japes1275

Cubs in the 60's ran fine on Amals but then aparently in the 80's they just couldn't be made to run properly on them so foreign carbs were the only answer. For some reason the tables have turned and Cubs are once again able to use Amal carbs. A strange phenomenon that didn't seem to affect other bikes.

Ttspud, your last post is In my mind absolutely spot on. It's made me feel a bit bad though as I'm currently fitting electronic ignition to my bike! (I'm going to keep the old Zener system just in case though).

That is very true, if you'd spent £6k building your trick Cub in 2010 you'd have made a much better investment than buying a new 2010 Gas Gas! (Though you'd probably have had to spend a lot more fettling time!)

It's all down to the lax rules. A lot of Pre 65 bikes have been modified to the point where they are more competetive than some of the early twinshock jap/European bikes. So are 1980's twinshock bikes going to be allowed to be modified enough to make them more like a bike from the late 90's or 00's? Might be difficult in that disc brakes and mono shocks are the main changes but I'm sure people can still find things to spend their money on to make the bike more competetive and force other competitors to spend more money to compete. It's the rules on frames, hubs and yokes that make me laugh. It seems most clubs seem to allow 'replicas' of theses items, some say must be of the same material and appearance, some don't. Well for a start if it's of the same material and appearance then you might as well use the original! Or if a replica means it can be of any material or appearance then anything goes!! There also doesn't appear to be much in the way of checking the bikes are eligible before the start of a trial or more importantly (and probably easier than having a scruitineer) encouraging other riders to come forward if they believe a bike is outside of the rules. My bike is probably worth about £2500-3000. It is basically the same as it was 30 years ago, in fact in the main it's not much different to what it might have been like in the 60's. It is still rideable and enjoyable. I rode it the other week and I'm sure that if a decent rider had been riding it would have done ok. But I'm guessing that if I sold it the first thing most new owners would do is rip it apart and spend the same again as what they might have paid for it making it more 'competetive'. If we had a decent set classes and rules (country wide) that were enforced then the less modified (and the point here is cheaper) bikes could have a competetive days riding alongside the 'money no object' bikes.

I didn't know Brian Johnson from Ac/Dc rode trials.

Exactly Deryk, sections that would bring back some older or less modified bikes and might embarrass the riders that feel the need to ride fiddle bikes. You can't beat a nice reasonably straight section that follows the natural lie of the land, a gully or river bed. You need less flags as well!

Thanks chaps, I've ordered the Electrex World kit. Not heard any bad things about it (apart from lack of keyway) and the price seemed good compared to similar kits of alloy construction. I'll post a review once fitted. Cheers

Price wise you still get what you pay for in my experience, though I do accept the ones I've mentioned are expensive. The £250+ ones are still just a simple ignition system. For my similar aged car I can get a fully mapable machined alloy distributor that can have different advance curves programmed in seconds on a laptop, for the same price. I've seen the Wassell ones but I've heard of a few people having problems with them - though I know those stories will exist for all of them! I'll go and do some more googling!

I'm thinking of moving into the 21st century and getting electronic ignition on my C15. I've looked at the various options and I'm thinking that the crank driven type is what I'll be going for. I don't need a battery or lights so it seems the easiest and best option. I've identified three that look suitable, the PVL from SM, Electrex World and Rex Caunt. The PVL is at least one that I've heard of and looks and seems decent quality, I can only seem to find them at SM though. The Electrex World is a good deal cheaper but seems less trials oriented. The Rex Caunt also sounds ok and has the advantage of parts of the kit being available separately but it's more expensive. All are big investments (by my standards!) so I wonder if anyone could advise me on which might be best, or even recommend alternatives. My bike is a distributor model (with a very worn dizzy!) so I'd rather steer clear of the points replacement type. I'm edging towards the Electrex Word at the moment - purely from a financial perspective! Thanks for any advice

No way am I walking up pipeline, just go for it and hope for the best! You wouldn't need another seat for Dennis, he'd fit in your pocket according to Little Britain!

You can never be too careful these days, events like the Pre65 could offer easy pickings for tea leaves, lots of easily stolen bikes and trailers around. I hate leaving my old bikes anywhere.

Mmm, not what I was hoping to hear but probably what I thought would be the case. I suppose hiring a van is another option. Of course this is all theoretical, I'm not holding out much hope of getting an entry!

What are the security arrangements (if any) for competitors machines in Kinlochleven? Is there somewhere they can be left overnight securely or is it just down to the individual to sort out at their accommodation? Not having a van I would have to use a trailer and that doesn't leave much in the way of security - for the bike or trailer for that matter! Thanks

Unfortunately it's probably no longer around, at least not in that guise. A lot of these old bikes are getting chopped about and spoilt to make them more competetive for 'modern' pre 65 trials.

Does anyone know what weight difference there is between alloy and steel rims? I'm thinking the standard 21/18" trials sizes. Hopefully someone might have some lying about they could weigh! Thanks!

Thanks for the update Barry, good to hear its coming along. Sounds like you are doing the bike justice and keeping the originalty. When you look at the way some people butcher (sorry but I can't think a of a better way to describe it!) the frames etc on these bikes it's good to see one being kept as it came out of the factory. In the last few months I've managed to get my bike registered with the DVLA. It has never been registered in the 30 years I've know it and it was remarkably easy to do. I used the dating service offered by the VMCC (the BSA owners club seemed pretty useless) and they also have a list of instructions for the paperwork. Anyway, a quick MOT and a bit of form filling out and it was done in a couple of weeks. At last I could get it insured. Off I went for its first 'legal' trip on the road! It's not bad actually, even with trials gearing. So now I can concentrate on getting it ready for a bit more serious trials work, I'm hoping to do some of the British Bike Championship rounds next year so needed to get it road legal. Keep us posted on the rebuild!

Cheers for that but no luck - no shocks listed for the TL. Good site though with stock of other bits I might need.

Can anyone recommend a supplier of rear shocks for my dad's TL? He wants to keep it looking standard and I'm finding it difficult to source some that are the right length (360mm) and that look reasonably original. Thanks

Mmm, they didn't come out as expected! If you click on each one it opens in full though.

Barry, good to hear you're planning things out and getting ready to start in ernest. I've just about finished my bike, I've done a trial on it anyway! It needs a bit of fettling to iron out a few problems but nothing major. Here are the before and after pics:

Update: The genuine Honda part was only slightly better than the aftermarket one. The diameter of the inner part of the splines is 18mm and the outer 20mm but the shaft in the un worn area is 16mm x 20mm. So you are only getting half the contact you should be. In the end I searched on eBay and found a Yamaha sprocket for a YBR125 is a perfect fit with 16mm x 18mm splines and the right retaining plate hole centres. If you've got one of the ill fitting aftermarket ones I'd recommend you get a YBR sprocket to save your splines! (Not sure what sizes are available but I got a 15 and I know they do a 14)

You don't need to spend a fortune, you just need to buy the right bike. Starting with a bog standard road bike will surely be a lot of work and not cheap. Take your (and mine!) preferred C15, prices have shot up and a half decent road bike will be £1500 but a lot of what you are paying for will be binned. But buy a half finished trials conversion or an older tired pre65 and you will probably not pay much more but have something nearer to what you want. It's just a matter of finding the right one and being patient till one turns up. When I started restoring my bike a couple of years ago I guess it was worth £1500, over the last two years I've seen half a dozen come up on eBay that would have probably have been similar to what I've ended up with now for between £2k and £3k. I probably spent £1500 restoring and improving my bike so I could theoretically have saved a lot of time and just bought one though I'm glad I didn't now it's finished. When looking for a bike you should use the theory that it's better to add money to your purchase budget rather than hold money back for work after. What you want is a bike built by an experienced engineer and/or rider that has been used for a few years to iron out all the niggles and the owner is giving up riding or building something else - unfortunately bikes like that don't usually turn up on places like ebay, they get passed on to other riders in the owners club!

Woody, that is a fantastic link, thanks for posting it! I have to say that a lot of the competitors don't exactly look as young as you make out though! In fact didn't I hear AJ mention that one was competing back in the 20's? Anyway, they all seem to be enjoying themselves on big (and small) bikes that don't look to to be works specials. I can't beleive the audacity and bravery of the the Bantam riders with the standard spindly forks! To me those events look a lot more fun than trickling round stupidly tight turns and definitely a lot safer (even on a big bike) than some of the rocks and climbs you see now. The Barbour suits and footing coats look a lot better than a load of Middle aged men in modern Lycra trials gear as well!! The only trouble is that if you ran a trial like that these days you'd probably have some sort of hunt saboteur equivalents chasing us trials riders down for destroying the moors!!

Btc, using the part number you supplied I've just ordered a 15t Original Honda sprocket from David Silver Spares. Thanks again for your help.

Btc, you are a star. I'll have a look and order onone. Bit pricey but cheaper than a new gearbox output shaft! I was wondering if one off a Cg125 might fit but hopefully should be sorted now. Thanks again John