triple_x

Hi I run PJ1 Silver fire semi synthetic 50/1 as recommended by Bultacouk. Old engines are not designed for fully synthetic, something to do with manufacturing tolerances. Three years trialling with no deterioration of perfomance. But it is up to you!! Regards Martin

Personally I had a great time. Yes the course was hard, but it was hard for everyone but that was down to the weather. I had a Terrible ride, it just all went wrong. But that is what makes Trials great, we just don't know what to expect! Good organisation, freindly people and getting out there on a 44 year old motorcycle. I certainly will be back next year, God willing. Regards Martin

I need glasses!!!! Ran the West of England with .040" plug gap no problems. I note the point you are making Jon re peak voltage. Regards Martin

Hi I have a slow action grip on my bike. The performance was OK so I am not unhappy, just a bit softer but better downhill on overun. I just take the view if it ain't broke don't fix it. It suits my ability, but as said earlier I will play with the plug gap. Currently .028" will try .035" which will give me a longer burn. Doing the Cotswold Cup this weekend so will update. Regards Martin

Hi I rode the Montesa in the West of England round of the SM champs last Sunday. Conditions were challenging, not the organisers fault just a heavy downpour overnight. The Elextrex system worked fine and was a lot better than the points set up even with the heavier flywheel! Will start playing with the plug gap now. Regards Martin

Hi Some of you will know that I have been restoring my early Cota over the past 12 months. I have been searching for an Electronic Ignition system for the past 6 months, not because the original setup was unreliable, just that I could not be bothered to take the flwheel cover off every week to let the condensation dry out. Then fiddle setting/cleaning/checking the points gap through the flywheel. Am I lazy? Perhaps but really I just want simpler maintenance and more reliability! My solution was sorted at Telford, Peter at Elextrec World thought their Montesa 348/9 STK-349 kit may fit but the flywheel weighs 3.7 Kg as opposed to 3KG on my 247. The kit fitted like a glove, dead simple to time and the bike started second kick and sounds sweet. Tried it at Bath classic today (only 3 sections and half a lap, twisted my back and retired) but the variable advance properties of the system were impressive, giving a very smooth power delivery even with the heavier that standard flywheel. Will run it this weekend at the West of England SM round before deciding whether to skim the weight off the flywheel. Hope this is of interest. Kind regards Martin

Hi I have just repaired my early Cota tank and seat unit (see Early Cota Red Paint colours post for a picture). If the front end of the cover has broken then filler alone may not provide a permanent repair, for it is not strong enough unless you are just filling in/smoothing out surface blemishes. I used a Halfords Glass fibre repair kit and it was a doddle. Both front corner edges on the side panels were broken off, side fixing hoes had broke aways s well as the area around the the front fixing holes was missing. In order to shape the repair I made a form / mould from thin hardboard, covered with PVC sheet which was then covered with a thin smear silicone grease. This was then clamped in place. It was then simply the case of mixing the resin, applying it to the area to be rebuilt and laying the pre-cut, but over size matting on top, carefully but throughly worhing the the three layers of matting into the resin and when saturated paint another coat of resin on top to finish. This way there was minimal cleaning up/preparation prior to lacquering with three coats of plastic bumper primer and three coats of water based colour and a clear coats of fuel proof lacquer. Give it a go and you will be surprised what can be achieved for minimal cost and time. Good luck. Martin

Hi Close up showing paint match with Inmotion Tank Badge. Martin

Refurbished tank unit . First shot colour spec to follow. Martin

Hi My current Cota 247 was made in April and sold through a dealership in Cornwall in August. My original Cota bought in October 1968 was left the factory in September. I actually visited Montala to get a new gearbox cluster as the drive dogs in the gearbox we undersize, and, after one Trial (the Perce Simon) was unrideable. My bike was an orginal big hub with the IRZ and I never felt the need to upgrade to the Amal, there just did not appear to be much of an improvement. Good luck with the rebuild but pay patricular attention to the gearbox shims, for if you have too much end float the clutch can judder. 004" is the norm. I still regret selling my original after all this time. Regards Martin

Hi Interesting and timely post! I am just about to get my spare seat and tank unit resprayed. The colour I remember is the orange in the first picture which matches the colour on the tank badges sold by Inmotion, it is a close match to the underneath of both my tanks after T Cutting. However during the 2 1/2 years I had my original Montesa there were noticable colour variations. So I shall just go with the shade of the tank badge and under side of my tanks. Some of the early variations may simply be down to the colour matching of the gel coating that was applied to the mould prior to the fibre glass matting. Also back in the late sixties colour matching was not as precise as today, so who knows! Will post the RAL number later this week. Kind regards Martin

Hi Rode both the Perce Simon and the Downland with the modified bead on my X Lite tubless rear. No problems, stayed on the rim at 5lb and I could not tell the difference between it and the IRC. Oh, and wear rate seemed acceptable after 3 Sammy Miller rounds. I must say that this was not my original idea, but simply followed the advice given to me by a very experienced fellow competitor! At least tyre wise I am road legal !!! Regards Martin

Replies to various. Current police practice in an RTA is to check the vehicle out, one check is of the tyres to see if they have the E symbol. If not then you are in contravention of the current Road Traffic Regulation and deemed not to be road worthy, Your choice! To simply sand off For Competition Use Only would not hide the fact that the e symbol is missing. Quite why IRC don't get the tyre approved for road use in Europe is beyond me because like Dave I believe it is up to the job and is better than the X Lite, but needs a speed rating. Looking at the bead it appears that all that is needed is to trim the inside lip by about 1mm all the way round. Will try and advise after the Perce Simon. Regards Martin

Hi A few weeks before the Greensmith I was told not to bring my Sherpa in for MOT if it had and IRC tyre fitted. Simply put IRC are not road legal (Importers confirmed this) therefore Insurance null and void if used on the public highwaty and, if I was involved in an RTA and the bike examined at scene (as is the norm) then I was toast!!!. So I bought 2 Michelin x Lites with tubes and fitted one on the Sherpa and the other on the Montesa 247 that I was to ride in the Greensmith. The rim on the Mont is an original Akront, had to inflate to 50psi to pop the bead on the rim and all was fine and rode with 5psi. When I was washing the bike of I noticed that bead on both sides had come off the rim over about 1/4 of the bead. Never ever had any trouble with the IRCs (tube type)so it must be down to the bead being incompatible with the rim. Need to sort it as I am not prepared to compete in road based events with (in the eyes of the law) an unroadworthy bike. Old F*** I may be but that is my decision! So where do I get a 36 spoke tubeless rim!!!! Just as an observation I prefer the IRC but the manufacturer can't be bothered to get them approved. Regards Martin

Perhaps the ACU and AMCA should take the lead and keep the Police at bay. Simply issue a list of approved tyres for road events which the event organisers could insert in the regs. Initially few moans (like no stop) but at least we would all be covered by insurance on the road. Is there really any difference between a Michelin (with a tube)or IRC that the average rider would notice. Sammy Miller proposed not long ago that that a control tyre should used to keep costs down. Food for thought, but at least there would be an incentive for the tyre manufactures to get their product approved. After all it is in everyones best interest to be street legal!!! Martin

Agreed, prime responsibility is with the rider. However what is the point of scrutineering, I believed that the process was to ensure that a quick visual check ensured that the bike complied with the rules of the event and was also deemed roadworthy. I also thought that the club/scrutineer could prevent a rider starting an event if the bike did not comply. For example in the regs all tyres to be legal for use on the road. Is that not the case? But how far do we go? I would really like to know an official position on this, but don't want to rock the boat too much. Regards Martin

Staniforths (Mark) have confirmed that the IRC TR 011R is not approved for use on the road. They have queried this with the manufacturer as to why it is not approved and they (IRC) will not submit one for approval! So there you have it, Pirelli, Dunlop or Michelin for road trials it is, if you want to be legal and insured. Wonder what the ACU and AMCA's position is regards scrutineering or indeed do they have one? Regards Martin

Staniforths, the importers are checking. But I have been told that unless the tyre is stamped on the sidewall with an E in a circle or DOT stamp then IRC tr 011R is not legal for road use in this country. Ouch!!!!! If true we are not covered by insurance on the road!!!! Martin

Wording form the MOT regs below. IRC TR 011R has moulded on the sidewall "For Trials Competition only" Interesting!! Motocross or similar tyres, i.e. tyres where the space between tread blocks is substantially greater than the size of the blocks themselves; which do not have MST (multi service tyre) with an 'E' in a circle or an e in a rectangle moulded into or on to the tyre wall c. tyres designated by their manufacture as unsuitable for road use e.g. racing tyres or those marked NHS or NOT FOR HIGHWAY USE on the sidewall. Martin

Hi Booked my Sherpa in for MOT with a local comp shop (the owners son rides trIals). He said that if it was fitted with a IRC (TR 011R) rear tyre then they are not marked for road use and the bike will fail the MOT. Examined the tyre and, no 6 digit number or E marking. So does that mean that nearly all the competitors in Classic trials riders that use the Highways are not legal:- NO MOT THUS NO INSURANCE Comments please!!! Regards Martin

Well where do I start! Bike jumped out of 5th, well I managed to finish the Pately Bridge SM round by screaming around in fourth(sorry locals)!! Found the problem, sliding 4th pinion dogs were worn down so changed the pinion for one in the spare bottom end. As usual it did not stop there, main bearings had rust spots and were knacked, wrong oil seals fitted to the crank, the kickstart big bush was in two pieces and to cap it all the l/hand bottom mount was held on by Devcon!!!!!. Finally there had been so much blowby on the piston the crank had carbon deposits. After a week all this was sorted and she now has fifth gear runs cleaner and overall feels better. Why have I gone into detail of by problems, basically I think moral is :- Buy a wreck and give it a ground up rebuild as it it probably easier that patching up a superficially pretty bike. Hard work but worth it, perhaps, we shall see next week. Martin

Hi Go on the Elextrex world site and buy their stator kit (is you canafford it) for the Sherpa. Bought mine three years ago and the bike has been trouble free. Trying to sort one for my Montesa 1970 now. Regards Martin

Gearbox. I have now established that the 5th gear selection problem is within the gearbox. Whilst the box is quite straight forward to work on does anyone have tips that I should watch out for. I am familiar with setting the end float by shimming the ends of the shafts. It is the other areas like the guide pins on the selector forks, what tolerance is acceptable. The Clymer manual is not helpfull in this area! They even get the lengths of the three sets on rollers/pins for the sliding gears wrong! I look forward to any comments. Regards Martin

Hi Jon What is the pm box??? Martin