Pre-65 Bikes

Hi guys Just bit more interested in Royal Enfield trials these days. I would like know more about Royal Enfield Bullet HNP 331 ridden by Johnny Brittain in 1957 in SSDT. Interested to know what engine/frame etc modification were done to this bike. any more picture will be nice Found very rare interesting video able to locate Royal Enfield Trials HNP 332 ?. at 33:57 on the trailer. Good to know how was trials riding in 1950s .. bit diffcult & driving in very high waters etc ,admire the history of british trials. Regards

Hi all, My Norman trials was first registered (in mid 1962) to this dealership in Leeds, who kept hold of it for the first year of its life. Does anyone know anything about the shop itself or its owners? Norman competition bikes were only built to special order by this time, and its a little unusual that it was sold to a dealership so far away from Norman's backyard in Kent, although there is a possibility the bike was assembled by Raleigh/TI in Nottingham after their takeover. Bike was subseqently sold to a Mr. Kirkland in Otley. Norman's probably weren't the most competitive of bikes by the middle of '62, which might explain why the shop had it for a year, or of co…

Cheers:Mike

hey, basically I have a old bullet with the later twin shock Reddich frame, brought it about ten years ago as a project and thought it was a road bike as it was wearing most of that trim though once I got stuck in the frame had some differences that were causing me some headscratching, basically the differences are: *had the mount for springer seat but cut off to fit the road seat at some point *the frame never had rear footrest hangers(what originally confused me) *the original paint under the black 'respray' is olive green From that I'm assuming it was once a trials model just wondering if anyone can help shed a bit of light on this one for me as haven't managed to…

Many of you may already know this and if so apologies for stating the obvious. having recently purchased 2 Amal Mk1 carbs, the premier type, i was dismayed by the strength of the slide spring, I am no weakling but you needed two hands to open the the throttle, lso when it snapped back it sounded like the throttle stop screw was going to bust off. living quite close to the AMAL people in Salisbury, i dropped in to have a moan and ask if they had any suggestions. They were very helpful and merely said. oh yeah loads of people complain, you are not alone, we fit the throttle slide spring out of the carbs that go on the triples, alot of trials and motocross boys do it. …

Has anyone used the new 20mm Amal on a standard capacity Tiger Cub motor? How does it perform, particularly on a "snap" throttle opening off low revs? Is it as good as the cheap "pit bike" Mikuni type carbs? Comments appreciated. Cheers.

From Dirt Bike Rider magazine March 1987 Admin edit: Content removed. Breach of copyright.

Hello does anyone out there know anything about this matchless trials bike TLR 357 1957? I know it spent a short time in Holland but other than that I don't seem able to find much out, can anyone help , this is my first post so I hope I get it right. sorry about miss spelling nerves,! the guy who owed it in Holland was Rene de Ruijter he said it was ex Don Morley but it stops there.

Hi Guys i'm after some info on Ariel short stroke motors I've got the start of a project ie a bottom end crank cases steel flywheels later rod also a 350 head which I've been told can be modified to fit a 500 short stroke barrel there are a number of people selling these are any more preferable for this mod as I think i'll have move the head bolt hole centers ?

The clutch on my 350 Matchless has seen better days. It is starting to slip and could do with a new set of plates. Given the price of new plates, this would be an appropriate time to upgrade the whole clutch. The current approach seems to be to fit a jawa clutch. I've never had any problems with the original, is it worth changing, and if so what is the best option!

Just wondered if any other Bantam riders are using a earlier 3 spd engine ? If so what gearing etc and have you had any problems? I use a 4 speed myself but rarely see any 3 speed out there.

Hi, I need the right angle speedo drive box for the British Hub Co. full width alloy hub on my Greeves and of course these hubs were fitted on many lightweights of the era.The threaded mounting hole in the hub is 10mm or so in length and the drive cog on the hub sits about 19mm in from the outside of the hub plate. I wonder if anyone knows of a source of these or is it a case of scouring the autojumbles?. If anyone knows the part number or original maker of these, that would be interesting too.

I'm thinking of buying some hubs for my Bantam. I know Alan Whitton does some but others are also available. I'd love to hear peoples comments and suggestions as to the pro's and con's of each. For example, I understand the Whitton hubs require over size brake shoes. Prices would be good too.

Hi, I am building up a Bantam trials bike from an engine that seems to be a mix of 3 & 4 speed parts. - So its a 4 speed box, and 175cc top end - but it has the old Wico-Pacy ignition - and it has a clutch basket with 3 friction plates. I've been out for one shake-down ride, and the clutch slipped like crazy. My plan is to get a set of new friction plates, and a set of (6) stronger springs. But I just wanted to check whether this is likely to fix the problem, or does everybody end up having to fit a 4-plate basket. Would the 4 plate basket be a straight swop ? Tony P.

Just a thought, how does Sam's original Ariel compare to modern versions? Have the machines moved on so much that even GOV132 would now struggle.

Hi there Im after some advice on my sons Bantam It has a D7 Engine, standard Amal carb and standard style Air Filter. Currently it doesnt have electronic Ignition. We have only had it a few weeks and took to first trial today. Up to now its been tried out in the street with no problem. First couple of sections if was fine - then started to bog badly when opening the throttle - also a bit of backfire ? Got to the point it was difficult to ride was boging so badly. Changed the Air filter for a foam one I had in the tool box but the problem was the same. Got home and after an hour or so on the trailer, fired it up and it ran spot on (albeit only for a few minutes). I …

Does anyone have contact details for Roger Heap who lives around the Preston or Lancaster areas please ?

Dad has said I can give this a try if I promise to not get it dirty or crash in a big heap. That was 4 years ago and I still can't make that promise. But he's gonna let me ride it anyway. Boxing Day trial perhaps. Just need the right venue. Midlands area

I'm thinking of moving into the 21st century and getting electronic ignition on my C15. I've looked at the various options and I'm thinking that the crank driven type is what I'll be going for. I don't need a battery or lights so it seems the easiest and best option. I've identified three that look suitable, the PVL from SM, Electrex World and Rex Caunt. The PVL is at least one that I've heard of and looks and seems decent quality, I can only seem to find them at SM though. The Electrex World is a good deal cheaper but seems less trials oriented. The Rex Caunt also sounds ok and has the advantage of parts of the kit being available separately but it's more expensive. Al…

Well the sows ear project is progressing very slowly and i am now at the point where i am looking to fit sprockets. Got a 12 tooth crankshaft sprocket fitted so what is the best combination gearbox and rear sprocket that people have found