I've been watching this thread for a while telling myself not to get involved --but I never had much will power, so here goes.
As a regular observer for several years, I can't offer any easy solutions. but all I can say is when you get a new observer do everything you can to avoid p**sing him/her off. Observing is a thankless task, everything is generally against you, - the weather, the rules, the landscape, the riders, the 2 mile walk (all up hill) the midges etc., so make sure they feel appreciated, educate all new riders to appreciate the observer: set a closing time limit for the course (there is nothing worse that sitting out in horizontal sleet on a northern fellside knowing that a dozen riders have been to the burger van and are sitting in the dry waiting for the storm to pass before they ride the last lap!), as Gordon says, give them a ring a couple of days in advance (if only for the fact that they are unprepared with an excuse unlike when they arrive in the paddock on a Sunday morning) In a nutshell do everything that you can to keep him/her happy.
I'm sure that each centre will have different problems in attracting/ keeping observers; here in the North East I think we are fairly fortunate. I haven't been to a trial for along time that hasn't had it's full complement of observers, and that is down to a lot of good work by the clubs, and the fact that we must have more than our fair share of masochists in this area!!!
As I said at the start, I have no magic solution, but if all you riders tried to put yourselves in the observers position, what would it take to get you to observe? and I suspect a tenner is NOT the answer!!
My theory is that the water that appears on the inside of the flywheel is condensation from the inside of the motor. I have been through the 'sealing before every trial' route only to find water inside even after a 'dry' trial. Now the practice is to remove the cover after the bike has been washed, spray with a water repellant (WD40) and leave open until the next trial. It seems to work for me, but as usual I'm sure someone else will have a different theory!
If this has happened twice I would suggest that the problem, although not helped by your worn washer, is more likely to be that the flywheel is not tight. The torque spec if extremely high on this nut. And although it's not the ideal way to tighten this nut I always tighten the flywheel with an impact wrench.
Mr Dabster sir, had you read my contribution you would have seen that I was only questioning the logic and mathmatics I wasn't setting myself up as an expert on suspension, so your response was, as we have come to expect, arrogant in the extreme!!
Furthermore if you do the maths (as listed on the GG USA site) you will find that for a 50% preload Moulder would expect a measurement of 44.75cm and for 33% a measurement of 47.67cm (assuming 17.5cm of suspension travel as on my Beta) He actually measured 46cm a preload of 40%, so my original contribution was not only well-meant and relevant, but dare I say it - Accurate!!
Finally I have over many years owned, ridden and maintained many trials bikes butI have never tried to set myself up as OMNISCIENT as I am sure, with your superior knowledge, will already know that this means 'know-all', smart a**e, or even 'clever sh*t
I may have got the wrong end of the stick, but you have 7.5 cm of preload, and as most bikes have about 15cm of travel on the rear suspension, does this not mean that you have about 1/2 without any adjustment? I haven't seen the article that you refer to , but there have been some references to excellent set up data previously on this site
Head into Stanley ( I don't know which direction you're coming from) Take the road to Consett, about 800 mtrs from the town ctre there is a set off traffic lights. Immediately after (literally about 10 mtrs) turn right into the houses, A quick right then left and follow the track and you'll trip over Pea Farm.
If these instuctions don't work, stop in the middle of Stanley and you'll probably be able to hear Clarkie!! Then just aim in that direction!!
Doesn't sound like the usual stator problems: all those I've seen go have failed totally. Running OK one minute, dead the next. By the way I think the screws you refer to on the flywheel sound like those that hold the additional weights. Personal preference if you run with them or not
Just changed one this week, and as charliechitlins explains it is an easy task. I had to remove the side brace from the frame to feed the wires out and back in but other than that no problem.
A couple of things I would add though
1. Retorquing the flywheel is critical. I was advised that the torque is 14KNm, but I'm not convinced, so as I have access to a pneumatic impact wrench I made sure it was good and tight with loctite on for good measure. This also has the advantage that holding the flywheel (to both remove the nut and retighten it) is a a lot easier
2. Apply sealant around the wire access grommet when you've finished
I think you will find that what is at the bottom of your air box is just filter oil . Over a period of time the filter oil soaks to the bottom of the filter foam and drips off, especial;ly if you were very liberal in applying it in the first place! It probably has nothing to do with water getting in. I wouldn't remove the air box if you don't need to. The sealant is there for exactly what you suggest, so if you do take the air box off you must replace the sealant in the critical places. I suspect though it is currently doing it's job so why fix it if it aint broke!
The 3 vans you are referring to are identical except that the Scudo uses the fiat engines and the dispatch and expert use the peugeot /citreon engines. I have no experience of the Fiat motors but the Peugeot/Citreon has served me well in a series of cars and vans. Until recently the choice was a non turbo 1.9 diesel (avoid like the plague unless you want some early morning starts to get to your trial) or a 1.9 turbo. Recently this changed to a 2.0 litre HDi. I am told that the power output is about the same due to the 1.9 being intercooled and the HDi not.
The performance is good (my expert was good for well over the legal limit.) and it returned about 34 MPG. I have heard of people getting in excess of 40 but I have a large & heavy right foot, and No. 1 son who also drove it was even worse!!!
I had no major problems until said son drove it into an Scudo at 70 mph, which unfortunately proved terminal (for the van not the son!)
As you can see I would have no hesitation recommending them to you
Good luck
PS I have replaced it with a Vito and will rweserve judgement until I have run it a while longer
Are you sure that you had the throttle cable seated properly when you replaced the carb? This is the most common reason for a bike revving it's nuts off;And when they rev this hard the kill switch won't work as you get self ignition.
If you then took the carb off again the chances are you then got the cable seated properly
I've done this that many times over the years when I've had the carb off, that it is now a habit to have a final check that the cable is OK before I kick the bike over
If the techno weights are the same as a Rev 3 then they are just screwed to the outside of the flywheel, and can be removed/ replaced in minutes.
As everyone says the flywheel is there to provide inertia, and the heavier it is the greater the inertia. The downside of that is that although it will be harder to slow the flywheel down it will also be harder to get up to speed.
If you like your bike more docile then stick with the weights, if you prefer it to be zippier, take them off.
If it is as easy to do on the Techno as the Rev 3, take them off , try it and if you don't like it put them back on. As the saying goes 'Nothing ventured - nothing gained'
r2wtrials, I guess I must concede , you're right 'artificial intelligence (or any intelligence for that matter) is no match for natural stupidity!!
Ps I do take part in dangerous pastimes ( including motor bikes) and have even eaten Mc Donalds on occassions, Its just that I like the odds on my side
What a load of selfish macho rubbish! Safety is not a matter of personal choice. All of you suggesting it is, stop and think about all of the people that would be affected if you had a serious head injury, and believe me they would happen if helmets weren't mandatory.
There's the poor sod who has to carry out first aid, the emergency services that would have to scrape you up off a fell side,club officials etc, and thats without counting family and friends, who might be a bit put out:
Get real. helmets are essential and should never be optional
BillyT, I like your comment regarding writing to help each other not to belittle each other-- wasn't that what you did to me when I commented on the revs of a trials bike.
Don't dish it out if you can't take it pal!!
PS According to the report in the TMX today the Mont ticks over at 1800 revs
Sorry, can't go along with the pulsing theory. Even at 1500 revs a fourstroke is still firing 12.5 times/SECOND!! I don't think that this would manifest itself in pulsing at the back wheel
What's the point of debating who is the best rider. Both Kathryn and Paul are extremely tallented and have worked hard to achieve what they have, and deserve all the recognition they get Do they really need us entering a totally pointless and futile debate as to who is, or will be, the best. Let them enjoy their sport and leave sibbling rivalry where it belongs, in the family!
The damage you are showing in your photo is similar to that we found on my son's 04 270 recently. It was about 6 months old at the time. Our local dealer sent the casting back to JL who replaced it without question and we were back on the road within days. At the time I was unsure whether it was corrosion (the bike was still on the factory supplied coolant) or caused by a faulty casting. Anyway whatever it was we got excellent support to resolve the problem, pity I can't say that about all manufacturers!!
Don't be too pessimistic, my experience tells me it is impossible to diagnose a noise by phone or email! Get someone who is knowledgable to have a look at the bike. If its any consolation I would be surprised if it is the bottom end if it started and ran for 10 secs OK, May be you just cocked up when you had the cooling system stripped.
One thing worth trying, take the plug out and turn the engine over slowly with the kickstart and ssee if you can find the source of the noise
On the way home from today's trial at Belford we found the answer to your problem, a garage on the A1 has a couple of ex-army personnel carriers for sale, complete with tracks. They were certainly big enough to carry the bike, and you'll never get stuck again!!
I can just imagine the scene over breakfast as you break the news to your better half ' I've just bought a Hummer with an Ivor Williams trailer!' Maybe a van isn't such a bad idea after all ( I got mine on and off the field at Rookhope, albeit the backside was twitching a little as it went down the hill sideways!)
What Do You Do When Theres Too Few Observers?
in UK Trials Talk
Posted
I've been watching this thread for a while telling myself not to get involved --but I never had much will power, so here goes.
As a regular observer for several years, I can't offer any easy solutions. but all I can say is when you get a new observer do everything you can to avoid p**sing him/her off. Observing is a thankless task, everything is generally against you, - the weather, the rules, the landscape, the riders, the 2 mile walk (all up hill) the midges etc., so make sure they feel appreciated, educate all new riders to appreciate the observer: set a closing time limit for the course (there is nothing worse that sitting out in horizontal sleet on a northern fellside knowing that a dozen riders have been to the burger van and are sitting in the dry waiting for the storm to pass before they ride the last lap!), as Gordon says, give them a ring a couple of days in advance (if only for the fact that they are unprepared with an excuse unlike when they arrive in the paddock on a Sunday morning) In a nutshell do everything that you can to keep him/her happy.
I'm sure that each centre will have different problems in attracting/ keeping observers; here in the North East I think we are fairly fortunate. I haven't been to a trial for along time that hasn't had it's full complement of observers, and that is down to a lot of good work by the clubs, and the fact that we must have more than our fair share of masochists in this area!!!
As I said at the start, I have no magic solution, but if all you riders tried to put yourselves in the observers position, what would it take to get you to observe? and I suspect a tenner is NOT the answer!!