jon v8

I have a new Holtworks tank for my HT, when I get around to building it.They are a work of art,had one for my Majesty aswell. I've looked at the Weedy ones at various times,they are a bit "functional" in comparison,but clearly up to the job. Both are cheap if you are used to charging out workshop hours and have gone to the trouble of making an alloy tank.I made one for the Ty175 that I fitted the XT225 engine into, took hours and hours...

Just saying... http://www.waspmotorcycles.com/wasp trials solo.html

Hi, welcome to the forum, most of us are using Rickman type hubs using BSA Bantam/Tiger Cub shoes. Other suppliers are Alan Whitton and Gerry Minshall,easy enough to find if you want thier products. As for your gearing,we have recently discussed this,the general thought is that first gear needs to be around 25 - 1 from crankshaft to rear wheel.What can be difficult is to have a good spread of ratio's for trials sections,often road clusters have a large gap to second gear when the gearing is set for the base 25 -1 first gear. It depends on what gearbox you have or can get,if you can get hold of a Burman GB then you are in luck as Tricky Micky on her can supply you with some gears to give you a set of ratio's which will be spot on for trials use.If you have an AMC box it could be more difficult.The engines can be made to run like never before with the new Amal Concentric Premier carbs - with a couple of small mods,and also last well - unlike the originals. Sparks can be made more accurate and reliable with a new BTH electronic Mag.It all depends how far you want to go. With your B25,you need look no further than Charlie Prescott on here and his excellent BSA Otter website. Meanwhile,here is a pic of my old banger...

Been OK today,nothing special,had a Saharan dust storm last night - everything is covered in red dust. Great day on the bikes yesterday,warm and sunshine all day, 160miles, which I think half of it was off tarmac. Monkey Butt by the time we got home !

We did an 80 mile loop in the hills north of Fuseta and across towards the Spanish border, the tracks seem to go everywhere,many are signposted as proper roads and show up on the satnav. Today we are heading west to visit the "Impossible" hooking up with a mate of my brothers who is a Norwegian ex trials rider,has a Beamish Suzuki which was apparently sold new here. I still think its strange there are no trials here as my brother reckons there are loads of small village moto clubs, so I would have thought there would have been at least some trials fans. All I can say if there isn't is that they are missing out badly !

I wonder why there are no trials clubs in the Algarve region. I've been trail riding here for the last few days,its wonderful countryside,endless oppertunities. All the locals smile and wave as you ride past. I can't imagine it would be too hard to find a landowner willing to host an event.

Just collected my C15 back from Rupert Ratio,(AKA Dave Smith) its a Sportsman motor in a Victor GP type frame.I took it apart last summer to change the box ratio's to WD B40 ones,which were supplied by Dave. He had all the bits I needed,was well chuffed.Brought them back,shoved them under the bike in a box and nothing happened.Typical... Then a little while ago I had the brainwave to call Dave and ask him to sort it out for me. Which he has done,very quickly and for a very reasonable sum, he has rebuilt the gearbox, sorted out the clutch and various other bits like fitting a valve lifter arm after rebushing the rocker box and remembering to fit the camplate upside down so the gears are the same way as a Burman or AMC box which I normally ride.( One up,three down) Its the first time I've ever asked anybody to build anything for me, normally I'm doing it for other people... The BSA was just sitting there,I have too many other projects on the go,bike and non bike, I have to say I'm really pleased with the results,he really does know his stuff and has loads of parts. If you need any BSA unit single work done,he is your man.A copy of his book is a must too,if you own unit BSA. A pleasure to deal with too,he even looked up the engine number to reveal that it originally was exported to Guam,probably to a US serviceman. PM me if you would like his contact details.

Time has moved on Deryk, I've just looked through the entry list of 200 and I know at least 51 of the entries - and their bikes, at least 25 of them are on electronic ignition for a start and few of them are anything like original,many are virtually new bikes. Last time I rode the hard route there the clutch was needed... The Arbuthnot is really a better example,no clutch needed there. To me it doesn't matter, pre unit four strokes are what I like to see,original or modified.

Oops ! Spot on Mick, you are dead right - I miss read my own Email I sent to a mate just before Christmas who was asking what the original road/trials and your ratio's are. Can't blame the wine,not had a drink since Boxing day,must be old age...

I think my Ariel had an overall ratio of just over 25:1 in first gear, using Mick Ash gears in a Burman GB box. The spread of ratio's gave three perfect gears for sections ,but still quite a low top gear for roadwork. As Collyolly says,even with these ratio's at times you are forced to use the clutch for some of the tight turns,be interesting to see how the Talmag is marked out this year... I have no idea what my AJS box contains,its an AMC box and gives a perfect set of three section gears and the big jump to top gear.From a riders view pretty much identical to my HT. For roadwork in all the Miller rounds last year we were cruising at a steady 22-24mph according to my GPS bicycle speedo,so no speed limits were broken, above about 28mph the vibration blurs vision too much to ride safely on either bike. For your info,the GB box ratios with Mick Ash gears are as follows; 1st gear, Main 17,Lay 29.(Standard road gears) 2nd gear, M 22, L 24. (Mick's gears, same as the original trials cluster) 3rd gear, M 25, L 21. (Standard road gears) Sleeve Gears, M 31, L 15 (Micks gears, original trials cluster was M30, L16) Hope this may help.

And Tiger Cubs.

No, a friend of mine who builds mostly large drag racing engines did it for me.I'll find out what company supply the stuff,probably an American company.

The piston is masked up and sprayed just like a paint job,its then baked. Its sacrificial so will do no harm to anything else in the engine.Hopefully the Yamaha piston for my Ariel build has just been done. Attached is the piston in my AJS whch is an Australian JP one, all I could get at the time and does not have a brilliant reputation due to high expansion / noise problems. We were able to halve the bore clearance suggested, to 3 thou because of the coating.It has worked the,engine has never been noisy,picked up or used oil. Sorry the pic is blurred - Didn't have me best specs on...

Pistons can also be sprayed with a bake on coating,this is a low friction surface which can be 1/2 a thou thick,so up to a thou on O/D. Works very well,my AJS is is running with it,I also had a pair of Ducati MHR pistons done as well. When I sold it the new owner couldn't believe how quiet and smooth the engine was.

In my experience it doesn't matter which way up they land in the bin,they work equally badly either way...

Totally agree,there is no excuse. Finding a set of willing observers is the hardest thing about running a trial. I always try to make a point of saying good morning etc, and make sure I thank them on the last lap. Sounds like it was a good trial,always is with Somerton Classic. Would have been there but it was my daughter's 16th birthday.

That may be the case, but not in my situation. I just don't like modern bikes,at all,don't like the look of them or the way they are ridden.They leave me stone cold. I'm not alone,and plenty of people have been on at me to run some trials again since I finished my stint at Bath Classic. Its only going to be a couple of events a year,all proceeds going to charity. I'm not bothered if 30 or 100 riders turn up,all that matters is that we enjoy it.

There are plenty of Classic trials here in the South West my biggest problem is not clashing with other clubs. It seems to be the modern trials that are poorly supported. My trials,(Which are in slow progress of being organised) will welcome Pre65 and Twinshock only bikes,not even converted mono's or aircooled mono's will be included. I can then mark out sections which people are always asking me for,where big bikes can have a decent day out. The support for this is there,its just not a quick thing to put in place.

A new pair of sealskin socks would be nice.And if Santa is bored after Christmas, he can get in my workshop and build my HT5 up - I don't seem to be finding the time...

PM him

I think trials - modern trials will kill itself slowly over the coming years.The problem is the riders, not the bikes.Very few riders can make use of bikes that are 10 years old let alone the brand new ones if they are honest.All the threads about which a rider should buy - a 200/250/300 ? Truth is a 125 is more than most can use,plenty like to THINK they need more,but they don't. Look at how many clubs have folded that run modern trials,then look at classic and twinshock entries - the Kia series is a good example. The point is that the sections can be hard enough to test even very accomplished riders on a twinshock without being completely mental - scaring away your average clubman rider - who,by the way fills the entry list and buys most of the bikes. When I was running trials for Bath Classic I got fed up with turning away people wanting to enter on modern bikes,as I said to them its a classic club with appropriate sections for older bikes. They just wanted somewhere to ride where they could get around without killing themselves or looking stupid,I sympathise, but not at the expense of other riders on Pre65's or twinshocks. Not saying its wrong,I just think it has run its course, technology has got pretty much to the end of what Joe Wobbler can use.

So how could any lawyer prove that the rider hadn't taken in a gob full of cow/sheep/badger/fox sh-- while they were riding the trial - nothing to do with the sheep. All this really pi--es me off. We are riding 2 wheel bikes that fall over without balance,in the countryside where other creatures live. You either take the risk or stay at home and play on your eggs box or whatever they are called.

So see it as a challenge - A big part of riding a rigid AJS most weekends is that you need to be able to get that bike in top shape yourself,there is as much pleasure in getting a 66 year old bike to run like a Swiss watch - and be reliable, as there is in riding it. A twinshock by comparison is a doddle, I spent several happy years riding a TY250 without ever having to give up due to mechanical problems. Looking around on this forum it seems to me that modern bikes are no more reliable than older ones,preparation is key. Abuse any bike and it will fail. Buy a modern bike and you can stand in your garage and watch it depreciate, Pre65 and twinshock bikes hold, or gain in value. Banter is also way better at classic events in my experience,as are entry numbers. Your choice...

OTF, I can't comment on the cost,cos I sold my HT and now mainly ride a proper bike with no shocks.But, my old TY250 I had ages ago had Betor's and they leaked within about 6 months of me buying the bike.(No receipt) They were new just before I bought it. The pair I have now on my rat TY were given to me looking like new,I only use it for play and looking for dead elm trees in the wood - they now leak. The main point is that you CAN rebuild Falcons or Rockshocks, I am sick to death of c-ap we have to throw away because we can't get bits to repair them.Plus I'd rather support local business now the world is coming to and end with Brexit ! Not a rant,but I like to do business with local folk or those who are there for the long run.

Agree with Bezaboy, the Betors are trash if you bend them and will soon leak if you don't. Falcons are excellent,had them on my HT5,really good. But also consider Rockshocks,they are top notch,and boss Gary Fleckney is always to be found using his products at Miller series events etc.He even tolerates me on my rigid... So we are spoilt for choice really,a good sign for the Classic/Twinshock world.