jon v8

The tip that helped me most when I've had to observe,(We often struggle to get enough) is to put the tip of the pencil on the riders number and hold it there as the rider goes through the section.Using the board to wave them into the section is a very positive way to invite them to start too.My short term memory is poor,(I often forget sections I marked the day before....) so anything helps.As said if you mark everyone the same way thats about all you can do.At a recent trial a young mono rider asked if he was OK for a clean after he made a lovely job of going up a muddy climb - he did not like the 5 I gave him for having a foot on the ground for about 4 or 5 secs while the bike rolled bike nearly a foot.I explained the rules of the day to him - next lap he made the climb for a clean,no stopping or going back with a foot on the ground - and I got a big smile when he saw the clean signal from me when he looked back....

Sorted

Good luck with the Ossa,there are quite a few around the south west,not as common as Yam,Fantic or Honda though.There are plenty of clubs to ride with in the area,Golden valley,Bath Classic,Somerton Classic and ACU,Blackmore Vale,Wilts /Dorset and the South West Classic Trials Association to name just a few.

I just thought the old dog bit was more polite then "Bag O sh-te" which is what sprang to mind.My customer collected his HT5 this afternoon which is now behaving perfectly.Just goes to show how a bike made back in 1956 can run like new and do exactly what you ask of it if certain things are set up properly and in good order.

If the slide is at all sloppy esp close to the fully closed position the engine will run like an old dog.I have just fitted a brand new monobloc onto a customers HT5 Ariel,it has totally transformed it - the same as it did my HT about a year ago.An accurate spark and a decent carb work wonders for trials engines where we need to rely on their response so much. I bought both carbs from Surrey Cycles here in the UK, I have no connection with them other than as a satisfied customer,both carbs arrived next day fully set up and just needed very minor tweaking of the slow running mixture and idle speed screws.

I'm glad you said that,I was reading this post while eating my lunch today,didnt have time to reply - but it made me think exactly the same thing.

The best way to see how timing affects the engine is to blag a ride on an old P65er with manual advance/retard control on the handlebars and feel and listen to how the engine changes as you move the lever.

Well I'm just going to spray the frame silver for a while till I'm happy with it all and decide its finished.I'm going to leave the tank unpainted but my son is designing some tank stickers for it.Later on I might get the frame and swinging arm powder coated,but I think it looks good with the alloy tank and grey mudguards.

Well you dont want to rush these things..... I damn near gave up on it,then I thought it would be a big waste.In the morning I'm going to sort out the air filter,I want to make it capable of running in fairly deep water.A couple of weeks back the Aqueduct Classic club ran a single lap trial,28miles in total.A mate rode it and said it was the best trial he had ever ridden and wants us to do a team effort next year - but there are lots of stream sections and bogs,so I want to make sure its not going to drown.Dartmoor should be a good start for it.

It runs !! I cancelled a couple of jobs this week to give me time to sort a few things out.Then I just got carried away with working on the Xty, I've sorted out the electrics,(Well the ignition anyway)starting is by jump leads from a car battery.It has no brakes yet,nor air filter etc so plenty more to do. First impressions are good,its centre of gravity feels low and it steers nicely.Despite the slow action Domino throttle its still too abrupt so that wants slowing down.My calcs for the gearing were about right,first is nice and low but second is a tad faster than I'd like - I guess there has to be a compromise somewhere unless you have a works team behind you. Looks fairly positive for Dartmoor in september.

On of my TY250's has had an SM tank / seat unit on it since I bought it in 06. In 08 ish I had problems with small bits of the white plastic blocking the carb.I just gave it a good wash out and dried it throughly - no problems since.It often will sit for a month 1/2 full of fuel after a trial without being used. A mate of mine has had terrible problems with all of his Whitehawks and even uses 4 star leaded petrol. Other mates have complained about fuel going stale quickly causing problems with chainsaws too,mine dont seem to suffer at all.My fuel comes from the garage in the local village on account,I never take any notice of who delivers it. I thought people were using leaded plane fuel to get over Ethanol problems because it is not included to stop icing.

Needs a Serow engine in it.

The choke cable and slide are prone to seizing on PW's,the one my kids have got to be a pain in the ar-e last winter,strip and clean the carb and a new cable.If you are lucky the cable might free off,mine had been pressure washed too many times. Now its back how it was,totally reliable and the kids love it.

Well at last there is progress.... I decided its been too long sitting gathering dust so I've had a good go at it this weekend and built it up to a rolling bike.Nowhere near finished,but its got me enthused to get on with it.Balancing on it in the workshop makes it feel really small and suprisingly well balanced. The idea is to do a dry build so I can do a good test ride on it then strip and paint it.Dartmoor here I come !

I'm in the middle of rebuilding an M20 BSA engine for a customer.I bought a big end assembly made by Alpha in Dudley,(From another supplier)on assembling it I found it was going to need altering - because the flywheel tapers were badly machined in the flywheels themselves.(The conrod had too much side clearance with the previous big end) machining tapers is not an easy task but when I called Alpha they offered to sort it out for me so I posted it to them on monday at 4pm.It came back in the post today at 10am,with the requested 17thou removed,it now has 10thou of side clearance as it should.All done FOC. They didnt even charge me postage - the crank is now built up and trued ready to fit,a great relief.What a great service,I have no connections to Alpha at all,except as a very happy customer.

You just need a Serow,they cant really be beaten for a small trail bike,look at the abuse Lois gave hers on a little trip from Alaska down to the bottom of South America. (Really ought to get on with fitting the Serow motor into the TY frame.....)

I cant see any reason why it wouldnt work on an AMC engine,but then the new Amal I recently fitted to my Ariel is doing a wonderful job.It starts first kick,runs down to nothing then picks up just as quickly as you twist the throttle - I couldnt ask for any better.I bought it from Surrey Cycles,pre jetted etc. No connection with them,just happy with their BVM like service.

Is this the same deal as the kickstarts snapping on the 4T ones ?

All of this is down to personal preference,but even a standard TY250 in good shape is perfectly OK,in the south west you only have to watch riders like Barry Barthorpe to see what they are capable of.To say the engine is/was dead is unfair,there is enough reliable grunt for any of the twinshock sections around now,granted they dont have the zap of a modern Beta or Gasser - but to 99% of riders that is a handicap anyway. The thing is that either a Maj or standard TY are as good as is needed for twinshock stuff every weekend of the year - wherever in the world you are,the few spares you need as we all know are in the most part cheap and easily available.

E bay says it was sold,so did any money move ?

We have an over 50 class for any mono's here at Bath Classic which seems to suit some of the older riders who find older,heavier stuff too much.A Yam mono - ty250R or S would be a great bike in that class,(Best trials bike ever built in my humble opinion.) still easy and cheap to buy/run and pretty much unbreakable.(I tried my best with mine and it would not give up.)

Hopefully will be ready for the Dartmoor 2 day THIS year - said I'd have it ready 2 years ago.My workshop is now re-organised so its easier to get at it.Working out the wiring is going to be fun,the diagram in the book dosent match any of the colours on the loom........

Thats good then - the Mont is well down on my list of "projects" but I sort of decided never to sell any of my bikes again.Mostly because I regret parting with most of them.And the thought that my life may one day allow me the time to get on with sorting them all out. Good luck with the 349,when its sorted you are most welcome to come down and ride some Bath Classic trials....