jon v8

Jon Cull,yes still riding - probably more than I ever did in the 80's. I certainly enjoy it more,riding a 1950 rigid AJS just yesterday,building a new HT5 Ariel from scratch and hopefully a 250 BSA in the pipeline...

Martin, I remember riding with you back in the mid 80's - you were doing well on that 200 Fantic. I don't see why you wouldn't do well on one again. Still taking photo's ?

Flog yer Beta,buy a depreciation free twinshock/p65 and start enjoying yourself,sensible sections and more banter than you could imagine...

Ray and his team put on an excellent Pre65 friendly trial today,nothing silly,just a fun day out. Breakheart is an excellent venue,with the rocky quarry sections,mud,tree roots and steep banks. Well worth a visit...

That was my plan,get there early,tea,bacon roll,banter,wobble round on the Ajay,banter,tea - maybe another bacon roll,go home. Perfect day out...

The other advantage of the decompressor going into the exhaust is that it cant suck dirt into the engine like the ones that go to air can do.

I cant even claim to be any good at that either...

The gun is loaded ! Anyway Ken where did you say you are riding this weekend ? Bloody Lidl ! Thought this was more your style... http://www.fortnumandmason.com/?gclid=COm_7o-YvsICFdQZtAod7DIAaA Didnt see you there on Sunday when I was choosing the Christmas booze...

I spoke to Craig last weekend,the new owner will be up and running soon.Just keep an eye on the website.

I did hear the post office want them all back now,can only be good for the trials world,just need to get rid of all them Villiers things aswell....

I agree that in most cases horsepower is irrelevant,esp with trials bikes.But using tractors is not a good example.Implement manufacturers always give a horsepower requirement for farmers to choose machine sizes.This is because they are usually driven at a known PTO speed and its easy for them to calculate the rate of work required to drive the machine which is what horsepower is - whatever unit it is in DIN,PS etc. Back on topic most modern 125's have enough "Go" to do what 98% of riders need,soft reliable power is of more use to the vast bulk of riders.

A 0% mix of any oil works best. What are you on Ken ?

Again it looks like I'm on my own ! Ah well, I think I can make it work,bit of fiddling around and I'll get there in the end. On the way though I'd like to thank Alan Whitton,John Budgen and especially Mick Ash for their help and absolute top notch service in supplying parts.It really is a pleasure to do business with people who go the extra mile to help out,such a relief to deal with people who are interested in more than just money.

Crank seals ?

For what its worth my last boots were Sidi's - never comfy,leaked like a sieve,but lasted quite well. My current Gaerne oiled boots are the only comfy trials boots I've ever had.They were also waterproof for one year,untill the Dartmoor streams and rivers attacked them... They remain comfy and I think give good protection,the soles are wearing well and a pair of Sealskin socks keep my feet warm and dry.

A couple of people around here have Ossa alloy tanks on their 2012 James/FB's - They look fine, Millers used to sell them,dont know if they still do,I did notice they don't list Ariel HT5 seats anymore when I tried to order one last week.

I think advertising standards might have something to say about the wording of the Yamaha advert...

That picture reminds me of the old ex WD G3 on girders I used to ride on the road,excellent bike,wish I still had it - despite having 4 chains to look after. I find no need to alter advance at all when riding in sections,I might retard it a bit in a tight twisty section,other than that its basically on full advance.It grips so well on the IRC rear tyre its actually pulling the knobs off.It will find any grip that there is, often much better than springers or moderns.Its only big rocks or steps that muck it up.All I need to do is look where I'm going and concentrate on how much throttle to apply. Flywheels taking it on is no problem either,just whip the clutch in - which you have to do now as so many trials are biased towards the 2014 James/FB/Cub riders.Some turns you are forced to clutch around...

I'm now about to start building a shortstroke 500 Ariel.This afternoon I laid out all the bits I've got so far,so I can make a list of what I need.I then started looking at the 350 crank and rod I bought ages ago,it occurred to me how much of the flywheels is cut away compared to the crank in my AJS. I wonder if anyone has compared the weight of a complete shortstroke engine to the original long stroke ? Must be quite a bit lighter with an inch less of barrel aswell. Also wondering if people use the same carb with similar settings ?

Couple of things,firstly you want a good amount of sag with your weight on the bike.Second,you can fit a slipper pad to the top of the swinging arm to allow the chain to run over it without damage. If it were mine I'd have a chat to Robin at Falcon shocks and explain what you have,your weight etc.He is really helpful the advantage of Falcon shocks is that you can screw different length ends on them.He supplied a pair for the back of my HT5,about £130 from memory,they work very well.

A very sharp stanley knife blade to chamfer the plastic coating usually does the trick for me.

Never too old to learn ! I like the solder pot job,have to make one up.Never had a problem making cables,but I can see the point behind it.Me and Ken,(Wallo) were some of the last youngsters to go through the apprentice training workshops at Westinghouse in Chippenham.(Nearly 35 years ago...)So at least I was taught how to solder,braze and flame weld properly.I seem to remember if you got more than about 3 red marks against you for failed or poor workmanship they would chuck you out !

I use a GB2001 from this lot; http://www.butanetorches.com/ Got mine off the Snap On van,excellent bit of kit,good for heatshrinking and lighting the workshop woodburner... Ordinary fluxed solder works fine for me. Enjoy the Perce Simon ? You had gone by the time me and Steve finished.

I find a perished Pirelli on the front works wonders,hard as hell !

It should be nigh on impossible to buy original parts for it,you need full engineering skills and a comprehensive workshop to have any hope of keeping it going.And if its really original the clutch should slip AND drag.Turning circle is measured in acres,ground clearance in thou.A haze of blue smoke trailing for all stinkwheels and Tiger Cubs. And apart from having a definite female temperament,I think that about covers it...