trapezeartist

I tried "adjusting" it this evening. It didn't want to know! I gave up because I thought any more force and I would damage something. I'll have a look at someone elses at the trial this weekend.

I don't think so, greychapel. There's no evidence of any distortion around the bracket, but then there's no evidence on the stand itself either. That's my predicament, Maybe I just need to refit it all and get a big bit of scaffold pipe on it. if it bent at the weakest point, perhaps I can bend it back at the weakest point.

Part way through the trial on Saturday I noticed that my Fantic 200 was sitting more upright on the prop stand and I had to be much more selective about choosing the right place to park up. I think this coincided with the bike falling over because the prop stand sunk into the ground. My first thought was that the prop stand had bent as it has always looked pretty flimsy. On removing it though, the weight indicates that it's more sturdy than I thought and there is no sign of kinking or damage to the paint. The attached image shows it with the pivot axis horizontal. If it has bent, the bend just below the rubber buffer looks like the culprit, though it does also make it tuck in nicely against the swinging arm when folded up. Is it bent? Any thoughts, anyone?

I'm still feeling my way too, so I can identify with these things. If in doubt about the correct route, ask the observer. Sometimes he'll have a more liberal interpretation than you expected, and sometimes a more demanding one, but that's the one you're going to be marked on. I really find that practising doesn't do much for me. No matter how much I know I should be trying certain difficult things, I end up taking the easy way out. There's no substitute for the real thing.

Well I finally got out to the garage tonight. I drained the fork oil and replaced it with 200ml of 5W in each leg. It now feels a lot softer and bouncier though the front is still stiffer than the back when pushing down on the seat. I don't know if there are any spacers under the springs as I didn't remove the fork tubes from the bike. I did take the opportunity to measure the springs. Free length = 508mm 57 active coils (surprised me a bit) Mean diameter = 23.5mm Wire diameter = 3.75mm The springs protrude 30mm out of the top of the legs. Does that mean I have a spacer down at the bottom? Does anyone know if that is the standard spring?

I don't think anodising would need a keyed surface as there is no extra material being applied (like plating or paint). It's just a chemical conversion of the surface material.

bvm-moto.co.uk

+3 for Mechanix, though I don't have experience of anything else. But at about £5 a pair, what's not to like? Those other gloves look like gardening gloves. I used them when crewing on fast skiff dinghies. I think I was paying €1 per pair and they were far better than the £25 sailing gloves. Brilliant grip when hauling on a skinny bit of spinnaker sheet. I considered them for trialling but thought the grip may be too good. What if I want to slide my hand on the twistgrip?

Thanks Motopelli. It's about 40 years since I last did that sort of calculation so a reminder was most definitely needed. Most large springs I have known in the past (ie suspension springs) have either been stamped with the rate or colour-coded (in which case you need to find out the code). It's the 4th power of wire diameter that makes the measuring process rather finicky.

New springs may well be on the cards. First I need to establish that there is no other reason for the forks feeling too stiff (air spring effect, too heavy fork oil, etc) and then I will need to know what the rate of the existing springs is. I'm hoping they may be marked in some way. I've heard good things about Magicals.

Thanks P. That was the sort of info I was hoping to get. I feel an evening in the mancave coming on.

Presumably that's the same quantity in both legs. Does that leave an air gap at the top? Behaving as an airspring? Is there any preload adjustment?

I want to try softening off the front forks of my 200. Unfortunately the manual doesn't go beyond telling me how to change the fork oil and I can't find a drawing of the forks anywhere. Can anyone enlighten me so I don't get any surprises when I open it all up? Are standard springs identified in any way? Are alternative spring rates available? Is the preload adustable? If so, what is recommended? What weight of oil is recommended? Should there be an air gap above the oil, and how much? Thanks in advance.

It was advertised on eBay, but not (I think) the one you mention.

300 is utterly unnecessary for a beginner (and probably most other people too). A lot of people advise a 125 or a 200, which is usually a lot less than 200cc. I started by buying a Beta 300 4T which is generally considered to be quite a benign 300, but I'm still a lot happier now with my Fantic 200 (156cc).

Well the give-it-everything wash cycle worked on the clay-mud stains pretty well. Now I have to dig around on the laundry shelf to see what might be around to tackle the grease stains. The chain grease has survived several conventional washes so any success now will be all bonus.

It gets easier with practice.

I wasn't really holding out a lot of hope over the oil stains, but I'll try getting a bottle of Elbow Grease. In the meantime I've thrown them back in the machine on the pre-wash, post-wash, super-duper wash cycle and I'll see if that helps. Unfortunately leaving on the floor doesn't work in our house Jimmy .

"Proper" trials clothing (shirt and trousers) is expensive but should be made for the job. So why does mud and chain grease not wash off easily? Does anyone have any cunning methods for keeping their riding gear looking good?

I don't know, but I can give you some information that will allow a comparison. Look up the internal dimensions of your Zafira and compare the equivalent figures for a Citroen Berlingo (2003 or theabouts). To get a bike in my Berlingo I have to put it diagonally across the space. I had to take out the rear seats (I think I could have got away with just removing the left rear seat, and folding the other) and slide the front passenger seat forward. The handlebars are very close to the roof lining so foul against it every time I lean the bike or turn the steering. If the Zafira is a gnat's wotsit smaller than the Berlingo, it won't fit.

You may have found it then. Try running it with the cap off. If that solves it, you've got a blocked breather.

Yes, you really need them. Without them a tubed tyre will rip the valve off the tube as soon as the tyre moves a bit on the rim. It's less important on a tubeless tyre, which is presumably why there is normally only one rimlock (I always called them "security bolts") on a rim designed for tubeless.

Yours is nothing to be ashamed of, Sam. I'm holding off the clutch lightener at the moment as it will obviously increase lever travel as well and make it a bit more fiddly to get adjusted right. One day, when I have time for experimenting. I'm really tempted to get rid of the toolbox. Originality is the issue, but my bikes not that original anyway and I do like to get rid of things that don't perform any useful function. I really need to sort something out on the chain/swingarm issue. I've protected it with PVC insulating tape for the moment but I'll be lucky if that lasts five minutes. I see you've got a nice clever re-routing of the rear brake rod. That's another point of where on the paint on my bike, so I need to do something.

Thanks stpauls. On your advice I've contacted Somerton DMCC. I should perhaps also have mentioned that I have a twinshock, but at novice level I would hope that doesn't really have much of a bearing on things. Is Breakheart Trials Club ACU or AMCA? I was planning on going to their trial in about 10 days time, but I may not have all the ACU stuff sorted by then.

I live near Bristol, so within the Wessex Centre, but also close to Western And South-Western Centres. Which club would local forumites recommend for a novice looking for as many easy trials as possible?