Twinshock

Does anyone know anything about the early development Suzuki prototypes of Gordon Farley? Or have any pics? There's one pic each in Don Morley's "Spanish Trials Bikes" & one of John Hulme's volumes of "20yrs of Twinshock Trials" & a couple more with a little info in another magazine on trials, but not much. Of the few pics there, most look like modified TS250 engine & prototype RL chassis, but one looks like its a SherpaT rolling chassis w RL engine & tank (said to be in 74). Its certainly a Bul front end. Also, an interesting bike has turned up in Canada: a Suzuki engined SherpaT (maybe Miller frame) with the interesting engine # TS-T-00001 Is Go…

Hi folks, I would like some feedback in regards to rear shocks. I have restored a couple twin shock bikes, and I ride vintage trials. But I will be honest and say, I really don't know the difference between good shocks and bad, or what they should be doing, besides holding up the seat. Or I should say, I'm not a good enough rider to tell the difference when I try different ones. What should a good pair of shocks do on a twin shock trials bike? What is the difference between a pair of rebuilt 70's shocks and a pair of $300.00 modern shocks, designed specifically for trials? I fully understand that you get what you pay for. But what am I looking for? I'm not looking for …

Hi, I've been told that a DT 175mx barrel fits straight onto a TY 175 and gives it more power due to the porting. Has anyone done this and if so is it a worth while mod? I've also been told that a lot of people used to lengthen the swing arm by an inch or so to help keep the front end down, does this work and does it affect the steering in any way? Thanks in advance.

My Montesa Cota 348 (1978) has allways worked fine without any problems until yesterday but now there's something wrong with the intake. The carb is Amal 2627, and I haven't done any changes to the standard jets and settings. The engine works poorly with low rpm's and I can't find good idling with low enough rpm's. I can set the throttle top screw so that the engine revolution at idling is high but can't get my target speed for idling. The engine will stop when I lower the rpm's. Ofcourse I've tried to turn the air screw left and right but without succes. When I turn the throttle grip at no-load operation the engine revolution increases normally but when turning the gr…

I think I've sometimes somewhere seen a Villa 350 Everest trials bike. Now I however haven't found any information or photos about this bike. Maybe I've dreamed only?

Just bought myself a new (old) toy, a 1983 Armstrong 320 (what i packed up on when i was but a kid) with the Hiro engine. And wanted to know what fuel i should use (i use Shell Optimax in my 315R), what ratio of fuel/oil mix and what oil to use in the engine ? Any tip's and advice (excluding "sell it !"), and help with spares would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance. Gaff.

Right, after musing over converting my 250 mono into a twinshock I've decided not to bother, I want to ride some of the larger twinshock rounds with my mates next year and the converted mono wouldn't do. My Gas Gas is up for sale and I've decided to look for a TY250 T/S, I've heard lots of negative things about the yam but it's about the only T/S I would like to own within my budget......what are the bikes bad points? what year is best?. Another + point is the prices of the bike seem quite good, a good base example can be had for as little as

hi there my mate has just bought a montesa 348 i think its a 1976 model. it was running fine until he noticed some fuel weeping from the idle screw so he thought it would be a good idea to nip it up!!!!! he also tightened the mixture screw aswell. now the bike wont start, it turned over when i tried bumping it but it just chugged for a second then died. if anyone knows how many turns out the screws should be, i guess that it will be different from factory due to age and wear but if i could get it somewhere near i can fine tune it from there. thanks in advance. d tomlinson.

Would like to get my second twinshock and need your advice on this one. I would like to get something to do a full restore on and have a few favorites. I love all Bultaco,s for their looks ! another favorite is the Ossa in Orange i think it,s the TR80 model or a 349 Montesa would be nice too Maybe even a 4-stroke Honda all of them are great bikes i would like to hear your choice and why please. Cheers,

I have just noticed the Falcons on my TLR 200 are weeping. I am toying with a rebuild (by Falcon) or replacement with a new pair. There is about a

Hi - I have finally fitted a new tank/seat to my 76 Cota 247 and I have a new set of badges (soft sort of plastic) ready to apply. The tank is new and so very shiny and woudld hate for the badges to fall off somewhere in the paddock so rather than resorting to my trustee cyanoacrylate (superglue) I thought I better ask advice eg: should I roughen the nice new shiny surface where the badges are fitted? And what glue is going to work best with a fibreglass fuel tank?

Have just brought home a 1974 alpina 350 (i am fairly sure , as it has a head that looks too small for the barrell) , what niche would this bike have filled ? got it started (BLOODY HELL !! the man said it hadn,t done much work he wasn,t lying , it,s got as much compression as my ty350) but haven,t ridden it yet so am not knowing what gearing is like , would it have been like a long distance trials bike perhaps? and i need one fork slider , one is perfect , one is cactus , thanks steve batkines bundaberg

Are you allowed to use tubeless rear rim/tyre in twinshock events? ive looked on the ACU handbook but cant see anything in there. Is it worth the money/effort to respoke the rear to run a tubeless rim/tyre?

Can anyone recommend a good way of sealing a fibreglass tank. Most people i`ve spoken to say these tanks leaked from new and I should try putting some resin in it and rolling it round until it goes off but I`m not convinced this works. Also I`m still trying to trace the bike and would like to know who rode 250 hiro`s in the 84 ssdt as from what little info is available it looks like the top riders were all on 320`s. All i`ve found out up to now is it was 1st registered in the bristol area and its number 71 of 75. Cheers and all the best for 2012

Two questions on Betor gas shocks (on a Cota 348). 1. Should the shocks be positioned with the oil reservoir and air valve end up, and springs down, or vice versa. I've seen them both ways at local meets. Installed with the springs down creates minor brake cable interference on the Cota 348, but that appears to be the most frequently seen installation. 2. What is the recommended air pressure on these shocks.

We were given an old RTX 212 trials, Its in decent overall condition been sat in a shed for years. I got it as a summer project to keep the kids occupied and give them another bit different bike to play with compared to the sherco 125 they share now. Got it running with a carb clean and a bit of tinkering, engine is fine clutch ok and it goes through all four gears. Very little info on these things on the net, some talk on here and a few pdf files and brief history on them but other than that its Russian forums and google translate for further info. The bikes frame is chrome and cleaned up nice the plastic and fibre glass pannel work did not fair so good and…

Why did Bultaco and Montesa go under ...Was it the Fantic 200??. I know that Mr Ignato Bulto set up Merlin so his enthusiasm was still there. I know that Spanish companies get big tax breaks for the first 2 years, keeping Mecatecno afloat. A lot of these companies were set up by enthusiasts and not business men. Maybe thats got something to do with it?. Anyone know?.

Hi i have a problem with an irc tyre on a fantic wheel.I fitted the tube type tyre just after buying the bike ,the problem is that the tyre turns on the rim i have tried new tyre clamps but it is still the same.I have another bike with fantic wheel and irc with no problems so not sure if it could be worn rim or faulty tyre.Has anyone had this problem with irc tyres.

I have tried and tried, read the manual and studied the wiring diagram but I cannot work out how to check with a multimeter when the points open. In all the books it says to connect to the black lead on the coil and any ground point. Some also say to remove the condenser wire while doing this. I have removed the condenser ready to fix it up under the tank where the heat wont affect it so much? My continuity buzzer simply buzzes constantly trying to set the ohms at different values has no effect either It looks to me from the wiring diagram that the points are grounded through one of the generator coils. What am I missing? Thanks for any help on this. Alex

If this works, you should be looking at it. This one is really special. Lot's of carving to try and drop the weight.