feetupfun

Sounds like a leak from the coolant system from a location above the level of the water ie at the highest point - maybe the cap seal leaking steam or maybe the pressure relief device in the cap is leaking a bit of steam. Try also loosening the fuel tank cap while the noise is happening to test if the noise is from there or not.

sorry this might be a bit obvious but have you tried adjusting the idle speed yet? There should be a thumbscrew on the side of the body that adjusts the height of the throttle slide to adjust the idle speed with

If you have Alpina triple clamps from an Alpina model that has taper seat fork tubes, they are the triple clamps from one of the very early Alpinas, which shared geometry with the late 1960s and early 1970s Sherpa Ts. So if you also have leading axle sliders, I suspect that you already have the best arrangement available using standard Bultaco parts. Further improvement may be possible by making the sreering head angle steeper, but beware that on some Bultacos, the front tyre OD/mudguard is already very close to the exhaust header and front downtube when the forks are compressed, so a head angle change may not be that simple.

Hi Dave If your Matador front end looks like the Mk2 in the brochure photos, you will make the steering worse if you fit forks with an in-line axle. To make it steer better for trials you should be trying to reduce the trail dimension which requires moving the axle forwards relative to the line of the steering axis. If you want to get rid of the handlebars that clamp to the forks as well as improve the steering, an easy way is to use a set of triple clamps from a trials Bultaco and if you get the right ones you can still use your Matador forks. First off, can you confirm that your fork tubes have a taper at the top end where they fit into the top triple clamp? David

If the noise changes when you pull on the clutch lever it could be the bearing that the basket runs on, or a gearbox bearing, or the thrust bearing for the pressure plate. If pulling the clutch lever makes no difference to the noise then it could be the chain tensioner tapping the case.

if riding without using the clutch, work the motor against the rear brake and practice doing very tight turns until you get it all working automatically if riding with clutch, same as above but also control the amount of clutch slip at the same time

If the clutch nut was loose it will be making weird noises all the time and the clutch release probably would have gone way out of adjustment If its only happening in second gear it sounds like it is not fully in gear and the clunk is when it jumps out and back in again. I would check the action of the indexing device that holds the shift drum in position for each gear to see if it is moving freely or maybe has a spring that has lost some of its tension. I don't know where the indexing device is on a Rotax motor but most bikes of that era have a plunger that can be removed from the outside and looks like an extra gearbox drain or fill plug. Worst case is that the second gear dogs have lost their edge, which would be an exceptionally rare thing to happen on a trials bike. A left field suggestion is to check the rear sprocket bolts for tightness.

Is it a 4 speed or 5 speed Matador? Softer springs front and rear Sherpa T triple clamps from M10, M27, M49 or M80 Move footpegs rearwards by about 150mm Bigger rear sprocket Flywheel on primary drive side from Alpina or Sherpa T motor. Sorry don't know if 5 speed motor drive side flywheels fit 4 speed motors. Bring wheelbase down to 52.5 inches using shorter swingarm Regards David

Getting rid of the stiffer fork springs will help the steering as will getting the motor, rear brake and clutch working perfectly and fitting a new tyre. There is nothing wrong with the geometry or weight distribution on a Cota 242 if it is set up right. Just because your mates 348 feels better, it doesn't mean there is anything basically wrong with the design of the 242. I have standard 348 that I have spent years getting set up nicely, and recently rode a well set up 242 and I found the 242 felt quite a bit lighter to ride than my 348 but not as powerful. To me the steering on both felt quite similar.

A thread tap with grease on it will clean out the media without damaging the thread form

The idea of having an advance curve is so that the timing is ideal for different RPM. When the motor is turning at the slow end of the scale, it is better if the spark happens just before top dead centre and when the RPM is at the top end, it is better to have the spark happening earlier (more advanced) so that when the big push is happening the piston is starting to go down. Ignitions that do not have an advance curve suffer from being a bit too advanced at low RPM and a bit too retarded at high RPM. People set fixed ignition to what they consider is ideal for how they ride. There is no perfect setting for everyone but the manufacturers suggestion is usually close to what most people like. For your new ignition with its built in advance curve, you should set it to what works best for you, on your bike, not necessarily what other people have done. I would like to help more but need more info about the behaviour of the motor. Communication by typing is very difficult for things like this and I'm having dificulty with what you are meaning to say.

BMW = Bavarian Money Waster BMW = Bob Marley and the Wailers

Looks to me like even with the fork tubes slid down and long shockies it has very modest ground clearance under the motor

Woody those badges are not all made by the same place. With some I have bought the contact adhesive on them has been useless. Others have been fine.

I thought that was what Andy had said but in less words?

Alan both seals can be changed without splitting the cases. RH seal requires removing the gear on the end of the crankshaft and LH seal requires removing the flywheel and ignition stator plate. I use a self tapper screwed into the LH seal to pull it out. The RH seal runs on a spacer so it is even easier to get out once you slide the spacer out. I fit mine with a little oil on the OD so they slide in smoothly.

Once I changed the clutch on my son's TXT Boy 50 to two springs, the gearing became perfect. Previously (with all four springs) it had to rev so high for the chutch to engage that it was going too fast for riding in sections. My son is about 24kg. Maybe a much heavier rider might need different gearing on hills.

just because it is listed at 6000 pounds does not mean that someone is prepared to buy it at that price

About the routing of the cable, I have those same mudguard mounts on two of my Yamahas and find that routing the cable between the flat section of the mount and the tyre gives a smoother run for the cable with a Yamaha cable. On one of those bikes I have slightly straightened the bend in the cable tube to make it fit even better.

Yes that is a standard Yamaha cable There can be sometimes a problem with the plastic sleeve inside that bent steel tube where the plastic sleeve sticks to the cable and creates a lot of friction. I usually remove that plastic liner to avoid the problem. If you are seeing some straightening of the bent steel tube, that just means that you are putting a lot of tension on the cable inner. It is not a problem in itself. If your cable is more than afew years old, the brakes will work noticably better with a new one. To diagnose your braking problem better I suggest you check: How far the cam is rotating from neutral before the shoes touch the drum How well the curvature of the shoe surface matches the surface of the drum

All the adjustable caps do is save the labour required to take the caps off to adjust the spring preload. Standard Yamaha springs are progressive rate and work fine for me at 93kg. I even use the standard Yamaha preload setting. I do use 20wt oil set to 125mm from the top which probably makes them a bit stiffer at the end of the stroke compared with using the standard oil quantity. I like the standard TY250 springs so much I also use them in my KT250 forks and my Cota 348 forks The TY250 forks do have odd damping though - if you jump off another similar age bike that has good fork damping (like an OSSA MAR), then the Yamaha fork action does feel a bit strange. It doesn't seem to cause any problems riding with TY250 forks, but they do feel different.

Alan turning is not affected because your knees are still above the seat, but lowering the footpegs does reduce the clearance under your bum so when you unweight the rear end of the bike there is a higher chance that the seat or rear guard will hit your tailbone. Most commonly noticed when crossing big logs or jumping up an obstacle. Not a problem for people with long legs but I am 5'10" in your measurements and find that a couple of times I have hit my tailbone on the rear guard on my TY250 twinshock with lowered pegs when doing energetic unweighting of the rear end of the bike.

John I cant see any footpeg kits for Tys on the tytrials.co.uk website. What kits are you looking at? David

I reckon you should keep that yzee and just sell the triumph. In ten years time you will greatly enjoy taking it for a blat - I know I love still having my old MXer - riping up some grass at home once a year with it, leaving black lines on the driveway, making a bit of noise

Steve have you priced one from John Cane in the UK? I find it to be economical to buy from John compared with my local (Australian) Yamaha shop for TY175 kickstart assemblies.