shercomike

I struggled with the same think on my '06 a couple of years ago and read the posts about new stator's etc. When I kicked the motor over, I could never see a spark at the plug. However, after a few evenings of dicking around, I realized it was sparking with the plug installed. Maybe I wasn't kicking it hard enough or the plug was not well grounded. My misfiring turned out to be a carb problem and not from a lack of spark. I have an old Bultaco (don't we all), and I can crank it with my hand and see a fat spark at the plug. Not so with the Sherco. YMMV, but you might consider this before you dig any deeper.

And you blog is where?

I have a High-Boy that I purchased about seven years ago from a guy in Michigan. It has a Model 49 motor and the one-pice tank/seat with ribbing on the side-panel. It was in OK condition, and I have spiffed it up a bit. I think the geometry is a bit more radical than the stock bike--steeper steering head and shorter swing-arm. Mine had extra plates brazed into the headstock and a local guy that had one in the period said his headstock cracked too. It has better ground clearance but the oil drain sticks below the bash plate. I was at Samm'y museum a month ago and asked him about the frames. He didn't have a whole lot to say. He said he just wanted something better made than the stock frame, higher quality. He said the oil drain was a compromise thet he had to make. He used to work for Rickman's and I asked if they had made the frame because it looks so Rickman like. I think he was a bit insulted by my question and said that his shop had made the frames. Maybe they used the same material and plate shop. Finding the one-piece alloy tank/seat would be the hot ticket. I had one in 1974 and Hugh has a HIgh-Boy with the alloy tank/seat in his museum. I'm a mediocre rider and the frame offers me little advantage in reality. However, it's way cool and Sammy is my hero.

I struggled with a leaking Bultaco tank for some years. I finally broke down and used a guy in Texas who advertises in the SMOG newsletter--James Enterprises, I think. He has a high tech approach to sealing the old crappy Spanish tanks. He puts epoxy in the tank and then rotates it for some days while it dries. He also did a stellar job of painting the outside including adding a few coats of clearcoat. It wasn't cheap, $250 if I remember, but it saved me a lot of time and hassle and gas fumes. In the UK, the fibreglass tanks were illegal for street use (trials bikes were/are street legal) and they were sold with aluminum or aluminium tanks.

I thought it was a great event. I got beat up on the Senior A line but have come to realize that I have more fun at an event when I lose 100 points than I do when I lose 10 points. I was surprised how quickly I was able to drive to the event. It was 200 miles and just over three hours from the RI/CT line. Maybe if people realized how close it was they would be more inclined to attend. I heard a comment that the distance events should start at noon to give people more time to get there in one day. Maybe just for the Saturday event of a two-day meeting. Fall is a busy time in new England and many people have conflicts with trials events. I was only able to make one of the two days, for example. MIke Green

Lane - thanks for the information, I was hoping to hear from you. I have a xerox copy of the event program that has a picture of you on the front. I'd be happy to send you a copy of a copy. Any chance you could scan the photo and email it to me? A decent resolution would help because I plan on blowing it up to poster size.

I'm working with the Rhode Island Trials Club to put on a vintage trial in Exeter, RI on September 16. The club has run several Nationals and World Rounds at this facility. We are trying to promote the vintage event by playing up the link with the 1975 World Round that was held at this site. Prior to 1975 it was called the European Championship. Then they added a round in Canada and the US and started calling it the World Championship. Here are the results: World Round July 20, 1975 Stepping Stone Ranch, Escoheag, R.I. 1. Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 54 2. Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco) 58 3. Manuel Soler (Bultaco) 64 4. Ulf Karlsson (Montesa) 64 5. Charles Coutard (Bultaco) 66 6. Martin Lampkin (Bultaco) 66 7. Benny Sellman (Montesa) 68 8. David Thorpe (Bultaco) 68 9. Lane Leavitt (Bultaco) 70 10. Mick Andrews (Yamaha) 72 The loop was 22 miles. I haven't been able to find any information or photos from the event. Does anybody out there have anything tucked away in the garage, or does anybody have suggestions of other places to try? I'd like to make some displays for the event. It's a long shot, I know. Thanks Mike Green (Sherco 290 & Miller-framed Bultaco Model 49)