feetupfun

Can get IRC front and rear pretty easy up here in Gladstone through any of the three motorbike shops and sometimes they even keep them in stock. Can get Michelin too but Michelin sometimes takes months to arrive. No idea where to go in Brisbane for trials tyres. Sometimes at big trials in SE Qld, trials bike dealers set up shop and have tyres for sale. I use Michelin fronts and IRC rears Regards David

there are probably lots of free how-to videos on youtube, and there are also training DVDs available for sale. I bought a DVD to learn how to bend and do welded joints in metal tubing (on motorbike frames) and it was quite good

Depends on which type of tubed rim. Some are ok some not. I may be wrong, but from what I've heard, standard TY250R rim is OK with X11 Michelin. Do you know different to this? By the way bird, which Michelin is on the rear now?

Dunlop bead wont stay on the rim below 10psi if you have standard rear rim Pirelli rear has very stiff carcass, stiff compound and smaller gaps between the knobs IRC tube or tubeless is fine Michelin tubeless is fine

there is a Scorpa forum on here - there is more probably chance of getting your answer if you post there

That SWM looks quite non-standard to me. The tank, seat, sidecovers and forks all look odd and at first viewing I thought he was on a mid-1980s Montesa. Is that what the last of the SWMs really looked like? Gilles does still ride very well

good video Zippy and it's good to know that Biff's footwear has a sensible name there - they are "Thongs" here in OZ and I think in New Zealand they are "Jandals" Kinda like how sticky tape here is called Durex and the most popular beer in my state is called XXXX

The rate of mechanical failures does seem to be high in Spies' bike compared with Lorenzos' bike, but those failures have also affected Yamaha's points in the manufacturer's championship as well as Spies' rider championship points, so it is unlikely that the failures are anything deilberate on the part of Yamaha, if that is what you are suspicious of. My guess is that there is something different happening within the group of people who work on Spies' bike that is resulting in the work standard being lower than it needs to be.

the photos are "SSDT photos courtesy of Peter Paice (Mick Andrews' Aussie riding companion in the 1975 SSDT)" ie they were taken by one of the riders (Peter Paice) and have not been published in a magazine or a book

Yes it will weaken the clutch springs. If you roughen the surfaces of the steel plates it will stop it sticking

That bike has similarities to the bike ridden by Mick Andrews' Japanese (Yamaha employee) riding companion in the 1975 SSDT (kickstart shape, tank graphics and top shock mount location) There are also differences - the bike in the SSDT photos has strange extended fork tops and a standard TY250 exhaust heat shield SSDT photos courtesy of Peter Paice (Mick Andrews' Aussie riding companion in the 1975 SSDT)

Guy from memory the modern off-the-shelf VM26 is a physically bigger carby than the standard carby so it may not fit in the space available

did the abrasive blasting remove the chrome plating or just make it rough enough for the powder coating to stick?

I also wanted to be able to buy bars like 1970s Renthals and recently had some sets of new bars custom made. They cost $120 per set. The red bars are 1970s Magura trials bars.

Maybe someone has fitted an extra base gasket?

The red plastic tanked 242 is just the last model 242 and was not limited to Spain. Sorry I don't recognise the tank on that bitzer Montesa in the photo. The fuel spout on it makes me think it might have been made for fitting inside a fibreglass cover. Here is an Aussie 242 photo to show what the red plastic tank looks like

Thats great Guy. To see both bikes arranged like that makes it easy to see the differences. Well done mate. David

what is the address of the delay website?

There are a few different clutches fitted to 5 speed Bultaco motors. Yours may not be the original clutch, and Bultaco are known for changing the design of things like clutches during a production run. Not a real issue though because while the clutch baskets and hubs may be of different types, the type of clutch plates you have described are common to all 5 speed motors from about 1969 onwards. The important thing is that you fit as many plates as you can, to minimise the pressure plate loading needed to prevent slip (more plates = more torque for the same clamping pressure) Limits to how many plates will fit are the length of the basket fingers, the length of the hub splines, and how far the spring retaining nuts stick out after you have adjusted the springs correctly. If they stick out too far they will rub on the clutch cover. If you have retaining pins on your clutch hub rather than studs and nuts, they are not adjustable so won't be a problem as far as sticking out goes. . By the sound of it, the Hugh's Bultaco manual may be referring to either the aftermarket type (Barnett) tabbed plates that have friction material on them (and so are thicker), or Hugh may be referring to the early 5 speed clutches (1965 to 1969) that also had friction material on the tabbed plates. By the time your Alpina was made, the standard plates should have been all steel with no friction material and should have "T" shaped holes in them. If you think about how the clutch works you should be able to work out which plate goes in first, but if you have problems with that, if you post up a clear photo of your clutch basket with no plates in it, there are many people on this forum who are very familiar with Bultaco 5-speed clutches who should be able to help further.

Thankyou to the people who have been helping me behind the scenes with the identification of the frame kit I recently bought from a riding friend from Mackay, Queensland, Australia The frame and swingarm has been identified as being mini-Whitehawk TY175 frame, and twelve are known to exist in the UK, no others known of yet in Australia. The bike was developed for riders too small for the full size Whitehawk TY175 and too big for the Whitehawk big-wheel TY80. The fuel tank manufacture origin is yet to be positively identified, but is likely to be a mini-majesty one-piece tank seat, that has been trimmed at the rear end to suit the Whitlock frame, and fitted with a bright orange/red seat and Yamaha tank stickers. The story of the purchase of it by my friend is as follows: The buyer knew of Sammy Miller highboy frames from his local trials scene in Central Queensland where there were a couple of Bultaco highboys. In 1988, at age 18, he ordered a Sammy Miller Catalogue, from an advert in a bike magazine. The catalog came in the mail. He phoned Sammy Miller's shop and spoke to Sammy and asked about the possibility of buying a highboy frame for his TY175. He was told that while the Bultaco and Honda highboy frames were made exclusively for his shop, they didn't make their own SM frame for the TY175, but that he could sell a frame suitable for the TY175 made by Mick Whitlock. My friend then ordered the frame kit, including the tank seen in my photos, front and rear gold anodised AKRONT rims, Betor Shocks, Renthal bars and a pair of UK-made trials riding pants (all from Sammy Miller). When the frame arrived, he noticed that there was no brake pedal (and no obvious way to fit one) and phoned the Sammy Miller shop to ask about it. A standard TY175 brake pedal arrived in the mail following that conversation. My friend had bought a TLR250 by that stage and lost interest in the frame kit for his TY175. The frame and parts were stored in my friend's shed in 1988 along with his TY175JC and I bought them from him about a month ago.

199 = red tank, black engine, black forks, silver frame

Yes you are right. More thinking needed. Ah heres a thought, maybe there is a dent in the slider?

I mean rust inside the tubes where the piston contacts the tube

If you have the frame, swingarm and forks assembled, just fit the wheels and measure how far the rims are out of position

Pete is it rusty in there? I had problems with getting some 348 forks apart when there was rust blisters on the inside surface of the tube