jse

I think so. jon

I drive over 8 hours down to the Great Southern Dustbowl just to get my Copey fix and guess what.....no show. Who did show, however, was Lane Leavitt, minding for his son Dan. It was great talking to him again and meeting Dan, who is quite an accomplished rider. Lane has appeared to have mellowed nicely and it was good to see him back on a bike again. Jon

You should run in the neighborhood of 400cc's in the trans. The overflow tube should go up about 8 inches and loop down. Check the clutch hub capscrew, which is a special one that is drilled and has a shaved head. If it is missing, you may have too much oil out the vent as it acts as a type of restriction in the breather system. Jon

Well put. "Although you will still find Friday afternoon build bikes out there " Or worse yet, Monday morning...... Jon

No need to set anything as the stator is "fixed" in place. You might want to clean the areas where the stator contacts the engine cases, add a little blue Loctite to the flywheel bolt and torque it to 30 to 32 Ft lbs/40 to 42 Nm. I'd check the torque of the bolt after you've ridden it a couple of times and then you should be set. Jon

When it comes to fuel prices, we are a nation of whiners and our quest for consumption tends to be greater than our quest for reality. My experience is most of the whining is done by people than probably have never even traveled outside of their own State. I was in Germany again last year and the "normal" price (pretty close to the prices the last two times I was there) at that time was still above the highest price in the U.S. now. Jon

Generally speaking, on the older type systems the soft initial engagement can be caused by one/both of two things (other than caliper/hydraulic line flex): 1. Tapered bore in M/C due to wear, so that the seal does not fully engage until part way down the bore. The "oversize" diameter in the first part of the bore does not allow the seal lip to fully seal the system. Sometimes a new M/C kit will help but will fail earlier than if the bore was not tapered. As I mentioned, the system is 14 years old and Trials master cylinders get more of a workout than in other forms of motorsports so the possibility exists that you may need a new master cylinder. 2. Air in the system. Probably not the case as I assume you've properly bled it. Jon

I'm not sure what your final citeria is, but you may be expecting a bit too much from a 14+ year old system. If you want to have it perform as good as a new design, you may have to switch to the new design. You could try different pad compounds as a last resort. Jon

Not that I'm aware of. A cooling system in good shape is essentially "closed" during the engine's normal operating temp's. It might be that your engine is operating at a higher than normal temperature, but just below the temperature that would cause the radiator cap to vent pressure. Shutting off the engine would allow heat "stored" in the castings to raise the coolant temp enough to allow some pressure to pass by the pressure release release valve in the cap. Not likely, but a possibility, as would be the early development of an inner head o-ring failure. Any time you buy a used bike, you should consider the possibility that everything is wrong with it. That is, not assume that the coolant is a 50/50 mixture of auto antifreeze and distilled water, or that the suspension bearings have been serviced, or the steering bearings are lubed and properly adjusted, or that all the spokes are tight, or that the jetting is correct, or that the wheel bearings are in good shape etc. Now might be a good to spend some "pro-active" time with the bike and give it an all over service to prevent you from having to later be "re-active" and fix problems that otherwise might have been caught in their early stage. You might have a friend who is familiar with Trials bikes inspect the bike after riding. Hopefully it's something simple like a leaking radiator cap o-ring that is easily replaced. Jon

I'd check the manifold to be sure it's not cracked on the side you can't see. I can't see just how and to what extent the case is damaged but you might be able to repair it without pulling the engine. Several fill/run/flush sessions with ATF (running, not riding and putting a load on the engine) would probably clean out swarf. You might also want to take the clutch cover off and remove the spring in the clutch. It acts like a "filter" and collects small pieces of metal/gunk in the engine that are not steel-based (which are collected by the magnets on the drain plugs). I would use a small pointed piece of wood stuck in the hole to act as a plug while you are working, clean/rough up the area with a Dremel tool, use contact cleaner on the area, blow off the area with compressed air, pull the wood and use a very small piece of metal larger than the hole to restrict the flow of epoxy. Jon

Seems like all is well, I agree, go ride a bit. Trials bikes sound different due to a number of factors so just be sure all the fluids are good and spend a little time of the strange bike. Jon

If the carb is stock, it's a Dellorto VHST flat-slide, used only on the 03' models. I've not heard of one rubbing a hole in the case before. Sometimes, if the carb is tilted off center too much, the floatbowl will contact the case. You can get a spacer from your dealer that will raise the carb up to clear the case and I would think that some good epoxy would work to seal the case hole as it's probably not in a critical machined/load-bearing area (flush the engine out well). Jon

Doh! I was thinking the cross-reference for the 6004 2RS. Yep, the SKF 61905-2RS1 bearings are "ME120136055" to fit the Marzocchi axle bores. In KYK bearings they are "6905-2RSC3 SR12" ("6905", not 61905 as you might think). My wife says that although I try to be a Dr. Know-It-All-Smartypants, most of the time I act like Homer Simpson......... Jon

6004 2RS should be GasGas part number "C160001". Jon

You have to use a new or dressed Allen (5mm off the end) wrench. A much used, old Allen will strip it out (and other capscrews also). Be sure to replace it with the same type bolt as the hollow portion acts as a breather passageway for the transmission and the short head allows clearance for the end of the servo cylinder ("top hat"). Some riders leave out the capscrew and stepped washer but I like to keep it in as I think it contributes to clutch basket/hub stability. Jon

For some dark, twisted reason, I find that quite funny! Maybe it's just being old enough to understand the background history and therefore, get it..... Jon

After I asked that, I worried it might be taken the wrong way..... I know from answering many, many bike questions on the Internet that I first have to assume nothing to start with, but also look at possibilities seemingly unrelated to the core question. I'm about your size and have no problems starting my Pro but if you were 9 stone and 5'3", I could see that might be contributing to the cause. The Pros are tricky to kick over and tend to not reward uncommited effort..... Jon

If you don't understand, I doubt we can explain. Jon

Jon, A lot of the new materials don't need it but I still do it out of habit, it won't hurt anything. Any initial adjustments after the clutch is installed will probably be more accurate compared to installing the plates dry. Jon

Just checking to make sure you had enough heft to spin it over easily. Speaking of fuel, you might want to drain and flush the tank and try fresh premix from a completely fresh batch of fuel (no mixing with old fuel). Stale fuel, along with fine grit to clog the pilot jet, will gather in the tanks (fuel storage tank and bike fuel tank) over time and cause starting problems. Jon

There is a spring to push back the M/C piston shaft and therefore cause the pedal to return. It is in the M/C in front of the seal but it is unusual that it would be broken or sacked in such a new bike. I'd look for binding of the brake pedal, perhaps the bushing was not driven into the pedal frame far enough and the end of it is scraping against the shaft collar or frame. A little time with a file would cure the problem if that's what it is. Jon

That makes sense to me. A little different from the hours of operation method, but thoughtful and the end result is basically the same and it takes into consideration operating conditions also. Jon

Sounds like jetting is o.k. but a possible lean condition somewhere in the idle/off-idle area. Keihins (when jetted correctly) usually end up at about 2.5 out on the air screw. I'm assuming you've tried a new plug set to .6mm. I'd look for an air leak or frayed/bowed reeds. You might want to take the reeds out to check them and use a little sealer on the gaskets in between the manifold bolt holes (I don't think you may have the aluminum manifold on the 08', which prevents "bowing" of the manifold when it's overtightened-air leaks occur in between the bolt holes). As you found, the static timing is pre-set and the different advance curves are programmed into the module. Just for the heck of it, you might want to measure, with a feeler gauge, the clearance between the flywheel and the button on the CDI trigger (Hall Effect Sensor, that little black thingie on the upper right of the flywheel. Jon Forgot to ask. How tall are you and how much do you weigh?

What is your current jetting spec.'s? 1/2 turn out on the air screw indicates a possible problem. Jon

There's cutting with a Dremel abrasive wheel and spliting the inner race with a chisel, but I usually just press the stem out of the tripleclamp, which pops the bearing off intact. Then press the stem back into the clamp and put in a plastic bag in the freezer, use a little anti-seize where the inner race is tight at the bottom of the stem and use a piece of tubing that just fits the inner race (and doesnt interfere with the cage) to lightly drive it on. Jon