Beta X-Trainer preparation project

[phil_h]

Successful Brechfa outing... well, only 1 probable slightly fractured rib !
I've entered it in the Neath Fred Rist LDT too

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[Richard Simpson Mark II]

So...

After four years reliable service from the X-Trainer, I hatched a plan to ride 3 LDTs in six weeks.

First the Tor & Torridge in North Devon,

Then the Edinburgh Trial in Derbyshire (not Scotland)

And finally...the Tarmar on the Devon and Cornwall border.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, the weather was torrential rain on already wet ground for the Tor & Torridge. The red Devon clay transformed into a colloidal soup, and I wondered if the event shoud be renamed the Tea and Porridge. After breaking my number plate and getting stuck on a section, finding myself unable to move and watching he first marshal who came to help lose a boot in the mud and the second fall on his arse, I decided to jack it in at lunchtime. A geat shame as the route (as far as I got) was well planned, and there were even a couple of 'bike only' green lanes to warm up on before the first proper section. And (other event organisers please note) the cars (which had a shorter route without the green lanes) were held back until the motorcyclists had been through the first section.

After spending rather too long trying to remove all the red clay in the next two weeks, it was off to Derbyshire for the MCC Edinburgh Trial in the agreeable company of my friend Rick and his wonderful old Tiger Cub.

In contrast, the weather could not have been better. Warm and dry. Spirits were high as we rode through the night. there were some long green lane liasions in the dark, and I worried that Rick's Cub was smoking...no, it was dust!

With just two sections to ge before breakfast we had stoped to try to work out where we were, and when I restarted the bike it smoked heavily and would not rev. The gearboxx oil ws pouring out of the exhaust pipe.

This clearly wasn't going to be fixed with an adjustable spanner and a cable-tie, so it was game over for me. Rcik very kindly offered to 'abandon' and ride back to the start to fetch the van. What a gent! I urged him to ride on and then endured five hours of situation comedy getting recovered back to the start.

A tale for another time.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

With the bike back home, I stripped off the bodywork to facilitate removing the engine....and discovered something rather sinister.

One of the inlet manifold bolts had been replaced with an Allen-style security bolt...the kind with a pin in the middle so you can't use a standard Allen key to remove it.

Never mind...I have a faithful mini-mole wrench owned since the 1970s that made short work of it.

Then I noticed that one of the cylinder-head bolts had been replaced with a similar fastener.

Naughty...it's like someone who has worked on the bike previously has tried to lock up the engine so only they can work on it.

Here's the oil I drained from the exhaust

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[Richard Simpson Mark II]

And here's a view of the head, the the 'naughty' bolt at about 6 o'clock

Beta 1.JPG (89.12 KiB) Viewed 694 times

Why would you do that?

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

My first thought was that the mains have gone, but I read elsewhere that the crankshaft seal often fails all on its own at about 200 hours.

My bike failed at 206 hours.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Anyway, as things stand I probably won't be riding the Tamar Trial this year.

[garyboy]

Hi Rich,

I was trying to picture the problem .. oil gushing into the exhaust.
My limited knowledge of engines could see an oil leak dripping from a 4 stroke casing .. but then I realised it was a 2-stroke. so I was picturing the opening in the side of the cylinder blowing out oil iinto the reed valve?

I thought i d better google what the engine was .. and yes, it is a 2-stroke .. but the extra info was that these X-trainers usually need a top end rebuild at 200-250 hours ... a completely alien concept to me, being used to honda 4-strokes, heavy as they me be, lol.

I don't think I could live with that .. mostly because I am so mean on maintenancce costs. .... so I suddenly understood the vulnerability and throw-away nature of the 2T shite ( no offence) .. just because people like you want to be winners and champions .. riding a top of the range lightweight machine of excellence. .. I don't underdstand it, as I am happy plodding along an easy long straight trail for hours on end. lol.

The other thing that mr google told me, in confidence, is that the X-trainer is prone to a lot of vibration, and this can cause various problems ... one of these is the vibration loose of bolts.

I'm wondering if this is what has happened with the carb bolts .. the guy sees some missing, and has some of these handy (it's not always easy to find the correct thread and pitch, and length, whatever) .. and may have used them as a locking type nut, as well?

Hope you are well.
Gary.

[Richard Simpson Mark II]

Hi Gary

I'm fine, thanks. Hope you are well too?

What has apparently happened with my bike is a failure of the seal on the crankshaft that sits between the crankcase and the gearbox. When the piston is rising on the compression stroke, it creates a low-pressure area in the crankcase (drawing in the fuel/oil/air mix through the carb). But with a faulty seal, it will also pull in oil from the gearbox.

When the piston falls on the combustion stroke, the oil in the crankcase is forced into the combustion chamber, and when the exhaust port is exposed it gets squirted out into the exhaust as the piston rises again.

It's unfortunate, but it's the first problem of any kind that I've had with the Beta: a bike I purchased second-hand four years ago. Nothing has rattled undone, and once I sorted out a bodged wiring connection (the wire for the pilot light in the headlamp had been diverted to the heated grips) the electrics have been fine also. Hence the fact that this thread has lain dormant for so long!

I had a long think about what to do with the X-Trainer while I was waiting for the recovery truck on the top of a Derbyshire hillside. I could have sold it for £1000 or so with a blown engine, and then spent £5000 or so more on a replacement (either another X-Trainer or maybe a 350 4-T), spend £1000 on the engine, sell the bike for £2500 - £3000 and spend another £2000 or so on a replacement, or spend £1000 on the engine and keep the bike, hoping it will do me for another 4 -5 years (by which time I will probably be too old and fragile to ride it at all). It'a has a lot of money thrown at it by the previous owner and myself over the years to suit it for purpose (long range tank, rad bars, better lights front and rear etc), and I'd have to do all that again to any new bike...so I decided to keep it!

[garyboy]

I'd forgotten how different a 2t is to a 4t. I had difficulty following the power cycle description, lol. But I get the drift. I may have some dementia starting, .. yet am clearer in my thinking and priorities, and comprehension of 'the meaning of life' and with more contentment too, strangely, as false people have now left my life.
(Where did that come from, lol)

With your bike, the other unspoken factor is our unreasonable emotional connection to a cluster of metal parts. And also our unwillingness to change anything, especially as we get older.

I agree with your decision anyway, though, as it is the logical course of action.

I often think "the end is nigh' .. but then agree with myself that there's loads of time left .. to do what we enjoy, as bikers, anyway.

Good luck with your bike building journey.. I'm sure you will thoroughly enjoy the work, and the riding later.

[g00ner]

I’ve just purchased an X-Trainer, 701 was just too heavy for Kent lanes ( fine on wider lanes like Norfolk/Suffolk)

It felt surprisingly vibey initially but the more I ride it the more I like it