Service intervals for '01 Gasgas Pampera?

[turbofurball]

The manual is a bit light on detail (as seems to be the way with their old stuff), does anyone have any guidance on what kind of intervals for the oil & air filter etc?

(or any other tips on Pampera-specific maintenance would be greatfully received!)

[arkay]

You could contact Bob Dixon at www.adventureride.co.uk, He runs a fleet of Pamperas, so might be able to help or point you in the right direction.

[turbofurball]

Thanks, I'll do just that!

[turbofurball]

For the benefit of people who might be searching for this info in the future, here's the reply Bob sent:

"There's no specific service intervals that are particularly important, after each ride I check water/ wheelbearings/ linkage bearings/ brake pads etc ect , all the usual stuff.

Pamperas get through a lot of wheel bearings, it's a very easy job to replace them. I've fitted all my bikes with grease nipples in the hubs and this has dramatically improved bearing life.

Linkages are also prone to wear - a complete linkage overhaul is a full days work and costs about £150. I seem to recall there are fourteen bearings in the rear linkage.

A number of suspension bushes are no longer available and so I have them made at a local machine shop.

Water pumps seals fail quite frequently, on my bikes I budget for a water pump overhaul and a linkage overhaul each season.

If you notice water being used check for gearbox oil contamination, if there isn't anythen check the head gasket. Very easy to fix of course but disastrous if you leave it.

Unfortunately some spares are getting quite tricky to find nowadays. Clutch slave cylinders are hard to get. They get chewed up when the chain wears .

Pampera rear brakes can be dreadful. The master cylinders are very expensive and I now use cheap Chinese items to be found on eBay for £9.00. They are far superior to the £60 Brembo OE unit but need a couple of simple mods to fit.

The engines are bombproof. I've never had to overhaul a crank on any of the bikes. Same goes for the gearbox. I change the gearbox oil once a year."

[turbofurball]

Ok, after months spent running around in circles screaming with my hair on fire, the Pampera is slowly going back together.  My GF is doing all the work at this point, I just supervise and occasionally lend an extra pair of hands.

We got a machinist to make up a new swingarm spindle after having to cut the old one out, it was simple and has a M14 fine thread on each end now so we can extract it more easily in the future.  The only other cutting was to get the original bottom headset bearing off, which took ages as it was rusted badly.

All the bearings are standard sizes, however the biggest PITA has been sorting the ones that go into the shock itself.  After being told the official price was £50 each we figured F that and found some that are the same size on paper, but with a brass outer ring for £18 each (couldn't find steel like the originals).

Now, the problem with brass is it's soft, so you press it into the shock and it just squashes the bearing together, making it useless.  So, you have to gently file, wet n' dry, and polish the outside of the bearing, over and over, until it fits juuust right.  Because if it was too loose it's just going to fall out at the worst moment.

Anyway, now it's just a matter of time (although the outer panels still need plastic welding for all the cracks).

It's going to be awesome, but in retrospect I wish we'd just got another XR250 like mine (or similar) and lowered it.

[turbofurball]

Aaaand, it's up and running and looking like a motorbike once more ... still lots to do, but at least it can be ridden and enjoyed now!