turbofurball

Hello! Good luck with your journey of discovery

Mmm, my TY was a bargain, but the previous owner was completely useless with anything mechanically - he was very proud to have "rebuilt" it, but didn't use any grease. Like, at all. Still, he spent a pile of money that I don't have to, and it will be a genuinely good bike by the time I'm finished

Easy course sections would be a bit mental on a 300 I imagine (I know I'd hurt myself with one, and thats coming from a 750 street bike), but whatever ... best thing is to just find what clubs are near you and go to one of each of their events - some mark harder sections than others pretty consistently. Fun trials are the best for just getting out and having a play

For the benefit of people who might be searching for this info in the future, here's the reply Bob sent: "There's no specific service intervals that are particularly important, after each ride I check water/ wheelbearings/ linkage bearings/ brake pads etc ect , all the usual stuff. Pamperas get through a lot of wheel bearings, it's a very easy job to replace them. I've fitted all my bikes with grease nipples in the hubs and this has dramatically improved bearing life. Linkages are also prone to wear - a complete linkage overhaul is a full days work and costs about £150. I seem to recall there are fourteen bearings in the rear linkage. A number of suspension bushes are no longer available and so I have them made at a local machine shop. Water pumps seals fail quite frequently, on my bikes I budget for a water pump overhaul and a linkage overhaul each season. If you notice water being used check for gearbox oil contamination, if there isn't anythen check the head gasket. Very easy to fix of course but disastrous if you leave it. Unfortunately some spares are getting quite tricky to find nowadays. Clutch slave cylinders are hard to get. They get chewed up when the chain wears . Pampera rear brakes can be dreadful. The master cylinders are very expensive and I now use cheap Chinese items to be found on eBay for £9.00. They are far superior to the £60 Brembo OE unit but need a couple of simple mods to fit. The engines are bombproof. I've never had to overhaul a crank on any of the bikes. Same goes for the gearbox. I change the gearbox oil once a year."

Thanks, I'll do just that!

I borrowed my other half's new (to her) Pampera yesterday, got a little over-ambitious and hit a big puddle, only for the water to get up to my knees (while standing on the pegs) ... this looks like it would be fantastic fun if you live somewhere WARM. Also, you would need to drill holes in the bottom of your boots to let the water out ...

The manual is a bit light on detail (as seems to be the way with their old stuff), does anyone have any guidance on what kind of intervals for the oil & air filter etc? (or any other tips on Pampera-specific maintenance would be greatfully received!)

The guy who is teaching me to weld hates gloves as they reduce feel, but I always wear them. Last week I managed to weld a bit that was neat enough he reconned it was better than his ... I'd say reticense over gloves is just being awkward with no real benefit, but they're your hands

Thanks guys, I'll double-check from now on! The Thames Valley event looks good, I may well come along (there's also one closer to me, but it's nice to have a change of scenery!)

So I turned up to this event today, only to be told the trial was last week (aparently it was really good) ... a little while ago there was another trial that appeared on the list for a couple of weeks and then disappeared the day before ... I can understand how difficult it is to co-ordinate the ACU events list, but is this a common problem? Is there anywhere alse I can check for cross-club events in the UK?

Their .com site is still up, FWIW

That looks really neat - good job!

I have an '04 Gasgas 125, it's pulled my ~13 stone posterior around just fine so far (I'm a novice, FWIW)

I'll have a look with that in my search terms, thank you

Mmm, I look forward to one day having a left kicker & brake (though that's more to do with have a bad right knee) Or better yet, an electric bike with nothing but footpegs down there!

Maybe go to a physio then? They'd be able to tell if it's a trapped nerve or something

Have you spoken to a doctor about it?

Yeah, I can understand that ... though with a Latvian farm worker endangering all European motorsport maybe that kind of thinking would be the lesser of two evils

I've never had any issues with a right hand throttle, never really thought about it to be honest! (That said, I've been on motorbikes for nearly 30 years ...)

Mmm, I wanted a Bultaco primarily for their looks too, lol One day, when I'm a better rider, I'd love to get a late 250!

Wow, this has certainly turned out to be quite the debate! It's interesting to see that any attempts to improve safety will, apparently, cause the end of civilization as we know it ... I have plenty of scars from riding without the right gear so I learned my lesson, just thought it would be nice to try and help others from having to learn the hard way!

Any particular reason for Spanish? I was looking at Bultacos, but several reliable people persuaded me into getting a TY175 instead because of parts availability and cost, and because it's notorious as a solid beginner machine

I dunno about that, I like lanyards simply because I don't want my bike to carry on running when on it's side (which happened to me twice before I fitted one, the second time petrol was leaking out from the tank) ... fitting a lanyard is the same as a regular kill switch, it takes about 5 minutes and a basic one costs £3.50 on ebay

Following on from the "Trials the safest sport" thread, what practical stuff would be a good idea to progress safety for riders, observers, and spectators? Over time having public liability insurance, handlebar pads, and helmets have all been easy and sensible things to have ... how about making sure there's a qualified first-aider at events (and everyone knows who it is), or requiring all bikes to have lanyard kill switches? What else?

Not everyone thinks like you, though ... and development of old twinshocks can make them a lot more relaxed to ride and easier for those of us without your high level of talent ;-)