Thanks. That what I thought, screw towards the carb mouth adjusts air, screw towards engine adjusts fuel. Just double checking.
While I'm waiting for my manual to arrive... how many turns out is stock for the fuel screw? 2001 model. Thanks. Edit: Found this
Here's my '04. Paid $1k for it. It does however need a new fan and a new one costs around $150, being a college student, I have some budget constraints. Has anyone found a replacement motor for it? I was thinking possibly one from a computer fan might work. I was going to give it a try when I have time.
Sweet bike for that money! Nice score!! Give Dennis a call at Overland Trail Cycle Shop 412-780-3693 to see what he can do for you on a fan motor. http://www.overlandtrail.biz/
That is a heck of a score If you have't, give the fan power directly to confirm that its not something else (switch, wiring, whatever). Its a pretty robust fan motor and it wouldn't surprise me if the issue were a wiring connection or something simple. If it is the fan itself I'd take it apart and see what the deal is. electric motors are often not that hard to fix. I've never taking the 'tessa fan motor apart, but mine's never gone bad either I think it'd be worth using the correct parts rather than rigging something that'll inevitably not look or fit quite right. Considering you got the bike for a third of its value $150 isn't that bad. heck that's one text book
I bought it from a friend, he decided he like his 4rt more. This bike has some history too, it used to be David Kamos (he hardly rode it though! ) The thermoswitch was already bad on it so I wired in a straight switch. The fan runs while the engine is idling but once the rpms pickup, it shots off, the opposite of what I want it to do. :huh I talked with Adrian at Lewis Sport and he said that those symptoms are caused by a bad fan motor. I will take it apart and see if it's fixable. The clutch drags alittle bit and one of the old trials riders in town said that his personal fix for that was ATF Type-F. Has this worked for you guys or is there another better fix? Thanks for the help!
The clutch really needs the correct oil (elf), else it just won't work quite right. It is sensitive to oil and the correct oil makes a world of difference. Mine drug really bad and had rather iffy engagement feel when I got the bike. Put in the elf oil and it doesn't drag at all, feel is awesome etc. The elf stuff is expensive, but it lasts a long time and you only need half a liter at a time anyway so a $40, 2-liter bottle is good for four changes which should be plenty to last a full year or better for most folks. I would measure the voltage to the fan, bad wiring to the regulator or a bad regulator can sometimes cause voltage to drop off with rpm. I'd also double-check that the connections for ground and power are good for the fan - maybe the vibration from the revs is causing them to not make a good connection. Lewis port have a good reputation, but that'd be a really strange mode of failure for a fan motor.
Did you try fresh oil of any other brand before you switched to Elf? When I bought my 314 a while back, the Elf was highly recommended for the same reasons. Being a cheapskate I opted to try something else first. I don't remember for sure but I think it was Silkolene. Anyway, the clutch worked great - no dragging, no funny engagement, etc. Might be worth a shot to run something less expensive and easier to get to see how it works for you. If it doesn't work, then at least you won't feel as bad about spending the coin on the Elf stuff. Totally unrelated: I rode at White Rose a couple of weeks ago. Remember the big log in section two that we threw ourselves at for 15 minutes or so? It was a complete non issue this time. I was pleased to have a way to prove to myself that I have actually gotten at least a little bit better this year.
I didn't personally, but the seller said he'd just put fresh oil in it (and it looked super-clean). The elf stuff is totally clear and super-thin--almost like water, I think it is a bit different than most gearbox oils and the clutch works really nicely with it. The montesa guru guy at Overland at white rose insisted that the clutch worked way better with the elf stuff than anything else (he does sell elf oil, so a bit of a chicken and egg question). I really didn't expect the oil change to do much for the clutch, I've never noted a big difference with oil on any other bike, but it was night-and-day different with just the oil change on the 'tessa. For my uses it'll be less than $40/yr for the good oil. If I were riding every day and changing oil weekly maybe it'd be different, but for now I don't think its worth trying something else for me. I also read a zillion threads on trialscentral where folks struggled with clutches and almost universally their problems went away when they used the elf oil. There is some other oil (might be the silkolne) that's about half the cost that they say works somewhat ok at first, but then gets draggy much more quickly with use, necessitating more-frequent changes so probably a wash there. I don't know if the 314 has the same clutch, it might. The 315 has a weird clutch stack that has some cork plates and some paper plates. I remember that log, congrats! BTW I'm switching jobs and will hopefully have more time to ride with the new gig, but its in Tampa so I'll miss out on next year's D6 events. On the bright side there's a trials course within an hour of Tampa that's in a public riding area so I'll have a place to play (few rocks, but logs and surprisingly steep hills).
01 315R Still hard to start. I've bumped up the idle, played with the fuel screw, still can't it to start up easily. Mixing premium at 80:1 with good oil. How many turns out do y'all have your fuel screw in cold weather? I'm going to install a new plug and reclean the air filter asap. The current plug looks likes it's running a little rich, but not sure if that's how trials plugs should look after mostly idling around?
Plug should look pretty normal for a two stroke, the plug temp, ports etc are all intended to work well with idling around a lot Are you by chance new to trials bikes or two strokes? Mine starts really easily, but I can see where if someone wasn't used to kicking over a trials bike it might take some getting used-to with the short kicker, high compression and squashy suspension. I haven't checked my carb settings, but it runs well The choke is weird and sorta difficult to use, are you getting it all the way up (IIRC the lever goes pretty much vertical)? To get it back down you'll probably need very flexible fingers or some sort of loop attached to the end of the choke lever, mine has a zip-tie on it from the PO that works well enough.
Haven't had time to fool with it recently, but might have bigger problems. I left it in the garage one night, when the temps got down to 15deg... It might've popped the radiator. Little water leak now from the front of the bike. Need to tear into it to see what's going on.
Looks to me like the closed end is in the direction of travel, which would make it correct in my experience.
I went and looked at a used 04 315r this afternoon and need some input from those of you that are familiar with them. The bike is well used and maybe even a bit rough cosmetically. The plastics look good with a new rear fender but the bike has been well used. There is jb weld on both the flywheel and clutch covers the skid plate is far from flat and the rubber pad is compressed in a couple places. The levers are well used and bent but working. There were neoprene boots on the fork seals so I don't know the condition of the stantions. The rear tire has good tread but the base of the blocks were very cracked. New chain and sprokets but the guides are broken on the cs and by the tire. I was told the top end was new in the spring. The owner is an active member in the local trials club and is asking $2400 for it. Based on Its appearance it seems a little high but I know these bikes fetch a premium. Is the price reasonable for its condition? Thanks.
No it's still there as far as I know. If it would have been in better shape it would be mine. I'm going to pass on it for now.
I watched Seattle and Portland CL Motorcycle "Trials" for quite a while before I found my bike. Looked at a lot of turds that were advertised as cream puffs. I wouldn't mind buying a well-ridden bike from someone who takes care of it over a barn find sold as a low-mileage queen, but there are very good bikes out there at very good prices every six weeks or so. Gotta be patient! Good luck!