t0m541

Not as devastated as they must be over the £107m reckon they "lost" last year on untaxed vehicles due to getting rid of the paper tax disc. Just some jobsworth there who probably hates motorbikes and like to make stuff as difficult as possible. The email from Beta was letter headed Beta UK with their full business address and contact details on. So much for "going paperless" to help the environment and that email is as good as the paper version. Obviously not for some..

It's been a while but here's another chapter. After I re-sent my application to the DVLA with MOT cert and letter from Lampkins regarding date of manufacture. I received another rejection letter, this one said that I hadn't included any previous registration documents from overseas etc, or any original purchase invoices, or failing that any letter of explanation as to why these were not available. So..I sent a letter, explaining that the bike was manufactured in the UK, by Beta, it has never been registered either in the UK or anywhere else in the world, that I was not the original purchaser, but bought the bike 2nd/3rd/4th hand for cash, and included the bill of sale and that the email from Beta regarding the build date was acceptable to the HMRC as proof of date of manufacture. Today I got rejection number 4. I have not provided proof of date of manufacture, the email from Beta/Lampkins was not good enough and that it had to be a certificate with the manufacturing date on from Beta, or a letter from an owners club verifying date of manufacture with supporting evidence of how that date was arrived at, (photo's/rubbings of frame numbers/expert opinion). So...stuff the DVLA, I'll keep my £96 and spend it on something else and leave the bike unregistered and costing me nothing to gather dust in my front room. It's their loss at the end of the day, I did think after letter 3, did I want the expense of tax/MOT/insurance every year, and the "agency" getting their sticky fat fingers on my bike.

I recently replaced the stator in my 250 Techno with one from an early model Rev3 as the ignition coil was failing. I have had the bike running but the fan didn't kick in like it used to before. I shorted the temperature switch wires out and the fan runs, though not as fast as it did until I raise the engine revs. I tried measuring the output voltage at the temp switch connections but even before getting the test probes connected the volt meter was going crazy with the readings all over the place as if I had it touching the HT lead, I even tried shielding the meter in case the HT lead was giving off high voltage pulses. Anyway, I suspect that the regulator could be going down, I have a spare loom with regulator, rectifier etc and a spare radiator with fan. The regulator on the bike has a resistance of 1.2M ohm the spare reads 150M ohm. The bit that has me really puzzled is the looms, (they are both Techno), do not match the wiring diagram for the Techno The diagram says that there should be a +12v and an earth from stator, the +12v connects to the Reg and also branches off to feed the bridge rectifier which is 4 amp. At the rectifier there are 4 connections +12v input, an earth and a + and -. The + and - have a 35v 1000uf capacitor connected in parallel and 2 wires that feed the fan, one wire, the + going via the temp switch. The capacitor will be there to give the fan the initial kick to get it spinning. Now the looms are wired +12v input from the regulator, the earth wire goes down to the temp switch and then up to an earthing spade connector, so that the temp switch closes the rectifier power circuit instead of the fan circuit. The + and - wires go directly to the fan. Both looms have black tape round them that's not original and look like they have been repaired. Has anyone else had the loom to bits and can confirm the correct wiring, also possibly the resistance of the regulator so I have an idea which on to fit. Cheers

Got my application back from DVLA a couple of days ago, with a rejection letter. 4 day turn-around not bad. Reasons given were, 1:- No proof of date of manufacture, (registration doc, purchase invoice or letter from manufacturer). The NOVA application doesn't provide proof to the DVLA for registration purposes, it's purely for VAT. So I had to send the dating cert from Beta UK. 2:- No MOT, even though the bike was MOT'd and on the system, the DVLA still want to see the MOT cert in hard copy. At least they sent an envelope with the address and name of the person dealing with the application already printed on. So it's all been resent, first class signed for, hopefully I'll get the same 4 day turnaround and get the V5 in time for the start of November.

Ok, here's an update to my previous post. I registered with the government gateway and filled in a NOVA form online last Thursday, which will have been the 5 oct. The form can be a little confusing as it's not really worded very well as to what information it's asking for. My bike is 18 years old so any original sales details have long been binned. However, as I previously mentioned, for Beta owners, Beta UK (Lampkins) are extremely helpful and can sort a NOVA out ready to go for you, they just need a few photo's and the bikes numbers, and ask just a small fee. My personal application, I stated that the bike was purchased as a cash sale and that I had a written invoice to that effect, this I photocopied and emailed to the HMRC. This was on the Friday. On the following Monday, I contacted HMRC and was asked if I could provide proof of date of manufacture, which I obtained from Beta UK and emailed to PTU, followed by a phone call to confirm that they had all the information they needed. On the Wednesday I got the email confirmation that my NOVA application was successful and that I could apply to DVLA for registration. £96..£55 registration fee and £41 first years road tax which is obligatory, must be MOT'd over 3 years old, no insurance needed unless Northern Ireland. So 7 days from filling NOVA in online to sending off all the paperwork to DVLA (recorded delivery). Just a waiting game now. But a big shout out to Charlie Lampkin from Beta UK, very very helpful, if you're a Beta owner and looking to road reg the bike, give them a call. Also the PTU at the HMRC, very understanding and took the time to explain what they needed and really gave some good advice, they realise that the forms and questions on them can be somewhat confusing. In my opinion and experience, doing it online is quicker and easier, obviously you have to register with the Government Gateway to access it all, but It's quite painless and to be fair, to those that it might give the jitters to, the Gov know who you are anyway.

The stator on the '99 Techno is adjustable a fair bit, on the Beta UK site there is a picture of the correct position in relation to the crankcase http://www.beta-uk.com/index.php/all-bikes/previous-models/pre-trial/1999-models I have a '99 Techno too and I'm just in the process of changing the stator for a 2000 Rev 3 one, which is basically the same stator but the mounting plate is slightly different as I've just discovered.

Reading this post with interest as I am going to "road reg" my Techno. Have done a bit of digging about, the HMRC Personal Transport Section can be reached on a direct dial number 01304664171, got straight through no waiting. Spoke to a very nice lady there who told me that my bike wasn't on the NOVA system as it's older than 5 years and that she would post a form out to me. I then rang Beta UK (Lampkins), and spoke to a chap called James who confirmed that my bike is indeed a '99 bike but couldn't say whether it was a 240cc or 270cc but said that the exhaust port sizes were 72mm for 240 and 76mm for the 270. After I explained my reason for the call he said that they could put together a package for registration purposes. He emailed me a pdf of it and I've attached it for those who might be interested. Been to see my MOT guy about a "daylight" mot and asked what the requirements are and he said just a speedo and he has no issues with using the frame/engine number for testing purposes. REGISTERING A SECOND HAND BIKE.pdf

As per the thread title really. I've had my '99 250 Techno for years and spent a fair few quid keeping it right and replacing stuff as it wears out. As is well known, the stator on these bikes is fragile and has the tendency to cause loads of issues and are like hens teeth to find these days. Currently the bikes running ok but I know time is against me, so I have been toying with the idea of getting a newer engine to transplant in when the time comes. So the question is, will the Rev 3 engine fit the Techno frame, I understand the early Revs, (up to 2003) were the same crankcase, but what about the later units. I am aware that I'd need the matching ignition electrics to whatever engine I decide to transplant in to make it work. I realise there is some that will say, "just get a newer bike", but the old horse was bought for a song years ago as a non running basket case and has been a kind of restoration project and is virtually "new" and is much more capable than my abilities can push it.

I have been reading through the various threads on here about the choices of pre-mix oils, Castrol, Putoline etc.. But I have found no mention of the Shell offering. It's a castor based fully synthetic in much the same vein as the others... Has anyone tried it ?? Is it worth trying, it say's on the info that it's for high stressed 2 stroke, not suitable for day to day usage...though doesn't say why.. Probably the castor smell ;-)

As an update to this thread, I have managed to have a ride about on the bike, which runs great, set the carb up so that it actually needs choke and a little bit of throttle now to start. So now the engine is sorted I have started on the play in the rear suspension, which is coming from the lower shock bearing. Of course now I have the linkage off and cleaned, I'm going to change all the bearings as a couple of them are certainly crunchy and notchy. I have managed to obtain 7 bearings from an online bearing supplier for £60 delivered, the most expensive one being the lower shock bearing as it's a rose joint bearing, which Beta wanted £40 + vat and delivery for.. Just need to obtain some new stainless bolts to replace the rusty versions that came out and rebuild the thing.

The title says it all really... Just adjusted the chain and need to tighten up the rear wheel spindle nut.. Have had a search on here but nothing popped up and the owners book is.....well, vague on info about anything really. So folks...how tight does it need to be please Thank you

I managed to purchase a known working stator and CDi yesterday, fitted the CDi first with my stator, didn't get much of an improved spark. So I then fitted the stator too...which really built a good spark...that was last night.. This morning sees torrential rain so I shoved the rear end of the bike out of the kitchen door... Gave it a solid kick and it fired up instantly and ran sweet... Last night I compared the stators side by side...my stator showed 199ohm on the primary ignition winding constantly, however the good stator showed that value only briefly before zeroing...so I'm guessing that the windings on the original stator are breaking down though not completely. I'll see about getting it tested at a rewinders and getting it repaired as a spare..

Yes clean tank clean fuel and new fuel filter, carb has been cleaned and blown through with and air-line and set up as set out in the mikuni sticky in this forum.. The spark went really poor yesterday and I've now managed to fry the CDI by experimenting with a battery off one of my road bikes trying to boost the output voltage to the coil... I'm consoling myself with the view that the CDI was shot in the first place..

Reading this thread .. http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/22157-01-beta-rev3-250-electrical-problems/ I've checked the different coils and found that the resistance for the primary ignition coil on the stator is 200ohm and no earth leakage. I've also found that there is no connection between the stator and the engine casing, none of the wires in the multi plug have an earth.. I would have thought that the stator would have been earthed through its frame and that one of the wires...presumably the yellow earth wire for the lighting circuit or the brown for the ignition circuit would have rung through ...

I've checked the flywheel/crankshaft alignment and it's still as it should be, so the keys intact. If the stator is failing then reading previous posts on these forums it would seem that Motoplat is the place to send it to get it tested and rewound if it needs it. I forgot to mention that I have de-coked the exhaust too.. One thing I have just noticed is water around one of the cylinder head bolt washers...I'm guessing that this might mean that the head gasket is leaking between the waterway and the bolt holes...maybe whoever did the cylinder head and rings didn't fit a new gasket or badly fitted it..looks like that's going to have to be stripped and replaced...