old trials fanatic Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) 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 Edited April 21, 2015 by old trials fanatic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie prescott Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Hi Guys; OTF Read the Bantam Build Page on My Site. Piston seems fine to me But a job to fit Barrel with no taper when bored. Cant believe you would use Chinese parts though,because they are better than anything else. But Not Classic. Regards Charlie,_________LOL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalshell Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 gear swapping.. in hindsight id say its a waste of time to split a box purely to swap the cogs but if its in bits you might as well do it.. i ve never used anything other than 1st on the bantam in a section, never been tempted to go for second.. 'after market' lower second gears.. again not something i d plump for. many have had issues sometimes even from reputable sources building a bantam box is not a 5 minute job splitting cases etc. so if i had a built up engine i d leave as is. if it were in bits i d swap the cogs. i wouldnt fit a lower second. again as for engine mods, my bike is standard b175.. cept for electrix world ignition and a pickering exhaust and silencer.. it runs very very well and is easy and forgiving to ride. certainly the best carbruerrted bike i ve ever owned 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon v8 Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Stinkwheel ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy m Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 (edited) I have Rex's piston and it is fine, also I have a low 2nd gear set and again no issues, rarely use it but have done. I am in the process of sorting another engine which will again have the low 2nd and a higher top as I want to do road trials and have a ride in the Manx later in the year. There is a Yamaha clutch conversion which I will be using but can not report on its performance as I haven't used it yet. Apparently the con rod kits need work to be able to use. I am using a reconditioned rod and new pin , the rod is machined (if it is usable) and o/s bearing used with new pin. PM me on FB if you want a contact to get this done. You may want a brass weight that goes behind the ignition on crank. PS. Welcome to the dark side....... Edited April 21, 2015 by andy m 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallo Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Dark side, phew, I thought you were going to say your building a sidecar outfit...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted April 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 Dark side, phew, I thought you were going to say your building a sidecar outfit...... 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aawil Posted April 21, 2015 Report Share Posted April 21, 2015 interesting , back in the seventies i turned up with a 156cc fantic outfit much to the amusment of most of the other riders , the critics quickly dissapeared and the rest was history, now i have enough parts to build a really light 185 bantam so i suppose i try and build a competetive trials bantam outfit just for fun and of course to upset the same old critics again ,oh what fun being retired is , will. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2015 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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