jon v8

Crank seals leaking ?

This is going to sound terrible... Back in the day,(1988) I had a well used Ty250R which ran badly and ate spark plugs.I got so fed up with it that one weekend I attacked the main jet with a mig welder nozzle cleaner,which is essentially a tiny round file.It took 2 or 3 attempts but I gradually opened up the jet until the bike ran perfectly. Good motor once you get them to run right,it was because I was servicing loads of V8 Range Rovers that I didn't complain about the cost of spark plugs it was using.Once I got the fuelling right on the main jet,one V8 plug would last for ages...

Well I think we succeeded, 51 riders joined us in the sunshine and had a ride around. We made £510 for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Thank you to all who came along and observed,helped and rode. Especially Nicky and Stevo. The pic shows 5 of the 8 rigid entries we had,the oldest being Pete Lecoq's 1937 Triumph on girder forks

Brian, I think we just have to do what we can to keep it all going - whatever that is ! I've started a trials club where all of the old bikes - and more importantly riders will be made welcome.I've always been interested in anything to do with machines of most types,from steam onwards.Last weekend I attended the village day on my late grandfather's 1941 Standard Fordson,it would have been so much easier to have taken a 1972 David Brown with electric start.The Fordson was only of two handstart tractors there,the rest were 60's and 70's stuff.Glad I made the effort ! DJR - I think the reason CCM's are so highly prized is for two reasons,firstly they look and sound absolutely fantastic.And secondly they are what many people wished had won all the championships despite the 2stroke invasion. The very same thing happened to me,in 1986 I bought a new TLR250 Honda,at the time they were pretty hopeless,and mine just kept on falling apart.It was so much easier and successful on the Yamaha TY250R that I replaced it with.Despite being horrible to look at and sounded awful.(Compared to the Honda)

I was lucky enough to be offered a ride on a full on DBD34 Clubmans spec Goldie a couple of months back.An evening ride out to the owners club meet,the owner came along on his Rocket Gold Star replica. About 20 Goldies there, I think your estimate is a minimum,18 to 20 is probably closer. Funny old thing,I wonder how long they will hold their value,folk that know them and can look after them are mostly 70+ in years.I'm only 52 and only know one real enthusiast younger than me. Really enjoyed the ride - once I got used to revving it to 5000 before changing gear !

Have another go,seems to be working from down here !

Its now just over a week until the first trial of our new new club. For all Pre65 and twinshock bikes only,no moderns or air cooled mono's.The event will be at Ayford farm near Marshfield. There is even a website ! https://joncvsv8.wixsite.com/ashwicke Its a great venue with loads of scope and its also a good ride are in beautiful scenery. More details will be added in the coming days, including how to get there etc.Please come along and support us,we are raising money this time for the Wiltshire air ambulance,all the proceedings from the trial will go to them.The club itself will have no funds.

http://www.aspenfuel.co.uk/

You have been on that cheap vino again... Tut, tut. I'll have a word with Nina, make sure the keys to the booze cupboard are hidden from you.

I've been using TY250 twinshocks for the last 11 years, only fitted one set of new points in that time that I can remember.They are the one bike I've had that I wouldn't bother to fit electronic ignition on,the points setup is fine. Just fitted Electrex world to my son's road going D14/4 Bantam and it has completely transformed it,how it starts,runs and pulls. My C15 and my AJS both run modern systems for the obvious benefits, but the TY250, nah - wouldn't bother.

That's not looking good, I hope the Greensmith goes ahead,I rode it for the first time last year and really enjoyed it. Be nice to ride it on my BSA if its back together in time...

ANY farms already in "Stewardship" at any of the current levels cannot host any kind of motorsport.The farm along the valley from me which used to have trials and scrambles was even told it would have to repay its stewardship payments if the farmers grandsons didn't stop using the land for practice. The farm next to it would love to host a trial,but the only way they can make it pay is to keep it in higher level stewardship - no trial. I've been banging on about this for years,the AMCA and ACU appear to say very little about it. Defra rules could easily put an end to our sport,then we would end up like Germany - am I right in thinking there are only about 6 venues there,all owned by clubs ?

There is no simple answer to this,I think there are riders who would like a go,but... There are so many things pulling on peoples lives now,family and work pressure etc. I probably won't be able to ride as much in the near future because of my close family,I need to be at home. The other thing is the classes are a mess,I can't think why they did what they did,but it hasn't helped. I also think that there just aren't enough good riders who want to ride old bikes,some of the sections now are just too much for many riders who own pre unit or rigid bikes. I like a challenge,but I also need to go to work the next day,so even if I defected to a Fantic there would still be sections to worry about. I guess all good things come to an end, it will be a shame if single lap road trials finish,I would encourage any rider to try them,in general they are way better than a single venue event.

Nah, it was plenty warm enough,I stupidly wore a coat. It was a long day,I was knackered by the last section and kept getting cramp in my fingers.Shame as it cost me a 5 on the last section,doubling my score. Steve Allen,(Dursley Dabber) had a cracking ride on his Enfield,a single dab .

I had the results by Email from Gerry and Fredina Minshall. It wasn't part of the ACU Classic series this year,it was just run as a road based trial on its own. Excellent event as always,but I think I was the only rigid rider to finish.

Several years ago I was looking at bike trailers,plenty of different ones on offer it seemed. The trouble is they are just that - bike trailers,no good for anything else.I ended up buying an Ifor Williams P7, yes it cost more than a bike trailer,but its also 100 times more useful,plus it offers a little bit of protection to the bike,whereas bike trailers offer little if any. I did consider having a canvas tarp roof made to give complete protection from the weather/salt in winter etc.(Plus I could sleep in it) I dont need to now as I've bought a T4 van,but the P7 will carry on doing its firewood duties and carrying any other cr-p I need moving.

I bent a cheap clutch lever on my old nail TY250 at the last trial. Wasn't much of a crash by my standards... But, in the last 10 years at least I've never bent or broken a Domino lever,all my other bikes have them.I don't think there are any more comfy or easy to use levers available. Father Christmas may need to bring some for the Yam.

Round discs,not drilled or wavy.Trials bikes don't go fast enough to benefit from drilled/slotted or wavy discs. Let the pads wipe a flat surface clear and do the braking,anything else will allow mud or stones to be trapped and cause early wear. So pads and discs will wear quicker therefore cost more.To a trials rider this is clearly bad,ALL braking components should last at least 10 years...

Just needs a dozer blade on the front.

Companies like Villiers Services or Saftek will fit thicker lining material to bare shoes if you request it over the standard lining thickness.

I have mounted the shoes up on the brake plate as already suggested,but rather than packing the shoes out I use a cable tie hooked onto the brake arm back to the torque arm bolt.This way I can adjust pretty much exactly how far I want the cam to turn to get the right O/D Works well, abut 250 rpm and a sharp tool,very light feed.

Cheers, it looks like I could make a mess of either of those ! Seriously they both look good and contain all the info I would need to get across. Another task to wade through,but hopefully be worth it !

I'm in the process of starting a new club, Ashwicke Classic Trials Club. I'd like to set up a basic website to run club news and results etc,as not everyone is happy with Facebook or Twitter etc. So my question is, has anyone on here done a similar thing ? I'm not brilliant at computer stuff so don't want anything fancy,also the club will have no money, after each event all the proceeds will go to a charity chosen by the landowner. So cheap is good. The first event will be on the 28th of August at Ayford farm near Marshfield, aimed mainly at Pre65's and Twinshocks. No classes for mono's or aircooled mono's.

That Italjet is not very common,you are right its not Honda / Yam powered its their own. I don't think the spares situation would be very good here.Shame really,they are a nice looking bike, would have liked one myself... Someone on here will know all about them I'm sure. Good luck,it will make a good project.

My son has just bought a bike where the V5 and sorn form were sent off together,DVLA saying its not registered in his name,why is he applying for sorn ? I've recently bought and sorned a car for my daughter,sent off V5 and sorn form in the same envelope,new V5 came back,still showing as untaxed on DVLA website. Opened a case with them,waiting to hear back. Normally I've had really good service,I recently registered an old Chevy pickup and got logbook and number back in less than a week,all good. Different people ,different office ?