colinf

Quite possibly,although what came out wasn't ATF. Maybe i should check the 250 though!

My Nephew has had a JTX250 for a few years and recently picked up a JTR370 so we can ride/practice together while i rebuild my Bultaco 191. Both bikes reside in my shed as they are used nearby.The 370 had been stored a while around his mates garage as it belonged to a mutual friend of theirs who works away now and didn't have time to use it.I did give it a going over to recommission it including new pistons and seals on the front caliper,brakes and clutch bled, stripped and cleaned the carb,repacked the silencer etc as well as servicing it.First time we took them out it ran okay but once warm the clutch was slipping enough to prevent the front wheel being lifted.When i got it on the bench and removed the clutch plates the friction material had come unstuck from the plates! I can only find one complete set on-line for this model ( JTR370 Contact) for £93 .There are plenty for later models which are much cheaper and a set of friction plates rather than a complete set would do.Anyone know where i can get any?

Trying to identify this Royal Enfield so i can suggest a value to it's owner.I'm not selling it and won't make a penny out of it.The owner has lost his storage due to circumstances beyond his control,his friend contacted me as he knows little about older bikes and asked for advice.I've explained that dating Royal Enfields can be a bit hit and miss.He found an old buff logbook for a 1948 350 Royal Enfield which shows Frame number and Engine number as 19499 and reg as what looks like JFJ210 ,next time he goes he'll look to see if the numbers are on either the bike or the frame and engine next to it.As i understand it this would be a very early "Bullet" type.What i need to know is how can he tell if its a Trials type originally or just modified later? I notice the frame has no passenger footrest mountings so the same goes for that too.If the paperwork ties up with the bike can anyone put a ball-park figure on it ?, we don't want the owner getting ripped off by some dealer if an enthusiast somewhere could use it.

Whether or not the Hondas could've tried to overtake , Cal Crutchlow said it would be risky with the lack of speed exiting corners ( and unlike the rest of us he knows just how hard it is to ride the bike in question) , Rossi had no influence on how the top 3 would finish,coupled with the fact he would have only qualified 12th anyway even if the penalty was overturned i still dont think he had the pace to lap with the top three.......however hard it is for Rossi fans to come to terms with he could still have lost the championship at the last round.Despite what the media were all saying it was never going to be a sure thing just a better story for them.I agree that Rossi rode well on Sunday,he shoud've left it at that.This isn't a dig at him or his fans it's just my prediction for next year but i think if he wants a shot at the 2016 title (assuming the Hondas and Yamahas have similar all-round performance and all four riders avoid injury) he will have to qualify better and start better regularly to have a chance of keeping with leaders from the start.

I agree, and yes is was highlights (which can be misleading).I just hope that the change in tyre supplier doesn't adversely affect one or other of the works teams so we can look forward to a vintage season which genuine fans of the sport can enjoy. Forgot to say congratulations to Danny Kent, that should have been the story of the weekend.

Waited until Monday to watch final on ITV4 and think the results speak for themselves, 7 wins to 4 seems like a championship winning margin to me.The last place penalty proved to be worthless as everyone just let Rossi through ( apart from a minor challenge by Espargaro's Suzuki ) and yet the die hard Rossi fans are claiming that the Honda pair didn't give Lorenzo a hard enough time! I can understand Rossi's disapointment but i think his ranting looks very unsporting as do his fans booing other riders ( a bit like the tifosi in F1), Lin Jarvis will have his work cut out next year! Hope the bikes are as close performance wise next year and with an in-form Pedrosa too it could be a classic year, the champion will almost certainly be Spanish though ( think i said that last year).

I find it a bit odd (funny but odd) that Rossi fans keep posting gay images of Lorenzo and Marquez when Rossi has his "special friend" Uccio with him all the time...........never see a girlfriend at the races do we! ooer!!

If Honda can give him a more rideable bike i doubt he'll see much of him!

There was actually some good news on the motogp front this week.Alex de Angelis has been allowed to go home although he'll still be monitored and will need physio.Won't be allowed back on his bike until the winter test in Feb when he should've had time to recover.Get well soon!

This could just go on and on............ Whatever any of us think about sepang most of us are biased one way or another.Whichever side you're on i would recommend reading this article by Dave Emmett on motomatters.com "2015 Sepang MotoGP Round Up: Heroes who have feet of clay" It has to be the best assessment of the situation i've read yet.Very well thought out and objective.I think both sides could take something from it,and he's probably right when he suggests that the only one to come out of it with any dignity was Dani Pedrosa.

Ha ha, that was way too easy! Why are Rossi fans so easy to wind up? A couple of things, firstly i haven't Won any world championships but i can spell them! Secondly as for the "showmanship" Rossi is supposed to bring to the sport i'm not sure what you're refering to.If it's just his talent on a bike then why do Rossi fans hate Marquez so much.I don't remember the sports insiders saying that Rossi seemed to defy the laws of physics when he was testing for his maiden year in the top class like they did when Marquez turned up.......oh,and guess what ,all the top riders had to start riding in the same style to just beat him! If ,on the other hand, you meant the purile,childish pantomimes he used to perform post-win then we're better off without them.Earlier in the year Rossi said he didn't have to play games,he'd let his racing on the Sunday speak for itself,so what happened in PI and Sepang?I think any sports psychologist would suggest the pressure got to him.Lastly ,and it is just my opinion, he is a bit gutless....remember his glory days on the Ducati ( that Stoner won on)..if you look at the records he did score more points than Nicky did but if you actually looked back at the races Hayden was often in front of him when he'd crash.This was because Nicky had the balls to push when Rossi didn't. Can any of you come up with a year when Rossi won a championship on a bad bike? Seriously, in previous post i've always acknowledged that Rossi has talent,what i can't stand are double standards.The fact is Jorge is faster on the same bike and Marq can match him in a fight and he doesn't like it.

I was just getting to the stage where i could start to give him a bit more credit ( other than his natural talent) and he goes and confirms what i always thought of him! He always used to laugh it off when he was "firm" against other riders but he can't handle it when he's on the receiving end can he? Lin Jarvis said in his statement that Valentino's not a dirty rider.......i suspect Sete Gibernau would disagree. When Jorge started beating him on the Yamaha we had the nonsense of the split garage and engineers not sharing data,then he said they couldn't both be in the same team so he ran away to Ducati, now he's threatening that he might not ride in valencia ( boo hoo).......I wil always remember him as the most Gutless Of All Time!!!!!

I suspect we wont see a straight fight between the Yamahas.An in-form Pedrosa and a race fit Marquez will almost certainly split them at one or more of the remaining races and will have a big influence on the eventual outcome........should be good though!

I think you're right.He said that on the 2015 chassis he couldn't feel the back end when braking and was putting even more weight on the front in corners which reduced his already very small margin for error,so less miraculous saves and more crashes! Difficult to split his braking and apex, Bridgestone telemetry showed him braking nearly as heavily on the corner as he does when it's still upright!! I don't think anyone else can ride quite like it.

It was interesting to re-read this thread ( i stand by everything i said earlier ).A couple of points, no-one ever won a championship on a **** bike.That said Marquez lacked rear "feel" on corner entry on the 2015 chassis despite his rear tyre hardly touching most of the time and his crashes were because he was riding over the limit on a bike that is hard to ride because of its brutal power delivery (where was the nearest Honda most of the season so far?) and Lorenzo has had to have modified tyres to suit his style of riding because the harder Bridgestones affect his corner speed with reduced edge grip.It's a matter of record that the races he's lacked form at are the ones where Bridgestone couldn't supply him with tyres that had been "treated" because of speed or temperature issues.Rossi can ride a good bike very well but can't always live with Lorenzos speed when he's on tyres that suit him.Nice to see Pedrosa doing better now his arms are healing and well done Bradley on Suzuka 8 hrs win.........roll on 2nd half of season!

Hi, a friend who's bike i maintain contacted me today and put me on to a bike he was offered.He didn't know much about it and wrongly described it as a moped trail bike.Hoping he'd unearthed a Caballero i went straight round to look at it and it turned out to be an FM430, 74cc trials bike.It's in poor condition but turns over with compression and a spark but is missing plastic.Question is whether it's worth a punt or not.Do these small twinshocks have much of a following? Might get it if it's cheap enough and see if it'll run or it could be more use to someone sold on as a spares donor.What do you think?

I think Rossi's problem was hinted at earlier this season by JB.He said that compared to Lorenzo Rossi didn't like to ride as close to the edge and needed a slightly bigger margin for error to be comfortable.His problem is compounded by the fact that Marquez leaves virtually no margin for error and they have all had to ride closer to the limit now.Even Rossi is now saying he'll see how things are going 6 or 7 races in to 2014 and decide what he'll do then,i think his head is telling him he'll never get another championship but his heart doesn't want to believe it.

I don't doubt Rossi could win a few more races but he hasn't got a hope of another championship unless the three remaining aliens have injury problems in the same season.Thought the BBC coverage looking back at Rossi's career was a bit rose tinted, it jumped from the last win on the Yamaha (1st time round) to him being "back on top" with his one win this year! What happened to his stint on those red bikes?.....Matt Roberts was very gentle on him when he could have asked some much tougher questions,it's not like he's going to be talking to him much next year anyway.Roll on testing.....

When is he going to face the fact that he just isn't as fast as the top three now? Adding JB to his list of excuses really sucks,i don't believe he would have had exactly the same success over the years without him.Has anyone mentioned a replacement? If he goes into the tests following this weekend without a race engineer who understands the bike then surely he's already compromising his 2014 season.Stoner went to early,Rossi's going to hang on too long when he should've gone out on top.

I wish!..............When i said it had a backwards kickstart i meant rearward ( conventional) as opposed to meaning the opposite to normal .The Minarelli engine rather than the Fantic one with the "forward" kickstart.Any ideas as to the year?

Just picked up a Fantic twinshock "project".Bought in job lot from a bloke having a clear out.I'm pretty sure it's a 200 (156cc) but could do with you Fantic experts help to confirm that and if possible date it too.First question is do the numbers match on these bike? The frame No. is 0001247 and the engine No. is 0001123. It has a backwards kickstart on the righthand side and final drive sprocket on the left.The con-rod has Minarelli cast on it.There are several references to 350 on it ie Fantic 350 under the gear lever,Fantic motor trial 350 47 5100 on underside of head and FM350 on the silencer.The plate on the righthand side of the engine is mainly worn away but just readable is ".........350 ,...............tion 6 speed and .......one speciale". Am i right in thinking the FM350 is a 200 model? The side panel has a sticker on the inside which says Trials 200.Couldn't find any numbers of the actual capacity on the motor but the bore is just under 62mm.From what i can gather it's probably early 80's but the seller thought late 70's.Am i on the right track? can anyone date it from the frame/engine numbers.Any help would be appreciated.

I was lucky enough to meet "the King" about 5 years ago at the Goodwood Festival of Speed here in the UK.What a legend,couldn't do enough for the fans.In fact the American drivers (including some all-time Indy greats) could teach some of the modern F1 drivers a thing or two about meeting with the fans.

Thought Bradl did very well all weekend.The highlight had to be Marquez passing Rossi at the corkscrew.The really funny thing was how Yamaha asked to review it on video and Honda were defending the move when last time, when Rossi did it to Stoner ,Honda questioned it and Yamaha defended it! Short memories or what?

thinking about what 90vanman said comparing engine braking 4stroke vs 2 stroke.Obviously the motogp bikes have very high compression/low inertia engines but that is why they have slipper clutches,this means reduced engine braking and the reason they are buggers to push start.The "leg out" thing is debatable but assuming the riders weight is on his legs and not his bum wouldn't taking your leg off the inside peg load the outside of the bike?

Interesting to hear a Rossi fan say that.No one denies he has the talent but i think he'll struggle to stick with the 3 "aliens" at the front.I think deep down the Marco accident has affected his racing.Looking back at the Ducati time he may have ended the last year with a few more points than Hayden but i'm sure it was because he wouldn't push it as hard,how many times did Hayden come off when he was ahead of Rossi while he was pushing it? Confidence issue?........maturity?.......who knows.