jon v8

It has been bothering me for a while that my insurance bloke suggested that I ought to take out a separate policy for my,(and my kids) bikes for fire and theft.Can anyone suggest a company who understand and any idea of cost etc.If this has been done to death before please shout at me,but ins companies seem to load policies at will for odd reasons so I thought a fresh request may be in order. Cheers Jon.

Have to agree with Tony,a couple of years back when I was after starting trials again I looked for a decent Bultaco as its about the only make I'd never owned.Got fed up with looking and bought a Ty - it has the SM footrests and Tank/seat/exhaust.Excellent bit of kit,steers beautifully and is totally reliable.The bike is more capable than me in twinshock events,and JK Hirst's seem able to supply just about all you need.(I bought the bike with a totally shot motor with the intention of doing a full build so I knew what I had to rely on - it works)

Thanks John - I'd love to ! Senior management suggested I post up all the functions / dates for 08 over the w/e. There is so much to do I dont think I'll make it out of the South West this year.(Apart from a scratch around the South of France in August with 'er and the kids in early August.)

Some very smart looking bikes there,could someone please explain a bit more about the 4 stroke Motobecane ? Besides being very smart I wondered if it was ever built as a trials bike or have people / small companies built their own. It looks like a really good bit of kit.

There was me thinking about buying and building a cub to ride,with 3 twinshock Ty's in the workshop already - and you have to go and mention Mr Mawlems Maj'es. Rub salt in it will you !! The truth is that going to the Malvern show just stirs up all the thoughts as to what you could or should do.Mine all come back to a thought I've had churning around for years - to collect enough bikes of all types to open a trials museum.Ok there are a few around in museums that are more general collections,but not a dedicated trials one.Or there are private collections such as one I was lucky to look around last week.Now people travel so much - even just in Europe surely there would be enough interest to keep one going ? Being very cynical tho,having looked around the hangers at Wroughton nr Swindon at the overflow exhibits that the science museum has that they dont seem to be able to get on permanent display I guess we dont have a chance.

There is an easy solution - buy both ! They are not alot of money to buy and are unlikely to lose any.Compared to most things we buy today,twinshock trials bikes are a much better bet.(Even if its only in terms of personal enjoyment)

Well I have 5 TY's now - how many do I need,not that I have anything against the French should I keep going ?

Really good day out,picked up lots of useful bits,saw lots of really smart bikes - magic ! Anyone notice how many French speaking visitors were there ? Looks like the whole scene is on the up,with some very nice frames,engine parts etc on offer.My collection is growing - by the end of next week there should be a Ty250R in the workshop to go with the other Ty's - more stocK ! Looking forward to next year.

Keep the TLR !! Twinshock is so friendly,good fun,almost zero cost and less danger of hurting yourself.Depreciation is a killer in almost any purchase you make today,by keeping and using your TLR parts will continue to be made or remade so others can enjoy them too.

Sorry Andy,should have made it more clear.When its revving without opening the throttle you can feel that the twistgrip is pulling the slide up from its fully closed position because of the strength of the heavy spring I fitted to test it.Hence looking for air getting in elsewhere - I didnt mean that the extra air was lifting the slide,just that the engine wouldnt shut down. JK Hirst list both genuine and pattern pistons,and when I built my TY250 twinshock last year I was disappointed how noisey the top end was.I could only get a pattern piston for it and it was VERY carefully put together.If there is any doubt I'd rather spend the extra and enjoy a decent,longlasting motor.Not that I blame Hirst's at all - they are very good,really helpful.

Had the cold start jet apart,all OK.So I took off the flywheel cover - the mains are shot,Bu---er ! I reckon thats where the air must be coming in from.Thats the only trouble with buying a bike just from photos,but in a way I dont mind because I can strip it,go right through it and it should last ages.So does anyone have any preferences on OE or pattern piston kits ?

Thanks for the replies,I'll hopefully get a chance to look at it this weekend - does seem a strange fault,I did blow out the pilot and mainjet with the airline,but I ignored the cold start jet and plunger because it felt so much like the slide sticking.Trouble is I am limited with time,and as you all know when an issue goes past all the obvious simple things you need to sit down and think about it,then look more closely.I'll post what I find.

Happy new year to you all,hope its a good one ! Having a couple of issues with my sons "new" Ty80, the main one being that it feels like the throttle is sticking open after reasonably large throttle openings when the engine gets up to temp.I've proved that the throttle isnt actually sticking.It has a brand new,freshly oiled venhill cable and I fitted a really strong return spring as an experiment.When the engine carries on revving you can close the throttle completely then when you start to open it again you can feel it pulling the slide open right from the bottom.This leads me to think it must be pulling in air elsewhere,perhaps around the reed block,main seals etc.Anyone seen this before ? It is also has more top end noise than I'd like and I wondered if anyone has any opinions on the quality of the aftermarket piston kits or should I spend the extra and go genuine.Cheers Jon.

The yam mono mayhave gone on a long time,but for all but the best riders it was plenty.The best thing about it was the way you couldnt break it,I had Fantic,Honda and Beta and they all went wrong,the very secondhand TY250R I had in 1988 just kept going,and going,and going.When I get to be 50 I'll have another one to replace my TY250 twinshock - which just keeps going. Worst of all were the Honda's,a brand new TLR 250 in 1986,and a s/h RTL 250 in 1990. I so wanted those to work for me,beautiful looking,sounded gorgeous - but I couldnt ride either,mind you I'd have both of them back again !

I recently paid

For me the whole spirit of trials is competing against your own mind - using a bike that bends the rules is only cheating yourself.Plus it is not in the spirit of the class you entered.I'm going the other way - from a really nice TY250 twinshock to a 1968 247 Cota,to see if I can improve my riding ability to get as good results. When I started trials back in 1985 it always worried me about how good other riders appeared before the start of a trial with their smart kit/bike.Then more often than not you saw them dabbing through a section just as badly as me. Truth is I've seen stuff done on a scruffy TY 175 that made modern mono's look silly,its our riding ability that matters. I just love all the bikes anyway !

Thanks Woody and Samb, interesting stuff.I measured my modded bike against the standard one and it is about an inch back and down.Bit difficult to tell accurately - they are both bent ! Think I'll do some more research into the detail differences of the Majesty before I start cutting it around,I'll try to get some good close up photos and make some notes - getting it right is much more important than time.

If you can wait till tomorrow night I'll measure the difference as I have a standard Ty as well as the modded one I ride.What I'd like to know is all the exact differences between a Majesty frame,(early type) and the standard one.(I'd like to build my own out of the spare bike)

Thank you for that - excellent link,everthing I needed to know.I owe you a pint for that !

I thought it would be good to register the 1968/9 247 Cota I bought recently into my name,so I sent off a completed form and

My ty250 rattles more than i would like,I just cut up 12mm lengths of 6mm bore fuel hose and pushed them into the fins in a semi neat line,works a treat.

Fancy doing another one ?

I cant imagine they looked as good as that new either,if my 68 Montesa 247 looks 1/2 as good as that I'll be chuffed.

Great stuff,cheers ! Reminds me of how irritating P.Purves was.

Are the Betor shocks as sold by Sammy Miller etc,rebuildable ? Reason I ask is that today when loading my TY up after the Bath trial today I noticed oil leaking out of the right shock.Seeing as they have only done about 10 outings and I rarely practice, I'm not really impressed.If they cant be rebuilt then I'll get something else.