24 replies to this topic

[gasgas249uk]

Ive just finished this resto back to almost origional condition, thought id show you the pics. They dont capture the brightness of the flourescent.The engine was rebuilt,forks had new sliders and seals,new chasis and suspension bearings,rebuilt shock,new carb atomiser and needle.Right, now all i have to do is roll it inside a plastic bag, suck the air out and seal LOL

Before

http://i293.photobuc..._Picture092.jpg[/img]

After


[img]http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm51/scooterworld2008/IMAG0017.jpg

Edited by gasgas249uk, 11 July 2011 - 09:34 AM.

[duckwizard]

gasgas249uk, on 07 July 2011 - 09:00 PM, said:

Ive just finished this resto back to almost origional condition, thought id show you the pics. They dont capture the brightness of the flourescent.The engine was rebuilt,forks had new sliders and seals,new chasis and suspension bearings,rebuilt shock,new carb atomiser and needle.Right, now all i have to do is roll it inside a plastic bag, suck the air out and seal LOL

Before

http://i293.photobuc..._Picture092.jpg[/img]

After


[img]http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm51/scooterworld2008/IMAG0017.jpg

[duckwizard]

Looks fantastic.

[Monty_Jon]

Looks very nice. What year was it manufactured?

[gasgas249uk]

Monty_Jon, on 11 July 2011 - 12:23 PM, said:

Looks very nice. What year was it manufactured?

Thanks Monty and Kenny,
This was made in 1987 , coincidentally the same year that Merlin had 3 spoke wheels. Who borrowed the idea off who?. I'm going to Joan Ruiz home ,one of the founder members of Mecatecno next month and will ask him. I recon Merlin was first.

[jordi]

Superb, lovely job

[Kramit]

jordi, on 11 July 2011 - 07:02 PM, said:

Superb, lovely job

They don't make em like that anymore.....I don't think they were that pretty when new.

[Lowbrow]

Congratulations on a fantastic job. Interesting motor, was it Mecatecno's own and disc valve?

[gasgas249uk]

It was entirely their own engine and based upon the Rotax engine which they admired. It was designed by Mira ,Rabasa and Ruiz and was one of the 2 reasons the company, in the end folded.

[Ducman]

Fantastic Job,well done.



Chrs:Mike

[Lowbrow]

gasgas249uk, on 18 August 2011 - 08:01 PM, said:

It was entirely their own engine and based upon the Rotax engine which they admired. It was designed by Mira ,Rabasa and Ruiz and was one of the 2 reasons the company, in the end folded.

Thanks for that and sorry to quiz you further, but you've got me interested now. Was that because the motor was no good or just the sheer cost of small production runs?

[gasgas249uk]

Lowbrow, on 19 August 2011 - 06:54 AM, said:

Thanks for that and sorry to quiz you further, but you've got me interested now. Was that because the motor was no good or just the sheer cost of small production runs?

no problem -
The company was by established by Rabasa to manufacture small childrens bikes using engines they'd buy in. There was a good market and a good margin.
The problems started when they diversified into Trials. The first prototype was inspired by the Fantic 200 which was revolutionary at the time , but this bike didnt cause them any bother as it was just a small one off project.
It was when Rabasa decided to make thier own production Trials bike that the cash drain started.
Juan Ruiz and Rabasa designed the engine from nothing using their experience from Derbi.It cost them a small fortune to develop and have made. The parts for the engine were contracted out as they didnt have a magnesium and aluminium foundary at their disposal!. A Barcelona based firm made the gearboxes (the same company that made all of the gearboxes in Spain) and it all took loads of time and money to pull together.
The initial engines had a problems with gear box selectors and drums.These were rectified , but it took time to have redesigned parts cast and machined. Also ...as they were a small company they had to wait for factory time to come free from the other larger companies.The market was good but they had no real weight and clout with suppliers.The initial pistons had a tendancy to seize when hot , but this again was rectified , but it took time sourcing the right profiled piston and testing it . This was a small outfit with 10 employees and sorting this out took a lot of effort whilst still servicing the kids motorcycle market.

They were an extremely professional company consisting of the best guys from the race and design side of Derbi.It was Rabasa's money , he was the Boss of the race team at Derbi and he was the boss here.To increase work space at the small factory they fabricated from steel another floor held up on vertical struts and tied into the wall.They were manufacturing around 10 different motorcycles and it must have been crazy busy on the workshop floor with parts stacked everywhere for all of these bikes.

So , they were up to thier chests in costs getting this engine right and it was obviously eating the costs of the kids bikes in addition to giving next to no return itself , due to the problems.

But it was just ok .. the kids bikes were selling well and they had also sorted the engine problems for good.
The motors are spot on. You can tell they were built by engineers and not to a budget. They run well at low and high speed. The gearboxes are smooth ,have 6 speeds and work well. the clutches dont drag and are light and smooth.Ive had no problems at all with the many i have and have had . They pull huge gears. In my opinion they are better engines than the other air cooled monos of the time.Ive tried most but not the Montesas , im sure thats good.

The Trials bikes stared selling well when the Dragonfly was released as it was such a stunning design and so different.
The Skywalker sold even better and things were going well.
They were holding their own

[Lowbrow]

Thanks for such a detailed explanation, very informative.

[AtomAnt]

Stunning Job Well done

[Eddie_Lejeune]

Briliant machine, I suspect parts for these and the merlins are hard to get outside of spain