Pre-65 Bikes

Hi there my dad is looking to ride the Scottish Pre65 in 2015 but he needs to sort out the forks on the bantam, can anyone tell me what forks to use or what forks you turn down to fit Triumph 3TA fork bottoms and what yokes to use. cheers

Hello all, I am in need of some help, before i burn the **#@! bike, I have a real ugly 197 Villiers "7E" maybe in a BSA d3 frame, just bought it and want to get it running. I have spark at the plug.. the plug seems to be getting wet from fuel but not drowning... but no real fire only coughs and the odd hiss out carb. Also it has a dellorto ub20s carby. Anybody that wants to throw there hat in the ring is welcome and no idea would be consider silly.. Bike is in Australia and is my pre 65 project if it lives that long. will be waiting "sleeping" at my keyboard till I get some ideas.. Timing setup? points? I dont know. Thanks guys Chris

Hi guys (and gals?),does any one know what size amal concentric carb works best on a marcelle barrel (for trials).In the box of bits which it came with was a 930,with a 928/ 2 1/2 slide,is this in the right ball park? Thanks.

I did a silly thing today, I totalled up how much I have spent on my engine rebuild (a Villiers 32a) Including the buying the engine its cost just over £900 and I still haven’t got an ignition yet! I didn’t expect it to cost so much, the last time I rebuilt a complete engine it cost less than £300!

I currently have my 350 Ajay motor in bits for a full rebuild,tis in a bit of a state after doing a lot of hard work.I also plan to rebuild my HT motor as a short stroke 500 as soon as the Ajay is back running. I want both motors to run as well as possible,be reliable and long lasting.So as much care as possible will be taken in building them... So my question is,what balance factor is best to use,Don Moreley suggests using a factor of 60%, is this still the sensible number ? Both bikes will be used for road based trials,but I'm not worried about vibration at higher engine speeds on the road,I'm happy just to pootle along between groups of sections and enjoy a smooth a…

Those who know me fairly well know I have a thing about older Italian bikes especially the lightweights in addition to my thing about Spanish strokers. Looking for inspiration to get back into my 55 Morini 175 project I discovered these beauties. Most of course fairly "developed" This one I may have seen before Is it just me that likes this stuff here?

I have just finished building my dream Armac Cub but am slightly frustrated at not being able to stop a minor oil leak from the gearbox side. I cured the clutch side by fitting a belt drive primary and diaphragm clutch I had a spare gearbox cover, a lathe and a mill so decided to try the Armac conversion and do away with the outer cover, however, I only have a photo to work from. I don't have access to ally welding equipment so am trying to avoid welding if possible. I have machined the flanges off the edges of the side cover, modified the case for a clutch lightener (I'll be using my original Armac clutch lightener on the bike), machined the selector ho…

Have a look at this old comerfords ad from June 1965 They have a 1964 Sprite 250cc for sale (cheap too)

Before I explain this I should say that I am far from being a mechanic; I will service my bikes, changing oils and filters etc. and I'm happy to tinker with frames and suspension and the like but the hot oily bit in the middle and especially electrics has me bamboozled! Right, the Hardy Cub I bought about 6 weeks ago I have only ever ridden on my land and it has always started first or second kick and has run perfectly. I was due to enter my first Pre 65 trial today at Sowerby Bridge so yesterday I fired her up and had a few minutes tight turning on the drive. After only about 3 or 4 minutes it seemed to cough a bit when I went to lift the front wheel, like it missed sli…

Hi all, i have a friend who is without internet access, and is currently building a Bantam, he now has a rolling chassis, and the next stage of the build will the motor, without having to take a second mortgauge out what would be the best mods he could do to the motor. ( 187 cc big bore ) And are there any web sites where i can print info off for him. Many thanks HIGGO.

After 18 months, I finally fired up the Cub today. This is the 1st bike engine I have assembled and although pleased to hear it run, was slightly dissapointed at the amount of smoke and various oil leaks that need sorting. I have the following questions: How long does the engine need to run before it stops smoking? Mine has run for about 5 minutes which I thought would be enough to clear any assembly oil but it still smokes! The barrel had a good bore (hone marks still evident) and I fitted a new piston and rings during the rebuild. Is there meant to be a small quantity of oil seeping into the RH (Side point side) case? There is a vent hole near the bottom. My eng…

hello, i'm building a tiger cub and i'm looking for wheels and forks where can i get hubs (alloys) or what do i need to do to improve the stock hubs (i heard i should make the back hub wider) i have a aprilia mono fork (35mm) i would like to modify so it looks pre 65 who are the enginiers that can do something like that anyone has contact data from them ( email or phone ? ) kind regards bob

I was riding (badly )at scarboro trial on sunday and there was a chap riding a 250 triumph called Duncan McDonald who won the clubman B , The frame on his bike (as well as the rest of the bike )looked very trick , i just wondered if anyone knows Duncan or knows the bike as i wondered if the frame was a "stock" item or some kind of fancy aftermarket jobbie

hi. i was just wondering who sells or modifiys modified barrel and heads for bantams. also i have been told alot of people like the d7 engine more for trials is that true. thanks charlie

After stripping and checking my cub engine I was disappointed to find I had much the same running problems with not revving past 1/3 throttle and sooting up plugs on reassembly. Convinced I had a problem with my new 20mm Dellorto carb, I tried a friends 22mm Dellorto carb (from his 250 Serco Cub). This appeared to work much better. The engine revved pretty cleanly and the plug even appeared to go from black to straw colour! I must admit we didn't do an extended test due to time constraints but the bike was vastly improved. Bob at UPB kindly exchanged my carb for the larger one. The only difference is that my new 22mm carb has a 100 main jet and the main j…

Help guys, what would you do with a genuine 'Comerfords cub', my dilemma is do I restore it back to former glory or do I go all modern using all the trick bits now available.I am fully aware that it is not competitive in its original trim but would it still be desirable as I don't think there are that many around any more.At the end of the day they are only a converted 'Mountain Cub' but as rough as they are they are still part of 'Triumphs' famous trialing history.

I am preparing a1955 James in trials trim for this years Beamish Trophy Trial. I want to improve the robustness of the ignition system by doing away with the villiers ignition coil and using an external coil. I have just ordered a FS1E 6 volt AC coil. I need to know in very simple easy steps how to modify the current villiers system sso that I can use the new coil. A wiring diagram would be a great help. I have read the page in the Villiers improvement handbook but it has confused me [not difficult as elctrics are not my strong point.] I really need some expert help but in very simple terms. Can anyone help. I will watch to see what help is given and I can also be contact…

Hi can anyone advise me which electronic ignition would be the best for a 32a villiers trials engine and the price of the hole unit. Thanks

Just about to fit an aftermarket set of footpegs and plates (sammy miller) but i have to squeeze a chain tensioner in there somewhere! Can anyone give me a few tips on how best to complete this task and even a few photo's etc. regards To all .

I have recently fitted new UPB PVL type electronic ignition and UPB Delorto Carb to my cub in an attempt to make it run better. I consider these good pieces of kit and already set up to run with my engine. (Bob is very helpful). The engine currently oils plugs and appears to run rich. It dies when the throttle is opened quickly and will not rev above 1/2 throttle. The symptoms get a bit better each time a new plug is fitted but not great. I didn't rebore the barrel when I built it as it seemed o.k. I fitted a good standard piston with new rings (all at +40"). This is my 1st engine build. It seemed to run o.k once the rings bedded in but has got proressivly worse…