jon v8

Andy - you spend too much time in your shed...

As Steve_E says - BVM, I've been buying stuff off them since the mid 80's - nobody does a postal service as quick as them.It has made the difference of being able to ride or not,plus I've never had an incorrect part from them.Not interested in the cheapest price,when the service is that good. JK Hirst have also been very helpful and provided excellent service for TY parts since about 2006 to me,again quick service and always the right parts.

Thanks Owen, I'll give em a bell.

Martin,is your PM box full ?

Realise that - I was hoping for a recommendation for an actual company that do good job etc.

As above,the seat on my AJS has a big hole in the cover.No idea where it came from originally or what it was intended for,but its just the right size/shape and its comfy on the road.I just want to tidy it up a bit. So who do I go to ?

I've got one in a box somewhere.... Was going to use it on my Serow/TY project,but didnt need it.From memory its perforated and is not straight through like an expansion box.I'll try to find it and take a photo.

Na,my latest bike has drums,tubes and NO rear shocks ! Rigid - its the way forward.

Crank seals ?

Shame you didnt get there it was a good ride round - if a little wet at times..... Glad the Bantam is sorted,catch up at the next GV trial ?

Thanks Andy - that the first time I burst out laughing all day - if only you knew ! Bloody land Rovers,well the newer ones that is....Did you ride the Bonanza ?

Bit of an old thread,but I would have said the same then - IRC all the way,thats if you want some grip...

Steady up Andy - I've nearly finished that Majesty jig !

Blimey ! That is a bit rich.... The TY175 I bought in bits about 4 yrs ago cost me £200 - I thought that was dear,and it was a whole bike with many spares and bits still in Yamaha wrapping.(NOS front forks being just one of them)

You have a PM.

7 and 7 - but thats on a rigid.

Finally got round to taking a couple of pics of my latest Cota.... I intend to use its engine in my original 247 as this one is up and running well.OK it wont be the original in the bike,but it will massively speed up getting a big hub Cota back into use.(We are talking months here,cos its still 4 projects down the line....)

Well,I've been busy in the workshop today at last..... I really need to get the Majesty frame back to its owner.I've finished the jig and half converted a frame.I think I have finally got to the bottom of all the subtle changes that were made.The tube seems to weld quite nicely - better than some early Japanese stuff I've done before.More pictures here; https://picasaweb.go...V8/MajestyFrame

Mick Ash is the man for the wide ratio Burman gears,I have a set on order at the moment.He is waiting for a batch to be finished,apparently the bloke who makes them is waiting for new machinery to be installed to finish them.It would be worth contacting Mick to see if he can help with your specific needs.

Excellent !

I wondered how long it would be before someone mentioned the Stoichiometric angle - The truth is its a complete waste of time for a trials bike,as the engines are virtually never used when it would be good to run at 14.7/1 air/fuel. Its only good for idle and cruise conditions.Clean pickup and mid range pull are much more useful where the ratio would be better back towards 12.5/1. I wonder if the top teams use wideband sensors to tune with ? I guess HRC would with the efi 4RT motors,but I wonder about the two stroke motors from GG and Beta etc.

Another angle is to look for secondhand stuff,over the years I have bought loads of it.Favourite place to look is on stalls run by the charity "Tools for self reliance" as all their stock is donated - some really good quality stuff on offer.I dont just do the boot sale stuff though,cant bear the thought of buying nicked items. I have loads of Snap on stuff too,some of it is very good,way better when you really need it to work hard - but in recent years some of it has dropped off in quality,so paying the extra is hard to justify. You cant have too many tools though.... (Bit like bikes really)

Sorry,I think people get too hung up on oils - I run a Land Rover garage as an independant and I'm a member of a small LR only trade forum.One of the members recently started a thread about 5w/30 diesel oils - he currently stocks 5 different types just for current LR engines...Crazy really,but he insists on having the exact spec. All my 2 stroke stuff will continue to run at 50-1 on Castrol TTS cos its working well,no coking up,no excess wear etc.The TY250 was rebuilt with in 2006 with a piston I wasnt too happy with,(It rattles too much for my liking)but is no worse now than it was when built.That bike has done alot of hard work since.About about a year ago I looked up the exhaust port - all good,just light marking on the piston,bore was good. So as far as I'm concerned its not broken,ANY of the current oils ought to be better than when that bike was built in 78. My time is better spent on keeping Lucas racing magneto's in good order....

I may be completely wrong,but I use the same 50-1 mix in my Ty's,my Stihl chainsaws and my Homelite strimmer.ALL are old,all run well and they are all lasting longer than I would have expected.The oil is Castrol TTS - just cos its easy to get at a shop in the next village,no other reason. The Ty's and the strimmer dont work too hard,but the chainsaws - 2 x 028 and an 048 get thrashed. Its not broken,I'm not going to fix it.

Andy,did you get there with the Bantam ? I had a great time on the road trial,not seen any results yet though.