lowbrow

Our sport and off road riding generally has suffered considerably because of the intolerance of others, just look at the loss of green lanes. Ours is a minority interest and we will do nothing to help ourselves if we are seen to be intolerant of others who are legitimately enjoying what they like to do on a Sunday morning no matter how perverse it may appear to us.

From one grumpy old man to another Chewy I take your point. From an environmental perspective cyclists and ramblers like to think they occupy the moral high ground, whereas we are just grubby motorcyclists in the eyes of most of the public. When it comes to pheasant shooting we'll never compete. You do realise that round our way these guys pay on average

Looks like cowboy promoters to me

Jon may not be familiar with Rock Oil? I've always used it and had no problems whatsoever.

I've always used a good synthetic oil in my Gassers and run at 15% which is 66:1 or in practical terms 75ml oil to 5 litres of petrol. I used to run at 50:1 but that gave me a dribbly rear end!

Happened upon coverage of the 3rd round of the World Indoor Enduro Championship from Spain on Eurosport 2 yesterday afternoon. Half an hour of action and only possible complaint was that the focus was always on Taddy and the likes of Grimbo who was as high as 4th in some races didn't get a look in. Contrast that with half hour coverage from Marseille late last night and why would anybody watch it? It was dull, dull, dull and that's for the likes of me who knows the riders, appreciates the skill and understands the sport. Have to hope that the third round is better tomorrow, but I really wonder if indoor trials on TV does anything to further our cause?

Put the new tyre on your old wheel and see what happens then. At least you'll know whether its the new wheel or the tyre.

Country method; two lengths of straight timber, steel, what have you, both longer than the bike and spaced apart parallel so the back tyre fits snuggly in between at one end. Where is the front wheel in relation to these? Is the clearance the same both sides? Adjust, curse as necessary!

Mark Kemp at BVM Moto John Miles (retired manager of BVM) took a look at your photo's and agrees that this is almost certainly a Whitlock frame. Maybe someone else knows how to contact Mick Whitlock?

Mark Kemp used to be agent for the Whitlock made Montesa frames back in 1973/74 before he started his shop BVM Moto in Stroud, Gloucestershire. It'd be worth asking him and I'm wondering if the letters 'MK' refer to his initials rather than standing for mark 7.

Mick Whitlock used to make Montesa frames in the early/mid 70's. The quality looks good enough for it to be one of his, but I thought he did them with alloy bashplate.

I presume that when the bike is on a stand you're trying to lift the rear wheel and feeling some play. Unless all the dog bone bearings and shock bushes are brand new there's bound to be some play because the total of all the little clearances add up and are then magnified by the length of the swinging arm; however if its overly 'clunky' its time for a service. If you've caught it in time a clean and re-grease may suffice.

I can't advise you on which grease offers the better lubrication, but you do need a good waterproof grease. If water gets in, and the bearings start to rust they're shagged in no time, whereas if you grease them regularly they can have a long life.

Thought you'd be at the Southern Experts

I've been trying to remember what the pre-Pro clutches were like, but there's no 'top hat', that came in with the Pro motor in 02. Provided the lever is adjusted properly as Chewy says clutch drag is usually associated with the hydraulics. Is there enough fluid in the master cylinder? If yes is there evidence of the seals leaking where the lever acts on the master cylinder plunger? Does the clutch drag get worse the longer you hold the lever in? If yes, I'd change the master cylinder seals first, but check the slave for leaking too. Don't worry too much about air in the system as it tends to self bleed, even if you change the master cylinder seals. Good luck, Dave

I found LV very reasonable and the only exclusion is 'speed trials' which doesn't matter to me as I'm too old for the Scott! Makes me wonder if any of these companies know what a trial is. Seems daft that the likes of Bennetts are happy to cover me if I was foolish enough to ride through the centre of London in the rush hour, but not while I'm puttering down the lanes of The Cotswolds or Herefordshire on a Sunday morning!

Have you thumped your gear lever on a rock? I think you'll find you've broken one of the spring loaded ratchet arms that rotate the selector drum. If i'm right it's a motor out, split the crankcases job I'm afraid.

They kept changing the hubs and disc sizes in the late 90's. Your 99 wheel might be of interest to a Pampera owner, if you wanted to part with it. Haven't made plans for the weekend yet. Is Stu' going?

You need a Pro wheel from 2002 on. Both disc and sprocket attached by four bolts.

Two rubber O rings seal the head to the barrel and these harden and leak in time, especially if the motor has ever got too hot. Its likely that these are the cause of your problem and in any event you should replace them. As far as I recall the water pumps on the pre-Pro motors were generally pretty good. Have you checked the state of your gearbox oil? If the pump seal is leaking the oil will be milky.

I presume Sherco will be pushing the envelope pricewise; any announcement with regards to how much it will cost?

Hi Stu' Hadn't thought about venturing over to Knighton. Have you been there before? Is it a good venue? A good place to submerge your new dogbone bearings in mud? Cheers Dave

You're doing the right thing trying to source the correct bearings and separate seals Stu', don't be tempted to buy the bearings with 'built in' seals that some bike shops sell. The needles are narrower and they wear out much faster. I've also found that the bushings that fit inside the needle cages can be a little undersize, which doesn't help matters. Cheers, Dave

Hi Ian, I run a 122 main ject and 45 pilot with a JJH needle. The mixture screw is an air screw so you're actually making it richer when you screw it in. Changing the main jet for a smaller one mainly affects larger throttle openings, but it does have an effect at the lower end too and personally I'd try a 122 or 120 before changing needles. This advice is based on a typical English climate, mind you! Good luck, Dave

Thanks for your advice and opinions Neo. I just bought a clear floatbowl and am going to install it in time for next weekend. When you've set your floats with your handy little tool (I take it that is what the black gadget is in the photo) which of the graduations does the fuel level coincide with please, if the carb is held upright? Cheers, Dave