maggar

Before I explain this I should say that I am far from being a mechanic; I will service my bikes, changing oils and filters etc. and I'm happy to tinker with frames and suspension and the like but the hot oily bit in the middle and especially electrics has me bamboozled! Right, the Hardy Cub I bought about 6 weeks ago I have only ever ridden on my land and it has always started first or second kick and has run perfectly. I was due to enter my first Pre 65 trial today at Sowerby Bridge so yesterday I fired her up and had a few minutes tight turning on the drive. After only about 3 or 4 minutes it seemed to cough a bit when I went to lift the front wheel, like it missed slightly then picked up. It did this twice then stalled. I kicked it over and it started but stalled again pretty much immediately. I went to kick it over again and found that the kickstart was very stiff and then with the next kick totally locked! Thinking it had seized I swore loudly then removed the plug, which was very black, and tried to push the kickstart with my hand - it turned without resistance. Phew! I thought it might be a problem with the plug so I changed it and tested that there was a spark - all good. Kicked it over and it started okay but died again quickly and once again the kickstart stiffened up. I did check when it was briefly running that oil was circulating through the flow and return pipes to the sump / tank and it was. I have now repeated this a few times and each time the same result; the bike will kick without a plug in but with the plug in the kickstart stiffens after one rotation. I have not attempted to kick it into life again for fear of serious damage. This is the bike I showed in a previous thread (Fred Hardy Cub), it has pvl ignition. I'm very worried that it's something serious, I have quite a lot of money in this bike and really want it to be right. Maybe she just didn't fancy getting dirty! Any thoughts?

None taken. I wasn't sitting on it, I was leaning the bike over to spin the back wheel up to try to clear some mud off between sections and it just snapped the housing at the top.

Snapped the side stand off my 303!!!

Yep, I filled the gearbox to the level indicated by the tube in the centre of the gear box drain plug. I know that the primary should have 200ml but is there any legitimate reason that it wouldn't have any in at all or to only have 50ml in the gearbox?

Should the chain case of my Cub be completely devoid of oil? The bike was to be put through the workshop before it was delivered to me so it should be right as far as oils are concerned but when I removed the chain case drain last night nothing came out. I then removed the side case and it was totally dry in there.... There is no gasket either so I assume this must be right but it seems odd to me. It has PVL ignition. I was a little bit alarmed to find that there was only 50ml of oil in the gearbox and have now changed that to 200cc of EP90. So far I have only run it around my drive for 20 minutes or so in total but I don't want to run it again until I know that everything is as it's meant to be. Magnus

Thanks Brian, I've ordered one.

That's good to know Alan, thank you. I will definitely try to enter some of those as well. I have to say when I went to watch at Lady Lane the other week, weather apart, it was really good; well organised and very friendly. I had a chat to a few of the observers who were doing a fantastic job and to one or two riders. I was very impressed by their fortitude as well as their riding! It was all I could do to stand up in that wind and I lasted about 2 hours before retreating to the relative comfort of my Land Rover and my flask of hot coffee.

Brilliant, I'll definitely have a go at the Peak Classic trials then. Thanks.

Thanks OTF, I assume that is the Peaks Classic Club? I would like to rid in some of your events, that would be great. With my twinshock club - North Lincs Classic - there is no requirement for ACU licence and mine expired in December so I would need to pay subs and get the ACU code before I rode in one of your events I presume. I will visit the website again and get contact details etc. to organise that. Thanks everyone for your advice and info. Mag

Thanks both. It's sort of as I feared really; I went to watch the last Yorkshire Classic trial at Lady Lane and thought that although my ability would be better suited to the Clubman route theHardy Cub would mean that as a Special I would be forced to ride the harder route. Unless there's an option to ride a special in Clubman but not to score any championship points (I have no delusions of bothering the trophy engravers any time soon!) I also saw that the Poachers Pre 65 club seem to not allow specials in their trials - unless I've read that wrong. Peak Classic seem to have all manner of classes available so that too is an option. All of them involve a bit of a hike for me as I'm based about 16 miles south of York. Does Phil Clarkson visit this site do you know? I'd love to ask him a few things about the bike - no issues with it at all, I love it.

Hello I've recently bought this Tiger Cub built by Fred Hardy; I have his hand written notes on the various mods he had built into it. I believe that Fred sold the bike to Phil Clarkson of Leyland some time ago. Does anyone recognise the bike? Will the modifications mean that it would have to enter as a "Special" in Pre 65 club trials? Thanks Magnus

Yep, understand that now, thanks Craig. I'll follow your advice on the engine oil too. Thanks everyone.

Hope this works

Yes, I realise that Charlie and it has me a bit worried as this Hardy Cub already has a steep angle on the steering head. I think it is the seat angle (rises towards the tank) that makes the bike look a bit low at the back) I'll try and post a picture....

Thanks for the replies. I'm still undecided about whether the 20w50 oil for the engine should be mineral, synthetic or semi but after Stan's reply I'm thinking semi-synthetic might be the best option. I've ordered the TQF and the EP90 as well - thanks Stan. Craig, surely the the angle of the swing arm isn't altered by longer rear shocks, that angle is dictated by the size of the back wheel (the ground to the centre of wheel being fixed) or by how much air in the rear tyre. I think! The current shocks are 37cm I think I'll go with 38cm for the new ones. For the moment my most pressing concern is all the oil questions - which oil, where, how much?

I have just bought a 1965 Fred Hardy built Tiger Cub to get into Pre 65 trials in addition to the twinshock stuff I'm doing. I have a few questions (I promise I have searched previous threads first): Oil - The bike came with "20w50" written on the tank next to the filler in the top frame tube. This is a custom made (by Fred) frame and I have no idea of oil capacity or what type to use. Various threads here and elsewhere suggest "Never use synthetic", "Always use synthetic" "Only use mineral" etc. I understand that there are three oils (Engine, gear and chain case) I have managed to find some information on capacity for gear and chaincase (half a pint from memory) but again I'm unclear on which oil to use. Also until my Workshop manual arrives I'm not sure where to locate fillers for the above (there seems to be one too many!), drain plugs and oil filters. Now the bike is not standard, I know it has PVL ignition, "special" cams and a rebore out to 219cc from hand written notes by Fred himself; these notes state that he made this Cub for himself. Rear suspension - I have Rock Shocks on my Fantic 200 and love them and I'd like to replace the existing shocks on the cub with something similar. The centre to centre length of the existing units is 14 and a half inches. I'd rather not go shorter but there seems to be a bit of a jump from 360mm (14") to 400mm (15 1/2"). The rake on the front forks is already quite steep for tighter turning and I'm concious that standing the rear end up too much might exaggerate that effect beyond where it's helpful. Any guidance, help, pointers and questions welcome. I read this back to myself and I sound like an idiot! I can do the usual service stuff on all my bikes but once inside the hot, oily thing in the middle I'm lost!

I've just completed my 4th trial with my new Gaerne Balance Oiled boots and they are (so far) brilliant. They are the most comfortable item of footwear I own and come up looking new again with a quick wash and dubbin after every trial. They have remained completely waterproof so far in some horribly wet conditions.

Airoh work for me.

Watched David Knight take Jarvo and Jonny Walker apart at Tong in Fast Eddy's Extreme Enduro last January. Knighter was on a bored out trail bike (Honda CRF250X) while Jarvo and Walker were on their factory bikes. When Knighter's on song there's no-one to touch him.

Thanks Eddie. As it turns out the threads in the frame are no more! The spindle is stepped at the opposite end as normal but instead of threads it seats into bronze bushes and has the two bolted in end caps to stop it "floating" out. The whole thing had seized up so the spindle was turning in the bushes. It is now out (thanks to a 60 tonne press) and the frame is stripped down ready for blasting and powder coating. I will rebuild as is but with the spindle properly greased and with a new (working) grease nipple to keep things moving. It's going to be a long job!

Okay, I've now identified the problem; my other Fantic 200 is as you describe Eddie but this "new" one doesn't have an Allen key slot on either side it just has a very small threaded central hole for a bolt with a washer - presumably to stop the bar being used as a spindle from slipping out. There appears to be a steel bush at either end too. I think this bar is now seized inside the frame tube as smacking it with a chuffing big drift and lump hammer hasn't moved it a bit. My worry is that, even after a bit of heat and a bigger hammer has removed the "spindle" (hopefully!) the internal part of the frame tube is obviously different to the standard one now so how am I going to replace it with the normal spindle (always assuming I can find one)?

How does it unscrew then? There's no way to get hold of it to turn it and the small bolts that come out of either end don't seem strong enough to tighten right in and then undo a left handed thread (if that's what it is). Still confused!

I have just bought a second Fantic 200 as a winter project to do up and I need to get the frame and swingarm blasted and powder coated (or painted - can't decide). I have removed the two small bolts from each end of the swingarm spindle and I've removed the two pinch bolts from where the spindle passes through the frame. So to my mind it should "tap" out now but it's fixed solid. Can anyone tell me how to remove it please? It's driving me up the wall! Thanks Mag

Stay with No Stop. Anything but all that stop and hop trick cycling rubbish. Change the sections to the mucky rocky streams and tree rooted muddy climbs that '70's and '80's riders had to contend with, keep the bikes rolling and no more pogo-sticking about in Lycra like spoilt kids in too tight pyjamas on a Skittles and Red Bull diet. If I had my way Dunlop wellies, dungarees, a Belstaff waxed jacket and a flat cap would be compulsory although the lit Woodbine held provocatively at the corner of your mouth could be optional. Uninvent mono-shock and bring in a minimum weight limit of 100kg for the bike and 15 stone for the rider.

I too am north of average weight and I went for 360's on my Montesa Honda 349 with 50lb Springs.