02-apr

Sammy Miller went in to print at the time to say that a trials bike with the wheels offset was easier to balance so, leaving Bultaco build quality out of it, they weren't meant to line up in the first place. As for Z1s a friend had one of the first and the ride home from Lancashire after collecting it was very interesting - no bushes in the swingarm bearings. Handling was later cured once and for all by fitment of a Harris frame.

You'll need to get a regulation registration plate or your collar will get a bit frayed! Or you might even end up on telly if you live in one of the vigilante areas per this week's MCN.

Willie Gillespie Snr on the famous Pitrite special. Bike still alive and well as far as I know.

I won't enter in to the discussion over "in the spirit" as I am not a regular twin shock rider but would point out that it could be said to be a period mod as one of the first Monos in Britain was converted to twinshock at the time because the owner felt the design put too much strain on the back of the gearbox. As an aside I believe one or two cases vindicated his theory. I appreciate this was very much a one off but how some mods in Pre '65 are now universally accepted although only one works bike had it at the time?

Whip the pipe off and have a look through the exhaust port for marks on the bore. May then need to take the head off to investigate further. The rest you probably can guess - new piston and recoat barrel if it is badly damaged. It's surprising how badly damaged it can be and run quite well. I think the first owner of my bike must have fed it sand for tea. Though it ran really well I eventually got fed up with the rattle and had a look inside - I'd never seen the like.

I'm not discrediting anyone, it just seems strange that, launching a new name in to an established marketplace, of all the "many companies wanting to take our range" they choose one that the trials world does not seem to have heard of. Fact.

Try approaching the problem from the other direction - wear gloves for the unloading. I don't suppose you want to use them front of shop but for the harder lifts it could make the difference.

Waverley who?

Thanks I can follow that but.... 10 degrees is a significant percentage - can the typical small trials radiator really lose that much more heat. I'm not being critical, just trying to understand the physics (as a Beta rider I have an interest in corrosion protection). Do we have an expert in the house who can explain the physics?

And even then it's louder than is desirable.

I don't follow the logic of this. I suppose it depends where you take the reading but if the coolant is 8 degrees cooler or if the outer surface of the barrel is 8 degrees cooler (and the bulk of its temperature must come from the coolant) then it follows that the coolant is taking less heat out of the motor, not more?

It's surprising how often you can keep turning a tyre and convince yourself that it is worthwhile. I've done it for years and am sure my wonderful results are not down to lack of grip on account of poor tyres.

Oil was OK when I used it, if a bit smoky, but don't rely on the graduations on the bottle. I use a medical syringe to measure oil and the measure on the bottle would have resulted in a significant under oiling.

And a helluva lot quieter.

I think you need to revise the damping mechanism. I knew someone who had one when they were current and even 80w oil did not give good damping in the standard forks.

Perhaps you are trying too hard. Here's how I first managed it. 1 Ride day one of the Bath 2-Day (anyone remember that event?) and be impressed by a very young S Saunders. 2 Retire to bar of Clandown Rangers clubroom for a few pints. 3 Exit clubroom suitably relaxed and unload Fantic from trailer determined to try it. 4 Bounce rear a bit and grab front brake - bingo. 5 Try and repeat the trick when sober next day.

Easier to find the stuff that comes out the back end of a rocking horse I would have thought. I wish you luck. There was a dealer in Edinburgh for these and they ran a couple but did not last long so the bikes may be lying in a shed somewhere. Pete Mitchell had one in the stable so you could ask him where that one went in the hope that bits might be got from it.

I had a go recently on a Rev 4 and exhaust wise it was very like the TLR that I rode in a trial last year so yes it can be done. I suspect that you would have difficulty in persuading the average rambler that the 2007 Cota, that has a very slight edge knocked off the exhaust note compared with earlier models, is any quieter than its predecessors let alone "not that noisy". But then what is the point in forcing manufacturers to fit quiet exhausts when anyone, including those manufacturers, can make and sell loud ones to replace them. The sport's authorities don't seem to care - I haven't seen a noise meter at a trial since my Fantic 200 days. I have to admit though that, as I once experienced, having over 100 cold two strokes rev up to do a noise test in the middle of a village early on a Sunday morning probably did not convince the locals that the ACU was overly concerned about public perception. I was told at an environmental seminar by the guy in charge that "Motocross, by which he meant the manufacturers, is not interested in noise limits". This just seems to be accepted by the organising bodies. He also made the point that when motocross disappears as a result of this trials will go with it. Sounds logical enough to me. Another revelation at the seminar was that some mobile phones now incorporate noise meters so potentially any passer by could get a reading and use it against us, even if it has not been taken under the prescribed conditions with properly calibrated equipment. I believe that there can be too much reliance on meter readings, we need bikes that sound quiet to the ear not to a machine. I think my Beta is a bit loud at tickover but have no idea what it measures at. Can't we be given the chance to find out at an "open day" with the official meter?

I assume the 250 is the same as the 175 in that the specified points gap is given as a tolerance between a maximum and minimum gap. The timing is adjusted solely by changing the gap. When the points go beyond spec to get the correct timing then you put new points in. All this is from 30 year memory so may not be correct for the 250. Timing is 1.8mm BTDC (I think). No doubt there are plenty on here who can correct me if I am wrong. I can't remember what the tolerance was but it could be that the "traditional" 15 thou points gap is nowhere near correct.

That's only a couple of years short of the time when the scrutineers apparently (according to rumour amongst us observers at the time) found the paint still lying open from the previous year and had to replace it at short notice. Word was the works boys found the shop in the high street where it had been bought and stocked up accordingly with predictable effect........

If Walter managed an 11th on the KTM then I feel sure he must have managed a higher placing during the greater number of years he was with Puch before that? Over to you BJ! Not to mention SSDT placings on the Puch.

Baby shampoo is what's recommended by Arai but, as you shouldn't accelerate the drying process, it takes a week to dry out.,

I don't know if you'd call it a people carrier but the Citroen Berlingo Multispace takes two bikes and all the gear (including camping stuff) after you have spent five minutes unscrewing the seats. If you leave in the smaller rear seat you can get one bike in. They come in varying engine types and economies.

I'm no expert on the subject but from memory of what things looked like I'd say that was a trail bike half converted to trials. Am I right?

Whilst a speedo is not an MoT item it is a requirement (with a few arcane exceptions) for use on the public highway. Don't screw up the future of the event by thumbing your nose at the Road Traffic Regs.