jon v8

Once again Woody hits the nail squarely on the head - I had both back in the day,and found the Yam,(Ty250R) to be a far better bike.But the Honda RTL looked and sounded light years ahead of anything else.Living in the South West I was in the right place to see the master of the RTL on many ocassions - Steve Saunders,pure magic to watch.But now I think it was much more him than the bike,he could have made a TL125 do the same.

Dont get too hung up about what is correct or eliglible,just build a bike you feel happy with riding - then get on and ride the bloody thing.Enter it in the specials class or ride for no award,most people just need the experience of competition - not hassle about having the wrong carb or hubs etc.Build your ability,enjoy the trial and be happy about using something you have built up rather than just handing over a credit card for a modern Gas Gas.

They do help,and yes are in a better position.The only problem with them is that they are too weak,mine kept on bending until I welded a brace at 90 degrees down their front edge.This stopped the bending,but you obviously lose the plated finish and will need to paint them.

Be worth a call anyway - they do make rims from scratch.

Woody is right,use the ordinary plug.The Platinum plugs use a wider gap and require a much higher voltage to fire them - which puts a greater strain on the ignition system to reliably make the spark jump the gap.The smaller gap of the ordinary plug keeps the peak HT voltage down.I have studied this quite a bit by using an oscilliscope to monitor secondary HT waveforms,(Mostly on LPG fuelled V8's in Range Rovers) by keeping the peak voltage down with ordinary plugs the leads and coils last longer.The emissions also stay right down which means a more complete burn in the combustion chamber - which is what we all want even if we dont have to pass an emission test.

Might be worth having a chat with these people; http://www.devonrimcompany.com/index.php?route=common/home

That was a fantastic day out,a marvel of organisation and route marking.Golden Valley scenery at its best.... Bloomin cold,never took me gloves off all day ! Thanks to Masterchef,(Wallo) for the bacon butties at the start. I can highly recommend the March Hare as a trial for people who enjoy the countryside and riding sections in places where you would never normally get the chance to see,let alone ride.

Yep,I'll be wobbling round on my Ajay,all cleaned up with fresh oil - I've even cleaned the carb out,fitted a new horn and speedo ! Major expense.... Also hoping for warmer weather. Nearly gave up on it earlier in the week,the carbon brush fell in half when I took the pickup out of the mag,I then dropped a stainless steel screw into the gearbox when changing the oil.Finally dropped one of the nuts off the carb and couldnt find it..... Be so much easier to just fill my Yam up with petrol and ride that.

And I have to add that a Ty250 will grip better than most,will also steer well too.Extremely reliable and easy for parts.A very soft motor that will help rather than hinder most riders.

I also run Domino levers and Venhill cables on my TY250,but as David says if they are in good condition they are a very good clutch.I have lengthened the operating arm by about 15mm on mine and have fitted an angled cable seat to make the cable pull in line.This works very well and apart from a little freeing off when cold its perfect.I use Land Rover MTF94 oil in the gearbox,(I run a land Rover garage....) which keeps the box clean and does not change its properties when hot.

Thank you for the pics David - a great effort,its a wonder you camera didnt freeze up ! A good trial,first time out on my HT5 for nearly a year,forgot how little ground clearance it has.... I'd also like to thank the Somerton team for marking out and running a trial in such cold weather,I have never been so cold at Binegar quarry.

That is simply vandalism,I wonder if they have any respect at all for the countryside - somehow I doubt it.....

Thank you - but I wouldnt say its special - special needs perhaps ! It was just an idea I had and the parts came along for me to do it for very little cost.The electric start is nice,but it does add weight,and my particular engine does not have a kickstart.Sorting out the wiring was a bit of a game as I couldnt find a diagram to match the donor Serow.I wonder if a production 4T Yam would have looked anything like it if they had done it.I think they would have sold some,just as an alternative to Honda - which I for one didnt really get on with.(I had both TLR and RTL 250's) There isnt that much left to do,there are a couple of glaring faults I've made,but nothing too bad.I need to make up a bash plate and sort out the area behind the air filter/battery.Then its a strip down to paint the frame etc.I'm going to use it for marking out our Bath Classic trials and maybe do the odd Golden Valley or Somerton Classic trial on it.Not much though,I get so much stick if I dont ride a pre unit big banger its easier to just leave the twinshock bikes at home.... PS, Tony 27, I think the answer may be that the Scorpa's do have a bit of a gap,on sunday a mate is coming along with his Scorpa 125 so I'll bag a go on that,see what its like.

Jump started the XTY225 today and had a thrash round on it,The battery was low and unfortunately it doesnt have a kickstart.Feels very small and quick steering after the HT5 and my rigid AJS. The engine is a real treat,virtually impossible to stall and has a good deal more poke than any TLR200 or 250 I have ever ridden.(I had a brand new TLR250 in Feb 86,it was a big disappointment,both in riding and reliabilty) Its only problem is the wide gap between first and second gear,which I would like to change.I've asked around if anyone knows what other Yam singles might have suitable cogs that would fit - nobody seems to know.Anyway I took a couple of pics while I was playing,I left the engine running all the time as I didnt want to end up pushing it.

Its a TY175 rolling chassis with an XT 225 Serow engine squeezed in. It came about because I always wondered what would have happened if Yamaha had decided to do a 4t trials Bike.I had the TY in boxes of bits,the Serow came along as payment from a garage that refused to pay me.... A while later I bit the bullet and got on with it.Trouble is I never finished it,the pre unit big bangers have really taken up my time now so its down the list a bit in projects to finish.Shame really as its almost there,runs and rides nicely apart from an undesireable gap between first and second gears.I dont have any recent pics of it,I'll take some tomorrow and post a couple on here.

Yes if you just want to spend alot of money,if you want a decent trials bike a 200 Fantic or TY175 is a far better bet.Granted the Honda's look and sound nice,but without alot of work /cost they are not in the same parish.

Just looked at the NJB website,the trials page shows two types of shock - clubman and expert.Clubman has the rod at the top,expert at the bottom. Buy a rigid - you dont get problems like this....

I have mixed feelings about the no Mot rule,in one way it saves me money and hassle of getting bikes into town to get tested.The other side is that it ensures that Terry points out what is wrong with my old bangers and makes me put it right..... I have a feeling there are going to be plenty of old cars/bikes dragged out with perished tyres and duff brakes/steering etc.Not a good recipe really.

I have a tax disc ! Went to the post office armed with the V112 form filled out - what a waste of time it is.... They dont even keep it or scan it etc,its just a signed declaration that the bike is due a disc without an Mot. Whatever.... Ken - dont get me started on potholes,some around here would take dabs off trials riders they are that deep.And dont hold you breath that the RFL helps with road repairs,someone said only 4% of it goes towards the roads.

For anyone with a pre 60 registered or manufactured bike/vehicle. I tried to tax my AJS today and the computer said no - Mot not on record,it runs out on the 20th of Feb.(One side of the form says Mot required,the other side says from the 20th of Nov 2012 its not needed) The new tax disc is from the 1st of march.Tried local post office and online,the helpful lady gave me a number to call.Some time and many options later I got hold of the chap that actually knows - you need a form V112 available here; http://www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@motor/documents/digitalasset/dg_065277.pdf This will allow the post office to let you get your free disc.I hope,anyway as I didnt have time to get back to the village to try today...

I can help a little here,Sandifords dealt with the northern half of the country and another company did the south.I dont know who they were,but they are no longer trading.Sandifords are very helpful and will provide the info for a small fee if it was a bike they supplied. Mine wasnt.... So I will be relying on the VMCC to help me re register mine,I have the original number plate and have been to the local records office where I found the details and took photo's of the pages.The VMCC dont have a Montesa specialist,so I dont know how that will work. I must get on with it,its all very well having these projects,but no good if they never get done.

We went up on saturday,our discussion on the way home was not too favourable,there seemed alot less overall - esp autojumble.The jumble that was there seemed to be mostly 80's motocross stuff that was junk. Some nice bikes on the stands,lots of people to catch up with and natter.I did buy a tank/seat unit for one of my Cota's for £20 and also a copy of the story of Honda trials for a very small sum... We talked about not going next year,but like sheep we probably will.

If it runs OK,as said I would leave it be,but maybe measure the height and note it down for future reference.If you later change something else and have problems it might become clear why it was set like that.Dont know about you but my memory gets worse as the years go by...

I think mine is on 11/42 on a 520 chain,no half link.Cant check till sunday cos it lives at work and I'm going to Telford tomorrow to spend money on bikes......

I was joking ! I'm often "with wine" when I'm on here.... Very nice looking bike.Mine is still in bits,and I must confess I've yet to get onto the VMCC to try to get the number back,I always seem so busy,my P65 bikes have sort of taken over and soon I'll have to get back into trials sec mode and organise our events for 2013.The chain tensioner is a good addition according to everything I've read about early Monts,not hard to do either I guess.One of the few mods I intend doing on mine,its so original I think it would be a shame to alter it too much. Lucky bloke having a Colchester Student - I did my apprenticeship time on one and last year I bought an almost unused one with lots of extras.Paid a fair sum for it,but what a nice bit of kit to have...... Just need more time in the workshop with no interruptions.