firstgear

Biff Nice write up on the EVO. I was surprised that you did not mention how smooth the engine is. I have never felt anything to be so electric smooth. I need to get my hands on Joe's bike now that it is broke in and adjust his carb. Ok Two things are easy to fix on "what you do not like list." 1.Clutch. You can easily remove 1-2 lbs of pull effort off the clutch with some clean up. Just takes some time. A couple guys have done some nice write ups on this here on TC. Jim Gawne also did his and it was very nice. 2.Rear Shock. You are spot on with the rear end being sprung to soft. Good News is that your local Beta dealer (yup its me) is in the process of removing the spring from a new NON ridden EVO and is measuring the spring rate and having a couple new srpings wound up. One 10% stiffer and one 15%. I will test and which ever one feels best for the majority of us riders over 180lbs I will have one for my bike and a couple for my inventory. You have to be careful not to go to stiff on the spring since it could start to fail other parts. I have made springs for my Techno's and Montesa's in the past and have been very pleased with the results. Glad to hear that you liked the EVO. We have 4 EVO's in MOTA currently so they will be easy to give a try to those that are interested. I am also bringing one to our MOTA Banquet for all to view.

It is fun to try to remember the bikes you have owned. I am sure I missed a couple but here is the bulk Trials bikes 73 Honda TL125 76 Yamaha TY175 85 Yamaha TY350 86 Yamaha TY350 87 Honda TLR200 93 Fantic K-Roo 95 Montesa Cota 97 Beta Techno 88 Beta TR34 01 Montesa Cota 04 Beta Rev 270 07 Beta Rev 270 08 Beta Rev 270 09 Beta EVO 290 (Due in 2 weeks) Play Bikes 81 Yamaha RT180 81 Yamaha IT175 88 ATK 250 91 ATK 406 94 ATK 406 98 Yamaha WR400 00 Yamaha WR 400 04 KTM 450 EXC 86 Honda XL600 99 Honda XR650L Road 67 Norton Atlas 750 86 Harley Sporster 1200 88 Ducati Paso 750 94 Ducati Monster 900 00 Victory V92SC Bikes purcheased for kids and Wife 81 Honda XR50 97 XR70 98 XR100 87 XR250 98 XR200 00 Yamaha TTR125 04 TTR125LE 85 Honda Rebel 250 98 Honda Shadow 750 94 Gas Gas JT160 98 Beta Techno 250 05/06 Osset 12.5 (does it count?) Wow.. Looks kinda cool when you write um all down!

Zippy Glad to hear they aloud you to ride your big wheel there. It's nice they open it to those with special needs.

Last years National series. Each series was 3 events @ $100 per day per rider for 3 days = $300 Land use fee was $10 a day for 3 days = $30 I am pretty sure we had 115 riders at each event series so we are lookin at a total of = $37,950 for one 3 day series! Thats alot of ribbon... Humm??

Front brake fade in muddy conditions is caused from mud packing into the caliber and changing the distance from pads to disc or causing the disc to fail to reset. This is in extreme mud I am talking. Find a way to clean your brake caliper asm out at least once a loop and it will help tremendously.

Zippy Sounds like fees were dropped to $75 down from $100. I have not offically seen this posted but believe it to be accurate. It is a start but still high. A person can ride a TI event for $15 and have the same caliber sections as a National and somehow the club can pull this off with a $15 sign up fee. Humm?? I am sure to put on a National there are additional expenses but not enough to justify the cost thats charged. Agree, roll all parking,riding,camping fees into one..

Biff Cow outfit was great! Sad to say that I still out weighed a cow on a bike but I am afraid I did. I told them I rode non comp so my points should not count if it matters any? The green crushed velvet on the Gasser was my favorite so far!

Very Nice event! A big Thank You to the Brandenburgs for all the hassle and expenses they had to go thru in order for us to ride and have a good time! I strongly suggest we have a donation jar at this years awards banquet for them! Putting on an event should not be a financial burden for anyone. Plus this is one of the best events of the year and we would really like to keep it .. right.. Zippy I enjoyed the event, I was able to ride everything and make it thru. Section #1 was tough but I did pull off a 3. I think I rode better than my score showed but dumb mistakes always seem to count. If all Expert lines were as safe as the lines on Sunday I wound not have a problem riding EXP next year. However as we know that was not the norm and usually there are 2 or 3 crazy sections per event with a make it or your in trouble approach. Good job on the 2nd place yesterday! Move Him Up!!!

We are looking forward to it! Jim Gawne will not be making the event since he has to heal his injuries for next year. That should help everyone in the EXP class move up a spot for the day. As always I am sure it will be a great event.

I have used volleyball knee pads for the last 3 or 4 years and really like them. They offer great protection to the knee from a impact stand point and I do not feel them at all. I do wear the thick pads and not the thinner ones.

Sam Sorry to hear about the Yamaha! I hope everyone copies your vin# and goes out of there way to check every Yamaha they see. I sure will!! What is wrong with people. Zippy I think we all know why the left the Sherco...

Nice event guys. It was nerve racking since each silly pointed counted but still enjoyable. Seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves and had an easy day.

Nigel Are you happier if I say skills? Pat was a very strong part of the our U.S.A. team as I am sure you are aware. I am sure his "skills" will be missed. Ringo I didn't get a call either? Guess the role of over sized beer drinking trials rider was not needed?

Sorry to hear that Pat will not be able to be part of the U.S. team, His experience will be missed. Good luck to Pat for a speedy and 100% recovery. Congratulations to Ronnie Commo for stepping up to help the team and fill in for Pat. Best of luck to the U.S. team, Just keep your feet on the pegs and it will be easy. Right?

???? I thought you were supposed to enjoy a couple cold beers after a good practice session???? That is half the reason I think our group meets up to practice.

Rear spring is a good idea. When I get a new bike I remove the spring from the rear shock and measure the spring rate. I then have a new spring wound up approx 10% stiffer. You have to be careful on how stiff you go since it will shift stress to the weakest point and could fail componments. With a stiffer spring you can back the preload down so you can still feel the valving of the shock and not just spring. You will never get a trials bike properly set up for your weight but you can make it better than stock. I also drain the factory 5 wght fork oil that comes standard in most bikes and replace it with 7 wght. Same amount specified in manual. Now my Last couple of bikes are Beta Rev's the rear shock was fine and I left the factory spring inplace so the Beta Rev may be a good starting point. Like mentioned before there is nothing wrong with a good used Techno and another strong bike is the Montesa 315r although they are sprung soft and will require stiffer spring and 7 wght fork oil for sure. Frames Beta's and Montesa's are very strong and will easily hold up. For a beginner - Adv rider I doubt you would have trouble with any bikes frame. Find a clean bike and join your local club and practice!

Sounds like your about 6ft and weigh 275lbs. As long as you are in good enough shape to ride this should not hold you back at all. Many people say it is an advantage to be big but that is simply crazy. The bikes are designed for a "avg" size male. I'd say approx 5'9" 170lbs. You will have to learn to use some muscle to make up for the slow suspension. Advantage in Mud?? Only if it is flat ground! Try going down hill slow with an extra 75 - 100lbs tied to you! Uphill advantage? Well keep in mind the extra weight that might give you a small advantage also has to be carried up the hill. I am 6'3" and weigh 290lbs and fall between an ADV / EXP level at our local club level. I know it would help to be smaller but my size does not cause me to lose events, its always a lack of practice that gets me. Practice and see if you can lose weight. If you take it serious and get down to say 230 - 240lbs then the bike & suspension will respond much better for you. Some of our top USA riders are big guys. I'd say Geoff Aaron has got to be at least 6'4" and go 215 -220lbs and Cody Web has to be about the same.

Good luck to the Michigan team! Have Fun!

First make sure your fan is coming on. If it is not remove the two wires from your thermostat and jump them together with alligator clips or anything. The fan should come on. I you leave it like that to finish an event it is fine since the fan will be on 100% of the time. If fan does not come on you either have a bad wire or a bad fan motor. If fan does come on you just need a new thermostat. Odds are it is a failed thermostat, this is not uncommon and is simple to replace. Make sure you check your coolant level if you have boiled some out.

Spud I will not mention your comments to my father so you won't have to worry about getting a good a-kicking from a 68 year old Ex-Marine. On a serious note, he is in very good shape its just different when you are on a bike for 3-4 hours. In Michigan we are not blessed with good trials terrain so we often have tight and technical sections that can be very demanding on the forearms. I personally can ride 3 days straight in a U.S. National and never get arm pump but at a one day local M.O.T.A. event I can at times find myself getting severe arm pump 3 laps into a 4-5 lap event. Beta's clutch is not a heavy clutch by any means, I think we are all just doing some fine tuning and discussing our findings with others. With just a little time in cleaning the stock clutch up and adding the washer shims he has made significant improvements in his clutch pull. This has made a noticable improvement in his forearms holding up for the day. Nothing replaces quality time on the bike to get the muscles in shape but if a 20-30% reduction in clutch effort can be gained without slippage than it a good thing.

Anyone ever have to replace the steering axle on a 99 Gasser 270, they are probably all the same? It looks like it has to be pressed out thru the bottom of the lower triple clamp. It did not budge when we tapped it so we will add heat to the lower tripple clamp and try to press it out tonight. Break Away was also added to it to sink in over night and help free the steering axle bolt from the lower triple clamp. Any tips or tricks?? Axle broke just below the top triple clamp, Is this a common failure on the Gas Gas?

With the rain we will be making a couple new sections that are water friendly so we can remove a couple slick hillside sections. maybe some small rolling rock sections on fence rows would be nice? With the SPT class growing recently we are putting more attention into that line. It should be nice! Nothing dangerous at all to worry about.

I repack my silencer 2 - 3 times a year. I normally use the rolled type but have also used the loose stuff. From my findings "less is best" If you really pushed it tight I can see where you would notice it in seat of the pants feel test. Since it is a 5 minute repair remove the end cap and repack with less and see what you think.

IKB I would also be interested in how much you are looking for a set. Have you had them in place long and what are your findings?

I figured I would open up a topic for our up coming event. We have been working on the event since before Rose City so our plan is to wrap it all up this weekend. Goal for the event again is to have straight forward lines where everything can be ridden without hopping. That is if you can hold a line. Hopping is a plus to better line but not necessary. Exp class may have a little hopping necessary but that is to be expected. We have 2 new natural sections and we are also using a spot back at the old sawmill (creek) that we haven't used in a long time with a new line for all. 10 sections 4 laps. As always I am sure we are going to be hurting for checkers so anyone interested in helping that would be great!