Glayne

...Electrical tape...

I have no personal experience with the Rookie 80, I was told the Beta 80 jr is a much better bike and we went for one of those. The Beta 80 has caused us no troubles.

Congrats, Enjoy! I'm currently on a 2012 TXT 280 Raga, It took me a bit to get used to it after my older TXT 250 and regretted the upgrade for a few weeks. Like it way more now, not looking to upgrade any time soon. Felt like the 280 had twice the power of the 02 250 and felt twice as hard to start. All sorted now. Is it starting well for you?

My neighbor has a 2017 Sherco 300, it rides nice and in my opinion looks really good. It might be a bit of a handful but for a bike to play around on I would rather have too much power than not enough. Only thing I noticed is the radiator is a little "goofy" in my opinion, can't remember exactly why, I think the fill hole was weird and the air filter is a bit tighter than my Gasgas and awkward to change. I'd do it, if you don't like it sell it!

I would try to investigate which one is grounded for -. Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there could be any damage from connecting reverse polarity, fan may just spin backwards?

Just connect the fan straight to a 12v battery.

Coverage would be great, just not fair to pin that one on Dougie though, he has better things to do... like wheelies and bike stuff...

Well, he is doing more for the sport than me... and many others... I don't even record my rides or upload to you tube... I reckon he is free to do what he does however he wants?

I would definitely say batteries went bad, we had 3 of those little electrics one 12.5 and 2 16's, they should go faster than running speed, faster than me anyways. You would have to test the voltage under a full load to get an accurate idea. We went through more than a few sets of batteries, the best bang for the buck I found was on Amazon.

When a 4stroke has a problem it has one! somethings in the way? try rolling the bike backwards in gear, would that free the jam? If it does lets troubleshoot? "i'll guess valves? I know very little of Beta 4t"

Whatever you do, make sure you match and try to match your bike as well. Nothing is worse than seeing someone having tons of fun in mismatched clothing. Make sure your pants are tight enough and bright enough as well, thats what it's all about! And what richt mentioned, trials helmet is so nice to breathe out of, talk out of and keep the head cool.

I have Wulf trials boots, they are very comfy (especially with an aftermarket insole), they are lasting good and I found them to be a very reasonable price in Canada. Thats my 2 cents...

Looks good! We would usually still be riding a bit in BC however this year we are already snowmobiling right from the valley bottom🤯

I believe I paid 3500 CAD, seemed a bit high but it was the only used one I could find in western Canada. It has only costed me a brake lever since and I don't expect to lose much between now and resale.

I bought a 2016 Beta 80JR for my son a couple years back, it is great, build quality is good enough, have not had any problems with it. I have heard the Beta is by far the best JR model. He is 8.5 now and I suspect it will last him at least two or three more years. It has a great clutch and was a breeze for him to learn the clutch at 7 and a bit years old. My neighbor got a really good deal on a Beta SR80 and scooped it up thinking it was the same as ours, it is much bigger and as arthritic said it would be a lot of cash to transform, his is now for sale. Maybe reach out to some trials clubs and see if someone knows of one being outgrown?

I like the shout out to Outlaw Trials! We are lucky to have Dave and Outlaw Trials local, he is a wealth of information. If you want to learn some cool motorcycle stuff, follow his blog!

Maybe practice with the handlebars leaning on something for balance so you can stand to kick, cycle the kicker maybe 20 degrees until you feel engagement, then it is a *sharp fast kick* I did richen the pilot circuit a bit when I got mine as well, I think it helped. I was ready to change carbs to the Dellorto I had on my last bike, or low comp head or anything. I was sure I downgraded bikes at the time, then I read up on it in this forum and got used to the starting tricks. I really like my 280 now and have no reason to upgrade. The roll back in 2nd gear works well as well.

Once you figure out the fast kick needed it won't be an issue.

I know for sure you should really see the coolant cycling through the radiator rapidly, if it is not cycling rapidly that must be your problem.

If I run my 2012 Gasser with the rad cap off the coolant is moving around very rapidly. I'm starting to think your water pump impeller could be stripped?

If you start it with the radiator cap off can you see good circulation of the coolant? And is the fluid still clean and not contaminated with combustion gasses?

Noteworthy question, I totally missed that! At one time I used an oil that was clear and could look a bit like that, but it sure looks suspect.

Is the fan blowing hard enough, and spinning in the right direction? I have seen these fans wear out and while still spinning they are not spinning fast enough.

When I'm planning to get a ways from home I pack a 750ml fuel bottle in my camelback. I don't like the idea of fuel sloshing around up on my forks even if the auxiliary tank empties first. I can dump my fuel bottle in before I run out to ditch some weight and I don't mind packing some water and a few basic tools. When riding with my kid I pack two bottles and the weight really isn't that noticeable.

I went up one size on my pilot jet which helped, but it really is just getting used to it and giving it a *FAST KICK* once the kickstart gear has engaged.