Twinshock

Having just picked up a 348 in fairly good nick,one area that could do with a little attention is the tank unit. The fibreglass is thin around the area where your legs rub and there are a few rough edges that could do with smoothing / filling. I have had some experience of fibreglass sheets and epoxy based fibreglass fillers in the past but wondered about peoples experiences on the following: 1) What do you use to both strengthen the main structure (on the inside of the tank) and reshape/fill any cracked / thin areas on the outer side 2) What is the basic technique / materials used to respray a fibreglass tank cover thanks in advance Rob

I live in a pretty out of the way spot - great for riding but lousy for accessing gear. With the upcoming Queens Birthday long weekend one of my sons was coming down from Brisbane and looking forward to some fun on my TLR. Driving down tomorrow (Friday) morning and Murphy's law kicks in and Thursday morning I discovered that the front tyre on my Cota is flat - it's a very old tyre could even be 1976 original! So trying to get the tyre to lift over the rim - it just falls apart on the lever. Nearest big town = Coffs Harbour - population 60,000 no tyres. I got the name of a couple possible sources in Brisbane from our local trials mentor-in-chief Greg Harding but al…

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?

noticed this was my 200'th post..and have been thinking of adding a 200 top end to my 123, I heard back in the day that you could put the 200 top end on a 123 bottom end and there was no difference in the 123 and 200 bottom ends, is this true? has anyone done this? my bike is a '82 model I think, (white tank, red frame) is the 200 actually a 173cc?

I would like to do a twinshock trial, I

The Mont 348 I have recently purchased has Air forks on the front and I assume an after market set of Betor Gas shocks on the rear. As the bike is in very good condition, I have no reason to go playing around with these from a maintenance view point but it would be useful to know the following: 1) What is the basic construction of these - I assume it is still oil filed with additional dampening being delivered by air pressure 2) How do people use the air element to set their shocks and forks up Rob

Had the hub welded twice. The first weld lasted good but the 2nd weld is disintergrating into thin air . It was painted immediately after welding. The weld took well and its only thin so preheating perhaps isnt really needed ?Ive read that preheating the mag to 200 degrees in only needed on thick material. Ive never seen anything like this before and the welder who didnt seem ti understand it either .The weld is magnesium as ive done the vinegar test. My guess is that perhaps the wrong mix of mag / alloy rod was used OR it been contaminated. I find the contamination theory strange as the hub was taken back to the brake liner , so all was there was the steel. I dont wa…

Almost done its taken ages due to things out of my control, just waiting for a rear silencer to finish it, dont know whether to keep it or sell it would be a shame to get it dirty after all the work thats been done.

Going to look at an 85 at350. Supposed to be in good shape,new clutch,needs sprockets. for $600. Anyone have any knowlege/info about these bikes.

Looking to make a new back wheel spindle for my Cota 200 to replace the old rusty thing!! And was wondering if anyone new which grade of aluminium is best?, I plan to copy my Gas Gas pro spindle bit a bit longer. Thanks Ian

I'm afraid i just have to get this frustration off my chest. I'll not mention names to avoid embarrassment to TC but.......... Decades ago I used to deal with a supplier of bits and, as often as not, they had to go back as they were either just the wrong thing or fitted so badly. Now that the management has changed I thought I would try again and have just spent a fair bit of time form filling on their website (which would not let me set up an account to save all this, though the facility to do so was ostensibly there) to get to the final point of payment and find that it is procedure to phone them with card details rather than complete the transaction electronically. …

Hi, I'm thinking of restoring an early 80's cota349, most people I talk to about 349's don't rate them for various reasons. Now I know there are more competative bikes out there ( Fantics, Majesty's, etc ) and I realise trials have changed somewhat, but will a well sorted "standard" 349 make a decent trials bike for twinshock type events? I'm not interested in faffing about changing frame geometry and footpeg positions to make it better. In 1980 Ulf Karlson won the worlds trial championship on One they can't be that bad can they? Any thoughts lads? Cheers.

This is my first post so hello and apologies if this is a much repeated question. I've done some searching on the forum but thought I'd ask directly: I would like opinions please as to what would be the best 70's twinshock bike to run from a spares availability point of view. I'm guessing it'd be TY 175 / 250 but I'd consider Italian or Spanish too if I can get bits. For peace of mind I would like to know that I can get most engine parts and if not able to get O/E, at least find a cross reference for bearings and other cycle parts. I owned a few twinshocks in the 80's and having just come back to trials I can't resist the look / nostalgia of the twinshock era bikes. …

The front brake on my recently acquired TY 175 is beyond poor, even for a "modern" drum, much worse than I recall from the day. All seems OK with plenty of meat on the shoes and careful setting up but I'm going to try new shoes. Does peoples' experience with drums generally show that one make is better than another and, if so, which is the best one? Thanks

I bought a brand new tank and seat for my Cota 247 ages ago but it was a bit wider than standard and so I never got round to fitting. I finally rigged up some rubber mounts and got it secured and it looks good but when I put fuel in it - it leaked from the petcock and I removed and used plumbers tape then sealant and then I had a good close look and this is what I found. I guess at some stage it has taken a knock on the petcock and now it's cracked. Suggestions please

Hi everyone, I'm a new member so a quick hello. I'm sure this has probably been discussed before but I want to change bikes and would appreciate your opinions. The bikes I am interested in are a Yamaha ty250, Montesa cota349, or a bultaco250/325. Is any one of them better than the other handling, reliability wise etc? and are there any to avoid. I know there are othermakes of bikes out there but these are the ones I grew up with and have nostalgic appeal.I'm an avaerage clubman trials rider and would like a competative twinshock bike. Thanks in advance, Spawtydawg.

I have a pair of Rear Shocks for my SWM that I'm not able to identify (see pic.) Each have a hose fitted on it of about 150mm in length. The end of the hose is plugged. There seems to be no pressure in the hose. Does anyone know these schoks and what these hoses are good for? (if of no use I would like to remove them)

I have made a mess of my 82 TLR200 front guard - are there other more common bikes with guards that will fit this or do I need to find a reproduction

can any body please tell me where the inter centre team trials were held in 1972/73/74 and 75.i would like to know which centres run them and start venues/course where possible.

Hi - I am trying to rejuvenate an old bent original shock from my Cota 247 1976 - I have the rod straight but I have no idea how much oil to refill with - can anyone help?