02-apr

Well there must be more than one or is the team at the Scottish to be Anglian mounted?

Last time I saw him was about four years ago riding a Velo in the Perth club's Crieff based vintage run and looking much as always.

Depends what you mean by "fake" I suppose. Finding a "genuine" one, now that's a different story, are there any left?

I recall reading, back in the mists of time, an article by Sammy Miller where he said that one of the benefits was that the rise and fall of the steering head as the bike went from lock to lock was reduced. Just how critical this is to good handling on a trials bike is up to the rider I suppose.

Not forgetting to shut off the petrol too - this allows it to clear more easily if it is flooded.

I gather it's tunable by laptop so should not be a problem. I had a brief shot on one and, as is, it was controllable enough but felt like it could be a bit bothersome towards the end of a hard day for someone like me. Bit of a technique to kicking it over though (so it follows Ossa tradition).

Many years ago our club used fewest fives as the first tie decider which seemed to be logical enough and was accepted by all.

If we believe the experts then the main difference is that the semi leaves a film on the internals to prevent corrosion between periods of use (typical trials bike use) but after three years or so on full I haven't noticed a problem with that.

As an approximation, on the typical trials gearing, one tooth down on the front sprocket equates to four teeth up on the rear and is cheaper to do as you shorten the chain instead of adding to it and the front sprocket is generally cheaper than the rear. My experience over the years is that one tooth on the front, while it sounds a lot, is what you need to do to feel a difference. But, having said that, my 200 Beta had the 250 gearing on it (one tooth smaller at the back) and changing to the correct size did make a difference to the very slow running in the higher gears but I wouldn't have experimented by one tooth on the back. I suppose we have so many gears in the box nowadays that we can afford to be a bit low overall and just use the next gear up if required. It's a very personal thing - I seem to recall the Fantic 300 was very low geared for the period and everyone geared it up but one chap (I think one of the supported riders) lowered his still further so he could use the high gears in sections - a novel approach at the time.

Thanks

It's quite walkable - even if you're pushing an SV 650 with an empty tank.

I spotted a Miller framed Ty 175 going for spares on e-bay yesterday but didn't realise it must have been closing later on that day. Did anyone see if it went for much more than the

That was Norman Tebbit. It was what his father had done.

It is not possible to absolutely accurately check the timing on a Rev 3. If you look at the Beta UK website you will see that it is set up by reference to the position of the backplate retaining screws relative to the slots in the backplate. This differs by model so you need to look for yours. Unfortunately this leaves you reliant on the manufacturing quality of the ignition system (you can find comment on here indicating that this may not be of the highest) as to whether it really sparks at the correct distance before TDC. Normally timing is quoted in either degrees or millimetres before top dead centre so that you can at least mark the flywheel and check by strobe to see that the system is producing the spark at the correct moment, if you have the motor running. Alas even the head honcho in the workshop at Silsden does not possess this information though he told me that using the method above seems to "get it about right". Not entirely satisfactory.

There is no logic to insurance calculations. I once enquired about van insurance as I was thinking about a small Citroen. When they found out what I would be carrying they got a bit chairy saying that I could have a professional rider in the passenger seat which might involve large claims for loss of earnings in the event of an accident. Leaving aside that any driver could have a high earning passenger in any vehicle, I pointed out that the only professional rider in Britain (at that time) was not an acquaintance and lived hundreds of miles away so the likelihood of their scenario was nil they came out with the "ah but" stuff. They realised they had painted themselves in to a corner when I pointed out that they had happily insured me for twenty years to tow a three bike trailer and thus I could have had two professional riders in the car.

I seem to recall that nobody had an alloy tank, on the 348 at least, that did not split. Go for the Sammy Miller option I would say.

On the contrary, Beta actually do a big tank conversion (or did for the Rev 3) which sat piggy back on the existing one.

That would certainly be a more logical addition to an "SSDT Special" model than fake tartan panels.

They will indeed pay out to a third party but will seek to recover the sums involved from the policyholder - better have the house in the mother in law's name.

I don't know how it compares size wise but two trials bikes would fit on the old Kangoo van.

You don't need a Woodruff key as it does not matter in what position the sprocket is fitted - it is the taper that secures something (be it sprocket or flywheel) on to a tapered shaft, not the key.

Grease every thread you can get at, vaseline on electrical connections, check air filter for oiling, gearbox oil level. And one other - we had a beginner's event once with participant's bike set up being checked and advice given. I proffered a low pressure gauge to the rider of what looked like a month old Sherco to be met with a look that said I was clearly off my head and the statement "It's brand new".

History evidently excludes Yorkshire.

I think if I was going to the effort and expense of creating a replacement in stainless I would be prepared to sacrifice absolute authenticity to get rid of that hellish ugly seam on the pipe.

And in public too. This one might get washed more than twice a year.