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well, I didn't buy the bike... will wait for one that seems a bit smoother. Would not hesitate to dig in normally, but time is in short supply right now, and price wasn't quite right. Sure appreciate all the feedback and help from everybody, though. Now I think I know what to pay attention to when I look at one next! Great place here, great folks! thanks Eric

done, thanks E

well, used to ride a 72 or 73 (IIRC) OSSA 250 MAR. These were the days... I'd go to Spain for vacaction with the bike and hook up with a club there. We'd go to the mountains, and find a little restaurant at the very top, and enjoy a catalan bbq (yum!) before heading back down... I'm in Central/So Cal, near Santa Barbara! thanks for the welcome!

yes, I do have some questions about this one but it's because I prefer to (over?)analyze before the buy rather than afterwards... Once I decide I don't go back and second guess myself. Plus, yes, I can walk away, but might be silly if it would be just an easy little fix. But I don't know much about these things which is why I'm asking about "standard" behavior from those who know, so I'm not expecting unreasonable smoothness. So any out there that feel like a foot massager?

well, sorry to bug you all again, but I still have a question about this 02 2.9 for sale I'm looking at. (You can tell I'm serious about getting back in the sport, right...? ) As I mentioned in another thread, the engine does sound quite a bit harsh. Took it for a brief ride again, and I noticed again a strong buzziness to it. It's vibrating a lot. In first, at a speed of a pretty fast walk, I can feel a strong buzzy vibration through my feet. Very noticeable. I'd use the analogy of being something like one of those vibrating massager wands they sell in drugstores for aching backs (yea, right! ) Maybe not quite that high a frequency, but close. Anyway, it's a pretty high frequency vibration linked to the rpms I think. Kinda made my feet tingly. That normal? Or another piece of evidence related to the noisy engine? thanks much all!

well, went to have another look at it. I think I didn't describe the noise very well. It's not so much that it's clanking every so often, it's more a dry metallic sound that seems pegged to the reciprocating motion of the piston. A harsh vibration sound of sorts. Oh well...

OK, easy enough. thanks

thanks all I'm getting the feeling that it may be needed / advisable to get in there... any other thoughts on how noisy these things could be while still OK?

still wondering about his 02 2.9... another question came to mind: I read that the gearing is pretty high on the 02 and that they went back to lower for 03. I assume cuz people didn't like the taller 1st (and others?) So, how difficult would it be to change the gearing of the 02 to the 03 set? Hard to get in the box and swap things? Or can one simply change the sprocket and get away with that? (are there some readily available that woudl fit?) (did a search, sorry if the answer is out there already...)

thanks Alan: Yes, I would be doing all the work myself and I'm pretty competent with a wrench. Let's say that the bike needs some work on the mains, rod, something like that and I do the work. Are we talking many hundreds of $ in parts or machine shop time? The bike is in the No. L.A. / Ventura area. I have only met a couple of riders in my area so far, though. Hope to change that soon! The trials community is one of the best out there... thanks Eric

thanks. Well, yes, it would be good to have somebody familiar with Shercos or even another brand listen to it. Problem is that there aren't too many trials riders in these parts. I realize it's hard to diagnose by Web. Let's go at it another way, perhaps: what does a good engine sound like? perfectly quiet and purring? no clanking? some clanking? should all noises disappear when the clutch is set? What would be a worst case scenario, expenses-wise, if there is something seriously wrong? thanks Eric

Hi all, new to the site. Seems like some good knowledgeable folks here. Am in California, not the hub of Trials, but we may change that yet... Rode Trials a long time ago, and thinking about getting a newish used bike to get started again. I don't have much $$ so need to be careful about not getting a dubious one. Did some reading here, but I have a more specific question: This is a 290 Sherco '02 I'm looking at. Sold by a very nice fellow, but seems like it's been used pretty hard, looking at the outside. In particular I am a bit concerned at the engine noise, and I live far away, so only had one look at it. When idling in neutral, the bike engine makes quite a racket -not the exhaust- rather a mechanical noise. Kind of loud mechanical noises from inside the crankcase / clutch area. Hard to describe of course, but it's definitely not "purring" smoothly or silently. Not due to uneven idle I thinking, more mechanical noises within. Kind of muffled clanking sounds, one or two a second or so, on top of a loud vibrating unevern noise. Sounds like something loose, banging inside. When I pull the clutch the noises decrease noticeably but do not disappear, some 'clanking" still there.. Not that you have to strain to hear. Can easily tell from a foot or 2. When I took it for a drive, it rode OK, but was pretty buzzy. OK, so that was all very vague, sorry. And it's a 2 stroke. But it's much more "unevenly clanky noisy" than my old OSSA 250 MAR IIRC, for what that's worth. I'm thinking maybe crankshaft / bearings / rod something like that, maybe clutch or gear box? Bear in mind, I don't know anything about this particular engine, so I'm going by instinct and general mechanical experience. So, how noisy should a good engine sound like? Is this likely normal, unacceptable, or impossible to tell from where you're sitting? Any advice / feedback / suggestions welcome. I'm in a different city and there are very few trials bike around here, so no mechanic familar with these readily available and very few bikes around to compare with... So any info / guesses / subjective opinions would be much appreciated. thanks very much Eric.

Hi all from Sunny California! Enjoyed browsing the site. Turns out I rode Trials for a while in Europe, many many years ago (OK, OK in the 70s... ) Well, the bug has bitten again, in part driven by the great newer bikes and by fond memories of fun in the woods. So, I'm presently looking for a bike and if successful, may just get to enjoy the sport again. Hope to participate and perhaps contribute a bit later on to the site! best regards Eric