cdn280

CV carbs have no place on a trials bike. They were developed only to make smooth power and make the emissions people happy. On KTM's, the LC4 is the only engine to have a CV carb in the model range, (i have one) and the rest are pumper FCR's. The spring that supports the floating throttle slide is controlled by engine vacuum only, so there is a slight lag between opening the throttle and the vacuum and slide to do its thing. (get sucked more open) Its the reason so many lean jetted 4T's with CV carbs bog when whacking the throttle open. Hitting big bumps causes the slide to move unintentionally and also can cause bogging. Again... not good for jumping/hopping.

You love a chain ? And a couple a year? I've only used DID, Regina, Sidewinder, AFAM (or was that just sprockets?) and only go thru them every 2 yrs or more when i change the sprockets. The only one I had a problem with was a stock Kawi DID chain that broke 1 side plate when a rock got in the chain/sprocket. I wouldn't cheap out on a chain on a bike with a 10 or 11 tooth front sprocket. That tiny sprocket is harder on them than any other abuse you can do to them, especially at trail/road speed. Which reminds me, i need to replace the original one on my 2002.

I think that was Adam Raga's after a failed 50ft step up. Or was it a Montesa??

The older thinner one is probably more brittle in the cold. One small piece broke off around the black plastic mounting pin (before I knew the zip tie trick) in a below freezing crash onto concrete. The final one broke it completely in half. On the other hand, the thinner one is probably even more flexible in the heat. The old one duct taped together nicely though, so I've got one for practice, and a bling one now.

My Canadian distributor came thru with a deal on a new 05 fender. Slightly different, with less of a lip where it slips onto the seat, but the mount bolt hole is in the right spot. Thicker material than the 2002 one, and different graphics but the same colors so all is well. Thanks anyway Dave.

Anyone got a new or used rear fender for a 2002 they'd like to sell ? A Pro or Raga from 2002-2007 will work I believe. Scuffed up is ok, red is preferred, but I need a spare for our indoor 30F degree winter riding anyway so color is not really an issue right now. (real cold makes em a bit brittle) Located in Canada.

Sounds lean on the pilot, but you can also try this that helps restarting my 280 after a tipover or stall. Just kick the engine over once or twice a little slower than normal to help ' clear its throat '. The same thing works for a 4 stroke thats vapor locked. Seeing as it sounds lean, it could be vapor locking. To help with cold starting too, I put the bike in second (no choke) and sit on it so you can get enough traction and rock it forward/back a couple times. Click on the choke and mine fires up on the 1st or 2nd kick when cold and 1st when hot.

Thanks for the tip, cause I've had the banjo bolt come loose a couple times, and it seems to be from the fact its almost impossible to get it in a position so that the swingarm will not hit it in some part of the stroke. I've been trying to get the rear bled properly for a year now, but it sucks a lot of the time. I use a syringe too, but I don't think I could bleed it right unless I stood the bike totally upright with the caliper at the bottom. All i need is a couple volunteers to hold it !

You may find what you need here http://www.gasgas.com/Pages/Technical/Home.html Or email Mr. Snell yourself. Have you tried replacing the spark plug cap & wire? The vibes from the 2T's that I've had seem to wear out the connections in the cap over time. (plug to cap and cap to wire) ps - how's Halesowen these days? I was there in the 70's visiting my mom's side of the family. I had my first ride on a Bultaco trials bike there when i was 17 in a gravel pit. Is there anywhere local left where you can ride ?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but under the clutch there is a shifter return spring. The little peg that holds the spring in place is held with an allen bolt and the peg is eccentric so you can adjust its position a bit. Is it hard to get in neutral too ? Maybe try and turn it so the spring is a bit more downward seeing as its hard shifting down. This should make the downshift a bit more positive. Clunk is typical in the upper gears, big ratio gaps. I shift into them at a lower rpm and its much less of a clunk.

My Pro model isn't adjustable, just 2 allan bolts holding the pickup in a fixed position. Unless yours is different or has elongated slots to adjust it, you could retard it to see if the noise goes away. (closer to tdc) If it starts backwards, you've gone too far !

I used a BP6ES I had in the toolbox one day when i was doing a lot of faster trail riding. (same bike as yours) No difference, and didn't even load up when I slowed the pace down to trials speeds, but it was darker (colder) than the 5 would be when I pulled it out.

Problem solved. Twinnshock was right, it was just the tophat part of the shifter return spring. The key part of the tophat was broken but stayed inside the hat until I took it apart and the key part dropped out. The replacement hat came with a different return spring that is actually 2 springs (one wound in each direction instead of a single spring). Its good to know that was all that was broken after the tales of fragile Pro gearboxes etc. I've seen 2 other brands of enduro bikes (Kawi and Honda) that dnf'd after crashing on the shifter side and doing enough damage to require splitting the cases, so this was good news.

What woodruf key ?? Are you talking about the the hat that the spring sits on under the clutch? There is a slot in the end of the hat that fits into the split on the shaft. That part is ok. Are you sure? My son with his 04 280 had a similar problem after hitting a rock. I inspected the top hat piece and was convinced it was fine but talking to Kev at GasGas UK on the phone he assured me that this part was the problem and he was right! In our case the bar across the top of the top hat piece was sheared but was still retained inside the body of the part so looked fine. Stuart Thanks for your input Stuart ! It looked like something was slipping when the shifter was moved, so I took the spring and hat off again and the key was still in it, but was sheared off, and still snug inside the hat ! Brilliant!! Good thing the broken piece stayed put and didn't flail around the gearbox. Hopefully thats the only part I need. If there is more to it, I'll chime in again. Thanks to all. To 99techno, what else happened in your case ?

What woodruf key ?? Are you talking about the the hat that the spring sits on under the clutch? There is a slot in the end of the hat that fits into the split on the shaft. That part is ok.

Well its not the spring under the clutch, so into the cases I go. Figures it happened at the start of my vacation when I was planning on doing some serious section building. I was going to pull the engine and cylinder this winter to have a looksee... didn't want to do it now though.

Nothing broke on its own, the shifter caught a 2' high 3" wide stump that was hiding in the long grass by the (dam/n beavers !) Looking down, the shift lever was pointing straight up and I couldn't downshift easily. I thought it had spun on the shaft, but it didn't. I can put the lever in its normal position and downshift, but when trying to upshift the lever will move upwards to the straight up position again and not return. Any ideas/suggestions before I tear into it? Hopefully its just the spring that broke and won't have to split the cases if I find all the pieces.

Dominating is an understatement, and his efforts put him in the same league or higher as Shumaker or Rossi. Seeing him in action while working the Canada round of the WEC was a great opportunity. I see he even won some other events with penalties like having to run 300 meters uphill to get his bike, and another where he had to put the wheels on his bike, and put his riding boots on. Crazy fast and soooo smooth. Keep it up David and hope the $$ come your way, you deserve it. It would be nice to see him kick @ss the same way on a GasGas though...

Good to hear you got it sorted out. Yes, those tiny filters don't stay clean very long if its running at trail speeds. To make you feel better, I had a hell of a time getting my bike going one day during, and after a lot of off/on rain. It had always fired within a couple kicks and this day it would start, then stall, then bog when hard on the gas. I kicked so much my instep was hurting. The next day I thought it was time to clean the carb & filter, so I pulled the cover off and found the bottom of the filter submerged in water. Lesson learned .... pull the plug out of the bottom of the airbox after it rains (if you have one).

Stock rear axle $27 (CDN), can't beat that. Although the alloy axle nut is $10, but still cheap by most parts standards.

I wondered why the one nut was stuck on the axle of my previously enjoyed 2002 280 Pro. It turned out the previous owner had stripped the sprocket side nut and JB'd it or used some kind of chemical weld. Its now stripped out. Any other solutions for a rear axle & nuts ? Maybe one with a pullout attached ? Or stick with stock ? Mike

Does someone have a pic of the wider flap in place, and yes, please advise where I can get one. Thanks, Mike

My 280 will take several kicks to get going, especially after stalling it or cold. I have found a bit of trick that seems to work though. If the engine is totally cold, I just push thru the kickstarter gently 3 times to prime it (with the choke on) and it starts 1st good healthy (Harley) kick. When its hot and I've stalled it. A couple gentle pushes on the lever to clear its throat, then one kick again. (no choke obviously) I've been doing this for a while and it works lovely... my instep is no longer sore from kicking. I used to put the bike in 2nd or 3rd and rock it to prime it, but this seems to work much better. I could use a depowering spacer though, if anyone has any leads. Mike 2002 280 Pro

Black frames are vogue right now with a lot of companies. Weren't they all black before aluminum frames became the rage anyway ? I prefer refinement (which they did) over a completely new model every 2 years anyway. Its nice to be able to update if you want and be able to find parts. They must be working on an FI 2stroke if they are working to keep them alive .. I hope.

I liked it when he had such a lead at the finish he would jump up on the gas tank, sit sidesaddle on it and applaud himself as he crossed the finish line facing the grandstand. Can't recall if that was in the 250 or motogp.