jaylael Posted April 29, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 Honda RS: I bow to your superior knowledge of old trials bikes! Thanks, and I have to say you were right. The gear guy will have it done by tonight as I have agreed to pay the "batch" price for a whole load of heat treating just to do the one gear. This evening I shall have it in my hand for the princely sum of (gulp) $240.00 Trust me in the future I will be trying to search out Armstrong/Can-Am engine parts. There were a handful of these imported to the USA, but were never very popular. I once tried one out and was disapointed, but I guess if you dialed in the jetting and put longer rear shocks on it to quicken up the steering, you could live with it. The Can-Am's were very old school. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucej Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 (edited) Jay, sorry to say it, but I don't think you will have much luck finding Hiro parts on this side of the Atlantic. At least not from Can-ams, as they all used Rotax engines. A couple quick notes about Can-ams, just for the heck of it: The earlier models were built in Canada by Bombardier, from the mid seventies to the early eighties. The later models were built by Armstrong, in the mid eighties, under contract to Bombardier. Bombardier owns Rotax, so naturally the bikes sold under their nameplate used their engines. Most Can-ams were mx or enduro models. I did see a Can-am trials bike last year. It had an aluminum frame which looked cool, but from what I've been told they were not that impressive performance wise. I do hope you can get the Garelli running well again, I am looking forward to reading about it. Bruce Edited April 29, 2005 by brucej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinm Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 Bruce Thought I would leap in here before HondaRS does!!!!!.............take a look on www.classiccanam.com The first of the Can Am trials bikes sold on your side of the pond were badged up Armstrongs using the Hiro motors. The later trials twinshock and mono models used the Rotax motors. Probably agree that Hiro spares would be about as rare in the US as Hodaka's are here in the UK!!!!!! Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucej Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 I stand corrected! Really, I should have said I wasn't 100% sure on the trials machines, they are so rare I have only seen the one Rotax powered example. Sorry! Thank you for setting things straight. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted April 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2005 O.K. I am officially on the hunt for Hiro Trials engines or parts to the bottom end. I have this wonderful book titled, The Encyclopedia of the motorcycle, by Hugo Wilson, published by Dorling Kindersley, London. There is an Italian Enduro bike in the back called a "Trans Am" with a Hiro engine. That is one sweet loking bike!! The Can Am 500 MX'er has a Hiro engine also. Jeff Smith said the 500 was "A real tire shredder". Too bad the Armstrong/Can-Am thing sort of petered out. They were such pretty bikes! The gear man was not in this evening so I think I'm going to continue trying to get ahold of him over the weekend. I am still waiting on the shocks anyhow, so it's not like I could be riding it. Soon, very soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted May 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2005 (edited) Not the hottest news item today with the culmination of the Scottish, but I just finished riding about ten miles of hard trails on the Garelli and she is really working good! I tried to take a pic but the batteries in my camera are dead. I will pick some up later and try to photograph it. The Falcon shocks from B&J Racing are perfectly wonderful, and though it took quite a bit of fettling I have the kickstarter situation well sorted. The Del-orto carb is jetted perfectly and it started second kick after 25 years! The bike is much heavier than my'04 Montesa but it has loads of power and has a six speed tranny! The first four gears are very close together. First gear is granny gear and the shifts to second and third all provide small gearing jumps. To put this in perspective, third gear feels about like first gear on my '04 Cota 315r, and fourth is just a bit taller than that, with bigger jumps to fifth and sixth feels like overdrive! This is a very well thought out tranny. Sixth gear feels like it'd go way too fast like 70 mph! The brakes work great too. The bike has quite a bit of compression and is a full 350 cc's, so kickstsarting it can be a bit dodgy. I think what may have caused the broken gear was a moment of distraction. Donato must have kicked it impoperly which resulted in a backfire so fierce the kickstarter gears had no chance to survive. I found it was critical to feel for tdc rather than just stabbing away blindly at the kickstarter. It popped back once pretty hard when I forgot to give it the "BSA treatment". Also I have been securing the rh footpeg in the up position when cold starting it just to avoid the remotest possibility that the kickstarter would catch on the footpeg which could also cause a broken kicker catstrophe as we know from certain older years of Betas. I look forward to many happy miles of twinshock trials riding on this wonderful machine. Sincerely, Jay Edited May 8, 2005 by JayLael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted May 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Another photo of the beast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted May 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 still another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve fracy Posted May 8, 2005 Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Great pics of your bike Jay! Glad to hear you got her running finally. Now all you need to do is get your butt up here next year and ride it in our Outlaw/Twinshock series! It will be great to have you and the Garelli as some more competition for my mighty Fantic! Cheers, Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted May 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 It's quite fascinating really. I am told it is full 350 cc, but there are no stampings I can find to state this and I have not measured it so this could be a pseudo fact. It alledgedly has a magnesium cyl and head with a chrome bore cyl. Whatever it has, there is a noticeable piston slap? sound at slow tickover which disappears completely once it gets fully hot. It just runs so sweetly. I tried to top it out yesterday and ran out of room but I guess actual top speed is really about 50 mph. Steve, I will look forward to being your trials punching bag next twinshock trials. I have my birth certificate now so I can visit your country. I look forward to it very much. Jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinm Posted May 8, 2005 Report Share Posted May 8, 2005 Jay....surprised you could get 50mph with that huge back sprocket.....looks way too low geared. You can tell it was designed by one of the SWM guys, the middle and tail pipes, swingarm even the mudguard stays are copys....take a look at my 84 TL320. Martin PS.Nice looking fuel tank!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted May 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Wednesday night I had a chance to visit with Kary and Dennis. They had some hilarious stories from the Scottish. They each had a go on the Garelli. Seemed to like it fine. Kary had been struggling up a greasy hillclimb for a three on his M4rt and then cleaned it first try on the Garelli. He took to it instantly as he had been an SWM guy in the "olden days". Also I managed a blistering clean through the "upper dry creek section: on the Garelli. It really goes nice. Thats two tanks of gas through it so far only the rear fender bolts have shaken out, but that's it. Pretty cool. Saving up for a rear sprocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the artist formerly known as ish Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 We will be riding and camping at Jordan creek this weekend Jay, I'll be on the Fantic if you would like to join us for a bottle of brew and a rev this weekend. Looks like we will have to run a twinshock trial in the fall, use Dallesport too late to get permits this year down the burn, let the nov, int ride modern bikes with twin shock A and B on the same lines, might entice some of the Wombat crew out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigel dabster Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 If its a grimeca fantic/swm hub won't one of those sprockets go straight on? Sounds from your descriptions that if 3rd matches first on a 315 this could transform the bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylael Posted May 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Ishy: Thanks for the invite, but Kary and I are going to Dad Gumm's trials at Coppei creek this weekend. Wish you were going too. Is it too late? Nigel, There are very few SWM dealers around here these days. I fully agree it could use a bit taller gearing, but I have spent all my mad money for awhile. I just bought an Italjet trials bike to fix up and add to my little bike museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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