jon v8

This is very true,a few people who in the past have suggested I trick up my bikes.... I can only say that getting them into a tidy,well maintained state so they do the same thing all the time is all you need to do.Its the rider who needs to trick up,my ploy to lose weight and get fitter is working well.Also spending a day with Mick Andrews has made me realise how much more I need to plan and consider each section.Thinking about where BOTH wheels are going to end up on a chosen line etc.

It is a 310 motor,which sounds really fluffy and woolly at low revs like its come off choke too quickly and needs a warm up and clear out.But when you ride it you realise how smooth it is,then when you open it up it revs very willingly with plenty of power.I dont thnk it has a reed valve.I didnt look too closely at it - I was more interested in how it rode,and keeping up with Mick who was on my TY250. The forks are Fantic and as said the rear shocks are Magicals. Other than the lack of tickover which caught me out, the only thing I would change on it would be to raise the gear lever slightly.Apart from that I thought it was one of the nicest bikes I've ever ridden,esp steering and suspension wise.

Do you mean it was modernised in Spain ? What has been done to it ?

Having recently ridden Mick Andrews 310 Ossa, I have say you could do alot worse,first Ossa I've ever ridden - I've started sniffing round E-Bay again...

I use Land Rover MTF94 in my TY250,its about

I have a Sammy Miller one like this; http://www.sammymillerproducts.co.uk/product706.html on the 250 that I use.It just has a single bolt fixing where the original rear tank mount went. It works very well,been using it since 2006,the single bolt hole hasnt worn and it makes it very easy to service. If yours is from a different supplier then you either need to go back to them and ask what they recommend or just drill a hole like the Miller ones have.

The most frustrating thing for me about running a trials club is organising the dates not to clash,and its not just other trials, its things like Bristol Classic bike show,the Red Marley Hillclimb etc.We are in between Golden Valey and the two Somerton clubs so we share many riders.I cant say we are struggling for riders though,we had 62 on sunday,which is a nice number.We all seem to get around 60-100 riders at each trial,and the sections are sensible.Bath differ to rest in only having two routes,(I'm too stupid to get three organised.....) but it seems to work well enough. We pay the landowner

Sorry if I missed your point - its now clear ! Our trial yesterday went well,with only a couple of sections that I would have altered if I could.A stream exit became harder for the B route than it was for the A route,but there was nothing that we coud change given the lay of the land.We had 62 riders,of which 11 were mono's.But it was nice to see Wilf Couldwell out on his Gas Gas - he can ride whatever he wants at our trials as far as I'm concerned.It was also good to see Steve Allen and Barry Barthorpe putting on an excellent show on Pre Unit bikes on the A route - beating the mono A scores by a good margin. The trial was about picking the right line,and having good throttle control on slippery cambers etc,proving that the lightest,trickest bike was not necessarily the right answer.

Sorry, I have to disagree,there is nothing wrong with a bog standard TY250 motor,nor do they need any trick mods doing.If its worn out,its worn out and needs a rebuild.I rebuilt mine back in 06 very carefully and it has done alot of work since then,including the Dartmoor 5 times - and it still runs as well as it did back then.I took the flywheel weight off for a while and thought it was an improvement - it wasnt,with it back on I'm riding it better than ever. Its not going to compare with a modern Gasser or Beta for instant zap,but saying it will only work in first gear is total rubbish,second and ocassionally third for a long muddy climb if it calls for it with no problems. Loads of people have ridden mine and no one has ever come back and said it was gutless - only how smooth and well it pulls.There is nothing special at all about it and the

I have to disagree with your first comment about the fun going out of classic/twinshock trials.I have spent all afternoon with a chainsaw and slasher preparing for our trial - only interrupted by calls from people asking about the trial. Not a problem as I can say to them that they can turn up and ride with no need for a licence,club membership etc.And no one is going to force them to attempt anything that they consider too much.We have had a great laugh chopping out this afternoon,which will be followed by plenty of mickey taking tommorrow when we mark out.Then even more teasing on sunday during and after the trial.Not taking it too seriously means everyone can come along and just enjoy themselves. Isnt that what we are supposed to do ?

I have been running the trials section of Bath Classic for just over a year now,and I'm doing everything I can to encourage people to bring out their older bikes.We are deliberately making the sections wide with no tight turns.The thing is many people told me they were riding mono's as the sections were getting tighter/more difficult.I dont have a problem with older riders on mono's - many of them have been riding for donkey's years so who are we to exclude them ? I have heard that a couple of other clubs in the SW have talked about raising the mono riders age to over 60. Difficult really,the only saving grace at the moment is that we have no awards,so we have no real arguements over converted twinshocks or posh forks on Pre65 bikes etc. I'd rather see the older bikes out,but you cant force people to ride them.I got loads of stick for not riding my Ariel at the Dartmoor 2 day last weekend,but its in a very poor state with shot wheel bearings and a cracked fork leg. But I will be riding it on sunday at our charity trial,I try to practice what I preach,but its not always easy. Saying you dont want to ride a trial because there might be mono's there is a bit daft,I have no interest in mono's,(Apart from the old aircooled ones - RTL's etc)but we all do the same thing,so why not just enjoy the trial that a few people have gone to a hell of alot of trouble to set out ?

Anyone on here ride at Hound Tor at the weekend ? I thought it was a brilliant weekend,perfect on the Yam,really enjoyed it.Maybe a good thing I didnt take the Ariel....

I dont want to go any lower on the overall gearing because first is spot on,and I dont want to change it.So I think I need to do some research on what other Yams had similar boxes/ratio's.Bit of a pain having to strip it tho.... The battery is just a pain,but I will just have to buy another. Got my mind on the dartmoor now,the TY is sporting a brand new IRC and plenty more stainless nuits bolts etc.Just hope the weather is better.

Odd really,observing is one of the best ways to find out what works and what does not in terms of riding a certain type of section.I often advise new riders to observe rather than just watching a trial,if you watch closely its amazing how much you can pick up. But it can also be a thankless task - esp in cold or wet weather.Or if the section turns out to be a main road and takes no marks... I spent most of last night phoning around our "list" of observers,which needs careful steering or you end up hearing an endless list of excuses.I've now worked out how to get a quick answer politely,so the phone bill at least stays sensible.

Nah, its not the problem Bo, first is just right - perfect for tight sections.But second is like what you would want third to be.Talon made the rear sprocket for me ages ago,after I worked out how many teeth it would need - its the actual 2nd and 3rd ratios in the gearbox that need changing.

Well I have spent the last few days making an all out effort to get it finished so I could ride it at the Dartmoor...... Not going to happen,the TY250 will be going instead. Several things wrong,the main one being that the gearing is such that first is dead right,second is way too tall and third is like a road racing gear.Also the battery I bought for it hasnt got the guts to start it,(Think its just a bad one,but I've had it in stock dry for too long to get warranty on it.) The other bits are all fiddly stuff like the carb being very lean at low revs,which it wasnt when it was in the Serow frame.(Think thats down to the shorter less restrictive exhaust. So what to do ? It would make a REALLY fab green laner - but I want it for trials,anyone know what cogs from other small Yams might fit?

Not done an Ariel bottom end,(yet....) but I'd be interested to know how you get on,esp the bearing numbers etc.My HT is not going to run forever,there is about 4thou of up and down play in the drive end of the crank.Trouble is it runs so nicely I really dont want to take it apart. I've recently done an M20 BSA for a customer which was a pig to get the side clearance right on the conrod.I ended up sending the big end back to Alpha bearings to get it altered - really helpful people,and didnt charge me a cent.

Thanks John - makes sense now,you clearly have a totally different system to us.

I can see your point John,but like I said what does an ACU trials licence prove ? Paying

Come on chaps,there is no point in falling out over this - its an interesting topic and one that needs discussing. Like I said I cant really see the point of an ACU licence as it does not prove anything about the rider.If the ACU are worried about losing money why dont they just drop them altogether and include the funding in entry fees as the AMCA do.That way nobody can cop out of paying,when I send the permit form and cheque back to the AMCA after every trial its easy to see that everyone has paid their dues.It also must cost alot of money to print the licences and administer them.

Why do the ACU insist on calling it a licence anyway ? Its not,its a membership card with yer photo on it.There is no proof of any basic standard of riding ability or proof of health etc - so what is it for ?

A knackered HT5 Ariel But actually if it was a gift to me, I would go for a rigid AJS/Matchbox - not fully tricked up.One day..........

Well Bo, thats a bit of a wind up bike "Innit" ! It would not be turned away from a Bath Classic trial as we dont do awards - but if we did then I guess it may be different.While I'm running it I want to let people decide in their own minds what is in the spirit of things according to the class heading,and ride what they decide is OK - That Yam clearly isnt a real twinshock.(Also have to say whilst I'm in the middle of building a bike pretty much from scratch that I cant see why anyone with the skills to build something like that would bother, seeing how it will be received at most trials) What has irritated me is that in several,(Not all) cases "cheat" bikes are ridden by riders with enough talent to beat most people if they rode an FS1E on road tyres.Which then means that riders who are less talented just get more fed up and dont bother turning up.

I can sort of see your point,but if you look around there are smart twinshocks around for a reasonable price - maybe more than you THINK you want to spend... BUT if you buy one the big difference is that it will hold onto its value or even go up.How many sports can do that ? My biggest non - recoverable cost in riding pre65 and twinshock events is the diesel to get there. But even thats not great,the furthest I travel is about 100 miles to the Dartmoor 2 day,so not great.Compare that to many I know who regularly go to the bottom of Cornwall surfing.......

I would have sorted the TY and carried on,the same way that say a Beamish Suzuki or TLR200 Honda would work for you.As long as they are in decent nick to start with they are probably more reliable with proper maintenance than modern bikes.At yesterdays Somerton trial a 4t Beta packed up with no spark just for fun,seen plenty of Gassers give up too.With decent care there is nothing wrong with most trials bikes - as long as you spend the time to understand and care for them.Even the BSA Bantams and Villiers powered stuff,(That most peeps shied away from.) are out most weekends being worked really hard and doing very well. Just making the point that modern stuff will fail too,often with little chance of fixing it on the day.