wallo Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 So, it seems that the big bike classic scene is dying. Question, what's the best twinshock to convert to a right foot gear change and left foot rear brake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Bultaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonhazza Posted June 17, 2015 Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 I agree Bultaco as the gear shaft comes out both side of the engine and as a plus the rear brake works better on the LHS as a direct pull, not totally sure but Italjet may be set up the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chegz Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 You can also do this on my Ossa Mar, although it's harder to get the spares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
collyolly Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Why not just ride your classic as a twin shock ? Depends on what you have at the moment but a modernised classic is probably easier to ride than a standard twin shock. I have just sold a Sprite to a chap who was not finding his Bultaco easy to ride and he can't believe how much better the Sprite is ! I ride an Ariel against the twin shocks and to be honest there are not many sections on our routes where I am disadvantaged and then I always have the excuse come the end of the day ! Just keep those feet up on whatever you ride 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzuki250 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Why not just ride your classic as a twin shock ? Depends on what you have at the moment but a modernised classic is probably easier to ride than a standard twin shock. I have just sold a Sprite to a chap who was not finding his Bultaco easy to ride and he can't believe how much better the Sprite is ! I ride an Ariel against the twin shocks and to be honest there are not many sections on our routes where I am disadvantaged and then I always have the excuse come the end of the day ! Just keep those feet up on whatever you ride Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bisby Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 One of my Ossa gripper engines has a double ended gear lever shaft so a right footed gear change could be fitted but there is no rear brake lever for the left and the rear wheel brake arm is on the right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elliseng Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Don't do it!! Stick with the real bikes and take on the twinshock riders. I tried a TLR after my C15 and never went as well on it..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon v8 Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 No need to swop bikes Ken,as suggested just use them in the twinshock class. Then compare your results to everyone else on that route. I dont think big bikes are dead, alot of the problem is in the organisation. I hate to sound as though I'm moaning as we are all volunteers... BUT, the Miller series is a a mess, class 2 especially - there is no incentive AT ALL to ride a pre unit bike when you are lumped into the same class as Cubs/James etc.( Which are often lighter and more competitive than an early twinshock - Bult /Mont etc) As a result of this many trials are now marked out to suit the trick lightweights, tight turns etc. I've just read the regs for the now cancelled Bonanza trial,all on its side,only to find NO mention of a road trial, £25 for 30 sections aint cheap. The events page on Rickman Motorcycles website shows a poster for last year,so effectively its a dead website. Riders have become used to up to date info on club sites - and quickly reply on it. I'm told its not that hard to sort out - cant be really,I often used to update the Bath Classic website the night before a trial or even early on the morning of the trial. Sort the classes out and get it up on the web with fresh, accurate info and the big bikes will come back. When I go back to running trials my bias will be strongly towards rigid and pre unit bikes,I have nothing against twinshocks etc,(I even rode a trial on one last week) but I strongly believe that Classic trials should accommodate older less able bikes - and their riders. Sorry to dribble on,stop now... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bezaboy Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Don't give in or we will kill real bikes. Keep the faith and things will swing back our way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie prescott Posted June 18, 2015 Report Share Posted June 18, 2015 Hi Guy's. Look, to run any event you have to put the time in, and to get what you want to happen, double it. So that is six months working very hard for one event. Then you takes your chance on the cost of doing this, and if it all goes pear shape, you are the one with serious egg on your face. That said I feel that the people that sit back and think that they can rely on there past efforts to get an entry are making a big mistake. You have to keep your eye on the ball and just put that bit of extra effort into what you are trying to achieve, an out of date web site says it all, and you have lost the game . We all know that the BIG bikes and the rest are out there sitting in sheds just waiting to have that precious fuel poured into there tanks for another chance of becoming a Hero? But it just needs the right event, to stir the juices, this now only happens a couple of times a year, and without some one else putting the the effort I have stressed above, the future does look bleak for the truly Classic trials machine. SHAME A VERY GREAT SHAME. Regards Charlie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzuki250 Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) Yet another pre65 handbag fight! A 1961 motor cycle magazine had the results for a classic trial held for pre WWII and earlier bikes, so maybe 1972 wasn't the first classic trial? Edited June 19, 2015 by suzuki250 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breagh Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 Getting way off target now and I have to admit (Even though I'm over 50) old bikes are not my thing. My point is though with that many age/machine/ability related classes throughout the trials scene it's just a nonsense. Personally all trials should be grouped soley by ability lets call it a,b,c,d ride what route you like with whatever bike you like. I know you would get folk riding groups that are too easy for them,but if they're happy for a 8 year old on a Beta 80 or a 70 year old on an Ariel to be riding a harder group than them who am I to judge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie prescott Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 (edited) Hi Guy's. Is it not now really time for the Truth?? that what has finally finished the old adage of Pre 65 Classic trials. Is that it is ,not there fault? and every one needs to earn a living, but it is the few that have commercially took the bull by the horns so to speak, and fuelled the need by so many, to create the ultimate Classic Pre 65 trials bike at any cost that has finally finished the "Classic trials bike" scene?? This has caused the problem with "tighter sections"? that no one in there right mind would bring out a original built before 1965 trials machine out to ride around and enjoy the days so called sport. If we then have a snap decision to bring back a road based trial after being dropped from the menu for a year or two, at the last minute, would we really bother to put the effort in now to get a bike road legal for this event when there is nothing else on the horizon in the near future for anything else?? No. Unless a lot of people pull there finger out ,and start to think how we can rectify this situation, "Classic Trials" for this type of machine in this country is coming to an end.?? You think I am joking?? well I am not. Regards Charlie. Edited June 19, 2015 by charlie prescott 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 A lot of good points been made and all of them relevant especially those about the sections severity which are becoming indistinguishable from modern ones. A long time ago in the early 70s you used to be able to tell if you were riding a club trial or open to centre event or national etc purely by the severity of the sections. Now the sections seem no different no matter what level of event you have entered. This not only discourages the riders of more authentic Classic machines but also sadly does nothing to encourage newcomers to the sport. The rise in popularity of the twinshocks is due to a number of things. Firstly the aforementioned sections and their severity but also financial constraints. Very few people nowadays have access to or the skills necessary to machine the parts to build an eligible pre65 bike plus the cost of having them made by a specialist puts a lot of people off the idea so pre65 is becoming the preserve of the few to whom money is no object which is a shame and detrimental to the sport. The only alternative which is not acceptable to the purists and those looking to preserve the current status quo is to allow the use of parts from breakers that cost a fraction of the cost of custom made items but still to a casual observer look the part and conform to the spirit of pre65 thereby allowing people who can wield a spanner but don't have machining facilities to create and maintain a reasonably competitive classic on the sort of budget normal people have to live with for what at the end of the day is only a hobby. Still the same sense of fulfilment to be had building a bike yourself but at a fraction of the cost. Of course twinshocks are also gaining popularity due to the fact that they appreciate in value and spares are compared to pre65 very readily available at reasonable cost but I feel one of the main drivers in their recent surge is a demographic one. Most of them are around 30 to 40 years old a bit like the riders who remember them from their youth or remember wanting one but being unable to afford one in their youth. They identify with them in a way impossible for a machine built before they were born and that ain't ever going to change. A lot of clubs no longer get the entries to justify pre unit, unit, 2stroke, 4stroke etc and just lump all entries into pre65 or British bike. At this rate it won't be long before they won't justify a separate class let alone a separate event and will have to be included as twinshocks. Is this a bad thing I don't know. It's a sad thing that I am sure of but I do know that the modern pre65 bike has evolved into something lighter and more competitive than a lot of the twinshocks out there so perhaps they should be included as twinshocks that just happen to be British. Food for thought. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.