jon v8

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.

Cheers for that Woody,I've done a bit more looking on Google and found a website that shows pics of the individual model years of Cotas.The one I am getting loos more like the 1968 model as it has the large diameter brake drums - much bigger than the 1970 version.There is no pic for 1969 model so I guess I'll keep looking.The bike has an H reg number plate but that is no guarantee of the year it was built really.Thanks again.

Having bought a Ty 175 earlier in the week I have now bought an old H reg Mont,it looks exactly like the one on p70 of vol 2 of 20yrs of twinshock trials - with Dave Rowland riding it. Its in a bit of a state,having been left out in the rain for a while,but its complete apart from an air filter and a few little bits.The engine wont turn over,but I'm not worried about rebuilding the engine except for knowing the best place to get bits from and are they easily available? What are they like to ride,will I like it compared to my TY250 twinshock ? Is the gearbox a 4 or 5 speed ? Sorry to be asking questions yet again but there is so little written about trials bikes and yet so much knowledge on this forum its nice to be able to use it.

Thanks for that,I didnt realise that the 200 /175 Majesty used the same basic frame as the 250/320.And that the mini Majesty was indeed smaller,in that case there is not much point in me doing a 200 Majesty for myself as the spare 250 I have would be easier to make up into a new bike with one of Mr Mawlems frames.I'll probably leave the 175 under the bench for a few years till my son will need it.When I get a chance to try Mr Mawlems bike,then I'll make a decision as to wether its too good to not do it.

Please have a look at my questions in the Yamaha section,re TY verses Majesty frames,really appreciate any views. (Box of bits post)

A TY175 in bits was delivered today,what do I do with it ? Firstly I was really taken with that lovely 200 Majesty at the Classic dirt bike show at Malvern.How much better is the Majesty frame than the standard one ? As the bike I have just bought is totally stripped,(down to hubs and spokes !) I can go in any direction when I build it.Who does the 200 big bore conversion and is it worth it ? I spoke to Craig Mawlem at the last Bath classic trial re one of his frame kits to do my other 250,same again I wonder how much better they are than the standard one,I really like my standard one - cant believe how well it steers and grips,sorry to dribble on but I have yet to ride a Majesty,Mr Mawlem kindly offered me a ride on his which I hope to do at the next oppertunity,but other opinions would be a great help.

I bought my son an immaculate PW for Christmas - great fun,for him and me ! Yes thats how the switch works and it starts without pulling the back brake,but the switch has to be in the start position or it wont go.

Might be worth checking the valve clearances too,at idle a tight tappet would cause poor idle.

Ever seen that tee shirt,"scene,not herd" ? Thing is I dont want to be involved in F1 or football,I enjoy trials for more than one reason.One of them is that the countyside is not full of people,and trials tend to be held in beautiful,unspoilt areas.I say keep quiet and enjoy it ! Btw I also have a great deal of respect for the Lampkin family and Sammy Miller - for their skills,I'd rather they did not need to get involved in media issues.

My TY has bolt on lowered footrests,they were on it when I bought it,so I dont know for sure where they came from.They look very much like the ones Sammy Miller has for sale in his online shop for

Pete, I should have offered to double your money on that book ! I'll find a copy one day,and maybe get my old Fraser back.SHM kindly signed my "Clean to the Finish" for me,would have liked to place an order for a B40 with him,wife would go mad.Esp after I went home muttering about that lovely 350 CCM !! (had I had the

The price I heard discussed between the owner and an interested buyer today at Malvern for that Ccm was

Thanks for the quick response,thats just what I was after,I knew you guys would know ! I'll try getting hold of Yamaha UK first and see what they say. Thanks again, Jon.

I paid

Cos it has been such a grot day and too wet to do firewood,I got a pass out - spent the afternoon building up my second ty250 twinshock.Now I dont need a second bike the same but was fed up with shuffling boxes of bits around the workshop floor.Cant make up my mind wether to go ahead with the XT225 electric start conversion or to just flog it.Really like the idea of a proper four stroke Yam - plus I get a complete spare 250 motor for my other bike. Anyway my question is,the bike has no log book but the frame/engine numbers are clearly visible.Is it possible to get an age related plate for it,as I read a while ago that the frame numbers cant actually indicate the build year - resulting in a "Q" plate.This leads on to my next question,if the numbers can tell the year,my other TY has a Q plate,is it possible to get them changed to age related - I hate Q plates from years ago when I started on a 250 Beamish,a plod friend of mine kept on about it being dodgy.It wasnt as I knew the previous keeper who had fought through the process of registering it and had all the paperwork. I know there are DVLA websites that are supposed to answer questions like these,but they never seem to answer my exact question.

I've got one of the SM exhausts on my 250,fit is fine and the chrome seems ok.When I took it apart to rebuild the engine tho,I wasnt too impressed when I looked inside - looked like something I would have made when I was 15.Overlapped joints that should have been trimmed off,cant say wether it has any effect on running - seems fine. Dont think I would have been too happy had it arrived in the post like it,I have decided to Tig up a stainless header for my xt225 engined TY when I get around to building it,its so easy to get almost a seamless bore and no rust worries.

Just given the PW50 Yam I've got for the kids a final polish,what would I have given for a bike like that at the age of 8 in 1973 ? I pleaded with my parents for a "proper" trials bike - dont think they could afford it.Trouble was my best mate had a brand new Montesa 25c and he didnt really appreciate it,I ended up with a Honda step thru then a 150 Bantam.Ah well,cant wait till Christmas morning - maybe the kids have bought me a new 4T Mont ! Merry Christmas everyone !

Back in 1986 when I had a new TLR250,the hot tip was to fit CB125 clutch plates,just the friction ones and use Silkolene Pro 4 oil.Worked for me,with an extended operating arm the clutch felt like it was servo assisted and was ultra smooth.The oil made a great difference too,I tried Duckhams,ended up draining it after a short practice session,the engine became noisey and the clutch grabbed.

Sorry, but a 525 Katoom is no way the right tool for green laning - esp tight stuff.How to tee off the locals with the noise and flying mud,and lose loads of money in the process.Use it on the track where it was designed for.

Cant say I have,it has always run so well,(apart from the noise) that even after the rebuild I didnt think it needed any adjustments - I'll have a fiddle with it at the W/E and see what happens.

Thanks for that,I dont suppose there is much point in asking you where you got it from,as you are in OZ,but then again I'll be out there in Feb,(WA tho) and i could pick one up then.Havent had much luck in finding a stockist here in the UK.

Bought my twinshock ty250 off Ebay back in the summer,lovely looking bike - shot engine.No problem,I thought - have it apart and do a full rebuild and then I'll have a reliable bike that I can ride for a few years with no worries.Built it up with new mains,seals,big end,rod,small end,bore to +1mm,piston + rings. It rattles,more than I think it should.What I would like to know is are there any special tricks to stopping it rattling.The parts came from Hursts, the barrel was bored to the bottom tolerance and I spent a long time with swiss files on the ports making a good radius on each edge.I built up the crank and straightened it to less than 1/2 thou on both sides. i have put rubber blocks in the fin gaps in 2 rows up each side of the barrel and across the head.The rattle is only at and just above idle - with a few revs on it shuts up and sounds good.I have done 3 trials on it now and it runs beautifully -apart from the rattle.I dont really want to take it apart again,but I will if I have to.It has shown no signs of nipping up,I know they are a rattly old aircooled motor,but others I have listened to have been much quieter.I did the mods to the piston that Hurst's told me to,wondered if anyone is using Wiseco pistons.

I have to admit,when I first rode my ty250 twinshock - I thought "Mm,nice handling,but too high geared and gutless." Wrong - now I've done a couple of trials on it, there is nothing to change on it.It is I think completely in the spirit of twinshock trials,the engine will run down to nothing and slog harder than I thought,it grips,steers and runs beautifully.Makes me realise how bad the 250 Beamish I started on in 1985 was.The ty is pretty much standard apart from the seat/tank unit and exhaust - both Miller items. I'm really chuffed with it,and when I find time to practice on it,I'm looking forward to really getting used to it. What differences were there in the Majesty framed ones? - cant get over how well this one steers,if the Majesty's were any better I want one. The second one I have in bits I am now determined to find an electric start Serrow engine for - two reasons,I'd love it to be 4 stroke and also electric start.(Dont mind the weight penalty) Three,actually - it'd be nice to have a Jap 4 stroke that isnt a Honda,just for a change.(Done the Tlr/Rtl thing already in 86/88)