owen Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hello I have a TY175 twinshock with standard forks and am looking at moving up to something a bit better. I know I can go to the TY250 forks but I was wondering if anyone else had gone a step further with modern forks from say a Gas Gas or similar. I've read that 38mm is popular? Any suggestions or experiences? What bike could I take them from TY250 FORKS A bit better Using standard TY175 wheel brakes etc MODERN FORKS A lot better Do I use the whole front end inc wheel etc or just the forks and yokes If using the TY175 wheel, do i have to have a new spindle made? I need to retain the basic look and the drum brake of course Thanks for any help Owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earthmover Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hi Owen, Just curious as to what particular reason you're thinking of ging this route. As a recent TY owner, I'm looking long and hard at the forks myself. How far have you got with the orignals? Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majesty320 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Here we go again Why dont you just buy a gas gas and put two shocks on it and fit the TY engine, surely that would still be in the spirit of twin shock trials, in your post you say a bit better. Modern forks aren't just a bit better, and before anybody says its cheaper than having the old one re-chromed and its not to gain an advantage, Talk to the hand because its b*****ks. If you fit new forks you have to alter the fork yokes, and adapt the forks to take some sort of torque arm. This all adds up unless you are a skilled engineer. So Im sorry but the its cheaper line does not stand up. That said the forks on a 175 are pretty poor but there are other ways of improving the 175 than fitting modern forks, unless your looking to gain an advantage that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno21 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Why ride a twinshock if you really want to ride a modern bike !!!!!. I am not a light weight and I ride a standard TY175 the only Mods I have done is gas shocks at the rear and electronic ignition and I compete against modern bikes on the white route and beat some of them. Why do people have to alter bikes so much all the skill is in the rider !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandmseccy Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Majesty320 - Why not just snap the guy's head off while you're at it? You purists seem to think that everyone who's got an old bike has to be a purist too. Speaking as the owner of (most of) a TY250, I dabbled at doing exactly the same thing as the front end on mine was completely shot when I bought it. After buying a complete GG front end, a TY front end cropped up, so I bought that & sold the GG one on. Some of us just want to ride the bike & to hell with originality, as long as it's fun. Owen may well be in the same category as me. (He may also be as brassed off as me at your response!). Message - be tolerant rather than blinkered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goudrons Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Can't the same be said of electronic ignition? Or does this "unfair advantage" stance only concern parts that can be seen? Surely, a modern electronic ignition is an aid to gain an advantage over the same model with standard, points ignition? Or why fit it? The very same arguments on cost etc can be made, it's not as though anyone can say points and condenser are anywhere near the same price as an electronic set up, or that it's the only alternative to parts that are unavailable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 A bit of hysteria here chaps - would there have been any if if it had just been an enquiry about improving the forks without mentioning any options? It's the 38mm that has lit the blue touch paper... First off there is nothing wrong with trying to improve the 175 fork action and the better riders in my club were trying to do just that back in the 70s. Second point - it depends on how you ride, what level, how hard and how hard you work the suspension. I don't mean it in a derogatory sense but most classic club trials are nowhere near as hard as the trials the bikes were used in back in their era and the suspension won't get worked anywhere near as hard now as then. Even the C and B routes in modern trials don't give the forks that much trouble. If you're riding it in modern clubman nationals such as Lakes 2 day, Manx 2 day then yes, they are going to get worked hard and their shortcomings highlighted. I'm guessing as you're asking the question you won't be riding the bike in the latter. So, for you average classic trials or C or B route in modern, your best option (and cheapest) is to get the forks working to their optimum. Originally, like most 70s Jap forks, the spring rate and damping were a bit on the soft side. As the springs, assuming they are the originals, are now 30 odd years old you will benefit from replacing them with new ones. In your place I would fit Magical progressive springs. I have them in my Bultaco and they work well, stronger than the originals but not overly so. They work well on smaller obstacles, are strong enough to keep the forks returning on multiple/consecutive obstacles and take bigger hits well. I'm assuming they'd offer the same ride in the Yamaha. They're Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mik60ish Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Excellent reply thanks Woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Excellent reply thanks Woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scorpayam Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Excellent reply thanks Woody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducman Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 And at the end of the Day it is always the rider who makes the difference. Cheers:Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majesty320 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) OK (sandmseccy) I'm sorry if my response came across as a swipe at OWEN that was not my intention and I apologies if it did. As for being a purist you couldn't be more wrong as I have also tried to get Yamaha TY175 forks to work better and I have fitted period Marzocchi forks to a 250 Majesty as well as moving footrests etc. It's the fact that if you look around this site and see the amount of people who do ride these bikes in competition and not just for fun like yourself , and then try and justify fitting modern forks by using the excuse that they are cheaper and not fitted to gain an advantage. I know some them personally and £160 for a re-chrome or what ever for magical springs and dampers would just be pocket change, so their argument just doesn't stand up. As I said and Woody has said a similar thing there are other ways of improving the performance of the forks without going down this road. As for electronic ignition I think most people fit this to improve reliability, ask the boys who ride classic Brit bikes on the road why they fit it, Im sure its not to make their bikes go faster. Personally I can't see where It would be an advantage in the sections, It may be an advantage when your pushing your bike back to the car up that big hill because the condenser has blown again, but I may be corrected. Edited February 22, 2012 by majesty320 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon v8 Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Owen,good luck with whatever you decide to do - just make sure its ready for the 11th Mar at Binegar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 As Woody has already said TY Mono forks probably the best period mod if you can find a decent set, or Marzocchis again if you can find a decent set (there are some on wobblies) there have been some 38mm sold recently for reasonable money but probably overkill on a 175. There was a well sorted TY175 at Telford with TY t/s forks in it, but they can cost to get right..... again if you can find some. http://www.willbrown.co.uk/adz/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goudrons Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 As for electronic ignition I think most people fit this to improve reliability. Personally I can't see where It would be an advantage in the sections, It may be an advantage when your pushing your bike back to the car up that big hill because the condenser has blown again, but I may be corrected. Someone could argue, that to finish first, first you have to finish and electronic ignition will improve ones chances, but that's what forums are all about, personal views. My view was that there seems to be some sort of "anti" feeling towards modern parts fitted that are obviously visible, but hide something away and it becomes ok or acceptable. Modern forks(or modern fork internals)or modern ignitions will to some extent give one some advantage over the standard parts, even if it's just an improved chance of finishing. Now the question would turn to "does it matter?" To compete in an event, there are regulations to comply to, some are more stringent than others, but the upshot is you compete against others within the rules, if you choose to mod your bike and it complies with the events you enter, than there's no problem. If you feel you are at a disadvantage because you haven't modded and others have, there's always the option of not entering and making your views clear. We all know that there are industrious people that will take things to there very limits, but you can't blame them as they are being allowed, it's the regulations and those that draw them up that need addressing. The heartening thing is, we all know someone that turns up with a completely standard (with 30 odd years of abuse) bike that wipes the floor with those that spend thousands on mods and modern parts, because as stated elsewhere, money can't buy talent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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