alan bechard

I use the big syringe. Try pushing from the resovoir as well as from the caliper. the nose of my syringe fits snugly in the hole in the bottom of the resovoirs. Insure that you can push both ways freely with syringe. Check your adjustment. The little bitty hole that you are pushing through in the master is really little bitty. The smallest chunk of junk can block it. I had problems with the elbow (not sure if yours has one.) that connects the resovoir line to the master was not truly round. when you rotated it a bit it would break the seal and allow air in the master. Patience, and trying different techniques. Chris UK swore by a vacuume bleeder that is available here from NAPA and from Parts Unlimited Dealers. Retail on it is about $200 so I have not coughed up the money myself yet, but it sure is tempting when things are not going well. Good luck.

9 April 04 The event is just around the corner at this point. Doug has the bushhogging covered. I lined up to get the big tent delivered and set on Thursday the 29th. Working the observer lists, posted to applicable boards and contacted groups. Looks like my Boy Scout idea is not panning out in the least, but at least I have made an attempt, and as with other things, it may come to fruition later. Probably go out this weekend a little and get some stuff done. Been trying to get in some Champs for review and have not been successful yet. Plenty to do, but concentrating mostly on the "must do's" not the things I want to do. Reaching that point where I will be glad when it is over.

I usually inflate the tire after it is re-installed and insure that the bead is properly and evenly seated on the wheel, at that point, I tighten down the rim locks, then deflate the tire to operational pressure.

Kevin, Bob Ginder at B&J manufactured those, I am sure if he does not still have one on the shelf, he could whip you one out.

I think it was Jon Stoodley that said not to bring the tire Irons over past 90 degrees. Good advice, I do not always follow, but good advice. Alan's advice is, Good bucket or drum or some form of stand so you are not rolling around on the ground. Charlie's spackle bucket works well. Nice tire Irons, polished and smooth with no sharp edges. Patience, try not to let it get too you. Have a spare new tube on hand, the odds of pinching a tube are directly proportional to the hassle it will be to get another! Then again, if you are like my buds, hmmm, Jeff, Bruce, Randy and others, it only takes about one beer to get me to do them for you! Then when I pinch the tube, it is on me!

I am having a hard time replying lately, I tried earlier in the week and could not get through. Anyway, I know Wayne will answer your question, but he is in the middle of a field at the moment at TTC prepping Team Sherco Bikes for the National and repairing, tuning and adjusting bikes of all makes and models. I would like to offer some insight, but have no background nor experience with those Carbs.

It would be possible for it to be too full of fluid and you are hydraulicly locking it when trying to push it back in far enough for the new pads. Remove the cover and see if some spills over. I am assuming that it is moving back and forth fine if the old pads are working and that it is going in some, or I would suggest that the master is incorrectly adjusted.

Why not get friendly with the local tree cutter or Arborist and get what is not saleable? Works for me.

23 March 04 I tried to post yesterday, but after fooling around and writing everything, it would not post. Darn I hate wasted effort. Well, Last Sunday we went out and worked on the event some. It ended up just being the kids and I that were able to show due to other commitments folks had. Work and weather was overwhelming. It started out as usual with me realizing that the 4 wheeler was out of gas and I had not brought any plain gas with me. After going to the store and getting a can of fuel and filling up the four wheeler, then starting it, I realizeed that the throttle cable had broke! Urrrgthhhhthhthh!!! Get the kids running and the backpack out and we went out and marked some boundries for sections. I now have all the sections outer boundries ribboned but two. One because it is a stadium section that we will need to work in with the tractors, and one becuase it is in the creek which was running high. The white ribbon will be nice as I plan on reversing several sections for Sunday. I will use my circus tricks both days I think to keep the action up near the easy spectator stuff. Things are coming together, but there are only two more weekends available for me to work on the event on. We have Trials Training Days, the Tennesse round of the National series, and an STRA round at TTC between now and my event. That leaves two open weekends which will be competing for time with the lawncare business, tractor maintenance and restoratiion of the 1948 KB6 International truck that I just bought. Sometimes, I am just not too bright. The large tent appears to be tracking ok. Dad plans on being here the week prior to lend a hand, he can be there for the port a pottie guy etc. I have to make a decision on quantity of them. I wonder how many folks will show???? What will the weather be like????? At $55 a piece, you do not want too few nor too many. We are danger close at this point, what is not done, that is crucial, should be able to be completed, and what is not done, that was a good idea, will get left to be thought about next year!

MMmmmm? I had not been, had not really crossed my mind, but it would be easy enough to do I would say. I will try and rememeber to bring the cheap digital out with me next time (This Sunday)

18 March 04 Things are busy here for me at the moment. At work, the Division is returning and our work efforts are wide open as we gear them back up to speed. 10 plus hour days and high levels of stress. As it come's into spring, my wifes lawn care / Landscaping business is kicking into gear, we have expanded again this year with a tractor, some other additional machinery, and are moving from our house to a large storage lot that we rented and needs fenced. (where my last two weekends have gone) As I am here, I wonder at the wisdom of having moved my event to the spring. There are certainly times where I am regretting that decision. Doug, Ben and I went out last Tuesday night to mark some sections. It was cold, wet, rainy and dark. We got one section marked out that we were comfortable with, but the next, we could not figure out how to make it difficult or challenging enough for the Champ and Exhibition riders, yet give the Novice and Sportsman riders a way out. I think that is one of the biggest challenges facing promoters at the moment. We have so many lines and classes and such a disparity between between skill levels, that finding terrain between the two can sometimes be a challenge. I have posted to hopefully get a champ rider or two too come out and review the sections prior to the event to insure that I am reasonable yet challenging. Having set and had the good fortune last year to work with Charlie reviewing the sections we set, the conversations continue to run through my mind, can a novice get out of there? What happens when he gets stuck? Will Joe Schmoe be able to ride that hill? Will they get hurt if something goes wrong? Got to go, time for work!

Great questions with few clear cut answers. I wish I had some wisdom or insight, but must say, I have wondered about the questions myself. I really, really, really think clubs should start adressing the land issue, it will only continue to get more difficult in the future.

Start with basics first. New (correct) Plug Clean air filter Fresh Gas Clean Carb Good fuel flow (filter) Inspect wiring, connections etc Pull sidecover and check for moisture, corrosion etc. More often than not, when chasing down obscure problems, they can be found by going through the basics and looking closely. Either that, or pull the engine and rebuild it as Jeff would say.

I go to the website, highlight the address, right click and copy then come here and paste. http://www.awomanstouch.net/ It usually gives me a link then. Lets see if it works! And yes, it is a bit of shameless advertising!

Oh, and teach them that bikes can be fixed or replaced, but body parts are a little harder to come by! On a more serious note, and more along the line of what I believe you are looking for, if you can get them to understand how to stay "balanced" or "centered" on the bike, you will be way ahead. With Christina, it is almost a Mantra, Knees out, look up. With Dean here lately it is, owwww, that is going to hurt when he mis-times it!!!!! (the two new logs at the playground at TTC, jumping from the smaller and landing the front wheel on the larger then jumping over, It was ugly when he missed)

That you are out there to have a good time and share some time together, The rest of it is secondary.

TTC has a very clean 02 Sherco ready to go. I will throw in a rear foot brake for you if you get it. Has the 03 rear fender and is in excellent condition.

I would not buy a blind bearing puller just to do that one job. You may very well find that it will not work. Sometimes, you can buy a lag shield that will lock into the bearing, then hook a slide hammer onto it and pull it out. But, guessing from your description, that thing will be completely "grown" into the outer material and most things like those pullers will have a real hard time getting enough grip. I would try some artful grinding and collapsing of the shell.

From your picture, and unfamiliar with what you are doing, a liberal dose of your favorite weasel p***, and a little heat gun heat. Then drive out the bushing with a brass drift. Then square up the edge of a small brass drift and put through from one side to the opposite bearing and tap it out gently working around in circles. A little heat here helps, I suggest a heat gun so that you have a regulated temperature. You can also get it nice and hot, then take a sliver of dry ice and put it in the bearing you are trying to pull. I have a blind bearing removal tool made by OTC in the Stinger line that I would probably use there. D. Sileo suggested it too me, and when you get bearings like that that are a real bugger, it can be real helpful. If things get real ugly. Pull the seal, then reach in with a dremel or small die grinder and cut or more appropriately grind, a slit in the bearing shell. This is tedious and risky. After you get a little slot going and the needles out of the way, a small blade screwdriver and some gentle pressure will collapse the bearing shell onto itself. If the bearing is truly "grown" into the bore, this can be what you have to do.

29 Feb 04 They will probably make a Star out of Jeff if they see him ride! Today was an excellent day, beautiful sunshine, nice weather, a ton of help out there making it happen! We ribboned in with the new white ribbon the outer boundries of 13 of the sections. We have another 9 that I am confident of, so that part looks golden. I took the 4 wheeler out and the white ribbon and went around the outer perimeter of the sections, hopefully leaving enough room. "The Crew" then went around behind with cutters and saws and manicured the area in the ribbon. Brian even brought out the leaf rake and went at it on several sections. The Crew and riders today. Ed, Marty, Doug, Ben, Kevin, Dean Early morning Ride and some cleaning. The work crew came in later, Joe, Jessie, Clay, Doug with Tractor!!! Tim, Jeff, Brian, Jordan and Dwight. The little redneck wimped out on me because he was raising his Toyata to ridiculous heights. But Dwight filled in his spot on the entertainment committe! Brian proceeded to fill in a 3' to 4' deep hole in a section with leaves, then when Jeff hit it the first time, you should have seen his eyes when he hit that hole! Large pieces of rock can break off when struck from above with a falling 04 Scorpa. A 1" sapling can be your best friend as that is all that holds you and your new 04 Scorpa from falling sideways 10' into the rocks below. It is good to ride with lots of friends when you get hollering and laughing at Dwight so hard that you lose your concentration, fall over and find your 235 lbs of fat but stuck under the bike, hanging in the air upside down with the bike pinning your leg and your back is hanging in the air! Took three of them I think to lift me and bike etc. up! The bridge looks very narrow when viewed from the top of a 4 wheeler. Dwight fills in very nicely on the entertainment committe when Bruce is unavailable. Joe said when you tuck your front end underneath when crossing large logs, it hurts. Tim said "hmmmmm, not sure I want to ride with you guys" after watching Dwight and Jeff flail at section 6. Dwight said, when you jump up the one Dwight hill and hit neuteral on the top, it gets exciting going back down. Doug said, my tractor is bigger than your tractor and you would have never been able to move those logs, I said, Yep. (Thanks Doug) Alan said, Charlie is going to have kinniptions when he sees some of these lines. Alan said, aahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!, as he stepped backwards off the Champ line into the big sinkhole! Thank you Jessie and Joe for catching the bike by the way. Joe laughed when he saw that you could ride down the length of the big log, then jump onto the big flat spool, then down the vertical spool to the little spool and out. Then he said, "how you going to mark that?" Brian cried (just one tear) as he stepped off the back of his freshly painted 200 Montesa Cota doing wheelies in the parking lot! Owwwwww, it even sounded horrible. Alan said, boy, these logs look a lot bigger here then they did out in the field. What an incredible work crew was out there today! Chainsaws (that would not run after the first couple cuts, but they were the important ones) clippers being lost, going through ribbon at an amazing rate, these are the things that make it fun. And just being out there with good folks. Enough drivel for the night. I will sleep well tonight not only because I am beat, but because we made a huge step forward in being prepared for this event through many folks efforts.

At a fun Trial we had, we put in one gate trial section for some exposure. It sure makes you look at things a little different. Most folks enjoyed it.

26 Feb 04 Neat thing happened today, a guy came in to put into service our new used oil heaters. Comes in my office and say's Wow, we were just talking about this kind of bike! Wanted to know how the scoring worked and if anyone in our area rode them??????? Turns out, that one of the other things he is, is a host on a TV show on the outdoor channel. And him and his buddy / co-host show different types of bike riding as a little sub segment of a car show. Well, I hope something develops out of this. I offered to take him and his kids out and let them ride. Lets see what comes out of it.

25 Feb 04 Been slacking some on keeping up with this and working on the event. Time to buckle down. Two weeks ago got Dean's bike sorted and skipped the Indy dealer show. Went out riding with the kids and had a blast. Our group is getting bigger on ride days and it is neat to see. Deans bike is working real well, I am the proud papa I know, but he was really kicking out some great wheelies and such. Nothing quite like one of the guys getting stuck on the logs and Dean going over saying "this is how you do it!" Something about a smart A$$ 7 year old. Presidents day said to heck with it, kept Dean out of school and we went riding at Joey's house to ride it in a bit. We are planning on a fun event there this year for the Camelot group. Highlight shots on the STRA site classified ads. Sherco Skidplate for sale and 04 Scorpa. The non photographed highlight though I think had to be as I looked up and saw Joey crossing the bridge about 15 to 20' in the air. Sounds pretty tame till you realize that the bridge is only 1/3 done and the last 20' is on a 12" diameter log. I did not want to be the one to tell his wife if he missed! Watch for our fun event here! It will be great, the log section laid out was twice the size of the TTC log area. It helps to be an arborist with a 100hp tractor sitting there! Last Sunday spent at TTC working to assist in setting National sections. Got a bit done to help the STRA cause. Last weekend Doug spent some time box bladeing and seeding the site where they had done the dozer work. Everyone cross your fingers that grass comes in well. Got the medals in today. It was a great deal, and they look absolutely AWSOME!!!! Even better than what we had said originally. I cannot say enough good things about Doris Brothers. They shipped me 54 lbs for $15, they just ate some I guess. Anyway, as the boss looked over my shoulder at the $535 bill in my hand, she said, "please tell me that is already paid" the dead silence gave the slight fact that it was not, away. Hmmmmmmm, do have to pay for these things don't I???? There is a certain cost, and obligation that goes with putting on an event. This is the most painful part for me. Spoke with my sales rep that is lending me the circus tent. Everything is tracking there. I think that will add a touch of class. I wrote to each importer of bikes in the US and asked to borrow banners to be displayed at the event. No responses yet. Confident that RYP/Sherco will come through, and hoping that some others will as well. I need to get a US side Trials Central Banner made. Will do that when a bit of $$ from mowing comes in. As a matter of timing, with the 101 coming home, my work (that pays the bills) is going crazy, and with summer coming on and the wife expanding the Lawncare and landscaping business I quickly hit the point of being overwhelmed. Thank goodness for good friends that let me vent a bit and help me along the way with stuff that I need to get done. Everyone keeps saying how my event is still "a couple of months away" but there is the Trials Training Days, The TN nationol round and an STRA event at TTC between now and then. I will be sitting out the Hattiesburg event due to distance. But my point is, back out three or four weekends and my event is just not that far away with regards to available work weekends. I am going out this Sunday with rolls of white ribbon and garbage bags in hand to set the sections. No splits, just outer boundries. That way, the "crews" can go and remove anything between those boundries that is not nailed down. People are more than willing to help. I need to make sure that I provide the proper directions, conditions and equipment to make it a success. P5T2 For anyone that knows BG Cody. This Sunday it is time for the serious work to begin. Anyone still reading wish me luck, and if you are close enough to come out, come on out this Sunday and lend a hand. I can use it!

Is the successful outcome worth the risk to your life? Yes it can be done, but I doubt seriously that you have the equipment to check it properly. (meter) If you are going to do it, we usually use dry ice to inert the atmosphere. Get below the lel and away you go. Constant monitoring is required becuase the conditions will be changing as you cut. I would suggest leaving it alone, or getting there another way.

Kevin, finally dropped it in the mail this morning. Sorry for the delay. You should see it in a couple of days.