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Help and Advice
There are three parts to this page: advice available, help needed and answered questions ... take your pick.
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Advice available
Lighten the clutch
New Reed Petals = better bottom-end performance
Would you like to improve the bottom end performance of your black engine Beamish and protect your engine from potential damage for just £15? Of course you would! It's very simple, change your reed petals for Hi-Tech fibre ones from Crooks-Suzuki. The Beamish manual suggests you change your reed petals every 6 months or so, I would bet that your bike is still on the reeds it left the factory with - most are! If you take off one of your reed petals and hold it between your finger and thumb then bend it the way it has been operating all these years then bend it the other way, you will find that it is much stronger bending it the opposite way to the way it's been working. This is metal fatigue. At some point your reed petal could break off and be sucked into your engine and do a lot more than £15 worth of damage. The good thing about the fibre reeds (apart from them working much better than your old ones) is that should they break up they won't do any damage as they are much softer than any other part they will come into contact with. I always fit new fibre reeds to any Beamish I rebuild or sell. Crooks are currently out of stock so I have told them to get some more in as I am sure you will be on the phone! Crooks Suzuki 01229 822120 - Hi-Tech part no HT-001. They are a bargain, I bought some Boysen reeds for a TY175 and they were £38!
Heads up!
Converting your black engine RL250 back to RL325? I bought one recently that I was told had been converted and the compression seemed extremely high. All black engines were made as the 322cc and some had a liner put in them to sleeve them down to 246cc as the 325 was a bit vicious. When converted to the 246cc they also skimmed the head and changed the pilot jet in the carb from 20 to 27.5. I assumed I had a head that had been skimmed but when I compared it with a friend's 325 the heads measured the same. It turns out that both bikes have the 250 head resulting in a compression ratio of 9:1 instead of the correct 7.5:1. Thanks to Steve Driscoll who sent me these photos of both heads, you can see the difference and where the head from the 250 has been skimmed and the combustion chamber milled out. I am having some conversion head gaskets laser cut to compensate for this so you can run a 250 head on a 325 bringing it down to the correct compression.
If you would like a conversion gasket please contact me, they are £24 each plus £1.25 P&P. As these are solid copper you should never need to buy another head gasket, just reuse this one after annealing it.
Email: beamishowners.club@ntlworld.com
Flywheel weight for the silver engine
Engineering drawing (PDF): There is one very minor modification which must be done to fit the weight. When you unbolt the ignition cover to install it, look inside and note that there is a rather small reinforcing rib cast in to the case, down toward the "bottom." It must be removed. I just cut it away with nippers. If you do not do this, the engine will not turn! I make my weights out of steel; brass would be nice if you can afford such a large chunk. You will also need three 6mm socket head cap screws. Part of the beauty of this mod is that you can put the bike back to stock quickly.
Finding the right yellow
There is yellow, yellow and yellow - but which one is Beamish yellow?! Other than the Heron Suzuki red/black Beamish you had the choice of yellow or buy another make of trials bike!
I was speaking to a friend who used to work in the factory. He told me that none of the yellows matched each other exactly anyway (tank, mudguards and side panels) so don't beat yourself up if you don't have an exact match!
3 March 2006: Update: I spoke to 'the' Graham Beamish and he told me that the colour is Suzuki and the same as used on the RM bikes in the late 70's and 80's - so there you have the answer from the horses mouth so to speak!
The closest colour code to Suzuki RM yellow is RAL1003. If you want to match your tank to the mudguards available from In Motion and the side panels I sell, then you need to paint it in RAL 1023.
Help needed with ...
Which sidecar?
Alan has a bike that has obviously had a sidecar on it at some point. Can anyone identify which make of sidecar from these photos of the mountings? Please let me know! beamishowners.club@ntlworld.com
help for exhaust
My silver engined Beamish, which has a chromed exhaust system needs a de-coke. A blow-lamp is out and I have tried caustic soda. Any ideas? Is the silencer stuffed with glass fibre packing? Please reply to Tony
Help with power delivery
Wondering if anyone can help me, my 325 isn't running great. It is too soft off the bottom (bogs down) but all of a sudden hits a power band and is quite unrideable. Wondering if taking the weight off the clutch side of the crank would make any difference ? even out the power delivery ? has anyone done this?
Have played around with the jetting and that has helped but not solved the problem. Any help would be great. Contact Bill.
What weight for flywheel?
I would like some advice on how much weight to add to the flywheel of my RL250 to get optimum improvement in tractability - e-mail John Fluit.
Help identify colour
Does anyone know the name or code of the paint colours on the early Beamish? The one I have is the same as the one in 'Outfits'.
Please e-mail Dan if you have any ideas.
Advice on fitting lights please
Has anyone tried to put lights on an RL? I have, and they are so weak as to be useless, and yes they are 6v , I got the kit from sammy miller. Any thoughts or advice welcomed!
Contact Alan Mackay.
Beamish Outfit Help!
I have splashed out on a Beamish sidecar chassis! Trouble is i know f*** all about the sidecars!! Never even ridden one!!!!! Does anyone have any technical details etc. on the outfits please. Things like what hub fits the sidecar wheel etc. Any advice gratefully received!
Please e-mail Danny
Seen a bike like mine?
I have a Wasp Suzuki. Even the frame number begins RL250. I wondered if there is anyone in the UK or elsewhere who have ever seen or heard about this outfit? Please contact me. My outfit is pictured in the Outfit gallery, photos 28 to 30.
E-mail Paul van Leeuwen
Phone (Holland) 0031-524-572604 or 0031-611-341488
DZUS fasteners for the black engine Beamish side panels
If you manage to find any, the DZUS part number is AJ5-40KFC. The retaining washer is part number GP5.
How to tell heads apart?
Does anyone know how you tell the difference between a 325 and a 250 head from a black engine Beamish? The 250 was skimmed but how can you tell?
Contact Danny - if you know the answer!!
Answered Questions
The main bearings and seals for my black engine Beamish are no longer available, what can I do?
Answer: The old seals and bearings have been discontinued but these Suzuki equivalents will fit:
- Clutch side seal
- - 09285
- - 34004
- Mag side seal
- - 09283
- - 30064
- Clutch side main bearing
- - 6305 (C3 tolerance)
- Mag side main bearing
- - 6306 (C3 tolerance)
My Silver Engine Beamish doesn't have a frame number
Answer: In that case, if you have the V5, make up one in Dyno-tape with the frame number in the V5 - that's what it had originally!
How do I split my forks to replace the seals?
Answer: This is a very common one! You need to have the fork leg off, the top nut and spring removed. Try jamming a piece of dowel down the stantion to hold the top nut as you turn the allen key in the bottom of the fork leg.
Or, hold the station in a vice (protecting the chrome) and get a mate to pull the fork bottom to put pressure on the bolt. Use an air ratchet or an electric drill (on reverse) on the allen bolt to shock it undone.
Once you have one leg undone, make yourself a tool from a 13mm socketusing a Dremel for use on the other leg. Wrecking a socket for this purpose will save you a lot of trouble with the other leg!
I need to rebored my Silver Engine beyond +1.5 mm. Is this possible?
Answer: Suzuki don't make pistons beyond +1.5mm but companies like Wiseco do. Try Ebay for pistons and remember the early TS250 and TM250 use the same piston as the RL250.
How can I tell if my Black Engine Beamish is a 250 or 325?
Answer: The 325 barrel was black with '325cc' cast into the left side of the barrel. The 250 was silver and the '325cc' casting ground off. Better to go by the casting than the colour. Worst case, take off the head, the bore of the 250 is 70mm where as the 325 is 80mm.
What petrol mixture?
The original handbook (which came with the bike when I purchased it) clearly states that the petrol/oil mixture should be 20:1 ie 50ml of oil per litre. The bike smokes heavily and I've been advised by several trials riders that I should be running on 50:1 ie 20ml of oil per litre particularly as oils have improved over the years. What mixture do you use?'
Answer: If you use a good quality fully synthetic oil you can run your bike at 40:1 for road use and as lean as 50:1 for trialing. If you are not confident about such a lean mix, run at 40:1, a de-coke being cheaper than an engine rebuild! Modern day 2 stroke trials bikes run on 70:1.....
Where can I get my frame re-chromed?
Answer: It is very difficult to find someone who can handle a whole frame. I contacted London and Brighton Plating, they no longer have the facility to handle things that large. One of our members has used the firm below and can't recommend them highly enough.
A J Calladine,
Unit 4, Brailwood Close,
Bilsthorpe,
Newark,
Notts.
NG22 8UG.
Phone: 01623 870372 - (highly recommended).
There is another company that has the capability to do a whole frame, I have them on recommendation but haven't seen their work.
John
Key Plating,
8 Quay Lane Industrial Estate,
Gosport,
Hampshire
PO12 4LJ
Phone:
02392 504987
The frames were originally plated in Gosport bya firm called Blakes.
What is the correct torque setting for my cylinder head nuts?
Answer: They should be 14.5 ft/lbs for both black and silver engines.