peterb

Hi footy, Try 280 ml each leg, 5 weight. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Mathew, If the plates have checked out ok, there are 2 other areas that may be the problem. The clutch master cylinder may be passing fluid - easy to install a new kit. Or the clutch slave piston may have a problem. On some of the older motors, the ball bearing sited inside the slave piston can be pushed inwards. The piston travels the same distance as always, until it comes into contact with the crankcase, but the actual clutch pushrod travel is then limited if this ball bearing has been pushed in. This causes the clutch to drag. A new slave piston kit fixes this. Refill the gearbox with 700 ml of ATF rated to Dexron III, or a good mineral 10 weight oil. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Scotty, The MT43's fitted new to my B40 are so bad that even a 4 year old worn-out XII would be a dramatic improvement. They simply don't grip, too hard a compound. I've also heard that they seem to grip well in snow but can't confirm that, it doesn't snow here. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Graeme, Best to replace both main bearings, make sure they are the correct clearence. Should be a type 6206 C3 - C3 being the clearence designator. Fit new crank seals and centre gasket. As copemech advises, it's a good idea to replace the water pump seal and quite likely the water pump shaft as these tend to groove out. There is a seal/shaft kit available for these. Don't forget to refit the ball bearing after the clutch pushrod. Refill the gearbox oil with 700ml mineral oil, 10 weight or an ATF rated to Dexron III. Bye, PeterB.

Hi steam, Had another thought. Does the bike have Ducati ignition, if so, I have noticed on a few bikes that the ignition pick up sensor is mounted a little too close to the outside of the magneto, leaving a tell tale scrape band on the outside of the mag. (When hot, the magneto expands and can contact the pick up if it is too close). There is room for a little adjustment to move the sensor away from the magneto. If the pick up was touching, the ignition system would have a hard time working properly. With a standard pilot size 30, the pilot screw would usually be around 3.5 to 4 turns out. Your 2 turns may be a little lean, but then you have put in a 38 pilot jet - check the mag. Bye, PeterB.

Hi gt, Jim at Trials Parts USA will have one. This enables access to the 4 maps to select one that suits, can't remember which map is used as standard. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Hensley, It can be real frustrating going through everything and still not getting a successful conclusion. Was the clutch hose replaced when the conversion to Dot 5 was done? If not then there is still a strong possibility of contamination. I hadn't heard of any oil fill problems from the factory, maybe there are one or two like that in other areas. I don't know of the type F oil but Auto Track II has been given the ok. May be the sound is a dry clutch lever pushing on the piston. Looks like you may have to start afresh - remeber the hose! The 04 Raga should have 550ml from complete empty, about 500ml needed when re-filling. Good luck, Peter.

Hi Hensley, The 04 Raga would be a 2005 spec bike, which does have mineral oil clutch actuation. These usually give no problems. On some of the older AJP masters, the odd one came from AJP with the inner cylinder already scored:) - this may have been the initial problem. Or, it may have been a combination of passing seals in the master or slave. As MPM suggests, check the clutch pack height, should be 9.75mm plus or minus 0.1mm. Too much height indicates the fibres have swollen, usually due to water in the oil or using a synthetic oil. This causes the spring actuation levers to reduce their actuation angle and reduce the levering efficiency causing a high pull on the clutch h'bar lever. Maybe the previous owner did not replace the clutch hose when changing over to hydraulic oil which would then contaminate the new seals. I guess then, you really need to start all over again and fit the system up with all mineral oil parts - new master with green lid, new hose, new seals for the slave (MT280432047 O ring and MT280532049 cup seal). Good luck, PeterB.

Yo Tim, You're too long off yer bike. 'bout time you had a practice and chucked your 300 up some real rock steps! All Blacks bound to win - no contest. Have you laced up Ian's wheel yet? Thought so. Ta ta, PeterB.

Thanks Jumbostu, Those rocks wern't there in the 70's! We used to ride up the rivers and the rocky gullies (I was just a lad), was a great property. John Watson used to be one of the organisers there, may be he is still around. Thanks for putting in the links. Bye, PeterB.

Hi gasserian, I agree, forgot it was an 03 model. 400ml is correct for this year. 550ml was spec'd for 04 onwards. Thanks for correcting this, a senior moment! Bye, PeterB.

Hi Fergus, I have given you the incorrect gearbox oil quantity, for the 02 model, specification is 350ml, though it was ok to run at 400ml. Too much oil would just exit via the breather so no problems anyway. Bye, PeterB.

Hi John, Thought it were you! I'll send you my email via TC. Maybe the jammed fan caused a problem with the rectifier module - but then on the 04 280, I'm not sure if you have Ducati or Kokusan ignition/electrical systems. The Kokusan has a rectifier mounted on the fan cowling - you can check this out easy peasy with your DVM or Avo meter! The Ducati system has the 12vDC exiting from an aluminium box that also supports the ign map, located under the front of the petrol tank near the headstock. The fans can easily be checked on a car battery, not sure of the max voltage you can get away with, without damaging the fan windings, very fine wire. It was at least 1977 at the scottish, and I don't remember the bridge thing, did the car go sideways? Just remember following an Ossa at over 70mph. See ya, Peter.

Hi there, Try White Brothers in Darlington, excellent parts back up and bril service from one of the best mechanics I have met (Al). Bye, PeterB.

Hi Steam, Can you give me your jet sizes, needle and needle jet, needle clip position, pilot screw - how many turns out. These are usually good starting when warm. Not sure how you set your float tangs, turn carb upside down, float arms should run parallel to the carb body bowl mating surface. Is the carb a DellOrto PHBL 26. Bye, PeterB.

Hello John, Yep, you just buy the fan motor/fan with the cowling attached - shouldn't be very dear. It is unusual for the motor to be burned out, check the voltage from the fan module (rectifier) on the actual fan cowling, you should have around 12-13vDC when the thermoswitch kicks in. You are not John Nelson from Guisborough are you? (An old friend) Bye, PeterB.

Hi Fergus, There is no real way to check the seals other than by replacement. The seal kits are not dear, replace the master cylinder kit and the slave cylinder. Be sure to state that the slave is from an 02 model as the seals (2 O rings) are different to the later models. The best seals were Teflon coated O rings, P/N MT280432047. I am not sure now if you can still obtain the changeover clutch case kit that uses hydraulic oil, it is definately available with mineral oil seals, as fitted to the 2005 onwards PRO's. (Mineral oil actuation in lieu of hydraulic oil) They should not be very pricey at all. Ask your closest dealer for details as this can get tricky! Ideally you would need the newer type clutch case with hydraulic oil seals. Try the master kit first, then the slave kit and see how you get on. Good luck, PeterB.

Hi there, I tape up these holes on all of my Gassers, no problem with air flow. Not really enough info to help here but it sounds like the bike is running very rich. Is the air filter clean? Have you stripped and cleaned the carb - completely, including the needle jet? Check the carb jets: Needle D36 Emulsion tube (needle jet) 270K Pilot 30 Main jet 118 Check the float arms are parallel to the base of the carb body with the carb upside down. Bye, PeterB.

Hi there, Definately sounds like you have water in the gearbox oil, probably from the water pump seal passing. Could be from drowing the bike but then you would know if this is the case. The seal shaft would have most likely worn a groove and this needs replacing too, you should be able to buy a water pump seal/shaft kit - you need to remove the clutch case to get at the water pump, get a clutch case gasket too just in case! Easy job to do, be careful to line up the water pump plastic gear with the mating gear on the crank - the plastic gear can be easily broken if you try to force the case back on. Dump the oil asap. Refill with either a 10 weight mineral oil, or an ATF rated to Dexron III, 700ml. Knock may be "pinging" from lack of coolant allowing the motor to run hot, or a dirty carb, or a little end bearing (the needle roller supporting the gudgeon pin in the piston) - though this is not so common. I always run with a 50:1 fuel/oil mix, 95 Octane. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Dale, I always turn off the petrol tap when finished riding, petrol may enter the crankcase while the bike is sloshed around on the trailer/rack to and from trials. Clean out the carb, won't do any harm. Make sure the emulsion tube (needle jet) is removed too. Pilot adjustment approx 3.5 turns out from fully in. Out to richen. Needle setting, 2nd clip off the bottom. Give it a good blast when warm to burn any excess fuel in the system. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Jumbostu, I have no experience with the DellOrto flat silde carbs but many years on the standard round barrel PHBL's. The 270 emulsion is richer than the 268. 200 fuel valve and 36 pilot should be fine. Have you checked the float arms are parallel to the carb bowl mating surface when upside down? 105 may be too small for the main. Try changing this first (along with the float arm check) to 115 or 118 and see if there is an improvement - stay with the D36 at first, this needle did perform best in my 200, the richer D34 suits the bigger motors (particularly the 300). Smaller slide cutaway gives less air, richer on the slide. I experimented lots with my 04 200 and found the standard carb settings just fine, it was very susceptible to jetting changes and certainly did not run well with a 270K emulsion tube, nor a D34 needle. Just remembered, the 03 280 uses the flat silde VHST 28 carb, here are the settings for reference: needle D48 Main 107 Emulsion 272HH (That sounds richer already!) Pilot 36 Slide not given, only a P/N MT280390022 Fuel v/v 270 (Bore it out!!) Floats same as PHBL Are riders still using Harwood Dale? My old riding ground for a few years in the 70's. Bye, PeterB.

Hi there, Have had a similar problem with a friends 06 250. Fan and pump working fine, but still the motor would overheat during a long trial and spit out water via the radcap. Problem traced to a low voltage at the fan terminals - not providing enough power to the fan motor. Check out your electrical system - is it Ducati or Kokusan? If Ducati, the voltage regulation is performed in the aluminium cased ignition map/voltage regulator box and uses the thermoswitch to operate in series with the fan motor. EG: when the thermswitch switches in, this closes the electrical circuit to the fan motor, you should see approx 12 to 14 volts with the fan on. Changing the aluminium box fixed the problem (but then only for a few more trials as then the problem re-appeared with the same low voltage) Bummer! Only other explanation could be a high resistance contact in the thermoswitch, though by this time my friend lost faith Ducati and converted his electrics over to Kokusan - all fine now. I guess, in essence then, check the voltage to the fan when it cuts in, if low, first try changing the thermoswitch, if still a problem then try the replacement ign/regulator box, if still a problem - Kokusan. If you already have kokusan, the thermoswitch may still be the problem, in this case it is not strictly in series with the fan motor, it has one leg grounded. The fan in both cases should blow almost like a hair dryer. As a guide, on my 06 300, the fan cuts in after approx 1 to 1.5 mins riding in the drive way and is on and off quite often. Hope this helps, PeterB.

Hi there, From brand new, these have 550ml in the gearbox. When re-filling, about 50ml or more stays behind, so best to re-fill with 500ml. If there is too much, it always exits the breather anyway. Change the oil often as it lubes both main bearings aswell as the clutch and gears, say every 30-40 hours use. Use only mineral oil, 10 weight or an Auto Transmission Fluid (ATF) rated to Dexron III. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Mike, I thought it was all ok at Tauranga! Just needed an adjustment for the clutch lever actuation screw, perhaps not then. From memory you had the right oil, 500ml ATF or 10 weight so that should be ok. Just the bleeding may be a problem - or may be a seal passing in the slave or master - not usually a problem. I copied this off from another reponse which may help: Bleed the clutch from the slave upwards, I usually lay the bike over to the left side, then remove the master and fix it to a handy chair so it is higher than the slave. Use a syringe. Bye, PeterB.

Hi Jaycare, Do you mean the clutch is dragging? On the 02 PRO there can be a problem with air getting into the clutch slave due to the 02 design and machining of this particular area. I attempted many fixes for one 2002 clutch but resolved it by fitting a new 2003 onwards PRO clutch cover which has a different diameter slave piston and extra webbing in the clutch cover, you may have to do this to solve your problem. Bleed the clutch from the slave upwards, I usually lay the bike over to the left side, then remove the master and fix it to a handy chair so it is higher than the slave. Use a hydraulic oil for the hydraulics (2005 onwards use mineral oil for the clutch actuation) On this year model, use a mineral 10 weight oil, 450ml from absolute empty or an ATF rated to Dexron III in the gearbox. No synthetics. Bye, PeterB.