eastcoasthopper

Wow, that's the first I've heard of that. What kind of bike?

EastCoastHopper, What material did you use? I did the same thing using 660 bronze and they do not seem to wear at all. I did put a grease groove in the middle so grease can get all around. I also angled the front fittings down so they get greased from the bottom. Dan Not sure, I had a machinist friend make them....Could be the same, but after reading the previous post, it may be the inner spacer/race that is worn. They are soft and groove easily as stated. I still have them, I'll bring them to a machinist and find out what is what. They do have grooves for the grease. I also had one of them turn inside the dogbone part and couldn't get grease into. I had to take it apart and reset it. I think we tried the grease fittings on the bottom, but they got ripped off in the first couple rides.

I run between 3 and 4 psi in the rear and 5 to 7 in the front. If it's muddy and really slippery I run a bit lower, if it's dry and rocky, I run it a bit higher. I no longer use a gauge, just my hand. I like the front to be fairly firm and the rear I can put my thumb against the center of the tread and push it in about halfway to the rim. BenBeta23 is right about the weight thing too. If you're heavy and run it too soft, you risk denting the rear rim and getting a front flat.

That's the same thing I do. But on my '06 the center spacer is shouldered so I couldn't get it off center. I ended up mushing the end of the spacer a bit, took a while with a rat tail file to clean it up so the axle would slide through easily. I'm going to try that rawl bolt thing, that sounds like the BOMB!

Here's something you can try if you have the time and money: I had bronze bushings made for my Gas Gas (left) and Sherco (right). They didn't last as long as I expected, maybe I didn't grease them enough, or the weren't a strong enough material. But they outlasted the needle bearings by about three times. Someday, when I'm feeling ambitious I'm going to try it again with a harder bearing material. I just noticed the last picture still has bearings on the sherco links, that was the 'before' photo. The picture of them installed on bike is the bushings. You have to use a grease gun with a flexible hose to grease them.

I don't replace the bolts, unless they were loose, they shouldn't show any wear. They are not a close tolerance fit, so the only thing to worry about is breaking one off. I've replaced the bearings in my '06 three times and still have the original bolts. You can save a ton of money by buying your bearings at a local bearing supplier or off the internet. As a Sherco dealer my cost was more than retail at my local bearing wholesaler. Get the numbers right off the bearings. You will still need the inner races from the dealer. If everything is properly torqued, there shouldn't be much play. There is a big difference in size betwwen the bolts and spacers, that's why you get a ton of freeplay if the bolts get loose. It is a really crappy design, but one we're stuck with. Double check the shock mounts. I've replaced an upper shock mount bushing on my Gaser and need one on my Sherco, but am putting it off.

If it's leaking around the threads between the stud and nut, it won't matter what studs you use, the nuts must be capped, like an 'acorn' nut. It is almost impossible to seal threads on anything with an open end.

Many years ago I was part of the pit crew for Ski-Doo racing team. They were at Scarborough Downs when the temperatures when above freezing. It was not icy enough to race, so the entire event was canceled, but they didn't tell the spectators. Most of the sleds kept racing for the spectators, and some left early. There were no points, trophies or anything. Sometimes, when there is no fair way to keep everybody happy, you just have to pull the plug. Sure, some people will complain they drove real far....blah, blah. But I believe it is all about fun, not points. So if it get's canceled, but I can still ride, I still have fun. That's my 2 farthing's worth.

I've been doing this for 10 years and I have three golden rules: 1- you can never make it too easy for the Novice class. Beat them up and they may never come back. Too easy and they can move up a class. 2- Make sure the hardest class is hard enough. If they aren't challenged, they can't move up. If it's too hard, they can move down a class. 3- MAKE IT FUN! Or why bother? The biggest mistake and my biggest complaint in New England is the idea of catering section difficulty to the riders. There has to be a standard and then the riders can choose their line/class. For example, I've had several events where some of the Senior B's didn't get any points at all, but the Novices, who ride the same line, had plenty of points. Some trialsmasters would make that line harder so the Senior B's would get some points, and then they beat the crap out of the Novices. If it's too easy, they can move up. If it's too hard, they may never come back. That being said, I tend to err on the easy side in Novice sections, and a bit too hard on Expert sections. My personal biggest mistake is riding the Expert sections so many times that I clean them consistently and then make them harder, forgetting how many dozens of times I've ridden them! But I am getting better and don't beat the heck out of the Experts anymore, much. We don't have anyone riding the sections before an event to make sure they are OK. It's up the individual clubs to set the difficulty for each event. This leaves an awful lot of room for inconsistencies. I think that it would help and create more consistency if we had a 'section steward' or something like that.

Didn't even know they made filters!

DITTO! Well stated!

I beat the heck out of it! It's the only way to go. How am I ever going to become a better rider if I don't try things that I can't do and smash stuff in the process? Anyway, I'm just having fun, that's what it's all about.

It's been 2 months and my weld is still holding good. It was about 2 inches long, right above the radiator on the left side, of course. (2006 2.9 trial) I had a really good guy run a bead over the crack. I took off the radiator, coil, and all the wires and stuff in the neck area, but that's it. Fortunately, it still runs! Whoever mentioned powder-coating: I powder-coated my 96 Gaser and it all rubbed off near the pegs and anyplace my boots rubbed against it. Not nearly as strong as I thought it would be. It also came off anyplace where it hit a rock. I won't do that again. Stress? I got stress! Ha ha. My skid-plate is so mashed in that there are pieces missing on the edges, the sides look like an old broad axe that was chopping rocks. The rear bolts near the pegs are bent in so much, I can't get a wrench between the frame, near swing-arm tube, and the tab where the bolts go. I'm going to have to cut off the bolts to get it out and bend everything back into place. BUT, no cracks anyplace in the area that I can find. I seriously doubt the upper frame crack is in any way effected by stress down below. I thing it is simply poor design and/or too light of a material. There is a heck of a lot of force between the forks and the neck of the frame. I've pitched my bike completely over my head several times, and sometimes it lands on the front wheel. That should just about break it off!

We had the best turnout ever in Maine this year, 68 riders, but only 1 Novice. It takes more than a name change. Personally, I like it. I'm sick of explaining what "Observed Trials" is. MotoTrials just makes sense. But I do agree that the possibility of it sounding too much like every other ground ripping sport can have negative reactions, but I'm not worried about that. If we want the sport to grow, we need more publicity and accessibility. I've always agreed with Dan on this. I've watch some events make Novice sections like hard intermediate. Some people never come back because they think it's too hard. We had a good beginner class, but that was decimated when we added the youth classes and forgot to pay attention to the beginners. It will be a long time before we see 15 Beginners at an event again, if the name helps bring one more newbie, it'll be good. Embrace change, the future is now!

I keep them in a zip-loc bag in my van, just in case I need one while riding (like, dumping the bike in water and soaking filter.) Clean and ready to go.