steve

Sorry but I have no idea what the prices were, I do have a few other pictures of bikes at the show but didn't get the price tags in the photo's

All the bikes in the picture were for sale not actually part of a display.

Saw this at the show Gaff, thought you may be interested. I can email you the images in larger res if you like, send me your address again. Sorry but I didn't get a picture of the other side and that 'beutifull' exhaust!!!!

Saw this at the classic show recently

I am no expert on these, a mate of mine used to have a few before he moved to the States - John Hawkins. He bought a few parts of a works Honda mechanic. The oil cooler he bought was never fitted as he didn't have the single downtube - the wheel hubs looked similar externally but were in fact made of a different (lighter) material, possibly some sort of a magnesium alloy. There was lots of other trick bits but I can't remember now, we are talking a few years ago now.

And a nice CCM

Here's the kawaski mentioned

Damn, if only I was witty and articulated! Oh and lived in West London. Apart from those small points I would be ideal.

I think the old 'get what you pay for' pretty much sums up the RTX It wasn't trying to compete with the latest bikes but was a good alternative for newcomers to the sport who didn't want to spend a fortune only to find Trials wasn't for them. They could buy the RTX new cheaper than many secondhand bikes. Personally I'd have opted for the secondhand one!

Who designed the ARMAC chassis and when? Is it a replica of something that was available in the 60's therefore in keeping with the spirit of pre 65 trials. Or is it a modern design? Looking at the disc brake model above I am interested to see where the oil tank is. Logic would suggest that it's held within the top tube however I notice a second outlet on the fuel tank, perhaps the tank has an oil compartment within it? I am considering doing this in a standard Steel cub tank, I would like to keep the look of the bike original but save a bit of weight and free up the space under the seat for a neat silencer. What do you think guys?

Well said HondaRS Can anyone post or send me some pictures of the ARMAC Cub?

A couple of people used to make conversion kits, I am sure Talon did one.

Yep, hopping the bike backwards up the step to give it another go - that was good. Colomer used to be good at jumping off things backwards, saw him fail a step 4 times once and still he kept his feet up!

Good for you Ady, I'm pleased for you that your Dad is such a clever mechanic. Try to learn as much from his as you can, those skills will stay with you for the rest of your life. It would be great if you could post a picture of your Dad's Bantam so we can all admire it.

That was a great era for Trials bikes, loads of manufacurers having a go. Have you seen the article on todo trial. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=e...=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 If the link doesn't work it's about the history of Spanish Trials bikes, on the second page are some really unusual bikes. Derbi Trial, JJ Cobas, JP 325, Merlin, even a nice picture of what my Cota 330 should look like. And we have to pump our own Gas here apart from the odd old fashioned garage in outback villages that time forgot.

How exactley? I'm interested to learn a newwelding technique that doesn't create heat.

How do you weld 'carefully?' In order to weld ali it need to be hot enough to melt, heat creates distortion.

Thinking on from what I posted above - I expect they would be trying to squeeze as much power as possible from the engine for use in WTC. You may find if you lower the compression ratio and retard the ignition slightly not only will the bike be more ridable the kickstart shaft will get an easier time.

Don't overlook Tyre pressure, I once practiced a section for 1 hour without success, I let about 1psi out the tyre (down to 3psi) and flew straight up. At WTC level there is a minder who adjusts the tyre pressure at every section, problem is if you have just had a long blast down the road the air in the tyre will be hot and the pressure increases - sometimes the difference between a 0 and 5.

You already know more than most about trail if you know how to measure it. Leading axle etc.. makes little or no difference so long as you get the trail correct. The first thing to set up though is steering head angle, this actually has no bearing on trail as such - even a bike with a vertical steering head can have as much trail as you like. Perhaps someone could tell us what angle the otter frames are running. Once you have the correct steering head angle the trail can be altered by modifying the yokes, or indeed moving the axle forward or backwards. Niether of which are easy jobs so try to choose your forks / yokes carefully to give that measurement with no alteration. Many people alter the trail by modifying the steering head angle but too steep and the bike will 'tuck under' on corners and feel very nervous on descents. This is why many of the modified road bikes just don't steer right. I hope I haven't given any duff information as I am by no means an expert on frame geometry. If there are any frame builders reading this it would be nice to hear from you. It's a very interesting subject and even the big factorys don't always get it right, anyone remember the Montesa cota 311?

If it's only the kickstart shaft broken then it looks as if you will be able to do something with the parts you have. If not you could try and find another kickstart shaft with the same spline, counterbore the original and and turn replacement to suit, press the two together and weld - simple!! I am doing this at the moment with my Cub and C15 to use cheap folding kickstarts bought off ebay for a couple of pounds instead of paying

I was working as a mechanic for a Scorpa rider when the bike was in development and really enjoyed looking at all the developments of the bike. Scorpa took the yam engine out and it weighed about 2kg lighter than the Rotax - they then popped it into the Easy frame for development and the Scorpa frame was 2 kg lighted than the Tyz!!!. The Scorpa has a hydraulic clutch where as the Tyz is cable. The hydrualic clutch on the prototype had a cylinder machined onto the side, a cheaper but just as effective alternative was found for the production model. Scorpa also tweaked the ignition curve to give a bettter power supply. I think the Scorpa is a superb bike for clubman riders. They have always tried to build bike aimed at the club rider, the problem is the club riders think they need a super tuned Lampkin replica! Go for the Scorpa.

Ok - You can change the final gear ratio's in many ways. I will use an 18t engine sprocket to keep the rear sprocket as small as possible. The aim is to get the gearbox sprocket as large as possible to keep a good chain run over the swinging arm, whilst at the same time keeping the rear sprocket as small as possible. Send me your email and I will send a copy of the spreadsheet - you will see I have looked into this in great detail. With a Std box I will have a final drive ratio of 28.44 in bottom, however 2nd will be 18.78. A big jump and probably unusable in a section. With my new 2nd gear I'll have a bottom gear of 28.76 and a 2nd of 24.27. A very usable gear for sections. The only thing better about a pukka wide ratio gearbox is that top gear will give a faster speed on the road.

I didn't say I could get a new set made, I am not looking for a whole set of gears. I am only looking for 1 pair. One of those I have found so that leaves 1 gear to make. Apple rochester gears in Wellingborough will make any gears but the first one is quite expensive. I have dealt with them through work and one of the guys will do a 'dinner time rate' for me!!!. I know there is only a slim chance of finding some to buy but isn't that what these forums are for? If I never ask anyone I definitely won't find any.