trialman

always make sure there is free-play with pin that pushes piston in...otherwise back-bleed hole does not clear to allow oil in..this can also cause front brake to lock up after about 30mins use as it pumps fluid in under breaking but does not release pressure,so again make sure the piston has no pressure on it from the screw. ;-]

the ty175 has a sleeve on the r/h side of front spindle! always bounce the forks before clamping r/h leg up....if you still have stiction you need to have the fork tubes checked to make sure they aren't bent,you could do this on a plate glass sheet or you need v-blocks with a dial gauge.for fork oil in mine I use atf fluid its about an 8 grade

check the woodruff key,trials bikes are a bit prone to shearing them..you get a spark but its out of phase.

Hi antman, you don't say whether you have it running?? if you have a spark but it won't run! check the flywheel key as the 280 was a bit prone to shearing it, so you will need a flywheel puller to check. When you put it back together make sure you use a torque wrench as it needs to be done tight,also while flywheel is off,if key was sheared check the taper on crank and in flywheel as the slightest damage will cause future problems [which means lap them in with grinding paste to get a perfect fit if any damage evident] I assume you have done a basic going over with the carb etc..Add onto that change the footrests!! if you look at the modern ones they give far better boot grip and aid balance.. you can buy a weld-on kit to improve them or get some s/h gasser ones which are plentiful and hopefully a reasonable price, and hopefully that would save you having welts up your legs from your foot sliding off. The only other thing I hated about SWMs is the clutch would drag or not disengage instantly [friends bike] which very nearly sent me off a bridge parapet [bloody scary] so check correct oils required and don't try to scrimp with any old oil!!! Hope you have great fun and get practicing with your local club members as you will find them very helpful and yes they will laugh when you crash but thats the learning curve.[ mines lasted 48years and they still laugh,but when they crash its doubly funny] PS. Those plastic leavers were scrapped back in the 80's for good reason,try some amal ones as they are pretty robust??

Hi hughie, yep you have a lot to learn, it took me about 3years before I was fully competent. Trials is a very exacting sport and wheel placement is all important! In the superstars 6 competition back in the eighties don godden [grass track superstar] likened it to slow motion masochism he had that many offs, so just keep at it and practice practice practice it will all come together. Also riding road bikes does not give you a good sense off balance as you tend to lean into corners?? note which side you are putting your foot down will give you a clue?? trials technique is based on bike balance and a lot off the time too remain central on the bike and let the bike lean. Forget log jumping and set out the tightest you can do a figure eight, if you can maintain full lock on the turns you will find to do it well you will be above the bike and not leaning in!! Back in the day we had books by sammy miller,don smith and mick andrews who all worked on the basics of position for the bike and balance. So get on with it and find that time on the bike is time well spent,even if its only doing figure eights in the drive, and when you're that good put a brick in the turns so you have to contend with hopping over it on each turn!! all the best Trialman P.S I was out down the local wood at the weekend setting out some basic stuff for my mx mates who have found trials good fun, and all the others started joining in because they were simple but testing sections,requiring good balance and positioning even the better riders joined in because at the end off the day basics are what you should remember. Mick Andrews is fairly local and his teaching is second to none and he's just one off the lads who loves biking..;-]

Hi hughie, don't know what you've done before, but modern bikes are very quick on the steering and you need good core and upper body strength to keep the bike from tucking,also maintain a straight ahead position with the bars until after the landing.When I started riding I didn't think I would be a good rider and wasn't a natural at it so I did a lot of gym work, so when I got stuck I could lift the bike when I was stuck in rocks or on waterfalls and get myself going,as stops weren't allowed in them days [1974] and after a few years of riding you get to improve and enjoy the sport even more.Still riding and enjoy passing on tips to my old friends children now and within months they've achieved what took me years. So when the lads at your local club go practicing, join in and listen to their advice. Its just a great sport to keep you young and bruised ;-]

A very cheap and simple way is to use a cycle speedo kit, you fit a sensor to the fork leg and to a spoke and run the wire to where you want to mount it. they work perfectly and are o/k for mot's if you're on the road with it.most cycle shops sell them.

First thing I would tell you is that the front brake provides 75o/o off the braking as the back end is unweighted when braking correctly!! o/k. I have just built a twin trials and have used the front hub off a cg125 honda and as the hub is about 30mm bigger than a tl/tlr the brake is far better, I have a ty175 as well and it doesn't match the Honda brake. You would just need a respoke, and as you use it on the road it would be far better. Also you would drop on cg parts cheaply as there were lots sold. feetupfun man is right, and it would improve things if you have crappy linings [chinese] fitted,but as you are using it on the road you would have a massive improvement.Your crash scares me, in that it doesn't sound like you use the front brake??, find an empty road and do an emergency stop with just the rear brake,then with just the front and then with both.NOTE place a marker at the start point and do not lock the wheels.Trials is about complete control and knowing your bikes capabilities. ENJOY LEARNING AS TRIALS IMPROVES YOU AS AN ALL-ROUNDER..look at how good trialsmen are at super enduro,and also mick andrews being the best in the superstars six competition back in the 80's.

Hi, I had a mk1 berlingo and now have a later 2010 berlingo, both are WAV disabled with a handy ramp and carry a bike no problem. Being WAV, the floor is 8inch lower giving more headroom, mine has 2 front seats and 1 rear seat, although you could add a 4th and still have room for a bike. on the later one the chassis is about 8inch longer and you could get 2 bikes in if you removed the rear seat which is q.d . My early one I converted into a micro camper, as it has the extra headroom it works well as against the std van.

Hi vfr man, I run a ty175 and as it has a fantic plastic tank I run it on esso supreme 99 as according to esso they don't put ethanol in it, also if you check the ty has a very low compression ratio so it would not cause any problems.I also run 2 of my specials on it as it seems to give cleaner pick-up and power. bike was run on 95 octane prior to fitting tank and ran fine. with the 125 I would think you'd be glad of any extra power you can get?? I've been a bike mechanic for over 40 years and now i'me retired I get to tinker in the garage all week.If you know any lads on plastic or f/glass tanks advise them to go for the esso unless you can get avgas from a local airfield!!

if you've got a helpful EBC dealer near you their spec book gives all size dimensions for reeds and pads and brake shoes, very handy for a lot off bike builders, if you take a reed with you the pictures in the book are actual size. ;-] Its sorted things for me over pads and brake shoes when I've dropped on a wheel or caliper during a build.

just found this link..that says 2.7 to 3.2 for timing, it is electronic is it?? as there were some models with points?? ossaServiceBulletins2(1).pdf

3.5 mm seems too much advance!! I would set at 2mm. would be better if you could strobe it to check whats happening??? mark flywheel with paint at TDC, THEN ROTATE FLYWHEEL CLOCKWISE UNTIL PISTON HAS DROPPED 2MM DOWN THE BORE AND MARK AGAIN, you need a car type strobe that has a 12volt battery hooked up, and at tickover your second set of marks should line up. for the TDC gauge you could use a piece off wooden dowel, mark it off level with a fin at TDC then mark 2mm above and do as above, if you're man is old school like me he would of done this many times.. ;-]

you can sometimes get water included with your fuel at pumps [at no extra charge???] it only takes one drip to foul your jet, so unfortunately its a strip and blow out, or you could try the lazy way and apply an airline at the fuel pipe which does the job sometimes? NOT familiar with the evo so if its got a fuel pump do not use airline!! this is a common occurrence due to condensation in station pumps, and most times it is mopeds that suffer worst as they have even smaller jets and its the mechanics nightmare.On my bike I use a good fuel filter and orientate it so fuel goes in at the low point and out at the high point, its useful to have a clearish plastic filter as you could check occasionally and drain if necessary, note as an example air compressors have the same problem with condensation in the air and can be a nightmare if you're spraying and water comes through with the paint.. As you can see there is a few nightmares in my notes!! but it is close to Halloween ??? hope this sorts you out..P.S.ALWAYS CARRY TOOLS NEEDED FOR THIS JOB TO MEETINGS AS YOU DON'T WANT TO TRAVEL MILES AND FIND THIS PROBLEM AT TRIAL OR PRACTICE GROUND?? BET YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND SOME ONE IN THE PADDOCK WITH TOOLS,,BECAUSE THEY'VE GOT THE T-SHIRT ;-]

Just a note as nobodies told you NOT to over-do it, If you go too far engine will run hotter, and also there's a possibility of the engine kicking into reverse if you go beyond TDC. Do yourself a favour and learn/read something on how engines work. I would recommend phil irving-tuning for speed, its available for 2strokes and 4 strokes or really anything that get's you to understand the basic's. Remember the saying is a little knowledge can be dangerous. Whether you're using a motor for trials or racing if you know how they operate you can adopt it to your needs. ie carburation,compression,exhausts,timing,camshaft's or porting, it can all be worked on and when you understand it will make you better at many other things.