proper

The OKO 24mm has been ordered, along with a bunch of main/pilot jets. The Sherco has the typical single piston 4T hesitation when cranking the throttle. Let's see if the OKO can work wonders. Will take a few weeks before it arrives. What's next? I removed the flywheel nut with the air impact wrench. The flywheel has a M31x1 external thread. I did not find any after market flywheel puller that size. Impossible. Why, Sherco, why? To sell your own flywheel puller for top price? Not happy. There are no other attachment points for a universal gear puller. The Flywheel can not be pried form the back, and I don't want to hit the crankshaft with a hammer either. Bugger. Now what? I'll have to sleep on that one. You'll probably say: buy the Sherco puller from the money you saved on the OKO... The head will be removed tomorrow. Didn't want to wake the house with the air impact wrench. Not much room for normal 12mm sockets up there. Exhaust has been blocked on both sides. One side has a clamped rubber grommet, the other side a flat plate with sponge rubber. Needs the gas burner at work the get it red hot. Let's see if those nasty dents can get sorted.

Bugger. I should have bought yours.... From what I could find, the hot start could be improved with an OKO 24mm flatslide, 35-38 pilot jet, 100 main jet. Doesn't break the bank either: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/OKO-24mm-PWK-flat-slide-performance-carburetor-for-2-stroke-scooter-JOG-DIO-RTL250-CR80-CR85R/1774510926.html

Been working on the other bikes. (290 & 2 Osets for the kids) Those are finished now, and moved to another storage. Now I've got plenty of space to work on the 320. Grinded down a box spanner to remove the sparky. It was a bit rusty, but otherwise fine. Measured the valve clearance with piston TDC and the markings on the flywheel matching the markings on the casing: Inlet: zero (Manual specs 0.10mm) Exhaust: 0.25mm & 0.20mm (Manual specs 0.15mm) That's not within spec at all. The engine does have some ticking sounds, but otherwise runs and starts great. I want to remove the valves for further inspection. My valve spring removal tool doesn't nearly have enough space to grip the springs. It's a tight fit up there. My plan is to use a huge bar clamp with a DIY piece of wood to compress the spring valve cup and remove the half cones with a magnet. That means removing the head. Sure hope the head gasket stays in one piece, because that's an expensive one. Removed the rockers, because I want to check the chain guides for wear. Anything special to check for on the cam chain tensioner? Is it spring loaded?

You're right, Vic. I've fitted the swingarm, shock (without spring) and linkage, and there's definitely no room for the Reiger. Around the swingarm it's very very tight, and around the top mount, the airbox and frame members are very close. The reiger's shape deviates too much from the Olle/TRP/Ohlins shocks. The 10mm extra shock length translated to a good 50mm extra rideheight. It's just not right. After examining the Olle, there's plenty of gas pressure, and rebound adjustment works great. I'm keeping the Olle for now, and will try a redneck solution for the damaged bumpstop. Vincent

Some unfinished parts to block the exhaust ends. Going to try to inflate the exhaust and heat the dents with a torch.

O boy, that TRP is nice. It's probably an acronym for Trial Rebound P0rn. This is the Reiger shock. Only has rebound and classic compression adjustment, like the Olle. The Olle has 270mm length, the Reiger is 10mm longer at 280mm. Spring diameter is the same, as are the mounting holes. Spring has the correct weight for my bulk mass. (it's not that bad) Asking price is 330 usd. He's been advertising for months. The slight scuffing on the spring is normal. (they all have it) He says it has been used for a very short time, and got replaced by a Raga version. He's got relatives working at Reiger (Dutch company) and got the raga Reiger on the cheap. I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. Might have to modify the top mounting, or bottom linkage. Or both. Could be a straight swap. Better check measure my frame/swingarm/linkage for options first. Vincent

I've found a workshop round the corner which specializes in suspension service for MX/enduro/trial. They can check my rear Olle shock. It might not be as bad. The other option I came cross is a new Reiger shock from a '14 Gasgas racing for even less than half the normal price. It might not fit though. But worth having a look.

@Billy: nice catch, I've updated my profile. @Vic: Thanks for your insights on the shock. I know Splatshop in the UK rebuilds the Olle shocks for 120 Gbp. The bump stop is another 30 Gbp. Then the double postage for shipping. And probably extra costs because of melted seals inside. Obviously, TRP is the better solution. Thanks for all the insider tips and tricks. Your bike looks great! I like how the gas cable goes through the number plate. That front fork looks bullet proof, with all the protectors. I'm planning Jitsie socks, which I've already fitted on the 290 after replacing all fork seals. Did you modify the exhaust?

Next up is the engine. The plan is to lift the head and cylinder to check for wear. Got some new cam chain guides, and want to check the cam chain tensioner. I'm also seeing something odd through the exhaust port: It's hard to capture, but there seems to be some strange shiny patch at the far end of the valve opening. Got a new iridium sparky. This should be easy to replace, but I've tried all four of my spark plug sockets, none will fit the small bore hole on the 320. Even my box spanner wouldn't fit! Any ideas appreciated. Right now I'm tempted to grind the box spanner to a smaller outside diameter. I'm also looking for advice on a suited engine oil. The bike will mainly run club non-stops.

Next up is the Olle rear shock. The spring is badly corroded, but he shock itself is in good shape. No rust on the shaft, and the thread is undamaged. Found the disassembly instructions from Splatshop. http://www.splatshop.co.uk/blog/2012/11/fitting-a-spring-to-a-olle-shock/ That spring wire clip is very nicely hidden. The sherco parts book probably has it covered too. The bump stop is knackered and should be replaced. I don't want to send the shock off for service, because I then would rather have a new TRP or öhlins. Don't know how to solve that one on the cheap. Suggestions are welcome. Sandblasted the spring, will be painted this weekend.

First up is the frame. It had a thick yellow coating, pretty hard, maybe powdercoated, but I'm not sure. I sand blasted the rusty bits, and used a special fiber disk with the angle grider to get rid of all the yellow coating. That worked like a charm for the larger area's. For the small bits and openings I used a power file. The frame got a base Zinc coating, three coats of black metallic Motip, and multiple coats of Motip clear varnish. Pretty satisfied with the end result.

Hello there, A few weeks back I swapped my pristine Beta Rev3 for a buggered Sherco 320. Why? Because they are different, great sound and they are becoming quite rare. Also, I'm more of a 4 stroke guy. I know the reputation these bikes have. Hard to start, pulls like a train from low revs, wears you out. But mine starts easily, every time, even from cold. I have no trouble taming the wife's vicious sherco 290. That gives hope for handling the 320. It did wear me out pretty quickly. But I had the feeling that was mainly caused by the handlebars being too far from the pegs. It needs some TLC: - Heaps of play on the back wheel. Has new bearings though. Strange. - Massive forkoil leakage. - Chipped fork tubes. (yep, black coated tubes) - Dragging front brake - Rusty frame and rear shock spring. - Broken rear fender. - Worn Chain - Worn everything that can wear, really - Engine makes a slight ticking noise. Could be normal, or the chain tensioner. Could be anything. - Big dents in the exhaust header pipe. It has a nice welded balancer box though. Condition as I got it: The previous owner wasn't the spanner type, and didn't have the money to sort it out. He just did the regular maintenance, and that's it. I could hardly drive it in it's current condition, the dragging front brake being the main culprit. But it's all fixable and doable. It will take some time, and investment, but this is hobby to me. Having a bike build from the ground up, gives confidence and reassurance. I just like it that way. I have made some room in the garage, and stripped the bike in one long evening. Pretty surprised to see to bike is actually in a pretty good condition. No rounded bolt heads, no stripped threads, it was really easy to take apart. (A nice change from the Beta Rev3, I can tell you that!) I ordered a box of goodies from Splatshop. Just all the things that need replacement A picture of a nice 320 in black/red/white was found: This is what I'm going to try to achieve. Sort of. The idea is to create a kind of blog, logging the bike's rebuild over the coming months. Best regards, Vincent

Thanks for all the great replies! @Lineaway: Locating pegs it is. I never knew these existed. In hindsight, there were enough clues, but I just didn't pick them up. This is just so obvious, but I guess I'm never to old to learn. At least now I'm confident the bike will soon be up and running again. Again, thanks for the great support.

Hello, The missus has a nice Sherco 290 build '04, which runs great. There was however one small problem, and that was mainly the missus herself. She's tiny. So we started out pulling it apart, softened the rear spring, greased the link system, cut 15mm from the front fork bushes, poured in thin fork oil, replaced what needed replacement, the whole lot. End result: nice springy bike! There is however another thing. She can't get it to run. I've explained it's mainly technique, but I have to admit, the thing has high compression, or, just the way you look at it, a short kickstartlever. So, we went about adding a few washer under the sparky. Better, but not good enough. We retarded the timing. No noticeable improvement. So we ordered two base gaskets to try lower the compression a bit further. Removed the cylinder, removed all carbon deposits (There was quite a bit, must have run pretty rich) After placing the gaskets, I tried installing the cylinder again, but could not get it to fit over the piston rings. I tried to compress the piston rings with my fingers, but failed. Then I tried using a large tie-rip. This would not compress the rings enough. Then I purchased an universal piston ring mounting kit. This kit features an open ended band, fitting around the piston, which can be compressed using a ratcheting set of pliers. After two failed attempts to get the piston in the cylinder, I tried to compress the rings a bit more. After that attempt, I was left with two broken piston rings. So, to put it short, it's going smoothly so far. I have ordered new piston rings, but before I start another attempt: I desperately need some advice how to get this simple job done! The bike can be taken to the workshop anytime, but to me, this should be an easy job, to be carried out by me several times a year. I'm willing to master it. Vincent