d250b

thank you! ok just been out to try and slacken the chain tension. I can't get the back wheel far enough forward because the brake cam hits the end of the swing arm. Pschrauber you said i might need to mount a half link so I'm assuming I need to lengthen the chain?? EDIT ok just checked the inter web and see the 1/2 links, so thats self explanatory. off to youtube now for some instruction! should have done the research first! D

Thanks for the comments folks its been a really satisfying job doing that and I'm desperately looking forward to getting started riding. The photos maybe flatter a wee bit though, the wheels are far from perfect but I simply couldn't afford to do them up properly; then again as I said she for riding not display. Need 2 new tyres too but again finances............... some day! trialsrfun/pschrauber, thank you, appreciate your advice. I'm totally in the dark about a lot of this stuff and thats the sort of thing that really helps. I will get those things sorted. The tensioner spring is a bit tired so this might mean another purchase!!! I tried to be cute with my cables....i thought it would be a good idea to use heat-shrink tubing on the electrics coming out of the casing to prevent water getting in. This seemed to work fine although the cable is a bit 'kinky' on the way up to the tank but just cosmetic. Both my throttle and clutch cables were pretty hard up and rubbed down to the metal in places so I thought it would be an idea to do the same to them and save having to buy new ones. It's tidied them up a lot but the clutch cable is now a bit stiff and bulky (despite this I've got a very light 1 or 2 finger pull on the lever though). Front brake cable didn't get the shrink tubing treatment but I will sort out the routing. You might notice Ive held it to the mudguard stay with a cable tie; i bought the proper wee metal guide for the fork leg but I'm damned if i can find it........... heres a pic of the tubing on the electrics in case it looks like a good idea thanks again D

Happiest chap in Bultacoland today! just fished my first rebuild of anything and it happens to be the type of bike I obsessed over 30+ years ago and could never have! The only thing I didn't do was split the engine. The amazing thing is it actually goes and seems to go quite well! round the yard at least! so by way of saying thanks to everybody on here who has patiently answered my many questions, heres a couple of pics. I've also had great help from the chaps at Inmotion as well as John Collins in Wales and honestly, without the help of guys like them and the knowledge on this forum I'd never have managed it. the bike was built to be usable, not a thing of perfection/show pony. The only major components that I had to change were the rear shocks and the front fork tubes. It had many issues but now, hopefully they've all been put right and she's going to last for a good while yet! not to mention hammer home the fact that I'm 30 years and several stones too late in doing this:-))))) but what the heck......... David

Big thanks down under!! another panic over and sorted, did as you suggested and it's spot on now. I just didn't think that it was possible the yokes could be misaligned; i remember thinking when they were installed loosely and sliding in the new stanchions that they would be lined up properly by the stanchions themselves being such a tight fit. every day's a school day thats for sure; many thanks D

Rather than start a new thread......... I thought I had sorted my front wheel woes but now as I near the end of the rebuild another problem........... When the steering head and bars are at 90' to the frame i.e straight ahead, the front wheel is pointing off to the right. I have been in the shed for the last 2 hours agonising over this and trying to work out what is wrong but I can't. I've had the wheel off again and back on but I just can't fathom this. i've got the right spacers now, the spindle looks perfectly straight and without tightening up the spindle the wheel spins beautifully on the new bearings. The wheel isn't perfect but the pointing to the right is consistent throughout its rotation so i don't think its a spoke issue? Spindle is original, bearings, spacers and seals all brand new. Fork stanchions are secondhand but just rechromed and checked for straight as part of that process. new steering head bearings too. the stanchions slipped fine into the clamps. Just gone back and taken the wheel off again and photographed it without the wheel, just the spindle. Its still obvious so its not the wheel. any suggestions greatfully appreciated! D

Thank you pschrauber! I seem to have managed it without too much difficulty The stanchions were secondhand ones which I have had rechromed, (i discovered that my originals were different lengths as well as being pitted). It took a while to get them back but the new tubes look superb. I understood that part of the process done by the rechroming company was checking for straightness. I had already purchased the double oil seals as well as new Pursang-length springs. I don't have the brake fitted yet and the bike is still on the stand but I can't wait to see what it feels like now that it's all done. Even the allen bolts went in without too much trouble and whilst I didn't use a broom stick I managed to stick another tool down there to stop it turning but it didn't take much. So far there has been no leak but I'm still not sure if the size of the hole in the bottom of the fork leg should be so much bigger in diameter than the allen bolt? it seems to be asking a lot of the sealing washer???? I took your advice and got some fibre washers which were a wee bit too big but managed to file them down carefully to fit the recess. Perhaps it was the type of split washer i had but when held against the fibre one I was convinced that it would tear it when tightened so i have tried a flat washer and some thread-locker. I have discovered so many stripped threads so far that i was too scared to try and tighten the bolt to the required torque so it's in there as tight as i dare for the moment and we'll see how she goes. cheers D

Just about to embark on first ever attempt at rebuilding the forks on my M190. Is there a proper sequence in which to do this or is it pretty self-explanatory, are there any tricks to doing it?? The M8x35 allen headed bolt on the very bottom of the fork leg has two washers, one is a star/lock washer but what should the other one be made out of? copper or fibre. There was a fibery sort of stuff stuck to an ordinary plain washer when it came out but the whole thing was gunked full of silicone as well. i'm a bit concerned because now that I've gotten all the silicone out, the hole is much bigger in diameter than m8, is this correct?? also i think i remember reading that the double seals both go in the same way unlike the back-to-back ones on the crank case? cheers D

Not touching the wheels, too daunting......if you think the brake linings look ok then that's a relief because I just couldn't face having to strip and reline them, not to mention afford it. My forks are finally finished so they should be here tomorrow and the end is in sight!

Thanks Tony, that may well be why it was dry and probably why there was horrible black sludge coming out of the joins and the holes in the exhaust?......... Bundy, All's well on that front, everything's been refitted and seemed to be fine. On the other thread where you mentioned seating the bearings I did that with the help of a paint stripper gun. Cheers. D

Had to take the head off to get the missing stud time-certed so went on and took off the barrel and took out the piston. Checked for play and only a tiny bit side to side and zero up and down so all should be well?!

would someone be kind enough to enlighten me as to the state of my hubs please? should they be shiny chrome or have they been steel lined? before the bike was stripped down the brakes did work but since this is my first bike I've no benchmark to compare......... cheers D

Thanks guys, that sounds like mine were, the big o ring inside the seal carrier and the wee one along with the distance bush on the shaft; anyway it tallied up with the parts diagram and it seemed to make sense. bondy, mine came off fine and everything seemed to go back together ok. I'm definitely not splitting the engine this time, too scared of what i might find! it certainly seemed to be running fine mechanically so here's hoping. of course if and when I finally get to a trial I'm dreading another Bultaco owner saying "it shouldn't sound like that!" however i do think it's ok and we'll just leave it at that for now and keep fingers crossed. Anyway its too late now the engine's back in, all i need is the time-sert installed and then the last thing is the forks if i ever get them back from the rechromers! Thanks D

I tried to attach this photo to my last post but it wouldn't go, it's the inside of the crank seals on the clutch side as I found them and wondered if it could have cause the oil to get sucked into the crank case? I know the wear isn't on the shaft part of the seal but it doesn't look very clever!

Hi Sherpated, you're lucky you had some oil in it when I went to drain mine there was but a spoonful in the casing thankfully i had decided to change the oil before i used it but I've no idea how long it had been like that?? the main clutch bearing was goosed so thats been changed now too, I just hope theres been no damage to the plates or anything else. I understand the clutch plates are only a few years old with little use and they are the modern BultacoUK ones. There was quite a bash in the casing and a hairline crack which was able to weep oil rather than 'leak' it out I'd say and I would have thought it unlikely to have shed 300ml this way but I don't know. one of the crank seals was in quite a state and i wonder if it's possible some of the oil made its way into the crank this way? I think I should probe the thread holes to check on depth before I reassemble. I hope you can get your casing sorted, I'm lucky that our local blacksmith is a dab hand with the tig welder and he sorted both the casing and my gouged fork leg as good as new! D

I think if you knew how much id spent on this bike so far it would go some way to dispelling the myth about Scots being tight!!!! I think the bike will have to be buried along with me because there's no way on earth I'd get the £ back if I sold it that's for sure.......... And the torque wrench was actually worse, it was £45!!! It's a Teng which I thought were supposed to be quite good.

Thanks Woody, According to my parts list I should have 5x30mm bolts, 2x35mm bolts and the drain bolt, however when I took it apart I had two bolts that were at least 40mm and another one of similar length used as the drain bolt. I took careful note of which holes each bolt came out of when I realised they were different lengths. One of the too-long ones was in the hole that is stripped. On the parts list the hole thats stripped is shown as the one with the 30mm bolt in it. (Should say that my list is for a M159 and I have a M190 so if anybody can let me know if things are different on the 190 I'd really appreciate it. I've just been working on the assumption that they were all pretty similar) The parts list only shows one of each length so therefore I only know where one of the 35mm ones should be and not the other, any idea which one this should be in??? I've bought new stainless ones of the right length to do it but i obviously don't want to cock up yet another thread by putting in a bolt thats too long. Bondy. re the torque wrench, mine was only £40 quid as well but to me that's expensive

Thanks for that folks, I've done what I think is a bit of a compromise between your two suggestions. Just hope that I've followed the manual properly in setting it up. If I made an analogy with looking at a buckled wheel from above and using the nuts to straighten it out then thats what Ive tried to do. Anyway got it all done up and went to put the case on and discovered yet another ******* stripped thread, for the bolt at the front in the locating sleeve. That will be the third 'time-sert' I've had to use and there's other ones been helicoiled before me. not sure whether it's just the age of the bike and the number of times the bolts have been in and out or over tightening in the past. I bought myself an expensive torque wrench for this rebuild just to try and avoid this sort of thing........maddening... thanks again D

I've just refitted the clutch onto my 190 and obviously as a first-time I've tried to follow the manual to the letter. I've adjusted the nuts whilst holding in the clutch and working the kick start and I think I've got the plates nice and true. However this means that the holes in the nuts for the lock wire are all over the place. When I dismantled the clutch they were nicely in line so that the lock wire made a nice loop and I've seen a photo of similar elsewhere on the forum. If I adjust the nuts to make the lock wire look tidy will I not be upsetting the alignment of the plates? Also, how on earth do you manage to torque the flywheel nut to 95 ft/lbs?? I got the clutch nut to 75 but I've managed to mangle a clutch holding tool in trying to get the flywheel to 90!!! I've got it to above 80 as I was torquing up in stages but I hope that will be enough and with the lock wire it will be ok?

Cheers folks, that confirms my suspicions!! took the bits off today and the new shoes fit nicely! Thanks for your help. David

I've just tried to reassemble my brakes, thoroughly cleaned and with brand new shoes. However, neither the back or the front fit; they're too big. I've found an old post which suggests filing down the shoe material with a rasp but first of all I wanted to check that my cams haven't been butchered. The only photos I can find on the internet are of old rusty ones and of poor detail but they don't look like they have what mine do. Both of my cams have this extra bit of metal bent around them. Is this normal or has someone tried to make an old pair of shoes last longer by beefing up the cam? I'm expecting that without these bits on the new shoes might fit......... but obviously not going to take them off until i get some advice. Also my front brake cam has been 'bushed' where it goes through the alloy cover plate but I think there's too much play in it; any suggestions as to how to re-do this better? cheers David

thanks Woody, I'll keep that contact and if my first line of enquiry doesn't pan out I'll be straight onto him. Very true! The bike's been through the wars I think. Theres a patch on the frame behind the headstock (made out of a bit of old car exhaust we think) which may have been put on for a crack but it was hard to find. Anyway my blacksmith has had the patch off and has it sorted out and i'll collect today to go for blasting and paint. I've never attempted anything like this before and I underestimated the potential for issues. I'm not wanting a show pony just a good usable bike with all the right bits working properly but its going to take a bit to get there. Need to take into account that the bike is nearly 40 years old and for most of it's life whoever owned it wasn't able to break something and then just nip in the house and search the internet, find a part in Surrey the USA or Europe and get it delivered in a day or two!! it was a different world and home made bushes or make-do bits would have to be the norm. hopefully will have some tubes by the end of today...... Cheers D

Woody, thanks for the extra info, especially about the Ossa ones, could've been an expensive mistake that!! The other thing I've had pointed out to me is that by buying a second hand pair of forks which are intact, i could strip the damned things down and uncover another pair of stanchions of different length!! I've made some enquiries today and I'm waiting to hear about the chance of some new old stock tubes which would be a good solution i think. I've also noticed that the make up of the dampers is slightly different as well, with a different "thick washer" and different "perforated washer" but considering the bigger tasks in front of me I think I might just overlook this as I can't imagine its going to be a big deal. Thanks again for the help.

Thanks Greg, I don't think there would be a problem altering the geometry for me There are 2 sets of betor 35mm forks on ebay at the moment, one with the clamps, one without (which came off an Ossa), so I assume either of these could be used as donors for the tubes alone? Ive asked about the Ossa ones to find out what the chrome is like because if I end up having to spend £120 or more for a pair of tubes; (given what its going to cost for all the other bits and bobs), I simply can't afford to then spend another £160 on re-chroming. i knew it would cost a bit to get the bike sorted but it's mounting up now and the forks thing was a totally unforseen issue- and an expensive one at that. thanks again David

Thanks for the photos and advice. My internals look very similar to your 190 but even so mine are not a pair, there are differences in the spacers/washers so it's a complete mess. I've been looking for Bultaco/Betor forks but I'm still uncertain as to what length to get, or will it make a lot of difference once they are on the bike? There's a nice brand new set in Greece but they are well over £200, I've also found some from an Ossa but I still don't know how long they will be. If the tube length won't make a lot of difference then that will make it a bit easier. D

Thanks folks for the responses so far. pschrauber has a pair from a 190 which are 560mm and although the 190's forks were shorter than the 198, larrrynz's tubes are even shorter than that at 545mm???? Woody, could the difference in o/all length be down to the bottom legs rather than the tubes then? I can't imagine that getting one cut down would be very easy or cheap. I can't find a second hand one/pair at the moment but if I did I would have that cost plus (potentially) re-chroming cost too. I've found a UK company that makes tubes but Bultacos aren't listed although I can phone them next week to see if they would do them, i'm hoping that it might be as cheap to get a new pair made than buy second hand and rechrome. Would an entire front end from a later bike fit on my frame if that looked like a cheaper option? larrynz: the company i was going to send the forks to for rechroming was called http://www.pittedforks.co.uk and they were wanting £165 for a pair of tubes pre-stripped and this included collection and delivery in the UK. hope this might help. Here's a photo of the frame and headstock just in case someone can identify that it's maybe not even a 190 headstock!? Thanks again D