grahamjayzee

Side to side movement is no problem, but it can only rock if there is clearance in the big end bearing. If it's just sliding along the crankpin, there's no major problem, but ifyou can move the little end 5-10mm from side to side without the big end moving side to side, there has to be big end wear...

Hi Mark, Sorry to hear about the issues on your TY. In itself, the actual act of changing mains and big ends is not difficult. However, deciding what size shells to fit is slightly more tricky. I have done this on an FZ750 road bike and you have to use things such as 'plastistrips' that you crush between the journal and the crankpin to determine the amount of wear on both so the correct sized shells can be fitted. Also, if the big end has been worn for a while, there is a chance the crankpin will be slightly oval. This will require a 'regrind'. I'd be half tempted to talk to a decent motor engineer about getting them to fit the big end shells, or recondition the crank. Good Luck

Don't get me wrong Rabie, I can understand that the ACU doesn't really have the resources to administer rolling dates or anything other than a 'one size fits all' system. My point is that we could use a bit of flexibility to make it easier for noobs to get out there and get trialling. There are lots of things to learn about and get in order when you start (it's so much easier after you have started because you know that much more and it's clearer in your head); the ACU section could be simplified just for this minority without affecting anyone else.

Sounds like my love life...

Agrred YSB, I've never seen a problem! I'll ride to whatever rules are in place and still be pants...

Did you get the attentions of the trials gremlins who always seem to be present during these incidents to gently lift your riding top and expose your bare flesh to stinging nettles and hidden dog turds?

Getting your weight back to prevent it weaving AND getting into a tuck is a prospect. I think the shrubbery is a valid stopping technique!

Nor would the rider!

The thought of 90mph on a set of trials tyres terrifies me!

Rabie, yep, that's the conclusion I have drawn. It's a real shame because it would make situations like the one myself and my friends are in where we are spread to the 4 winds so much easier! I'm slowly compiling a list and will make it available to anyone who wants it. It may help someone in 2009! regarding the ACU membership; I got my card(s) through this week and 2008 and 2009 cards are identical apart from colour. I have to say though, I can see no reason why a simply 'valid from' date could not have been typed on the rear and this would have simplified the whole process of us guys getting started late in the season. Oh well, we got there in the end! Graham

4ourtea, never was a more astute comment made! I think the trials I have enjoyed most are the ones where you stand a chance by 'turning 5s into 3s, 3s into 1s and 1s into cleans'. The steady attrition of a level headed rider keeping their head and niggling away is the trials equivalent of Test Match Cricket that a single figure winnign trial can never really match! Clearly, Stroud Valley and Sunbeam got it dead right. Graham

Apparently, the internet translation service, babelfish has just melted...

Wanariot, I'm not 100% that's likely to be the cause. I bow to your chap's knowledge, but my understanding of the brake concept is that the square profile of the seal is designed to GRIP both the piston and caliper so it pulls the piston back in after it has moved out. It is the size of the seal that governs how much forward movement can be retracted. Brakes often bind because a seal expands in the recess due to corrosion behind the seal and this then prevents free movement of the piston. As a result, the rubber does not have enough grunt to pull the pad back in. The piston only moves past the seal as the pad itself wears. However, there may be something in what you are saying; if the size and shape of the seal are inappropriate for the amount of movement, it will not be able to retract far enough to prevent some degree of brake drag. I still think that the master cylinder looks like a more fundamental cause. Particularly i the breath hole/ disphragm is not able to provide sufficient fluid to keep the system fed. I shall investigate further though!

Hi Stork, I think a bit of both in my case. Since I bought the bike I have been going through and make each aspect tip top, but hadn't got as far as the rear brake yet! I had noticed that the lever is too high for me and suspect there is no clearance between the pin and piston. Also, given the state of the fluid I flushed out of the front brake, I suspect the rear circuit is full of cold tea too! I'm going to replace the pads and fluid this week and get it set properly. Hopefully that will make the recent failure a one-off. Graham

Light bulb! That makes good sense Stork. I'll investigate this. However, mine certainly went off because it was hot! When it cooled down it was fine so there is an issue here elsewhere. Graham

Been watching this with a bit of interest. I bought a 2001 Rev3 a few months back and have not had much chance to use it. However, first time out at the Yennards I lost my rear brake completely. It flet like a stone had lodged the pads but that wasn't the case. The disc was very hot though so I assumed that I was slightly dragging the rear brake (I ride with a lot of rear brake anyway) and I also felt that the pedal needed adjusting slightly as it was a bit high for me. Anyways, I thought at the time that the fluid had boiled. Sure enough, after a while to cool down the brake returned. I NEVER had a problem with the brakes on my old 1992 Zero, and that had much larger pistons. It would seem to me that the brake circuit cannot dissipate the heat and the fluid boils. If this happens it soon denatures the fluid and may cause it to absorb air. Certainly on the race bikes with racing fluid, you need to change it very often to avoid fade. This also concurs with those who have noticed that new pads ease the problem. More pad = more to absorb the heat. I wonder, has anyone experimented with brake fluids? What are we all using? As regards the bleeding, I don't know at the moment, but if there has been air absorbed into the fluid, only changing the lot will work. If you just bleed a few ccs, you'll still have a large percentage of spongy fluid! Graham

Apologies to all our American friends, but this beggars belief! Whatever form of logic arrived at these figures, and does the govenrment really think they will recover any money by this? Do they simply want to hurt the EU producing nations to the tune of this fictitious amount? Do they also believe that EU consumers have no other source of Beef and that there is no such thing as a free market?? Fight this, my friends. The government need to fling their toys around in private!

I've actually received a lot of interest for my kidney. I did have various other organs on offer but amazingly, no takers. Hang on, got to go, there's a nice man here who says he's going to look after my hard drive for a little while...

I think I ought to clear something up here! I'm not knocking the ACU and I most certainly am not knocking the clubs who are the lifeblood of the sport and I'd willingly donate my kidneys to. If they wanted them of course. I was just intersted in looking into smoothing the path of newbies into the sport. Scorpa3, you run a tidy ship and that sort of service is ideal, but that advice is only open to you once contact has been made. I know, I know, if you join the club this is all there for freemans, but my scaredy mates see club joining as the irreversible move to the sections and they weren't ready for that. I think my nirvana would be a page full of trials dates with a simple column to indicate the centre and the club. From there, we would have instantly known which club to contact. And then maybe the licence issue might not have been a problem because I would have spoken to someone like Scorpa3 and been quids in! I guess the focus is on the ACU because they are the sport's governing body so have a bit of responsibility! Anyway, let's not throw any criticism, it works perfectly for most people (apart from girly newbies that join in november and live miles apart!) Graham

It does a bit, but it's not really the money, it's the hassle that's prompted this post! A tenner in the grand scheme of getting a bike and all the kit isn't really here nor there. It's the fact that I have to do this for one trial! The ACU should be able to short-track newcomers onto the sections and the whole process of joining clubs, getting licences, collecting signatures and so forth is a hurdle we could live without! Maybe some form of day mebership. Or, wait, a levy? No, it will never work...

Shame we have to blag it, isn't it? We have taken this stance for one of our party because with various other commitments he won't be able to get his ACU application off in time. I have a long way to travel (and fortunately already had a club card) and didn't want to risk 'blag failure', so I got me 3 days ACU membership! I understand what you're saying, but the problem is getting newbies in, not those that already have a licence. After all, it's down to each of us to ensure we renew where necessary. However, an easier way is simply a 'valid from' date on the card and then allow it to fall for renewal at the end of the year, the same as everyone else. That way if you join in, say, november you pay

Thanks Totalshell, I thought I had indeed gone a bit soft! I have nothing against club membership (or indeed ACU membership), but the chicken and eggness of the joinging process if you are near the end of the year and trying to get sorted for a trial 3 weeks away is a bit of a put-off. Incidentally, I have finally managed to collate a list of trials for East Midlands, South Midlands and Thames MCC (This is the are we are choosing from; we're not doing all 200-odd!). If anyone wants it, PM me. Graham

Thanks Fivemeister! I think you might have missed my point here, or maybe I am being a bit drippy! I probably have just enough knowlwedge to make things hard for myself, but I still think that for my two friends this was harder than it needed to be. You see, back in the day I formed a bond with my club for various reasons, one of which was that the venues suited the level of challenge I was comfortable with and the particular group of regulars and I fitted together well. In addition, there was a series of closed to club trials that ideally suited me. Now, I put a post on here asking for a list of dates in the southern centre and didn't get far. There may be now, but 3 weeks ago there wasn't a lot on TMX or the ACU website. Without a list showing who is running what, you simply have to take a plunge and join a club. That's OK, it doesn't really matter which club you join, does it? However, if, like my friends you have broached the sport in late november, it all gets rather complicated due to the requirement for an ACU licence and the need for club membership before you get one. It's easy to see this from a point of view where we know the clubs and are comfortable just wading in, but my friends were not. Incidentally, I have indeed noticed that many clubs now have 2009 dates published, but you've still got to dig hard to find them, particularly as we cross 4 regions in our geographical niche! I still think that the ACU website could better offer up a platter of this information, and it certainly doesn't at the moment. Scorpa3, you are of course correct... ...apart from Cambridge Matchless' excellent closed to club summer series! Graham

Good luck Roger; If I wasn't collecting a daughter from university I'd be at Yennards to see it roll! Graham

Rogerroger, I'm not one for 'Ondas, but your bike could change my mind! That is absolutely peachy and I can't imagine what is left to do in stage 2! Graham