This thread has been quite useful to me, just bought recently a very bent (nose shunted) 199A frame for "development purposes" which was also stamped with an Italian DGM number, so the frame is from a 199A sold in Italy - now at Moffat Racing HQ!
I also have a bent 199A swing arm, probably from the same blasted bike, also for "development purposes"
Big John
If you are interested in the history of your Italian Bultaco bike you might want to ask the former Italian importer of Bultaco, he is still riding at least showing up at classic trials in the Alpes region here and there.
You can ask them using this form if they can deliver you engine paint that will match to 100% the original color, they also produce exhaust paint or standard paint for frames other parts that matches the original color. Here the form: http://www.motorradlack.de/farbsuche/
(prices in Euro! and not to forget this is professional paint you won't get this quality everywhere and compared to industrial standard paint the prices are really OK!)
I believe Mahle was considered the best available in the day; I'm not sufficiently familiar with what others use nowadays to say whether this still applies.
This possibly raises two other questions, though : would a Mahle item be unobtainium?.......or simply unaffordium ?
Suspension spring rates will have more influence on the tendency (or not) of a shock to "bottom out" than its length.........
NOS Mahle piston with rings and piston pin was around 145 € in 2011, as I know still available.
Weighting 135 lbs? or better in metric 67kg "dry" and I'am are using SAE 7,5 which works pretty well for me, the amount should be between 150 (eralier models) and 180cc, (later models). Standard is SAE 10.
The inerta of the forks which is most responsible for the action of the fork is pretty much the same beside that some parts from model 199a on where replaced with plastic.
To avoid flex the more modern clamps are -as already mentioned- an improvement.
A problem are the lower fork aluminium "stanchions" the inner tubes are also the guidance for the upper stanchions and are therefore subject to wear.
Recognizable by rubbing or sometimes unequal resistance to compress and rebound
And if you measure the inner bore and too determines the direction of travel a greater distance.
When worn out there have to be replaced. Potentially, you can make a sleeve? I have not yet heard of someone having done this ...
Sad story ... the seller did not tell you the truth here, if you have a written contract you might can declare the deal retroactive wise invalid and get the money back as a removed serial number of a vehicle is very often a considerable defective, (this depends on the laws in your country).
But may be there is a chance to get the frame number "backtraced" too, on my TY 125 the engine number and frame number are the same.
You need to understand the history of these bikes - I don't think Honda will be very helpful...
I do ask the Sir's here what came to there mind?
If you want to know the history of a bike there is one and very commen solution: To ask the manufactor (if he still exist), about the bike.
This is the very usual and standard way to get information where none exist.
Certainly this works only if you don't have anything to hide.
First, to the question if the factory might want to get it back. No one can reclaim something from you if it wasn't taken away unlawful which would be in this case theft.
If it has been sold there should be a contract, if this paper doesn't exist anymore because this deal happend decades ago it's a pitty but doesn't mean the previous owner has now the right to get it back automatically???
This can only happen when the previous owner has given proof that he was missing this goods, if so there would exist a police report. If there exist a police report then it's stolen goods. (There is also the limitation period to consider, which depends to the jurisdiction of the country where the offense has happend).
If no former police report exist the good belongs to the recent holder of the bike.
The bike could also have been given away, probably as a gift because it was back then (30years ago) "useless" or low in worth, then there even might not been any contract. Again any previous owner don't have the right to reclaim something what he has pervious owned some decades ago if he can't give a proof that he lost it in the past.
There are some other works bike around in Europe that are still ridden and owned by privateers also Hondas.
If someone is posting information in a largely public forum me and btw. you too can assume he is the legal owner.
Posting like:
"I would advise caution with the above post !"
" Me too, Honda might want it back ..."
" You need to understand the history of these bikes - I don't think Honda will be very helpful... "
create a liability to the TO he might have something illegal which doesn't exist, ultimately it is in any democratic law still the rule of the presumption of innocence to consider. In my judgment the above named postings only create unjustified fear and are made of personal envy.
The result of jealousy and "intimidation" of the TO generated by these postings #13 - 15 is that the pictures are now gone and we certainly will not hear much about this motorcycle.
very sad ...
BTW.: There where some restaurations done with the RTL 360, and as I read the manufactor try to help owners quite a lot, also there are some bikes in private hand and as I see Honda is even proud that it is how it is:
If the silencer is clogged it's worth the effort, performance and soundwise.
For the performance I would take a look inside the mid section from the rear there is a holetube installed with is attached to the manifold between the holetube and the corpus of the silencer should been a kind of mineral isulation material. Mostly the holes of the holetube are clogged. and had to be cleaned too.
The rear section of the exhaust has luckily only in the first third to half again a holetube and isulation mounted also this holetube has to be cleaned and the isulation has to be replaced.
For the isulation I would recommend exhaust isulation which comes in mats, due to the case that in the middle sections of the exhaust the hole tube has a free end and when you have filled the voids between the holetube and the corpus to light it can be blown out. In the other hand filling the void to thight will decrase the performance and silencer effects.
Here a picture of the opened rear section of the silencer:
Here a sketch of inner parts of the mid section:
For the exhaust insulation material, I only have a German dealer at hand, you should find this stuff in every other good dirt-bike dealer store:
Wrap the insulation around the cleaned holetube, secure the mat with wire in the middle, then you can if necessary reshape the ends. Place it in one half of the exhaust,
fasten the hole tube to the manifold, (brazing or some welding points) then you can close the corpus again.
Do you have and probably can show some pic's of your bike?
BTW:
I had a 175cc too, it was my first bike which I used for competititions back then, (from 1981 to 1982 when I remember right), I sadly sold the bike. I do search for a bike in good shape ... but this model is very rare in Germany.
As I know and have done so, 50cc and 80 cc bikes where often registrated in Germany as Moped or light weight motorcycles. I had a 50cc Italjet which was also road registered as a moped.
If this wasn't so commen in the U.K. you might consider to get a bike from France, Benelux or Germany as there 50 and 80cc bikes show regulary up with road registration papers. When a bike was registrated once in the EU you have the right to get it registrated in your homecountry too. Still some paperwork to do, (in own experience as I have self imported two bikes from Italy), but less paperwork and hassle then trying to get a "paperless" bike road registrated.
Thank You, that is really nice as CS2 is already very good for most applications.
For those people that had bought the program in 2006 for a ridiculous amount of money ... Well that's another story. Also how the program will work with modern OS and hardware. Then there is the activation issue, beginning with CS2 an activation has to be done in 30 days otherwise the program will go in demo mode, (but this can have been disabled??)
Anyone have tried out this Adobe donor on a modern OS?
The size and the geometrical size of the does matter if you have a standard two stroke engine without any reeds or or disk valve to steer the intake air gasoline mix as the piston revolutions produces resonances and therefore the gas-mixture will oscillating inside the intake and the air box. When the periods of these resonances doesn't fit to the frequency of the engine revolution this will lead to a worse filling of mixture during the suction stroke.
To prevent this the size of the hollow of the air box has to be adjusted. If this is not possible you need tubes inside the airbox that work as Helmholtz resonators to get rid of these "bad" resonances.
If you look inside many airboxes you often find there two or three tubes that work as resonators just to prevent bad airflow.
I wonder if the original Bultaco brake light switch was normally made (closed) and opened when switched. This would explain the peculiar wiring as the current normally took the easy route through the made (closed) switch, and was forced through the brake light bulb when the switch was activated and the 'easy' circuit was broken.
...
I confess I have never have tried the rear brake switch elsewhere or did a check with a multi meter, (there was no need so far).
It may well be possible that the system works "in the other sequence".
This very archaic looking electrical component on the plate, in my eyes, very unique as I never saw this on any other bike ... elsewere
I believe I will not think about it, probably we can assume it works when doing the opposite.
I believe the resistor set up, (look up at the first photo in post #2 (the edged plate with a kind of a coil)), is a kind of a archaic predecessor of a voltage regulator taking away any voltage peaks produced by the generator of the ignition.
Therefore it's permanent on, when the circuit of the brake lamp is closed by the switch the electricity just takes the "easier" route
and the bulb will shine quite bright.
You can mount a regulator instead that will fit in voltage and power, (see the third photo of post #02 for the regulator of Femsa (Spain)).
If you have difficulties to get this unit you might can take the regulator made for Simson bikes,
(Simson the former East German bike factory, Simsons have the same delivery of voltage and power, 6V and 45W)).
This is a guess I' haven't done this and you have to check out ground first, (if it's - or +!, I haven't done this)
I am currently putting my Model 85 Alpina on the road and have wired it from scratch as the diagram above - which is basically what is in the Alpina manual supplied by Bultaco UK.
However, I can't for the life of me see how this circuit makes the brake light work - it is on all the time (at full power) because the circuit is never broken by the brake light switch. The resistor is bypassed, the green is constantly connected to the bulb, as is the earth through the lamp body! The brake light switch merely duplicates the bulb circuit in parallel.
Surely, the brake light switch needs to make and break the green wire between the resistor and the light unit. in which case the resistor is in parallel with the brake light bulb when the circuit is made by the switch. Which should reduce the peak voltage to the bulb.
In addition, the green wire - which is the earth end of the ignition circuit, is earthed solely through the resistor. Which is known to be a dodgy old item in the first place!
I'm more than tempted to splash out on the Electrex system and have a regulated 12V AC lighting circuit as well as electronic ignition. But the £230 price tag is a bit salty.
Has anyone got a brake light to work using this wiring diagram?
These are pull switches for the brake light, there where two types:
- one attached to the rear brake cable on the left side where the cable hose is mounted to the swing arm and
- one attached to the right side mount of the cable hose of the rear brake cable where the mount is attached to the frame
Which one?
To the circuit there is a resistor interconnected (#08) this resistor will be bridged over by the rear-light switch.
If not bridged over the resistor will "eat up" the electrical energy.
I was looking at the the one from BultacoUK that Bondy mentioned,might give that a go.The ebay link ( thanks jer ) is tempting but at £25 ( at the starting price)for a can you couldn't be sure you'd be able to get another can to touch things up later.I saw one go for £23 recently + postage!.......so thats the cost of a set of spokes or an exchange hub for the price of two aerosols....maybe not!
This is riddicoulus high price! I don't know if the following is corresponding with the rules?
Anyway:
The paint I used for my Bultaco costs: 11,88 €/liter!
You get 3 rattlecans with each 400ml for 14.25 €.
I used this paint for the exhausts with very good results, (paint needs tempering!)
Most heat resistant rattlecan paints works quite well. They will stay best when the old paint layers are taken away and also any rust (on the exhaust f. e.).
To get the paint as much gasoline and oil resistant as possible and more "robust" the parts needs tempering. No problem for cylinder and cylinder head or the outtake, the mid- and endsection of the exhaust need an extra heat treatment in my experience.
199A Numbers
in Bultaco
Posted
If you are interested in the history of your Italian Bultaco bike you might want to ask the former Italian importer of Bultaco, he is still riding at least showing up at classic trials in the Alpes region here and there.
Name / Adress / Phone -> PM