thats_a_five

I would not encourage you to do any cutting and welding of the frame until you have much more experience. I agree with TLRider about the gearing and idle jets in the carb. But get the bike and ride it "as-is" for now. Chances are the current owner has already done the gearing and carb mods. Trust me, there is so much to learn in technique and skill building that for a while the stock bike will not be the limiting factor. Learning balance, tight turns, throttle control and riding slowly are the keys. You will be much better served to spend your time on the footpegs rather than in the workshop. Yes, the numbers are the number of teeth on the front and rear sprockets.

Montesa recommends ELF HTX740. I just got my 4RT last year and am not sure oil what is in the gearbox so I have a bottle of the this oil on order (not usually sold in US). I think the bike may have Motul oil and once I removed that 2 springs the clutch was very progressive. I will be interested to see how the ELF performs. On another forum (don't know if it's OK to post here) there are some people who have spent time "Improving the 2005+ Montesa 4RT" and they recommend using 520cc's or Silkolene 10w40 Off Road engine oil (the ELF oil is not available in the states). They say "Determined by experimentation: One should avoid light clutch-transmission oils or the clutch will be more grabby." I have not tested this so I provide this only as information for your consideration, not a recommendation. Ride on!

For novice level, horsepower is almost not an issue. So much about trials is learning balance, control and only using just enough power to get the job done. The TL should be fine as a learning bike. In fact, it is better to learn on a low power bike because it forces you to learn the techniques and timing of body movements. With proper technique you will be amazed at what you can do. Once you get better and are tackling bigger and bigger obstacles, then you will appreciate the added power of a bigger engine and can get a more powerful bike. It is entirely possible that other engines may fit. Remember that trials engines are generally built and tuned for low end torque and smooth power delivery which is very different from the high RPM horsepower of engines used on street or motocross bikes. Remember, rubber side down and feet up! Ride on! Sorry, I have no idea about value of bikes in NZ.

Yes, any 2 springs opposite to each other. The '05 4RT has a reputation of a clutch that is more "on-off' than is desirable for good trials riding. Removing 2 springs make it much lighter for the left hand index finger, thus much more progressive and easier to slip the clutch.

I don't now about the chirping but I do know you will really enjoy the clutch after removing the 2 springs.

Do you have a riding buddy who has the same model bike? If you can swap their shock into you bike, you can easily tell if it is the shock or some other thing making the noise.

Most of the tipping, rocking, pushing techniques are about making sure the float bowl is full and making sure the piston is near TDC. I do not like having to do such things but if they work, I will not argue with them. From my experience, the Pro motors do like to spin fast to start. Make sure the gearbox is in neutral, not just pulled in clutch. Get to TDC and give a quick kick. One caution, make sure you take the slack out of the kicker before you kick. Just stomping on the lever will cause a hard impact on the starting gears if you do not take out the slack first. Stomping with slack leads to broken starter gears. I suspect it is a fuel related problem. Give the carb a good cleaning, change any fuel filters and use fresh fuel.

I also had a "bucket handle" tear in my meniscus. I agree with others above. Get a good referral and an MRI (hope you have insurance). Mine did not require surgery. I wear elastic knee braces on both legs when I ride. I find it does give support to keep the knee parts in their proper locations. Here are 2 things I have done that have helped a lot. 1) When I have to climb stairs I take them 2 at a time. This really seems to keep the knee loose and builds the muscles around the knee to carry more of the weight. 2) I take a glucosamine / chondroitin supplement every day. Before I did this, my knees sounded like breaking sticks when I squatted. Now, they are much smoother and quiet. It does take a month or so to really have good effect. I now many others who take this also and most say it helps. Some did not notice any difference and stopped. OK, our bodies are not the same and what works for one may not work for another. Just remember, Don't stop riding because you get old, you get old because you stop riding!

Glad to hear that you got a bike and went to an event. You got some great shots as well. I hope to read that you ride a trial soon. Have fun!

I have an '05 4RT since last summer and I love it. It is a great bike as is and you can simply enjoy it as it sits. One thing I have learned that is key to the fuel injection working correctly: Do not touch the throttle when you start it and do not even blip the throttle until it is warm enough for the fan to come on. Otherwise, you will confuse the injection and it will run very rich. Be aware that the brake pedals are subject to getting hooked on things and bending or breaking. At about US$60 each, they can add up. I have seen a couple guys with aftermarket pedals that are shorter and tuck in much better. Be sure to leave enough free play in the pedal and don't drag the brake needlessly. The shoes will heat up, boil the fluid, cook the disc and lock up the rear. Many people recommend installing a protective guard on the clutch side of the engine. Of course, some people bling theirs up with all kinds of carbon fiber covers. I see no reason that you couldn't vapor blast the fame. You know all about masking and cleaning. My '05 has the matte aluminum finish from the factory. I actually wish I had the black like yours. On a different forum (not sure if I can say it on here) there is a good thread on improving the 4RT. Props to a guy named Motobene for developing and documenting these changes. I have made some of the changes and am very happy so far. 1) remove 2 springs from the clutch. So much easier to properly slip the clutch. 2) back the rebound clickers, front and back, way out. It makes the bike act much lighter and easier to get up and over obstacles. I plan to clean the forks out and replace with 2.5 weight oil to make it even better. 3) Roll your bars forward will help with the tendency of the front wheel to tuck on tight turns when leaning the bike. Most importantly, get it out of the garage and ride it! Have fun.

Hey Chris, How did you do? Less fives than cleans?

By the pressure relief valve, are you referring to the radiator cap? If so, most radiator shops can test it.

You might have to use two stroke oil after.

Check out the Trials Training Center in Tenneesee. Many events and trainings available there. Lots of riders from the eastern half of the country are there regularly. Great place to learn, meet and make new friends. Depending on where in N Carolina you will be, it could be pretty close by.

Sweet. Ride on! Remember, rubber side down, feet up. And be sure to have fun.

The point of using spherical bearings is to allow the shock to pivot in 2 planes. The rubber in most shock ends allows for slight 2nd plane movement by rubber flex. Using 2 spherical bearings side by side will eliminate the ability to pivot in the second plane.

I think it just looks very thin by the lighting and photograph angle. Look at the thickness of the bits that were removed from the water pump. They are an indication of the material thickness of the head.

Worse that could happen is you bend the linkage bolts. With no big steps or hard impacts, that is unlikely. No wait, worse that could happen is you don't go riding and you have to stay home and do some of those things on the "honey-do" list.

Of course, the best thing would be to replace the bearings with new. Linkage bearings are not subject to high rpms like an engine or transmission bearing. Therefore, there condition is not as critical. You rode the bike with bad bearings and only discovered the problem on disassembly. Could you make some sort of sleeve bushing for temporary use? I have seen a thread where some people were turning bushings out of nylon and completely replacing the dog bone bearings with solid bushings. Reportedly, they have lasted for more than a year and show no signs of wear or distortion. If you remember, most of the twin shock bikes had sleeve bushings with no rollers on their swing arms. How long did they last? Some are still working! Sorry to the purists, but I hate to see a guy miss a day of riding for something that can easily have a temporary fix.

Nice work!

There are seals on both ends of the crank. Left side is behind flywheel which needs a special puller. No oil outside the seal. Right side is behind clutch basket. May need a clutch holder to get the nut off. Your location "Northwest" doesn't give us much help to direct you to parts. Northwest UK, US, Australia?

Stock carb setting is 24 mm flange to float. Don't know if Chinese carb is the same.

Remember there is a vent in the top of the gearbox that is a designed in "air leak." I agree with others, sounds like seal failure. You should get that hole fixed to prevent loss of oil and gearbox failure. 3options: Best = New Case Next best = weld up the hole Cheapo solution = Clean surfaces really well and seal with metal filled epoxy if the hole is not huge. I know people who have run bikes for years that were fixed this way.

I have both a Calif TLR and non-Calif TLR. There is some funky extra tubing and stuff attached to the airbox. I assume that in replacing the carb, you eliminated those things. The exhaust is the same on both bikes. You will get more from the better jetting than by changing the exhaust system. The rear muffler does have a baffle that I think you can remove but I have not tried it because I like a quiet bike. Loud bikes are a good way to get riding areas closed. One other restrictor is the plastic piece that fits into the top of the airbox. It has several "tubes" that the air has to go through. Remove it. You will get more intake noise but it lets the engine inhale. Those after market exhausts are good but way more money than jets.

Clearly, the engine got way to hot. With the cooked O-rings in the head, I think it was hot for a long time. The real question in my opinion is: "what caused the overheating?" Ourian provided a theory that is certainly plausible. I will provide a slightly different one. My theory is the use of straight fuel (no pre-mix). Engine gradually got hotter and hotter from lack of oil. O-ring cooked and stopped sealing and head possibly distorted. Pressure from combustion entered water jacket forcing coolant past the water pump seal into the gearbox. Head go so hot that material failure occurred. Some shrapnel went into water jacket and fell down into pump. Some shrapnel fell into cylinder and attached to piston. Piston shrapnel scratched cylinder wall. Engine stopped turning. In either case, the engine would have continued to run for some time after the initial fault and there probably would have been a loss of performance before the final engine failure. *** I like the idea of using paper to check for oil in the gas. I had some 2 stroke oil a while ago that did not have any color ( bad design - it should have color) but you can actually feel the difference by dipping your fingers in the fuel and rubbing them together - but it is not a perfect science. *** BTW Phil, I feel your pain on seeing a piece of equipment that you have enjoyed and taken care of for years, to be damaged so severely right after you sell it. I do not think you did anything wrong here. Don't let your emotional attachment to the bike cloud your thinking on the facts.