Pre-65 Bikes

My wife has been left this after her Grandfather passed away. All I know is that I believe he built it from parts he found/bought. Any help in identifying it would be much appreciated. It does run and seems to be in fairly good order, there are a few parts missing and I will be replacing them soon and hopefully riding it. Carl

Hi peeps, I'm optimistic that the pre 65, pre-unit AMC chaps on this site, can offer me the benefit of their experience? I want to renew the oil seals in the "teledraulic" front forks on my 350 AJS trials bike. I've owned the bike for twenty years and never had to strip the forks. I've withdrawn the legs and removed the setscrew from the base, which I believe secures the inner damper tube. There isn't a circlip above or retaining the oil seal, as with Honda and Yamaha. How do I withdraw the stanchion from the lower leg? I'm not inclined to apply any force at this stage. It may be possible to remove the seals by drilling into them and using two self tapping screws to gain…

Just finished rebuild of Bantam D7, with a couple of running issues. Takes a good while to start - seems when you put some petrol down the port and heat the plug it will start, then run ok - changed plug cap and new plug. It will then tick over and rev out, but when you ride under load it bogs after about quarter throttle - sounds like it is pulling a load of air in. Any thoughts ? (crank seals ??) cheers guys John

Looking for a little guidance and this would seem the place to be, I have recently bought a rough Tiger cub with the notion of humiliating myself in some pre 65 trials. However the more I look into this the more difficult it seems to be to know what to options to take in setting it up. The first hurdle was actually easier than anticipated, I started it at the weekend and the engine and gearbox seem okay. I bought a 4.00 trials tyre to check if it would fit and seems okay in what I believe is the wider swinging arm except for the chain running very, very close to the tyre. I think I will try and mover the engine over a few mm and I also notice that there is a front sprocke…

Hello, just in the process of gathering parts to build another Bantam trials. I have found a set of BSA C15 forks and was wondering if these are any good for tricking up with internals from say a jap bike ? if so, any suggestions for what to look out for, advice or info much appreciated. Many thanks, NB.

Trying to re-furbish a set of Ceriani type forks, probably from a Greeves Griffon.Does anyone know the correct spring length and width? Can new ones be bought anywhere? What weight and quantity of fork oil should be used? Any help would be appreciated Thanks Geoff

Well because I'm sat here bored out of my skull slowly recovering from bronchitis,I thought I'd report on my recent engine rebuild job on my rigid 350 Ajay. I've only done one trial on it since the rebuild,the Golden Valley March Hare,but a good amount of practicing and gentle running in around the lanes. I'm pleased to report that it was worth the effort,the engine starts and runs a treat,pulls like a freight train on a whiff of throttle and idles like a Burrell steam engine.... Another nice bonus is the vastly reduced vibration through the footpegs and bars when at cruise speed on the road - its much smoother.So the dynamic rebalancing of the crank has certainly worke…

Hello, I have a Wasp RT3 with a unit 500 Triumph engine in and would like to put a day light MOT on it. Has anyone used the mountain bike type speedo and horn with any success, if yes, what make are they. I have looked at a few on line but they seem to cheap to be any good !! but I would prefer a wire less one . I will have to fit a small battery for the stop light, so plan to used a led bulb to cut down on power drain (the electronic ignition has no charging provision), I could also connect the horn to it, so it only leaves the speedo to sort out. Regards, NB

Anyone out there know of any C15 trials specialists I can speak to as regards engine set up - camshaft specs in particular? I know there are several around who can build nice motors but I don't know who they are unfortunately. I'm a bit lost with Beezas as I have very little BSA knowledge (shamefull I guess as I am from the home of BSA...)

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone knows what length the forks should be from the top of the top yoke to the centre of the wheel spindle, on my dads Drayton bantam.

thinking of putting tubeless rims on a new bantam build and would be pleased to hear any comments or suggestions good or bad thanks.

Sorry for yet another Bantam question but.......B175 frame:- The cast iron lug wel.ded to the top of the frame at rear, the top mounting for the subframe. Is this welded to the frame or is it a lug joining the two sections of frame together? I remember seeing an old film of frames being brazed together on a hearth using lugs and frame .sections being brazed in. I don't want to grind it off and my frame fall in two bits!

Anyone know were I can get a alloy sump guard for a bantam?

I have a long term project on the go at the moment a C15. Was up the shed tonight and done a dry build on the rolling chassis,seems like I will have to increase the ground clearance as its quite low about 9",not very good.The frame is standard, front forks are standard,What is the best length of rear shockers to fit to help with the ground clearance.As I said its a long term project as I'm enjoying riding my 250 Scorpa and learning every trial I do.Any other advice would be much appreciated. cheers the noo Brian

Well as the title suggests does anybody know what size taper roller bearings will fit the headstock on a D14/4 Bantam ? I can machine the stem on the yokes to suit so within reason the id doesn't matter. Thanks in anticipation.

Hy from Switzerland Pre 65, although not Trial (only the rider) My father Mark had to tidy up a room to make space for his grandson. He found a pic from about 1956, showing (Scottish 6 days winner)Gordon Jackson on a 500 cc AJS at an international Motocross in Regensdorf, Switzerland, where Mark was watching. The story was, that Gordon won in the last round, because he jumped over 2 hills in the last round instead of riding through the camel bucks like everybody did (and also the former leader till last round). Don't know if its true, but sounds like a legend, nice to believe in it. However, pic is nice and probably rare. Have fun. Patrick

I'm not sure whether the 2nd and 3rd gears on my bantam engine have already been swopped over. If you want to lower the gearing on a transmission then you go for less teeth on the driving end and more on the driven end. So, in the gearbox, am I right in assuming I should end up with the 22 teeth cog on the output shaft, and 21 on the other shaft ?

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

just finishing my 4 speed 185 cc bantam project but not sure what gearbox and rear wheel sprockets to start with, the engine has 12t primary sprocket any ideas would be most welcome.

Fitting a PVL to my C15 but it doesn't have any instructions. Could anyone please confirm the position of the 4 spacers provided with the kit? 3 are obviously for the stator and one for the rotor. However, if the rotor spacer is fitted to the crankshaft behind the rotor there is hardly any thread protruding. Similarly should the stator spacers be behind or front side of the stator? Thanks.