maggar

I have 2 Fantic 200's and a Fantic 125 twinshock. I'm not a small bloke and there is plenty of power in the 200's (156cc) bikes - they produced more bhp than a 250 Bultaco of the same era. Of all the twinshock bikes out there the Fantic 200 (rear kick) needs the least amount of "fettling", lowering the pegs an inch and moving them back an inch is all you might want to do but it isn't really necessary. Go for it, you won't be disappointed.

Well after messing about forever with this it works. I altered the depth of the plunger on the actuator arm a few times and bingo. Very strange. Thanks for all the input everyone.

Nothing worked! I decided to make the smaller oil feed hole in the reservoir (through to the cylinder) a bit bigger as it seemed so small compared to the other hole and wasn't allowing any fluid through, so I drilled it out and ...... it worked! Fed the hose back through the hole in the bottom yoke and bled up the system until I had a solidly braked front wheel - praise the Lord! So then it was a case of simply attaching the remote master cylinder to its bracket and then to the two holes in the yoke. It was really awkward and I had to slacken off the banjo fitting on the master cylinder to allow the hose to flex and the bracket to line up with the screw holes. I re-tightened the banjo abut it must have let a little air - no problem, I thought just bleed it up again. Nothing. No air or fluid coming through the clear pipe attached to the bleed nipple again. Back to square one.

Thanks, I'll try that tonight.

I attached a large syringe to the bleed nipple to suck out the air and I keep getting bubbles and no increase in fluid coming out. Is it possible that air is getting into the calliper? If it is just trapped air then I have a Tardis calliper; I've sucked out about 6 syringes full of air and the calliper is a single pot Grimeca!!!

Aaaaaghhh!!!!!! Ok, I have completed the restoration of my 241 Progress and I'm over the moon at the results, it's lovely even if I say so myself. There is however one niggling issue which, try as I might, I simply can't solve. This bike has the 1986 only weird "semi-hydraulic" set-up on the front brake where a cable pull at the handlebar is transformed into a hydraulic action at a remote master cylinder behind the extended front number board. I'm aware that this is often criticised but I really want the bike to be as original as possible. I am having a nightmare trying to bleed the brake up. It did work if a bit weakly when I picked up the bike from Telford. I have replaced the old pistons and seals in the calliper and given the whole thing a thorough clean (the seals in the calliper ARE the right way up before you ask). Now initially it appeared as though the seals on the master cylinder piston were past their best so they were replaced. It then appeared that the spring didn't have enough umph to bring the piston back to the "extended" position to allow fluid to drop into the gap in front of it, I tried to space the spring from the end but it didn't work. I have now located and fitted a completely new piston with new seals and brand new spring and........ it still doesn't work! Brake fluid does pass down the hose okay. When filled and off the bike squeezing the piston does squirt fluid out from the cylinder (although not much and with little force). Initially bleeding it seems to work - I have a clear tube connected to the bleed nipple and, to start with, I get a small amount of fluid and air bubbles. I sit and pump the lever for hours and no difference, I seem to have a never ending supply of air and the fluid level in the reservoir hardly drops. So last night I tried reverse bleeding from the hose bottom up and filled the reservoir that way. Once full I then pulled the lever with the bleed nipple open and the fluid in pipe hardly moves. If I close the bleed nipple I can just about see an almost imperceptible movement of the calliper piston but the pressure doesn't build and the brake doesn't come on AT ALL. Either I'm missing something obvious, or I'm cursed, or fluid is getting past the piston somehow so that it isn't is being forced properly down the hose. Thing is the bike is on Ebay so I need to get it sorted, I placed the ad before "nipping out to the garage to bleed the brake" about 10 days ago. Any thoughts other than can of petrol, Zippo and claim form?

You can either modify the frame, manufacture some sort of peg hanger that "bolts on" or weld on peg wideners to to original pegs. Wideners available on Ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-PR-FOOTREST-PEG-Serrated-Wideners-Pre65-Vinduro-Scramble-Moto-X-Trial-Racing-/252334576976?hash=item3ac0501550:g:6x4AAOSwTapV3thk

There are parts of the tank where you can see the translucent "plastic". Is it possible to add a barrier coat before painting?

Thanks Grib - that's the way I'm going to go with this.

65:1 in all my Fantics - Castrol XR77 for years. No problems, quiet engines not much smoke and clean pipes!

Update - I started to rub down the tank last night, it had lots of bubbles in the paint and I could actually peel off large sections of the paint rather than sand it. Someone previously has painted the tank and, despite suggestions that these mono tanks don't allow fuel vapour to breathe through, it has bubbled. I will spend some time now getting the tank prepared for painting but I'm not sure how to seal it as I don't know what it's made of. Anyone?

What are the 301 / 241 & 201 tanks made from? I've searched on here for info on painting them and found a post which says that these tanks don't allow petrol "vapour" (?) to breathe through but I've had stickers bubble up on these tanks before. I have a 241 with a very rough tank that needs painting - what's the best way to do this without spending fortunes? I was going to sand down, wet or dry it, maybe use some sort of sealant and then paint with normal spray paint and apply a petrol resistant lacquer. I'm not sure what these tanks are made of and some of the sealant products say not to use with fibreglass. It's all very confusing!

I used to use ATF in my Fantics but have changed to Silkolene Light Gear oil and it is much better.

With modern synthetic oils being so much more efficient than the mineral oils of the 80's there is no need whatsoever to run at 40:1. Fantics will happily run at 70:1 with a decent fully synthetic oil, I use Castrol XR77.

I run all my Fantics on 65:1 fully synthetic - no problems.

Thanks Smokey. I will do as you suggest.

Thank you. I'm not bothered so much about measuring the squish, I just wanted to know if it's "safe" to have just one paper gasket in. I have found a discussion elsewhere saying that people regularly used 2, 3 or even 4 gaskets on the 240 engine (same engine as the 241) "back in the day" to soften the power. On that basis I have fitted the extra gasket so it now has two.

I'm restoring a 241 Progress 2 and have bought a gasket kit from InMotion. There appeared to be 2 base gaskets in the kit (although they were very slightly different shapes) should I have used both? I have just used one base gasket and tightened up the head bolts but now I'm worried that I should have used both for the extra squish. Anyone know the answer?

Yep, those are the ones I have that have come off the bike. I knew about the weld on extensions I just wondered whether someone was making a modern wide peg for the old "male" brackets but it seems not. Thanks for the replies though. I have had a crazy thought!!! I'm thinking of swapping the left mount for the right mount and having the lug go into the frame slot from the outside and bolted on in the same holes I could then weld the U-brackets to fit modern pegs onto the back of the mount instead of the front. If you know what I mean? I just need to check how much clearance there is inside the frame before hitting the swing arm but, by my way of thinking even if I have to shorten the lug so it just goes through the frame slot, that and the two bolts will be perfectly strong enough. I'll let you know if this is a goer or not.

I miss the days before mobile phones.

Straight natural hazard sections.

I am in the middle of a rebuild of a 241 Progress 2 and have had the frame powder coated before welding on the U-shaped peg mounts which I usually do. Now I wish I had! Does anyone know of any wide foot pegs on the market which will mount directly to the through the frame type male lug on a Fantic?

Me and three mates are going on Saturday and staying in the Holiday Inn on Saturday night. Any recommendations for pubs and food?

"I would be looking for a four seater vehicle as I would have to have this for work" That rules out all the van versions of Berlingos, Connects, Doblos etc. because they are two seaters. If you are looking at the "people carrier" type versions you will be needing to remove seats to get the bike into them in one piece.

I have had no luck in trying to get insurance on my trials bikes in the past so I called Doodsons (hanks' post above). They do provide cover but it's expensive (4 bikes totalling iro £13k would be be £800 pa) and the biggest problem for me is that they each need to be secured to a permanent ground anchor by a Thatcham 3 category chain at all times. Well my garage is like Fort Knox and none of my road bike's required that sort of protection (or that cost of cover) to be insured in the same building with Fully Comprehensive not just F&F. I'm not about to start digging up my foot thick concrete floor to put in ground anchors all over the place just so I can spend my life tripping over them and locking and unlocking chains. I'm just going to rely on my security measures.