peterb

What part of what country are you in? Bye, PeterB.

As Tim mentioned, there is not much to do on these bikes, just a few setting up chores to keep the bike fettled. From new, pack out the steering head, s/arm and linkage bearings with a waterproof grease. We use 10T gearbox sprockets down this way, most find the standard gearing a bit high. With a 10T spkt, you'll soon need the larger chain eccentrics or can fit a half link in the chain. Change out the gearbox oil after the first trial from new. Good idea to fit a carbon fibre ex shield, save melting your pants. Bye, PeterB.

Hi DadDab, close to home! I'll have to take out the carb to do that, was a long time ago that I fitted the carb and reed block, took me 11 hours to fabricate the manifold so that it would all fit together proper like. I used to run the 28mm Keihin on my 321 and used standard Gas Gas supplied jets/slide except I prefer a GJH needle. Only mod needed for the Bultaco was to solder up the main jet and drill out to 1.00mm. Very hard to get any jets at all over here (NZ). I also spent ages with a Dremmel grinding out the transfer port area in the crankcase mouth to match the widened port area in the bottom of the cylinder, got the idea looking closer at a 330 Gas Gas cylinder. That 330 and the Bultaco had identical exhaust port heights and opening time for the transfers, just the 330 had far wider transfer area, something that I tried to emulate on the Bult - I'd say that it was perhaps a minor improvement - need more experimentation time! Will strip out the carb over the hols, needs a clean anyway, and advise the jets/slide, needle position. Remember to fit an inline fuel filter. Ta ta, PeterB.

I agree with Jon, best to disconnect the electrics first. The frame and the footrest both weld well with MIG. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Stu, White smoke would be from water getting into the motor, likely through the head seals. Check if the head bolts are tightened down, sorry but I don't have any torque figures. The four bolts tighten down the head and barrel. Check this first before going into the crank seal, it would be unusual for the clutch side seal to go. If the crankcase seal was worn, then the motor would draw in gearbox oil which would have a definate smell and burn blue (very blue, like you were running with the choke on all the time). I have a parts list for this bike. Ta ta, PeterB.

Merry Christmas, You don't need to split the cases to get at the RHS crankshaft seal. You can very carefully prise out the seal with a screwdriver, ruining the old seal in the process, take care not to score the housing. It is fairly uunusual for the oil side seal to go. I've not worked on the 50 before so can only go by the parts breakdown. Looks like there is an O ring fitted after the oil seal, fit the new seal with the spring side of the seal facing into the crank case and then the O ring. Seal P/N MIT50012008. Good luck, PeterB.

Merry Christmas Steve, If your bike has 16 inch front and 14 inch rear wheels, then it is a TXT BOY 50, which has a Gas Gas 50cc motor with 2 gears, selectable with a push/pull lever at the bottom of the LHS of the crank case. This has an auto clutch with manual over ride. If it is a Rookie, it is a Moto Minarelli or Morini motor, can't rmember which but it was a very reliable engine. It came out with 6 gears, standard manual clutch and full size wheels. Hope this helps. Bye, PeterB.

I tend to agree with bikespace here. I usually ride Gas Gas and have recently had 5 days of trials on a 2007 SY250 in the 5 Jour du Verdon, a sort of very warm and picturesque mini SSDT. The Scorpa did everything well but was noticebly lacking when getting into the more tricky stuff. I think it is a fine bike for clubmen and intermediate riders but not that well sorted for making things easy in the harder expert sections. I found the bike heavy and slow to react in rocky sections when compared to my usual bike. The motor has a reputation for reliability and has good performance for most riders, the first three gear ratios are fine for sections, the jump from 4th to fifth was not so bad I thought, inbetween sections. I have not owned a Beta but have had a few rides on a 2006 250 model, it seemed to ride well and had a very conrtrollable power delivery. Lads here speak well of the Betas. Things that I didn't like about the Scorpa were minor issues, airbox would leak in water though this is not new to any of the other bikes, sitting on the seat/mudguard area causes the mudguard to crease up around the airbox, definately need a silencer heat shield, carb is very time consuming to get to, rear shock is very close to the middle box and may overheat the shock creating damping problems and the footrests feel a long way back - though riders assure me this is something that you get used to. Flywheel feels a bit heavy as standard as the motor rolls on a bit too much for my liking, on a friends SY here, the weight is down to 2,650 gms and this feels ok. The cycle parts look very robust. Again, it really boils down to what suits your riding style, either choice will go well though I feel the Beta would have the edge if you get into more serious sections. Bye, PeterB.

Well done Tim, Those are great photos. You never cease to amaze with your surfing ability. Bye, PeterB.

Best trial for me this year was the 5 Jour du Verdon in France. Superb scenery over the mountains of Provence, great company, good sections, only drawback was the scorching hot weather, most days over 36 C and most of the top French riders who pushed in front of the section queues like it was their right. Bye, PeterB.

Try giving the carb a thorough clean out, check for any dirt under the fuel valve that may cause flooding. Also, the fuel/oil ratio, I usually go with 50:1, others run leaner mixtures. Bye, PeterB.

Hi de ho there Tim, The 07 GG tank is also anodised. Your tank looks fine as it is, looks brand new! Bye, PeterB.

Merry Christmas Ed from Holland, I never tried a head spacer, none here where we live. The flywheel weight was a definate advantage, works very well. Slot the sensor holes to rotate the pick up anti clockwise, then set the sensor gap to approx 4 thou. Also, for the 300 only with DellOrto carb, I usually run with a D34 needle. It's a bit richer at the low end, I prefer this to the D36 which is a bit quick on pick up. If you still need less power, then you can easily fit another base gasket, or two. Use a 0.8mm thick gasket. Leave the head in place when removing the cylinder. Bye, PeterB.

Hi there zulu, I have a Cota 348 with hydrabag shocks. I stripped these right down, they are rebuildable if you can get hold of the correct seals. Bag is split on one of them so will probably seal off the bag area and use without the bag, or just buy new ones! Bye, PeterB.

Hi Justin, What year is the 300? Usually from cold, I tend to tip my 300 over to the left to flood the carb (DellOrto or Keihin) and it starts first or second kick. The timing can be altered, external to the flywheel is the ignition pick up sensor, held in place by two bolts, approx 2 O'Clock position. You can losen these two bolts and move the sensor a tiny amount anti-clockwise to retard the timing for softer low end power. I have slotted the sensor bracket mounting holes to allow the sensor to have more movement in the past for advancing the timing. Not needed to do this with the Raga 300. On models with Ducati ignition systems (generally the 280/300's) some bikes are prone to be hard to start when warm. Not 100% sure, but reasonably confident that this is due to the sensor to flywheel air gap. Just worked on a 300 2 weeks ago with this problem. Bike starts fine when cold and is hard to start when warm. The air gap was 20 thou, reduced this to 4 thou and this seemed to fix the problem. You can get this adjustment on the the clearence of the sensor bracket holes as standard, losen the two lock screws and move the sensor until you get 4 thou. Fitting the Hebo weight to the 300 made the motor much more manageable up rocky creeks while still having stacks of zap for the bigger stuff. Mechanical noise that you describe could be loose flywheel nut or a loose clutch centre bolt, sometimes the clutch centre bolts are not overly tight on these bikes. (4mm Allen head with vent hole). The PRO motor does make a clutch grumble noise on idle, which dissapears if you disengage the clutch, this is normal. Bye, PeterB.

Would be an interesting project to do, it is physically possible but would need someone with a lot of 2 stroke port timing understanding and a bit of experimentation to match up the 125 cylinder to a 280 bottom end. The 125 motor uses a 54.5mm stroke, the 250/280/300 use a 60mm stroke. Even with fitting a base spacer to the 125 cylinder to end up with the correct piston height at TDC, (assuming the gudgeon pin is the same diameter for both capacities) then the port timing at BDC is going to be approx 4.5mm lower than a standard 125 motor. which I would imagine would have some effect on the transfer port timing. Still, if you have the bits, and the pin diameter is the same, it's worth a try. Bye, PeterB.

It's real easy using long nosed pliers, hard to explain, but depress the pliers across both ends of the clamp and gently twist to one side while still depressed (or unhappy!) which releases the clip. To fasten up, just squeeze the clamp together with pliers. Bye, PeterB.

Yo tim, I never read so many funny responses, that was good subject to bring out some humour. Tombo 46 and coldcake - Make sure the rear brake actuates early on, don't let the lever operate too low down or your foot hangs too low. Swooshdave - I know exactly what you mean about those Bultaco kickstarts, especially on a 325 with the ign advanced, kicking back and cracking yer knee on the clutch mount bracket on the bars, or, letting your foot slip off the kickstart and have it swing back and kill yer calf muscle. Lots of fun! Hope you can get it right in a section now Tim, can't wait till the New Year practice. Ta ta, PeterB.

Hi di ho there good neighbour, our lad started doing lots of tricks on his BMX after a little instruction on how to hop the front and rear wheels, something that you can easily do now! After showing him the Ot Pi video, he was hooked, pop over and borrow it sometime, have a few others too, like Hans Rey. Ta ta, PeterB.

I've never found anything that can successfully glue the plastic, best to get it either replaced or plastic welded. Usually the plastic type is imprinted somewhere on the item, as part of the moulding process. You need to have some of the same type of plastic for the plastic repairer to weld up the cracked plastic (depending upon how big it is). Bye, PeterB.

Hi there, For the 04 PRO, use either a mineral oil, 10 weight, or an ATF rated to Dexron III, 450 to 500ml after draining the old oil. I usually fill mine up with 500ml. I just worked on a new motor from GG that contained 450ml though probably had about 20 to 50 ml still remaining in the cases. Never use a synthetic oil in the gearbox. Bye, PeterB.

You are fine to use either a mineral oil, 10 weight, or an ATF rated to Dexron III, drain and re-fill with 700ml. Synthetic oil is not recommended. Clutch and gearbox share the same oil. If there is any milky looking substance draining out with the oil then it is likely the water pump seal has worn and is passing coolant into the gearbox under pressure. Good, well built motors these, not much to go wrong. Let me know if you need other info. Bye, PeterB.

Hi there fishing John, The aluminium rear wheel axle from a Gas Gas 1992 onwards fits straight into a model 198, it's a 1977 325, 17mm diameter. The aluminium nuts and eccentrics can be used too. From memory, the 76 model had the same polished rear hub, but not 100% sure. Bye, PeterB.

Hi there OTF, Can't help with this one but the barrel may be a Marcelle item. Holes above the transfer ports - never heard of before, do the holes link up to the actual port? With a bridge on the exhaust port, it could be that the barrel is from a moto cross/road race motor - possibly a wide exhaust port. The extra holes above the transfer port would only serve to allow a greater volume of compressed fuel/air onto the top of the piston but then this would affect the port timing for closing off on the compression stroke, also increase the open duration and improve scavenging from the crankcase - hmmmmm..... best to consult the Tuning for Speed book! Well worth a try on a bike. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Goreboy, Is there something specifif that you need to do to the motor? Maybe we can help if you are unable to get a manual. The motor is fairly straight forward to strip, only need a flywheel puller and to be careful when undoing/tightening the clutch centre nut (do not wedge pliers or a screw driver in the clutch basket area). Bye, PeterB.