jse

For those of you across the Pond, the PITS BA Cup is noted as probably the hardest Trial on the PITS schedule. It is run on the Scott Trial rules (time + observation points and the loop is part of the difficulty factor) and has attracted some top riders (I rode one year with Vesty when he was in the States and the loop was so difficult about 1/3rd of the riders could not make it to the first section. It rained the night before and the muddy hill was near impossible, I fought it 3 times to finish and it almost killed me). Yjro, of course, set "standard time" and he's a rocket on the loop, I tried to keep up with him but only for a short time after seeing my life pass before my eyes several times.... The "British" in the BA Cup is Derek Belvoir and the "American" is Lane Leavitt, both got together and started the event because they like to see other riders suffer..... Actually we all looked forward to the event as it was a true test of ability and like the Ute Cup in Colorado, it was an accomplishment just to finish. Jon

Seavoyage, here's me on the 370 at a PITS Trial event at Frank Raines Park, where you also have probably rode. Great place to ride, used to be a County work farm for inmates, hmmmm, maybe still is in a way..... Jon

I think the GG factory designed the GT35 and JTR370 like the Honda factory did with the old CR480/500. It's actually a competence test, if you can't start it, you shouldn't be riding it..... The 370 was quite interesting as it was a 338cc, high-compression engine but had "370cc" cast on the outside of the cylinder. I'm guessing the prototype was 370cc's so they kept the casting mold but they reduced the capacity after it totally flogged more than a few test riders... I'm trying to remember if Steve rode that bike at the World Round at Donner, he may have. He was mechanically inclined and took extremely good care of his bikes. Steve was a big guy (an Assistant Chief fireman and in good shape) and he had a hard time lightling that bike off so he asked me to make some changes. I re-machined the combustion chamber, which really helped, and he said it was a lot easier to start and ran smoother with no loss of power. I agree, the 35 and 370 did not reward the timid. Like Steve's 35 and my 370, they were great bikes for Donner at 8200 ft. altitude and we never had a problem with power loss. My 370 was stolen years ago and disappreared completely. Few of them were ever imported here and they are quite rare (if you see one, look for the "JSE" engraved on the cylinder and lots of one-off special parts). I told the investigating Sheriff deputy taking the report to look for a criminal with a broken right kneecap....... Jon

I lift mine by the muffler now and then but I grab the muffler at the lowest point (far from the end) and lever the rear end back on my upper thigh to move the back around with my knee. I never lift the whole bike with just the muffler as I have the older, two-piece type muffler system. Jon

Seavoyage, The GT35 is probably the personal bike I modified for Steve Darrow, U.S. National rider and father of Stevie Darrow, a rider I built a 125 GasGas for to ride at the 2005 World Round at Duluth, Minnesota. I was there with both father and son to lend technical support and the first time I got to see Toni Bou in person. I could tell he had potential, but didn't have a clue how much! It was a great event, nice and wet. Wet enough to wash several riders off their bikes and they had to close several sections as impassable. Nice work on the bikes! Jon

It doesn't take much of a bend to bind them up. Sometimes it's a good idea to mark the fork tube in it's location in the tripleclamp so they go on the same way if you are not going to check them for straightness. blade7 may want to loosen the top fork caps so they can collapse completely (loosen the fork brace and axle clamp bolts to allow them to "adjust" to the slightly new position) and rotate a tube(s) a little at a time and test for binding. He might be able to see any marks on the tubes that would indicate how they were previously installed, like where the triple clamp split is. Jon

Stiction is usually a sign of mis-aligned forks but stuck in the collapsed position is generally a sign of a bent upper fork tube. Jon

"JSE, any tips for riding with cracked or bruised ribs?". Yep, have your Doctor write a prescription for "Old Bushmills" That exit rock, as you say, was quite deceptive and just about all the Intermediate/Senior Expert riders had trouble with it, it took a lot of points. The trees just above it were directly in your way unless you got the perfect angle to the left and just shaved the tape. The TY80 short wheelbase was probably a lot easier to handle there than a full-length bike. Jon

Jan, This is Sunday section #6 of the Sooner Cup in Oklahoma last Sunday and is the "Intermediate" line, which is in the middle of the class structure (Novice/Amateur/Senior Amateur/Intermediate/Senior Expert/Expert/Master/Pro). The rider is U.S. Trials Champion, Pat Smage on the TY80 who kindly agreed to ride the section while I shot this video. I told Pat that he should never get a 5 on this bike because if he gets in a bind, all he has to do is just pull up sharply on the bars and walk out the exit..... As for stalling, if you set the idle speed in gear with the clutch lever pulled back normally (usually against the knuckles) this usually helps. Jon

Yes. The 160mm is for the aluminum forks, the steel upper tube type takes 180mm.

Mitch, I've used the bar-end bearing throttle for years now and think it's great. Always smooth and dirt is kept out, unlike the standard bar ends. Jon ps. I heard about your "shunt" when the riders showed up in my section just after. Glad to hear you came out o.k.

Get both. I have all the ones I have (2008 on?) copied to a single disk and often crank it up on the shop TV, great inspiration when working on my bikes . Excellent shots of the loop I haven't seen on any other SSDT videos I have. Jon

Jan, I think it's "BT280110055", the parts manual (and others) is at http://www.trialspartsusa.com/GASGASmanuals.html . Jon

You might want to hang on to the kit. Some of the early models had the piston return spring break when worn. It's always good to have a clutch M/C kit in your parts box, the clutches get a real workout in Trials and it might save you a day of riding sometime. Jon

You must mean that neat little paper my buddy, Billy DeGaris made up some time ago for the early bikes: http://mypage.direct.ca/b/billyd/ggman.html . I've got it in my files and refer to it often, very handy. I think Billy is younger than me, I'll have to con him into doing an updated one.... Jon

My favorite free, easy to use conversion app is "Convert": http://joshmadison.com/convert-for-windows/ . I use it constantly. Jon

Possibilities for a start: Trans breather is blocked and pressure buildup has forced oil past water pump seal. Clutch hub capscrew replaced with non-drilled type. Aftermarket additive added to coolant that has congealed. Head o-ring allowing combustion byproducts into cooling system (usually causes overheating). Jon

The clutch M/C (with the green cover) takes a special low-viscosity mineral oil, not the stuff you buy in the drug stores. You can get it from your GasGas dealer or off-road bicycle shops often carry the special mineral oil used on mountain bike brake systems, Like Magura Blood or Royal Blood. Do NOT use Dot 3/4/5.1 in the clutch. You can also use Dot-5 (Silicone) in the clutch without changing the seals/o-rings if you completely flush all Dot-3/4/5.1 out beforehand. The Dot-5 will give a little smoother uptake due to it's lubricity properties and being slightly compressable. Dot-5 in brake systems will give a "spongy" feel to the pedal. Jon

I shut off the choke as soon as the engine starts for the same reason. I use very light throttle "blips" to keep the bike running at low RPMs until it can idle on it's own (usually fairly quickly if the jetting is correct). Initial start-up can be really hard on an engine as the clearances (piston/cylinder) are very tight and any over-revving will cause excessive wear and in unusual circumstances, cold-seizure. On my Dellorto, I drill the starter jet out to #80 (.031") and have no problems with start-up in any weather. Jon

It's not really for oil flow but to equalize the internal pressure in the transmission with ambient conditions under heat/cool cycles. Jon

If you watch all the other riders on steep dropoffs, the fender is against the fanny. You may want to adjust your riding style a little for the new bike but I would not start cutting on the airbox. Jon

Some rider leave the stepped washer and drilled/shaved capscrew out. I leave mine in but from all I know, it does not cause any problems. I think it makes the clutch assembly more stable in operation but that's only a guess. Jon

I think you're on the right track as far as a single rather then multiple gaskets doing the job better. And another consideration, although usually not a problem with most sidecovers, you need to take into consideration that in a lot of cases, the thickness of the of the gasket sets the side clearance of any shafts that fit into/through it. For instance, leaving off the gasket (and using sealer) on some sidecovers will cause the kickstart shaft to bind. I would think that conversely, thicker gaskets might result in excessive side clearance in some cases. Jon

Jimmie, I haven't messed much with the new endcaps but I think they use buttonhead capscrews and are fairly easy to re-pack with the SilentSport type packing. I just picked up some new FMF packing that is like the SS type and will try it next, probably before going up to the Ute Cup in August (high altitude 2-day endurance Trial, usually 8000-12,000+ ft) where the engine gets a real workout. If you need to run a spark arrestor and have the new plastic endcap, I would not recommend you use a SA with an outlet smaller than the ID of the muffler outlet pipe, under severe conditions (like the Ute Cup) it will tend to cause the aluminum endcap to overheat and melt the plastic (you never want to restrict exhaust at high altitude). We had a bunch of them melt at The Cup the first year they came out. Jon

I'd also check for a sheared flywheel key, common in older bikes. Jon