charliechitlins

It's as complicated a job that there is on a motorcycle. That's not to say it's brain surgery or anything, but you'll be sorry if your transmission drops out and you have to chase it around the kitchen floor. Check the RYP website for overhaul info. If you're not sure about doing it yourself, you can save a lot of money by doing as much as you can, i.e. removing and stripping the motor as far as you can and giving what's left to somebody to do the mains.

And, yeah...if it's not really an Ossa, and people are just trying to cash in on somebody else's name and reputation, it would be a shame. The last 2 American motorcycle companies to do that (Excelsior and Indian), have both gone tits up. Hopefully, we'll all be pleasantly surprised.

Elliot Shultz pops up again. Met him around 1977 in western PA. Awesome rider. I showed up a couple days early for a MX school, and he had just finished a trials school. Got me a TY 175 soon after.

As far as I know, Sherco has always been Sherco. They made a deal to use the Bultaco name for 1 year ('99) because they figured a familiar name would help launch the company.

Are you overseas, bloke-types familiar with Hugh's Bultaco in New York? He has a huge stock of NOS and used parts. He scours the world for this stuff. I remember selling him a pickup truck load of Bultacos and parts about 12 years ago for $200. Aaaahhhh...the good old days! I guess trials stuff is always scarce, though. I always has lots of Alpina and Sherpa S stuff.

The Sherco frame is plenty strong. The world-level guys use stock frames with no problem. The frame can dent of you slam it on a stone...I've done it...but with no ill effects.

Fake Latin for "Don't let the *******s grind you down."

I think I replaced my first Bultaco compliance fitting around 1975. Spanish rubber parts were funky then, and they're funky now. I don't know why it's so, but it is. Heck...when the tires on my Sherco began to slowly lose air, it turned out to be the valve cores. That little bit of rubber in there had stopped sealing. It's a good idea to change any intake rubber at the first sign of cracking. I hit them with a little silicone periodically. It makes me feel better.

Italian machines are like Italian women. Sexy and beautiful, but high-maintenance.. Jeeze...now I'm really in trouble...

Clark, I completely understand what you're saying. I'm a chronic tinkerer, and there's little I like to do more than work on bikes and discuss the hypotheticals, realities and intricacies. I've also been a professional mechanic for many years, so I'm not just a computer rider, and it does seem to me that the Mikuni on the Beta is the only carburetor that almost requires its own forum on the board. Billy Traynor is clearly has an awesome understanding of these carbs and the physics involved in how they work, and it's great that so many of these bikes are running beautifully because of what he has accomplished. It just seems strange to me that a particular part of a particular motorcycle warrants such a disproportionate amount of discussion. In my limited experience, when I'm at a trial, if someone is nearby clearing out a rough-running bike before going into a section, it's generally a Beta. I also happen to be a huge fan of the Beta. It is a beautiful and excellent machine, and their only real flaw seems to be their occasional tendency to have picky carburetion; and the 3 '04's that I recently rode with ran/carbureted flawlessly, so maybe the problems have been sorted out. And I have to say that I'm not quite sure how to react to your suggestion to "swing a leg over [my] Harley" and back off. Why not my Indian or my Sherco? Sounds like a swipe. Good thing I've got Nomex undies!

Melting plastic and plastic welding is generally a dead end. Only good for certain cosmetic stuff as it drastically reduces strength. If you really want to fix it rather than replace it, I'd recommend roughing up the area real good, "V" out the crack 1/3 to 1/2 way through, and use the best plastic tank repair glue you can get. You may also be able to get inside by removing the 'plug' and do the inside as well.

I was about to tell you to get back to work! You southern boys wouldn't know about snow days!! We have several inches on the ground and are bracing for 6-12 more. It makes the rocks slippery! The signature is fake Latin for 'Don't let the *******s grind you down' Now get back to work! We've already commandeered the 'bike wash' thread and used it for evil purposes, now you're goofing off at work!

Damn right.

With as much talk as there is on this BB about getting those things to run right, it seems like that mickey rooney carburetor should be tossed over the left shoulder (for good luck), and replaced with something that works from the get-go.

Nice avatar, Brian. Isn't that Glen Campbell? BTW...Simple Green suits my left wing bleeding heart liberal tree hugger peace queer hippy freako lifestyle. Although it is totally artificial, it's totally non toxic. You can drink it. It's probably even vegetarian/vegan, but probably not kosher. And I gotta special suit just for huggin' them locusts! Peace, man.

I guess nobody noticed the other partner in the Sherco/Kawasaki/Chitlins/Paxau Extendo-ride. Check the stickie in the frame below the petcock.

You don't want it to draw air AT ALL. It's easy to check by squirting water on it while it's running. You can also use a propane torch. Don't light it.

Not specifically familiar with the Beta, but bashplates can be tricky. They get bent, so when you take them off, they become a shape that no longer lines up with the mount holes. Sometimes it takes an assistant and a floor jack to get it back on.

Simple Green and water 50/50 a brush, and a hose. Works great. 100% Simple Green for leaky Harleys.

Right! 6 or 12 o'clock for the opening on wristpins. I'm really shocked about the thrust face thing. Old mechanic's tale? I realize it's a function of stamping them that they're shaped that way, but I always thought that, because of that, you had to install them a certain way. And my explanation made so much sense....to me! I have actually seen it written in repair manuals (hydraulics stuff. They use lots of them under high pressure) and being that it can't hurt to do it my way, I'll continue. I'll sleep better, if nothing else.

I wish I knew more about 2-stroke porting, but I seem to remember a trick involving increasing the volume in the intake tract to increase low end. This was done by getting the carb farther from the reed. Sometimes a piece of radiator hose cut to size will do it as a replacement for the stock compliance fitting. Part of the problem is that these little engines usually work great at alarmingly high RPM's, and not too many kids are willing to turn the wick up that far.

Good to know your Cub has enough cojones to spin the tire! Back in the bad old days, we used to drill holes in the side of the rim and run sheetmetal screws right into the bead of the tire. Looks cool, too!

I always grab the front brake and pump the forks a few times. Shakes up what's in the tank. I don't know if it helps, but it makes me feel better. Smell your gas. You can tell if it "goes off". The guys I know who use race gas always put it in a metal container so it will last longer.

Couls mean it's heating up too quickly. Check the sparkplug. White could mean an air leak. Bumpy deposits could mean coolant leak and a blown inner o-ring in the head. Check if your exhaust seems to smoke more than usual, and check if it smells like coolant.

Sad but true!