cleanorbust

I remember him from my days of riding in South Yorkshire/East Midlands (late seventies), 348 mounted I think. He seemed old enough to be something of a veteran then, could be around 80 now?

I've ridden a Beta 4t and would recommend it for a beginner from a riding point of view, perhaps less so from the perspective of maintenance as, for example, removing the carb for routine cleaning out is a more complex task, then of course there's valves to keep adjusted. I ended up buying a Beta 125 for the simplicity and easy maintenance of a two stroke.

There is a picture of a genuine Comerfords Cub in the Gordon Farley article on the Trials Guru website (go to 'G" n the index section).

Suitable modern type footrests for the Cota are made by Raceline. I got mine from Motomerlin, just needed a touch of modification with a grinder to get them sitting horizontally or just above.

Hmm, that looks like a 247 mid-section silencer with tailpipe which has somehow been grafted on to the original exhaust the wrong way up, then garnished with a cheap tin heat shield.

Small front hub, bulbous tank: I'd guess a Mark 4b, about 1972.

Yes, planning permission would be important to ascertain. It would need to be cheap to buy if I were you - the trials practice potential of a railway embankent on its own might be fully exploited in what, a matter of minutes?

I moved to a 125 Evo last month, having been on a Scorpa SR280 for the last three/four years. I don't feel I've traded away any advantages. I find I can ride any section in first or second, the motor feels to have a good "range". Third is perfectly usable given enough space. Feeling my way round tight turns is easier than on the bigger bike. I can also whack the throttle open at the bottom of a steep bank, knowing I can reach the top without risking over-doing it as on a bigger bike - good for the confidence. I don't think of it as a 125, just a trials bike with certain advantages. The type of bike which teaches you that the marks you lose are mostly due to lack of precision, not power. Another way of thinking about this is that I ride sections which are broadly similar to those at the harder end of pre 65 trials. All of those trials are won by Cubs or Bantams, hardly bikes with bucket loads of power, cos you don't need that.

In my experience a TY175 throttle will snap shut if the pump is retained. If yours doesn't it's probably that the cable is past its best even if cleaned and lubed. Of course, most remaining TYs now run on two stroke mix but I kept mine with oil pump intact as I liked the convenience of not mixing fuel and the fact that the oil feed was correctly metered at all times.

You do mean 11 o'clock, not 1 o'clock? The position in keychange's photo looks correct and wouldn't damage the casing

How I attach my spring: Fit spring into notch on kickstart lever. Insert straight end of spring into hole in flywheel cover. Rotate kickstart to correct angle (only about 45 degrees counter clockwise) Push kickstart on to splines and tighten pinch bolt.

Yes, not surprising and most of us know of continuing activities which do us no favours. The question is whether the ACU/AMCA have been invited to participate in the government consultation, and what specific points will be submitted on behalf of the sport.

Sounds like you're on the right lines with current set-up. Depends how short your short ride was, but half a litre really isn't much to use on any ride worth getting changed for.

How many turns out is the mixture screw?

Do you know if the fuel tank has been sealed internally? The fibreglass will soon start to react with modern petrol if not.

There's a test day for the 250 and 125 TRS in Fife this Sunday. Maybe someone will be able to report back after that.

Effects of wear I'm afraid. Drooping footrests happen on trials bikes after a certain amount of use. Yours is a fairly extreme example. It's surprising how many people ride with footrests like this as the loss of control through insecure boot placement is significant. Replace.

In the days when I used a trailer I used two tie-down straps, one from each side of the handlebars near to the yoke, to a point near each trailer wheel. With the bike on the trailer and leaning to one side, attach the strap on the short side first then cinch the bike into vertical position using the strap on the other side. At this point about half the fork movement is taken up. There is no need to use a lot of force and there is no effect on the fork seals. The slots the wheels sit in prevent fore/aft movement. Use a loop of rope round the handlebars to avoid the metal hook on the strap bearing on the bars.

That's enough to convince me the numbers are not important.

On a par with EM then. At that, competitive riders will only buy if they feel its better than a petrol bike. I don't think many trials riders in my locale are swung by electric bikes' claimed green credentials. Mind you, some guy in sandals with a twig stuck in his beard once told me I should be riding one if I cared about preserving the world's polar bear population, or something.

That may be true for the electrics but water has probably started to wreak havoc with the engine internals already. It's essential to get a submerged bike emptied of water and running as soon as possible to get rid of internal moisture. The effect of leaving it for a few days can be fatal to bearings and surfaces of precision parts.

No reason whatsoever why your age or build should act against you riding trials. Your age is probably quite a bit younger than the average in your local trials.

Yeah, you'd probably be able to make the clip out of wire. If my SR280 needed one I'd cut up a wire coat hanger before buying a new one, but I'm tight like that. I've a feeling the plastic tank would be more likely to give a decent finish with a paint job than the old blue Bultaco ones, which seemed to have a slightly rough/dimpled surface.

Ah yes, I think you are right. Try Nigel Birkett at www.birkettmotosport.com (Scorpa importer).