thats_a_five

Clutch drag can happen for various reasons. 3 mostly likely reasons and fixes. 1) clutch lever adjusted incorrectly. Readjust. 2) air in the clutch hydraulic system. Bleed. 3) drag caused by transmission / clutch oil. Use different oil.

Awesome! Great to hear that you made a choice and the bike looks to be in good condition. Now the fun starts! Find some riding buddies who will have fun with you and share some tips. First tips, rubber side down, feet up and have FUN!

There are some cheap, fake cameras with flashing red lights available. Mount them so they are easy to see while the real ones are hidden. While the crooks are looking at or disabling the fakes, the real ones can get pics. Believe it or not, there was a news report here recently of someone who had their garage broken into and the robbers were scared away by one of those silly, "Billy Bass" motion operated fish. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmjOkeS9Azo The police report said the robbers took very few thing and smashed the Billy Bass before running off.

Welcome to trials. It is a great sport and Trials Central is a really good site and forum. Many very smart and helpful people on here. Also take a look at the Trials Training Center web site. Lots of good info and even some free training videos on there. http://trialstrainingcenter.com/

I don't know much about the Montesa 311. It is a modern style, mono-shock, water cooled, disc brakes, etc so will be much more capable than a 70's Honda. Regarding being water cooled, the main issue is water leaking past the water pump seal into the gearbox. Check the transmission fluid. If it looks like a milkshake, there is water leakage. I am often surprised what bikes sell for outside the USA. Usually considerably higher price than here. Here that would be an $800 bike. I don't know about prices in NZ.

If the flywheel nut was not properly tightened, the flywheel will move slightly on the shaft and eventually shear the woodruff key. When that happens, the timing goes way out and often results in a storing kick back or simply not starting. Usually simply , clean up the shaft and bore if they are scored, replace the key and you are back riding.

I have been able to hold some clutches with a simple strap wrench similar to this one. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Oil-Filter-Strap-Wrench-Large-Size-Garage-Workshop-Mechanics-Oil-Filter-Tool-/301077487554?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item46199ddfc2

Do I understand correctly that the thieves are coming to events to find their target bikes? If the location has an entry gate, perhaps work with the owners to put in a video system to record every vehicle in and out. If no real entry gate. post a person with a camera who can see all the vehicles coming and going. Photo or video each vehicle and its registration tag. Also you could add a place on the sign up sheet for people to write their vehicle tag number. That way, if a bike gets stolen you know which vehicles were competitors and which were not.

It seems it would be a good idea to have this topic stickied to the top so people will be more likely to see it and take action to prevent thefts from happening. Anyone know how to get it stickied?

I certainly sounds like you had taken great precautions and these guys were not amateurs. I concur about the fait these guys should encounter. Just thinking about it, I have a couple ideas that might help you and others in the future. I have a long driveway and installed a driveway alarm. It is a small battery operated motion sensor that send a radio signal to a small unit inside my house that beeps when there is motion on my drive. One of those mounted inside your garage would be virtually unnoticeable to thieves and since there are no wires, they could not cut them. It can send a signal up to about 300 meters to the receiver. This could alert you of their presence without them even knowing. Another idea I have been considering is using one of those game cameras that hunters use in the woods. You can mount them to view a certain area and when it senses motion it takes a picture. This could also be mounted inside a garage. It sounds like a good set of security bars over the window are in order. I sure hope you get them back soon.

Cactusjack is right on about the throttle free play. Just be sure that it does not speed up the idle at full lock turn and you are good. The other factors are your wrist position and the angle of the brake and clutch levers. You want the wrist to be bent just slightly (wrist joint high) when the throttle is at idle. Any lower and your wrist will not allow you to get full throttle. Next is lever position. You will get lots of different inputs on this one. Most riders prefer their level to be just above horizontal when looked at from the bar end. I happen to prefer them lower. They can also be mounted far in on the bars so you get good leverage on the lever. You can adjust there they bite with the small screw adjusters on each lever. Again, this is subject to personal preference. The key is to be comfortable for you to reach and use effectively to control the bike. You just need more time on the pegs to figure out what works best for you. And you can never get too much peg time! Ride on.

I always carry a new plug and plug wrench on my 2 stokes. You never know when they will foul. After a few kicks, if it doesn't start, pop out the plug and screw in the new one.

That really sucks. It does sound like a planned job by people who knew what they were looking for. I applaud your effort in chaining them. Make me think it would be good to not only chain the wheels on but also chain the frame to a strong eyebolt, cemented to the floor or ground. Is it common to have an alarm system on garages in UK?

I suspect that the "plastic" ones are really buna-n rubber that have been cooked. If you can get red Viton, do it. They are more expensive but are designed for high temperature.

I think the Montesa you mention is a 315R. If so, it is a far better trials bike than the old Honda. That model was virtually the same until they came out with the 4RT. Many riders still use it in modern competitions and do very well. Assuming it is in reasonable condition and within your budget, it will be much easier to use in trials. Better brakes, better suspension, lower center of gravity. As you said, you need to see and go ride it first.

I like your idea of the traffic cones. Some days the boots end up wetter inside that outside even before I hose them off.

If it is only blowing a little bit, you can probably just spread some high temperature silicone seal on them and reassemble. I would do that even with a new set of O-rings. If the O-rings are black, (not burnt, just black material) you can buy them at a good hardware store. If they are red, they are Viton which is a high temperature material and the Splatshop price looks good.

I have no idea what "yoofs" or "a Bansky" are but...... Be sure the paint is very well cured and don't spill any petrol on the paint or you might find it has becomes a wrinkle finish or lifts completely.

Use the high temperature silicone sealant on the joint. If the O-rings were red, they are also high temperature, made of Viton. If they are black, there are probably normal buna-n. Buna-n does not stand heat very well and will dry out and break or burn if overheated. I do not know if Beta uses Viton or Buna-n.

If these are new boots, they probably need some breaking in. The best way I have find is to wear them a few minutes each day doing regular things. It doesn't have to be riding. A riding buddy of mine had a similar thing happen to the tops of his feet where they meet the ankle. We found that if you stand the boots on the soles to dry, they bend down and dry in a sort of wrinkle. This wrinkle causes chafing where they hit the skin. By drying them on their side or upside down on a boot rack, the calf portion of the boot dries straight and the chafing problem went away. Maybe this will help you also.

Most sections can be ridden in first or second gear. Big hills can take third or sometimes even 4th. It depends somewhat on what size sprockets are on the bike. I had a '94 JT25 and I think it had 10/42. First gear was very low which was good for very tight turns and slow running. I did find that for many sections it was better to use 2nd because it seemed like first gear would rev out too soon. Throttle and clutch control could take pages to describe (and I am far from any sort of expert on those). Get to a trials school if you can or take a look at some of the training videos on the Trails Training Center web site.

Hi Jimmie, The trial was in Marysville, Washington in January. Rained all day, but at least no ice this year. Barry and I both took second in our classes. Should have been first but my idle was set too low and the bike died 3 times on tight turns. We will be riding on Feb 9 at another event at the same venue. Get some buddies, car pool up and ride with us! Here is the link to the flyer. Note the location does not have as much rock as shown in the pic. http://www.pugetsoundtrialers.com/IcyPenquinTrial2014.pdf

Craig, 37 is NOT old! LOL. There are guys I ride with who are twice your age - and more than twice the rider I will ever be. This is a great site for lots of input. Do us a favor and edit your profile or tell us what part of the world you are in. 4K = Dollars? Euro? Ringitt? Pesos? Are you looking to get into modern or historic trials? Height, weight? Did you race track, street, enduro, MX, Dakar?

Is it harder to kick? My TLR is super easy to kick. Almost feels like no compression. Maybe adjust the compression release to lower the starting compression more? I have heard of people using richer jets and advancing the cam timing by 6 degrees for more low end power. Have not tried it myself yet but plan to. Sometime...

The GasGas is indeed a modern bike with much better suspension, lighter weight, hydraulic clutch and disk brakes. It will definitely be easier to ride than the TL125. The TL125 has a seat which can make it easier for new riders to ride longer because they can rest their legs. Remember the TL125 is about 40 years old! Technology has evolved a lot since then. For learning balance, tight turns and throttle control the TL125 will be fine and you will develop your skills with it. For easy lines it will be fine. As you tackle more difficult obstacles, the TL will take a lot more "body English" than a modern bike. I ride both a 2005 Montesa 4RT and a 1974 Yamaha TY250. The Yamaha feels like a truck compared to the sports car Montesa but I am still amazed at the capability of that 39 year old Yamaha. Last year while setting up a trial, I rode the TY while my buddies were on their modern bikes. On the loop trail (which was pretty tight and technical) I kept up with them perfectly. Only when we started riding sections (and on downhills when the drum brakes were no match for their discs) did I feel that I was at a disadvantage. FYI, I am 6 feet tall and about 240 pounds.