twinshock giles

When i registered one of mine for the off road only bit the local office (sadly they've all closed now) did their best to try and persuade me to get proof of age (even going as far as saying they would accept Frame number info from the internet) rather than issue a Q plate

As Woody says that headstock isn't standard, I wouldn't say you've bought a pup, just a mystery! Its something I'm wanted to do for a long time, in fact at the back of the shed with a verde frame I have a set of Climber suspension & wheels....

I remember seeing a well modified Ossa in the 90's at some Huddersfield Falcon trials, i think that had had the frame extensively modified but was running a CG? motor that the owner had bored/ stroked out to a 225? No idea why anybody would change a headstock though, thats just wierd unless it was originally planned to run modern suspension?

Its certainly worth something, it depends on what their definition of not a great deal is, it would be one I would like to keep if I had built it. If it was built by their Dad I would think they should be able to clear up some of the details about the bike.

I think what they are is the original mounting point for the side tubes - it looks like they've been moved at some point and whoever did it didn't bother to get the grinder out and tidy up afterwards. That motor is odd, there are mounting points for head steadys/ braces which I don't think I've seen before on a MAR? Edit - no scratch that they look to be pointing upwards. I don't think thats a pro built frame - well certainly not the monoshock top mount you can see where the weld has had to be tidied up with a grinder, if you were doing frames all day you wouldn't need to be doing that. Are there any identifying features on the shock itself?

Folllowing on from the previous discussion, I thought I should sort some out for my fibreglass tank as the alloy tank ones are a different shape, I could vaguely make out the shape of some original decals on this tank so to top half should be about right. However going through my Spanish Trials Bikes Book and The Ossa Collectors Guide book there are no really good photos of the tank for the lower half. So based on what I could see do these look right? They're going to be a right bugger to fit (nicely) due to the shape of the tank, i managed to crease these doing it quickly...

Has it got a keith Horsman reed valve conversion on it as well - that might agree with the local angle, (i think mine is marked on the reed block somewhere) someone has obviously spent some time on it at some point. Its interesting if nothing else - what does it ride like compared to a MAR? Giles

Thanks all found the frame number now to get it HPI'd and hopefully find the reg number out. Realised these have a chrome liner in the barrel - it looks like it needs a trip to Langcourts for welding and a replate as there is a decent sized nick out of the top of the exhaust port....

Hi all, I just bought my first ever Fantic a 200 I believe. It has been road registered in the past last owner had it on the road 10 years ago but all the documents have been lost including the numberplate. Where should be frame and engine numbers be? All I can find so far is an FM350 stamped on the engine and a sticker on the headstock. Theres no evidence of any flat spots on the head stock and even the paint looks original - I'm a bit reluctant to start fetching the paint off the headstock looking for a number as to be honest the bike looks never to have been used in anger and I would like to keep it looking unrestored so i'm not scared to use it It would be nice to get the registration number as I could put it on my insurance policy then. Thanks for your help - Who should I be trying for parts for this, Ideally I need an oversize piston+ring, or at least a ring and a kick start, are Frankfield Fantic (the only Fantic people I can remember) still going?

Thanks feetupfun, I think i can remember sending those ones. It looks to me like the Australian bikes had a slightly different fibreglass tank to the one I have in the shed, I'm sure mine has either an insert area or flat spot for the Ossa badges. Just about the reply to the PM sorry for the delay

Just as an aside (and glad you got sorted out) I had a play for a few hours several years ago on one of the monoshock florescent 80's, thought it was a great little thing at the time, with a bit of thought it was probably capable of being ridden by an adult and would have made an excellent step up from a big ty80 etc it certainly had enough power to do simple sections with my adult weight on board I think 80cc big bore kits were available for the TLM50 but i'm not sure if the porting was more suited to road use rather than trials, I certainly remember 1 person using a big bore version to commute on in Birmingham, If only I had known they existed when I was 16

Yes i've used them for a repair to my Pursang motoplat does the montesa one have a metal pin stuck out of it (I'm guessing its some sort of pickup trigger) as this was what was replaced on mine, they run close to the flywheel and can get damaged if the mains start to get worn.

As little as possible....Look how many riders used to ride in NCB pit boots. Being honest the last thing many riders would want is a big rolling advert that says i've an off road bike in here, please follow me home and rob me. Sorry

Is it worth a trip across to the desert or round the local pit tips to see if its been ridden around there? Glad you got at least the one of them back

I had dealings with them about 8 years ago and they were really good, its a shame if they have gone down hill as they were genuinely interested when i spoke to someone on the technical side of things about a non-standard application they were exceptionally helpful + the stator and CDI they supplied worked perfectly. Don't know how big an operation they are now but you might get a better response from a phone call maybe? But yes as above thats not right you shouldn't have to mess about dremeling to make things fit (well, not unless you are too tight to buy the right part like me) i'de speak to your supplier about it Edit - sorry didn't notice before the company I dealt with was Electrex World not Electrix World don't know if they are one and the same or not.

Thank you so much for all the info everybody, Eric not able to make it tonight as i'm knackered after work but will definately be along to one to have a look. Whats the situation with competition licences now - can I still turn up pay my entry fee + club membership and buy a day licence? Thank you again. Giles

Does anybody know which clubs run anything to about the standard of the Manchester 17 dead easy route down south, I've possibly got the time to be able to get out on a bike and compete again but its been about 9 years since I've ridden, so i'm going to be more than a bit rusty... I'am hoping to head over to the old quarry at Dorking for some much needed practice on my 'new' modern bike so if you're there and see someone fiving everything they attempt on a 1992 Montesa Cota 311 feel free to say hello and have a good laugh Thanks Giles

In the past I was told in the absence of an owners club etc they (the DVLA) would accept information gathered from the internet, frame numbers of existing registered bikes etc as sufficent proof of age, this was in the days when they would come out to inspect the bike though or you could go to your local office with it, so may sadly be irrelevent now. It was the inspection guy who told me this whilst looking at my Mk12 Pursang and trying to persuade me not to have a q plate on it....

Sufficient heat destroys the locktite if its possible you could always warm them with a welding torch to break its hold

As has been said before they are mega tight to get in/ out, I think i've managed it in the past but I know it was a huge struggle. Onto the gearbox, i've twice had gearbox problems with Ossa's which isn't bad to be honest for the amount of engines i've built up from misc bits Once was the detent plunger on a 250 MAR that had worn and had a large ridge on it - that bike would only select 3rd 4th 5th, took a while to find it but changing the plunger fixed the problem. The other was my 350 Gripper which wouldn't select 1st and was general bad at changing down the box - the fork that turns the end of the selector barrel was badly worn on one leg only - i think someone must have been in the habit of constantly taping it down to make sure it was in 1st. Never had much of a problem getting Ossa flywheels and cush drives off, as Steve says it easier with the engine solidly mounted - remember to check the thread direction of the flywheel nut BEFORE trying to remove it early bikes are the opposite thread. Giles

I'm sure I should have one of those, will have a look at the shafts I have when I can get at the parts.

I had a very early 250 MAR with the short swinging arm which had a completely different power delivery to the later bikes - it was very very snappy (and also surprisingly quick on the road), I remember checking it at the time to see if the crank or flywheel had been lightened but it all looked standard so I would say that porting definately changed quite significantly over the years. What return springs do you need as I may have some but its likely to take me a good while to find them out, a photo would probably be good as most of my stuff is mixed up at the moment. Giles

I had this with my TLR 200, I tried lots of different shoes, but in the end I ordered up a genuine Honda pair and a new genuine cable. Made a world of difference, a word of warning though make sure the dealer actually orders the shoes from the part number and doesn't just cross reference the FA whatever number to something else, I'm guessing they are a pretty specific compound to work well. Oddly enough they worked out cheaper than the EBC's I had before...

Doh! Note to self - Must look closer before getting carried away next time..Might have a couple done anyway just in case!

They have one on the right hand side. Piccy below.