old trials fanatic

tts pud i never said i didnt like the big bikes. I said i dont like riding them. Like watching them and hearing them.

A lot of good points been made and all of them relevant especially those about the sections severity which are becoming indistinguishable from modern ones. A long time ago in the early 70s you used to be able to tell if you were riding a club trial or open to centre event or national etc purely by the severity of the sections. Now the sections seem no different no matter what level of event you have entered. This not only discourages the riders of more authentic Classic machines but also sadly does nothing to encourage newcomers to the sport. The rise in popularity of the twinshocks is due to a number of things. Firstly the aforementioned sections and their severity but also financial constraints. Very few people nowadays have access to or the skills necessary to machine the parts to build an eligible pre65 bike plus the cost of having them made by a specialist puts a lot of people off the idea so pre65 is becoming the preserve of the few to whom money is no object which is a shame and detrimental to the sport. The only alternative which is not acceptable to the purists and those looking to preserve the current status quo is to allow the use of parts from breakers that cost a fraction of the cost of custom made items but still to a casual observer look the part and conform to the spirit of pre65 thereby allowing people who can wield a spanner but don't have machining facilities to create and maintain a reasonably competitive classic on the sort of budget normal people have to live with for what at the end of the day is only a hobby. Still the same sense of fulfilment to be had building a bike yourself but at a fraction of the cost. Of course twinshocks are also gaining popularity due to the fact that they appreciate in value and spares are compared to pre65 very readily available at reasonable cost but I feel one of the main drivers in their recent surge is a demographic one. Most of them are around 30 to 40 years old a bit like the riders who remember them from their youth or remember wanting one but being unable to afford one in their youth. They identify with them in a way impossible for a machine built before they were born and that ain't ever going to change. A lot of clubs no longer get the entries to justify pre unit, unit, 2stroke, 4stroke etc and just lump all entries into pre65 or British bike. At this rate it won't be long before they won't justify a separate class let alone a separate event and will have to be included as twinshocks. Is this a bad thing I don't know. It's a sad thing that I am sure of but I do know that the modern pre65 bike has evolved into something lighter and more competitive than a lot of the twinshocks out there so perhaps they should be included as twinshocks that just happen to be British. Food for thought.

Nice to see its not just me then. Think it only prudent to point out that i wasnt pointing at any one supplier as like others have had the same problem with my twinshocks and mono as well as classics and wont even mention the Land Rover. Had a conversation with one supplier of mine and they did make a sort of relevant point which i think i could and should repeat. A lot of the people making parts are effectively small one man bands and they cant afford to have a big pile of rejects so a lot of parts are machined slightly, possibly a couple of thou, oversize so that the component can then be fettled to fit thereby eliminating the rejects as so many of the bikes we run especially the classic are effectively one off prototypes. OK fair point and i suppose we have forgotten what was common in my youth that a mechanic was a fitter i.e. they made a part fit not just unbolt and bolt the new part on. Perhaps we need to remember we are all "fitters" with our bikes. After all if a part is a couple of thou oversize you can always dress it to fit but if its undersize you cant add metal etc. Still annoying but perhaps we all need to remember the above when trying to fit items we have bought. Plus if it wasnt for the specialist one man bands we might not even have bikes we can ride as its only them making and selling us the parts that enable us to keep them running. As Jon V8 said though never any excuse for substandard materials. Bearings immediately come to mind because its hard to tell just by looking if a new bearing is made of the right stuff or not and it's too late when it all fails. Which brings me on to the other point i have been made aware of. Even with quality bearings there is sometimes a thou or so difference between one manufacturer and another which i must admit i was not aware of so parts are sometimes made to accommodate this which is why they are sometimes made oversize. Just wanted to hopefully put things in perspective as i dont want to ruffle too many feathers and my original post made whilst still frustrated may have been taken by some to have been too harsh. If that was so i apologise but suppliers also need to remember that not everybody has a lathe at home or access to equipment or posses the experience and skills to fettle.

As many of you know i an still persevering with the sows ear project. Mainly because i have no choice and no money now What i want to know is we are now in the 21st century so why is it that when i buy an item sometimes costing hundreds of pounds manufactured from billet on a CNC machine that cost more than my house NOTHING EVER FITS !!!!!! why do i always have to work on the item to make bearings fit or to make it fit the other parts supplied sometimes from the same supplier ????? Everything i have bought lately NOTHING fits ! i have to spend ages with wet and dry or machining the component on my lathe etc Surely it's not too much to expect when paying so much money that things go together is it ? Anybody else find this ?

You are joking arent you ? The TL is awful.

I wouldnt powder coat the frame. Only done it once NEVER AGAIN

Thanks for those words of encouragement Charlie i will try as after looking at the old bank balance it doesnt look like i have much choice other than to persevere with the sows ear project. Trialsarefun. The difference in weight between the two frames is around 5 kgs however i was not bothered about the weight as i am 17 stone so saving a few kilos on the bike wont make much difference when there's the equivalent of two riders riding it. To me it was all about the engineering. Pauls DRR frames are more of a precision product which you would expect from his race background. some of his alloy race swing arms are a delight to behold believe me. Whilst the frame i have is far more agricultural in execution and THAT more than anything annoys the hell out of me. Only became obvious once you start delving deeper. Things like seemed tube used when seamless would have been far more appropriate. Ruddy great bolts where stainless fasteners and alloy finishers would have been more appropriate. Fabricated headstocks instead of turned from one piece etc etc etc and dont even mention those damn metalastic bushes. Grrrrrrrrrrrr hate those bloody things. I suppose for the money i expected more Lotus than Land Rover, I drive a Landie BTW before John V8 starts, and what i got was more of a fergie . Oh well as i said live and learn and hopefully one day i will. Suppose i could always get a new swing arm made ?

When i did it it was really weird. The tube was a perfect fit in the frame but that was without the dust covers. They were 1.2 mm thick so thats what i had to machine off both ends. Seems as if somebody measured the gap across the frame and forgot the dust covers. Whatever now it fits perfectly

I had to do the same with the alloy one from Majesty UK. Must be a common thing ? Weird

Just come in out of the garage after wrestling with the rob Homer frame i bought thinking i would save myself a bit of money. OK its CDS not T45 like those Alan Whitton ones but with my level of inexpertise it wont make much difference. Well after spending hours and hours over the last week or two trying to get things to fit i am beginning to wonder if the saving was really worth it. I have had a DRR frame supplied through Alan before and everything just fitted together as it should. No re drilling, no reaming out, no filing etc etc. Plus the welding / brazing is to die for and it seems a shame to paint over it. Is it just me ? Do i just happen to have a Friday frame ? OK it's been powder coated, note to self NEVER EVER get a frame powder coated again, which has in itself caused loads of problems. Well time to have a serious think as i know there are 3 frames left of the current batch unsold. Do i bite the bullet and buy one and sell the one i have on e bay to recoup some of the money back or do i continue re-engineering the damn thing to get stuff to fit ? OK the DRR ones Alan sells do cost a lot of money but so did this and the amount i saved ? well i think i would have been better spending the extra and reducing my stress levels and blisters. What does the team think ? spend and be damned or persist ? Have to make my mind up soon though

Well its not a rigid and it does have two shocks so why isnt it a twinshock ?

So you are saying a plunger is a twinshock then ?

Pardon me asking and remember i know nowt about P60 moto x but if they have to look period wont they notice the chrome stantions and the fact they work ?

Sit on the bike and with your full weight on it and the chain tensioner not tensioning the chain there should still be approx 1" of free flex in the chain. Well thats what i do and it works for me.

Give it a go Drake as you say you have basic engineering skills so should be ok.

Just to remind everybody that we have round 4 of the Club Championship tomorrow Sunday at Dudwood Farm. Classes for British Bikes, Twinshocks, Pre95 Air Cooled monos and over 50's on moderns. Weather forecast is for a sunny day so keeping fingers crossed the weather man has his seaweed the right way up. Please come along and support the club. Start time as always is 11.00 am.

Pulled the crank webs apart today to check out the big end. When it was together i couldnt find any play in it whatsoever. However, there's always a however isnt there LOL, once apart the pin was totally and utterly shot it. On one side it was perfect but turn it through 180 degrees and it looked like it had been sandblasted for about a third of its circumference. New big end required as i suspected from the condition of the rest of the motor So do i get it reconditioned or do i go the Chinese route ? Erring on the side of getting it reconditioned as still more than a bit cautious about Chinese cheepo parts made from recycled cruise ships LOL. Watch this space but beware just because you cant feel wear doesnt mean there isnt any.

There is a limit to how far down that slippery slope even i would venture. Sidecar outfit ewwwwwwww devils work think i would sooner go fishing

As some of you know i have finally succumbed and gone over to the dark side and am in the process of building a Bantam. So a few questions as i am a bit confused. 1. Have any of you used the new conrod assemblies, obviously Chinese, from Rex Caunt ? If so what are your experiences ? 2. The popular, and cheap which i like, mod is to swap 2nd and 3rd gear over. Do you find this adequate or do you wish you had spent the extra and fitted a low 2nd gear ? 3. Again the popular mod is to fit the Suzuki 185 piston but i notice that Rex Caunt sells a piston with a correct size gudgeon pin for the Bantam small end so you dont need to make a bush to fit. Has anybody any experience of using the piston from Rex Caunt ? Just that i have to rebuild my motor which is just a box of bits at the mo and want to fit the best parts as dont want to have regrets that i didnt buy the wrong ones and have problems later. thank you

Most definitely and what about that 21st century air in the tyres ? cheating is rife i tell you rife

Sounds like you paid £50 for a hub and brake plate then

Why would you want to fit flanged rims ? Horrible things hold mud and crap etc

Sadly it's now such a common theme, riders taking the pi55, that when i lay out i always go back the next day and re look at the section and think now where would ********** go and i had therefore better put some flags exactly there so he cant. I suppose it's all part of being competitive just like when they build or modify their bike. It has become the norm now in trials to always try to gain the unfair advantage and push the rules to breaking point and beyond. A lot of observers dont want confrontation so let them get away with it even worse when riders observe each other. Many a time i have arrived at a section i have laid out to find flags removed or ignored and the riders just going where they like. It's depressing really. The other extreme which i have seen support for on here is almost as bad. You know the old "imaginary line between markers" one. Laid out a section the other day and the obvious line was to follow the curve of the path but under the "imaginary line rule" instead of using just four sets of flags to mark the line i should have had to use 40 !!! which would be ridiculous too. All sections cant be treated like a 50p piece either. As i said earlier we all know when someone modifies a bike and is taking the pi55, a certain chinese pit bike engined monstrosity comes to mind, and we ALL know when a riders line is taking the pi55 also. I always ask the observer first if i can go wherever if it's not obvious and always comply with his interpretation of the Clerk of the Course's laying out. Should be more than a 5 in my book.

I darent ask

Or "it's only the hairs on a gooseberry that stop it from being a grape". Or more appropriately for the subject of the post "you cant polish a turd"