turbofurball

That's good, in both cases! I was just mentioning why it isn't done often

Some photos would be good! As for advice - that really depends on how much experience you have working on bikes

Crumbs, a '73 TS185 was my third bike, I imagine trying to ride trials on one is making things extra hard! I remember it being wheelie happy and much more long and unwieldy than the DT100 that I had before it (but obviously quicker), that was a long time ago though so my memory might not be reliable

I have recently come to the decision to sell my Gasgas EC250. It's geared down and has a fan kit fitted, I was considering getting a slow throttle, gentle power valve spring, and head spacer. But I've come to the conclusion that it's just not the right tool for the job, it would be a compromise at best no matter what I do. Same goes for the DT - a fantastic tool at what it was designed for, but a trials bike it is not.

I use facebook because it's very useful to me, since I live a long way away from my older friends and family ... that being said, I spent time curating what comes up on my feed, and I have un-followed many of my friends who are great company in person but post complete crap to FB for some reason. Back in the day I was on it all the time, now it's not unusual for me to check it once a week or so. I think the reason many clubs use it is simply because it's easy - making a website takes a bit of time, effort, and money, whereas a FB group is quick, free, and easy. It also allows you to easily hand over running of it to someone else, whereas with a website you need to know how things in the background work, etc.

This is often not done because as soon as you replace the head tube you no longer have the same VIN / serial number, so in most places it can't be road registered as the intended bike (I don't know how it works for inspection at higher level classic trials events)

Other reasons to go for older bikes would be reliability and parts availability - you can get anything for a TY175, and if it's mechanically sound it'll keep going much longer on minimal maintenance than newer competition-oriented machines because they were built to be useable as transport back in the day.

That looks like it'll be so much fun!

They are indeed pretty bikes, and yours looks great!

Hello and welcome, there's a lot of good information here and lots of helpful people too - post photos when you have your new bike!

Good work! And yes, it's hard to portray steepness in photos ?

Thanks, though the building in the background is just the old goat shed, lol I can't say I know of El Pumas' shop, sorry

My partner has been working hard on weeding some of the monster plants from the bottom of the garden, and now it's a rideable area ... so I broke out the TY

Err, yeah, apart from, say, original Matchless trials bikes and the like, they're not really investment material. Why not just get a cheap modern bike and have a go at trials to see if you like it? (motorbikes in general are pretty hit and miss as investments, and are open to the same abuses of provenance as classic cars - which is to say it's a minefield at the very least)

One interesting thing I've seen since moving is the knock-on effect of the 2008 crash, it hit far harder here and many people haven't fully recovered economically. Old bikes are kept working for longer and on more of a shoestring budget, people don't buy and sell nearly as often as in the UK, but they do get out and ride their bikes (also, bikes don't depreciate in value as quickly). It would be harder in the UK to gather some friends and just go and make a friendly competition out of the way somewhere I guess, because of nimby-ism and litigiousness, but I bet it's possible with a little creativity ... my point, in short, is that if people want it to happen they can find a way, and a lack of money just requires a change in thinking.

An interesting discussion on risk, I spent most of today playing with the chainsaw (as many of my neighbours have been doing on their properties during the lockdown), I think in comparison pottering around some easy stuff on a trials bike in the garden is less risky provided the person doing it isn't a complete numpty

RevShed, I like the sound of that I might play with the TY in the garden tomorrow ...

You are both right and wrong, since it's not a man cave (but I can't think of a way to say a female equivalent without it sounding like a double entendre), but the wiring is indeed in need of more attention that you know, lol - when we moved in last year I took out a lot of cabling that had been on fire and some parts that had been under water from repeated flooding (this is what happens when you buy an abandoned house in Spain) so I just jerry rigged the essentials in a way that wouldn't kill anyone ... but in the cellar (through the door on the right of the photo) is a whole mess which isn't even fused. I have everything needed to sort it properly, I'm just waiting for the last of the Spring cold snap to pass first In other news, I'm also still working, though on reduced hours and we might have work stoppages later depending on supplies as this whole thing goes on ... yesterday there was some news of contingency planning for if this goes on through till September, I think pretty soon the UK and US will be in the same boat

What are you doing with your extra time at home? I got most of the other more pressing matters around the house sorted, so today I could take a look at the Cota front brake It's not perfect but much better, and works well enough to be safe for puttering around. Just need to clean the main jet (again), tighten up some spokes, and it'll be ready for the end of the lockdown ... which has just been extended to mid-April.

Given the number of older riders at clubman trials it doesn't seem unreasonable to cancel at this time, mortality rates go up for anyone over 40. Starting tomorrow the country is on lockdown here, so no travel and no trials for at least a couple of weeks!

I have a super cheap unbranded steel rear sprocket on mine and it works just fine. It's not unreasonable to keep spending within your budget - not everyone can afford to splurge unlimited funds on their bikes! Of course, money has to be spent wisely, since a cheap part that doesn't work is false economy, but many people manage with second hand bits or making stuff themselves.

It's like TY pokemon! (this is not a criticism, it's nice to be reassured that I'm not *that* weird for having many bikes, lol)

My little 175 has the same feature if I don't ride it at least once a week, riding with the clutch lever in for a minute always works like a charm

Trials bikes are not geared like street bikes, the first four gears take you to about where 1st gear on a street bike would be. If geared up it'll get up to something like 40mph within 30 meters, and then not go much faster. If you wanted a bike to compete in a drag race a trials bike is about as far from ideal as you could get, they're literally made for going slow; a stock CB125 would get a better time.

Get the V5 and SORN it, doesn't cost anything and you're all sorted