jon v8

Ebay isnt always what it seems, a couple of people I know sell quite a bit of stuff after the auction has finished,having had no bids... Some of the bikes are not what they seem either,a mate has just bought an "immaculate,needs nothing" bike - looked amazing in the pics. The engine is already apart for major work, having not even done a single trial. As with most things I think the only way is to treat each item as an individual case and contact the buyer,go and look - then make up your mind if its worth bidding on. I also think some trade sellers continually advertise high prices, just to drag them up in peoples minds.

An excellent ride around in glorious sunshine,and stunning scenery. Nothing too taxing in the sections,but a long ride. Shame I missed a section and the timed special test,dont know if I just missed a route marker,or if it was one of the walkers removing them...(At least one walker / rambler was spotted moving markers) Whatever I really enjoyed it,reckon Steve Allen must have take the tele-rigid class.

Yep, team AMC will be there, last away at nearly 10am. Need to drag the Ajay out and oil the chain.

Bit early for that Ken - it is a Mossy trial after all... Must say after the Arbuthnot its the next proper trial on my list,darned good ride around and proper bikes !

That looks very tidy and original. I'd just service it and ride - they are a VERY capable little bike...

Cleanliness is the main thing,but a few years back when I was messing around alot with TY250's I tried out a Tig weld on a cut off piece of the magneto cover.A waste of time, I didnt have any rods,but the material just turned into cheesy ball like lumps, it was too old and oxidised to cope with being welded. Around the same time I was asked to weld a crack in a GSXR750 crankcase cover - made of magnesium. It was just a hairline crack,but leaked oil badly.A good cleanup and plenty of back gassing and it welded beautifully,no rods it just healed back together. So my advice is just to try melting it with the Tig,see how it behaves,if its good go for it.If not JB weld is very good,my rat TY250 has a very porus clutch cover sealed from the inside with JB,works a treat.

Whats the history ? A spark somewhere around TDC on the firing stroke ought to make something go bang with a little fuel down the plug hole. A cam and spark timing check is in order. Got very patchy interweb at the mo, at a farm in the Peak district, I think the sheep are chewing the phone lines....

Which motor is it Ken ?

I'd have a go at getting it to run, a couple of months ago I was in the same situation with a 1978 TY250 that I had bought several years ago as a breaker. It has cost me about £150 in parts to get it to a state where I was happy to enter a trial on it. It looks like an absolute dog,but goes and rides very well. I've done a couple of local trials on it and had a great time on it. Each bike that is kept complete and running is another one to share in the twinshock world - and that it will need spares is also good,that keeps all the network of small suppliers in business too.

Since the air cooled TY250 Yams stopped being made,what you are after does not exist.You are only heading for trouble if you cant be bothered to look after your bike. Dairy farmers used the old Yams for getting the cows in for milking after they became old hat in the then current trials world. Cow poo rotted out anything that it could,but they stood up to it well. No recent bike will stand the kind of negligence that they would.

I would say scrap or sell the Gasser, I have only once ridden an Ossa, ( But it was the right one...) The Ossa if set up properly will be far more rewarding.

The main thing is to keep whatever drilling and tapping operations inline with the original hole.Go off centre and you will end up with problems. I use Cross thread inserts which are made very locally to me,excellent product. I also have some Recoil ones which I think were an Aussie product, but I see they are now owned by Alcoa. I'd try to keep to a standard parallel stud if poss, going larger will limit options later on. My first sentence is by far the most important whichever solution you use. Good luck.

I've still got my Apico jacket like the one in the photo,shower proof they were not... Looked very good while riding my brand new TLR250.( Big let down that bike) Looked even better when I replaced it with a TYR.

Its probably the useless fuel we now have,not the fuel tap materials themselves.I've got a leaking tap on my rat TY250 at the moment, hopefully the new seal which is on order will be fine as it will only see Aspen fuel. No Ethanol,no nasties etc. it may have half a chance of working for a while...

Yup, you need the barrel, a 350 crank, an 86/7mm piston and shorter pushrods. I've bought a new, old stock XT500 piston to build mine with, but others use an XT350 piston. You may need a compression plate under the barrel too. Not built mine yet, its going on the back burner for a while because I'm also building a series 2 Land Rover that I need more than the HT5... I have Mick's phone number at work, which I will pm to you, not at at work tomorrow so it will be on tues.

Gii, I have those bearings in a couple of old Cub hubs, what I'm after is the bearing sizes that stuff like B50's and Triumph twins that used the 4 bolts had. I'd not noticed that the shocks are upside down,had a look this morning. Its because they are those horrible Betor's - the LH one wouldnt fit the right way up as it would foul on the brake arm. Not had a chance to have a good look over the bike yet,I only rode it around the yard for 5 mins with the old C15 forks on it,then stripped the front off ready to fit the 4 bolt forks.I'll probably fit some Falcons on it once I get the front end sorted out. Charlie, yes it will be fed Aspen fuel ! (I like the woodburner aroma form it...) Had a quick look on your excellent site while eating me brekkie,but I couldnt see anything about Cub hubs onto 4 bolt forks.

No Andy ! Never ... I should have said Cub hub. The bike is a C15 engine in an OIF Victor type scrambler frame that was apparently modded at the factory for trials use.Its a lovely bit of kit,in good shape,but came to me with C15 forks - too short.Rather than go the 35mm route, I'm trying to keep it sort of period with the 4 bolt forks and the Bantam/Cub hub it came with.Even the wheel spindle was made of titanium. Plan is to get it up and running and use it to ride a few club trials to give my AJS a breather.Also to see if I can find out a bit more about it.

Bit of a long shot really, I'm in the process of making a Bantam from wheel fit into a pair of 4 bolt BSA forks. The spindle diameter is too small for the forks, I was wondering if anyone could tell me the bearing sizes and brake plate nut thread for a spindle that used the 4 bolt forks ?

I think its a wind up, those drawings look like something from the 1930's, look at the length of the conrod for a start.

My rat TY250 is now back in action after a £70 rebuild, with a combination of the best bits I could find in all the boxes around the workshop.It now has a working 5 speed gearbox and a slightly less rattly motor. Just need to sort out the dribbling fuel tap.

No, don't do that Dave, I've got enough competition already - it was only my age that saved the day ! Looking forward to getting the rat bike going again, be nice to experience rear suspension again...

Looking good Dave, I did bring my camera to the Eurocup last Sunday,but the rain would have spoilt the pics. I really like the way its of its age - not blinged up. shame about the dodgy welding on the frame ! Just ordered the bits to put my rat ty250 back together,hopefully have a 5 speed box when its finished...

8psi works well in the back of my AJS, never struggle for grip,(Well, much less than others on bikes with suspension do) check it when I fit a new tyre and leave well alone... The knobs were literally peeling off the last IRC I took off, and the gripping edge had a nice 5/16" radius on it - still gripping well.

That doesn't susprise me Deryk, of the three Jon Bliss was present at this years event.Despite me doing my level best to empty the European wine lake on Friday and Saturday night I still managed to wobble round well enough to upset the Dursley Dabber on Gerry's old Matchy.

Charlie, the Aspen 2t is 50-1, I've been using it in my elderly Stihl chainsaws for a whole season now. It doesn't go off like modern unleaded, (5 year shelf life) or make the fuel pipes go hard etc. But there are two main benefits, firstly the fumes. They just don't give me a headache like chainsawing normally does. (My AJS smells more like a woodburner than a petrol engine.) Secondly in the way they start and run,my old 028 Stihl always took 8-10 pulls to fire up after being left a week.Its now 1st or 2nd pull,no messing.And the little 017 will sit idling for ages then pick up and scream with no stuttering - it has never run like that... My AJS loves the 4t stuff, first kick starting,steam roller idle and low speed running - but again crack the throttle open and it revs very cleanly.(For a 350 long stroke) It comes in a sealed clean can,so the fuel system stays clean,no mucky c-ap from the sludgy tankers and garages. It just seems very willing to combust in a reliable manner. The only thing wrong is how much it costs,I think the retail is about £18 for 5ltrs.(I get a bit of discount) Some people are horrified, but the Ajay used less than 4ltrs for the GV Eurocup over the weekend just gone,which is peanuts compared to how much it often costs to get to and from the trial...