Help with a JTR 160, please

[Chesterspal]

The glass is likely dirty. You might get a bit of brake cleaner with long spout for a short directed squirt and drain/evaporate to clean it.

So you think this is just a flat glass plate, then? The oil level does go up and down if I tip the bike sideways. Just like if it had a full tank of oil. Very strange.

Try 4psi in the back and 5 in the front and experiments from there. Low pressure gauge will give you a better reading than one expected to be accurate at normal pressures.

I have one that only goes to 15psi full gauge. Very accurate.

 

[cbutler]

Let me see if I'm understanding this right. You drain the oil out and you can still see oil in the sight glass when you rock the bike back and forth?

 

[(F5)]

It's a flat glass plate with a shiny metal backing so you can see it, and drain holes around it. Perhaps blocked off, but that's odd as heck. .. . So, you got 650 odd ml out and it was empty?

 

[cbutler]

My sight glass is clear and you can see a gear in there when the oil is fresh or has no oil

 

[gasser]

So is 'burning off' the oil the most important thing? I have other requirements but ya know.

Sorry I didn't mean to confuse you. Since you're using the bike for trials run AMSOIL Sabre in your fuel at 80 or 100 to 1 ratio. Honda also makes a very good 2 stroke oil that is rated for 100 to 1.


A whole lot of use Shell Rotella in our gear boxes with excellent results. It comes in synthetic, semi-synthetic, and conventional. Try the conventional first. If the clutch is grabby or gets grabby too quick as the oil gets dirty switch to the semi or full synthetic (these oils are thinner so they often work better and longer).

 

[Chesterspal]

Not sure what's up with the sight glass and yes, I drained out exactly 650ml of that Royal Purple synthetic oil and it still shows oil. It must be plugged up. I can't imagine this bike burns up that much oil that you need to constantly check it. I change my oil at the start of every season to remove the moisture from winter storage.

I did notice the clutch was grabbing when the bike was in 0 gear. I'm hoping that was the oil. I don't see any adjustment for that, externally. Should I assume removing the cover will reveal springs that can be adjusted??

So, I went to the Honda dealer yesterday to buy their 5w30 motorcycle oil and, as luck would have it, one of the parts guys was a trials rider who owned a GasGas bike. He suggested I use this MTL transmission oil. He has used it for years with good results and its specifically made for wet clutches. The viscosity is very thin similar to the 30 weight. It's a golden yellow color almost like cooking oil.

I ended up going with this BelRay 2-cycle racing oil. Supposed to be clean burning and will not foul up the engine. We shall see.

I'm making up a fresh batch of 90.5 puregas. You can see the water/ethanol is now at the bottom of the jug where I can drain it off leaving just the gasoline.

Thought I'd try some at 60:1, first, to see how it runs and how badly it smokes.

Also, bought a new kill switch to replace the crappy one that was on this bike. The original owner removed the electricals... headlight, horn and the factory kill switch was part of that assembly.

It's amazing to me this GasGas company never provided service information for their bikes and no one ever complained. I have complete repair manuals on all my other bikes going back to my 1965 Triumph T20.

 

[(F5)]

Hmm, yeah local importer made up some sort of manual. I guess I gave it away with the bike but that was 10 years ago almost.

That should be fine. They are supposed to smoke, but will smoke worst if cold and if the muffler hasn't been repacked. Actually there is a primary muffler that can't easily be cleaned. Think I just burnt out what I could and it as fine. Don't lose any sleep over it.

 

[Chesterspal]

I came across some early info for these 1995-1996 GasGas bikes. The fuel to oil ratio suggested was 80:1 and 100:1. The minimum octane required was 95 "non-alcohol" which I take to mean not methanol since there was no E10 gas back then. Not sure how it is where you live but there is no 95 octane in my area. I'm making my 90.5 octane puregas but that is from what was 93 prior to removing the ethanol. Racing gas is way higher but illegal to run off a sanctioned track.

They also said to never use a power washer to clean your bike as, among other things, it will ruin the radiator fan. Water will enter the windings are cause corrosion and premature failure. Food for thought.

Some of this information included a Cycle magazine article about pre-mix fuels. The jist of the article, which included extensive dyno testing using a single cylinder bike, was higher fuel to oil mixtures lead to higher heat, greater cylinder wear and reduced engine performance in terms of power loss of upwards of 10%.

Granted these tests were done at higher engine speeds than are normal for trials but it appears there is a trade off going too high.

 

[(F5)]

Just to confuse things octane is measured in RON or MON depending where you live so it might not be as bad as you think. Google it. I think US 90 will be higher by European measurement. Never remember which way around.

 

[cbutler]

I think you are WAY overthinking things here put some gas and oil in it and enjoy.......

 

[Chesterspal]

I think you are WAY overthinking things here put some gas and oil in it and enjoy.......

It's taken me a long time to find this bike so just want to get all things ironed out so it will last and I can enjoy it for a good long time.

Coming from an owner who freely admitted he knew nothing about maintenance and never even changed the oil in all the years he had it, I want to get things back on track. Just the way I am, I guess.

Appreciate all the help and advice. I hope to ride this weekend.

Where I live in Connecticut, trials is non-existent. Only one club in the state and very private, hard to get into. There is a group in Rhode Island (next state over) and they have hosted national and even international events with the top riders. Where I live now it's very rural. Lots of forest but unless you own it... off limits.

Connecticut is mostly open space dotted with small communities yet our state has refused to set aside land for off road vehicle use. Even though a law was passed way back in 1986 ordering the Dept. of Environmental Protection to do so, nothing was ever done. Unlike, say, the State of Pennsylvania where they have thirteen state parts set aside for such use. It's a money maker for the state between vehicle registration, sales taxes, fees to use these parks, hotels, restaurants, etc.

Some years back, I purchased property a few towns away so I'd have a place to ride my dirt bike. That was a smart move on my part. The property is basically the way it was since the ice age. Boulders, small cliffs, streams, rocky wet upward paths, land going up and down. Really perfect now that I have a trials bike to ride on it.

This is embedded into the tail section on my bike. Apparently, Gas Gas has seen some hard times. The shuttered factory in Spain was only recently reopened under new ownership. Let's hope it can find its way back.

 

[Chesterspal]

Have some questions if someone can help...

The petcock is marked with a C when to the right and with an R when to the left. I assume C is closed and R is reserve. I only got gas to flow when set to R.

Is straight down suppose to be the normal flow position?

The chain on this bike is covered with thick gear grease, as you can see. Is there a reason you'd want to use grease as opposed to standard motorcycle chain lube as I do for my dirt bikes?

 

[Chesterspal]

Cleaned my chain down to the bare metal in my degreaser tank, reinstalled and coated with Honda chain lube.

Had issues with the clutch not fully releasing. Doing a bleed made no difference although there was air in the line. Turns out the pressure spring in the clutch slave was missing and it was worn inside the cylinder to the point it was leaking hydraulic fluid into the bike and mixing with the transmission oil.

Ordered a complete new cylinder to replace it. Jim Snell is a great resource for these older parts and for his knowledge of the machine.

Getting there bit by bit.

 

[cbutler]

My petcock is off pointing down. You will have some clutch drag not excessive but some I have not been on a gas gas bike that didn't have some kind of drag

 

[(F5)]

My 200 TXT was sweet on the clutch. Was warned that some gear oils caused issues so only used what the dealer had. It was an odd one. Escapes me. In the dirt bike it find Motul Expert means Kickstart in gear ok.
But it can be ridges in the basket. Had to file them out on my EC200.