rockgardener Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Just spent an afternoon doing some relatively high-speed single-track trail riding and noticed two odd noises: 1) shifting from third to fourth produces a dramatic CLUNK, and 2) fourth gear whines loudly, unlike any other gear. I've only had this bike a short while, but never noticed these noises before. Then again, I rarely went past third gear, so it could have made these sounds and I just didn't notice. Are these normal for a 2012 Pro with less than 15 hours? I recently replaced the oil, which was ATF, with more of the same (about 400cc or so - level is 3/4 up sight glass). I don't notice any difference in clutch action. Thanks for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted April 19, 2013 Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Third to fourth is always noticeable. The whine is some what normal. These transmissions are very weak. High speed trail riding has to be done carefully. Keep on eye on the oil for fragments. The needle bearings are prone to coming apart with hard use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockgardener Posted April 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2013 Thanks for the feedback, lineaway. I'm relieved to know that these sounds may be normal, but I'm concerned about this need you mention to be "careful" during high-speed trail riding. I'll certainly exercise care, but exactly what should I be careful about? I don't do clutchless upshifts or stomp on the gear change lever or anything else that can be hard on a transmission (that I know of). But maybe I'm unaware of something that can be harmful in this case, so please educate me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Riding the pro like you would any trail bike. Will break the tranny in no time. If I shifted the pro like my old Yamaha that I desert raced, it would have several major problems. I have a friend that came to trials, having several KTM`s and a few street bikes. He has a 2010 pro that we replaced the whole tranny in 2011. It was just from down shifting what would be considered `normal` on most bikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockgardener Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Okay, so you're saying I shouldn't shift my GasGas like I do my KTM's, but I still don't know what I'm supposed to do instead. Do you mean that I should do as little shifting as possible while trail riding, or that I shouldn't do trail riding at all on this bike? I'm new to trials, but I just attended a two-day trials riding school and learned from multiple instructors that I can be much harder on my GasGas clutch than I would have ever imagined - I'd never start a huge hill climb from a standing start in third gear on one of my woods bikes, and then slip the clutch the whole way up, for example. But that's how we were taught to do it on a trials bike at this school (and it worked great). Same thing applied in lots of other situations, too, and I developed a very different relationship with my clutch than I'd ever had on any dirt bike or street bike before. I now do much, much more clutch-slipping on my trials bikes (I have an old Montesa 315R, too) than on any other motorcycles. I understand (a little) that in competition, a trials rider most often selects a single gear for the section at hand, and just stays in that gear the whole time, relying heavily on the clutch instead of shifting up and down. But nobody at the school said anything about trials transmissions being fragile and unable to take the stress of "normal" shifting (and we even went on a trail ride with one of the instructors at the end of one day). Is this a GasGas issue, or does it apply to all trials bikes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Trials transmissions in general are usually not fragile, just the pro. It is a strange design found only in the pro. Mainly the shift to 3-4 and back down 4-3. But in general the whole thing is not a strong design. You need to search the forums and you will see pro tranny problems over and over. The bike works very well, but has always had the most repair issues. Everyone says the newer bikes are better. Just use the brakes more, and not hard shifts on the trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 This video will show how small this gear box is to the old reliable transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramit Posted April 20, 2013 Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Third to fourth is always noticeable. The whine is some what normal. These transmissions are very weak. High speed trail riding has to be done carefully. Keep on eye on the oil for fragments. The needle bearings are prone to coming apart with hard use. A friend of mine described the Trans in these things as a "High Performance Nightmare" Some parts of a motorcycle shouldn't be compromised for the sake of light weight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockgardener Posted April 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2013 Thanks for the clarifications; I understand much better now and will take extra measures to baby my Pro's transmission! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shercoben12 Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 they are designed for trials so they are not going to be the most reliable things ever built. but should stand up to a bit of trail riding. (just be smooth and gentle). i ride mine round our fields pretty quick and have had no problems-but theres a big clunk going from 4-5th. the last thing on gasgases drawing board is reliability and strength- they want it to be light weight so they have to cut down on things like a reliable engine thats heavy. and go for a small weak one instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 What happened to the "reliability" bit of trials ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shercoben12 Posted April 21, 2013 Report Share Posted April 21, 2013 The beta and sherco are fine IMO its just gasgas! But they are the best bike! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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