old trials fanatic

you got me there

???? they would have to be very very special to beat that. I hated Dots and Cottons. Bloomin great heavy things and the forks YUK !!!

Chewy trying to mail you mate but no response is your inbox full? Sorry guys dont mean to hijack the thread.

Fantastic superb now thats exactly what we should be doing with Twinshock bikes. Forget converting air cooled monos that just shows what a twinshock is capable of WOW I dont know about the chattering classes but i would definately sooner spend my cash, if i had any, on THAT bike over Vestys bike on e bay. I know the rider makes it look good and after riding in Spain i know what some of those guys can do on a twinshock. Things i never thought possible but the bike not only looks the dogs it works as well. I say it again FANTASTIC

Wot you mean there isnt a free and fair ballot ? or did you mean his entry wouldnt even be put in the "ballot"

Thanks Charlie, Totalshell etc. I do so love the look of that bike. Perhaps enough to sell some of teh bikes to build one? OK perhaps the road bikes Would have loved to get to the Captains Trial but 1. too skint and 2. i will be at the Dales Classic Trial at Burycliffe, a lot of politics going on with regard to that one and some people have put their neck out for me and i wont let them down. Looks like there will have to be some serious parts sourcing and research done over the next few months Already got a motor and PVL ignition and i must have a set of Betors front and back somewhere so just need a frame etc to get started. Whose frame is it BTW. Seen the barrels at Alans so along with hubs and yokes no prob once i have the wonga.

i was talking in general and didnt mean to offend but i do keep hearing a lot of fantasy about the magical contents of some peoples engines and when i've seen them on the bench it honestly just isnt true. I dont know if fantasising about the engines the top lads use makes it easier to take for some but the motors, Mick Grants and Neil Gaunts excepted but still nothing an engineer couldnt do for you, arent really that special. As i said before it's the frames, suspension and of course the rider. You have to just look at the pedigree of some of the top guys in Pre65. They may be 20 or 30 years further down the line but go out riding with one sometime and you will see you cant forget how to turn it on. As examples Mick Andrews and Dave Thorpe. Mick rides almost one handed now due to injury and Dave Thorpe struggles top walk a section but get them on the bike and it's magic. Again please dont take offence none was meant just a bit fed up of hearing about special motors with trick internals when it aint so.

Ah thats what Alan meant when i was talking about the Drayton Bantam and he said "i'll show you a Bantam". Thanks for the info will ask him for details. Hopefully see you on Sunday at Burycliffe local motor cycle dealers willing

Just been looking at the piccys of the Don Smith Memorial trial 2009 and on there is a BSA Bantam. Now thats what i want mine to look like when i get around to building it. Bootiful. Can anybody supply me details please ? Reposted here as i thought i possibly more appropriate under Pre 65 in retrospect. Sorry.

You know i keep hearing this but i DO speak from experience as i do KNOW what goes inside some of the Pre65 bikes as i've seen a lot of the top riders engines on the bench in bits including Mick Andrews bike and i can categorically tell you there is very little apart from electronic ignition and porting plus the odd gear in the gearbox that is "special" or "trick". Yes the engines are put together properly and to tolerances that the factories never dreamed of. I am not saying there isnt a bike somewhere that doesnt have the odd bit here or there from a modern bike in it but i seriously doubt it. They dont need it. All the stuff thats done is basic engineering bored out, ported, polished, better lubrication, bearings etc but nothing like the radical stuff that the "gossip mongerers" maintain. The main reason the bikes go so well is the frames geometry, tyres and suspension not a "magic" motor and all the parts are available to anybody anyway so whats the problem? As for all this "twinshocks are too expensive. Out of reach of the average working man" blah blah blah. A perfectly good twinshock, a real one btw, can be bought off flea bay and made useable for well under

Just been looking at the piccys of the Don Smith Memorial trial 2009 and on there is a BSA Bantam. Now thats what i want mine to look like when i get around to building it. Bootiful. Can anybody supply me details please ?

Yeah basically to keep it "classic" and theoretically cheap. The decision was taken by the ACU and we followed that "classic" trials needed an entry level plus there were are loads of air cooled monos gathering dust. Hasnt really taken off in the way they envisaged though. We tend to get 4 at most on the expert route none on the 50/50 route and 1 on the clubman route. So could do with a few more really. The other problem is it was envisaged that it would bring new blood into the club however seems to have had the effect of riders who used to ride twinshock or Pre65 have turned up on an air cooled mono instead. Oh well For what it's worth they dont seem to loose any less marks on average than the better pre65 or twinshock guys on the same route. See previous post in results and previews. The other thing to remember is classic clubs run to no stop rules so the air cooled mono might have some of it's advantages negated by this?

Personally i wouldnt have a problem but our club and the ACU rules does state Pre 95. Best aircooled mono to me was the Beta TR34 Then again i would say that as i'm selling mine as i never use it. Too busy keeping the James and the Ossa running.

?????????

Ahh the Atlantic Ocean or as i like to think the gulf of incomprehension. Makes you glad it's there sometimes. Two countries seperated by a ...........................

You know in a strange kind of way that sort of appeals ?

OK so i accept all that even though i dont agree with it and i know you guys over there have always had what seems to us a strange outlook on Trials. So what would you consider a cheat bike and if anything goes why does anybody even bother to ride anything other than a cheat bike. Confuses the hell out of me. Genuine question though.

Perhaps we should create a new class and call it Cheat shock ?

Nah mate i think it's definately CDS tubing.

From what i gather it all depends on who is riding it as to how many eyes suddenly become blind. Then of course theres

The Peak Classic Trials Club held round 1 of their Club Championship at Dudwood Farm near Elton Derbyshire last Sunday 28th February expecting a downpour but amazingly the threatened rain never materialised and even the sun shone for a while. No amount of winter sunshine could have dried out the waterlogged ground though and the course between sections was almost worse than the challenges set by the course plotter Paul Beswick. Fourty eight riders turned up to ride 4 laps of 10 sections and most agreed that they enjoyed the course so everything was worthwhile. The riders enjoying it the most were Pete Carson out on his James for a change taking the win in the expert british bike category, Stephen Garlick on his Armstrong took the win in the expert twinshock class loosing 8 marks just two more than Pete and exactly the same as Andrew Land on his Yamaha mono who won the air cooled monoshock class. The club would like to thank Barry Burton for the use of his land which is also his home sorry for the mess we made of the field Barry. Also as always we really appreciate the observers who helped make the event run so smoothly. Thanks one and all. After the event the awards for last years Club Championship were presented to the winners of each class at the Miners Standard pub where a buffet was served to the hungry riders. The full results of the 2009/10 championship can be viewed on the clubs website www.peakclassic.co.uk. So all that remains is to look forward to this years championship which looks to be a good one if this round 1 is anything to go by. Expert British Bike 1st Peter Carson James 6 marks 2nd Barry Burton James 11 marks 3rd Darren Cooper James 15 marks Expert Twinshock 1st Stephen Garlick Armstrong 8 marks 2nd Chris Slack Fantic 12 marks 3rd Mark Hallows Majesty 13 marks Expert Air Cooled Monoshock 1st Andrew Land Yamaha 8 marks 2nd Mark Weston Gas Gas 10 marks 3rd Andrew Weston Yamaha 45 marks 50/50 British Bike 1st Brian Dale Cub 26 marks 2nd Derek Carson Bantam 30 marks 3rd Geoff Gadsby BSA 31 marks 50/50 Twinshock 1st Michael Houghton Honda 6 marks 2nd Gary Parr Aprilia 20 marks 3rd Paul Edwards Montesa 21 marks Clubman British Bike 1st Henry Gaunt BSA 17 marks 2nd Vincent Price Royal Enfield 24 marks 3rd Gerald Speed Sprite 54 marks Clubman Twinshock 1st Paul Smedley Honda 24 marks 2nd Paul Beswick Ossa 25 marks 3rd Peter Austin Yamaha 28 marks Clubman Air Cooled Monoshock 1st Clifford Wall Yamaha 28 marks

Very good point well made Dave. I've seen a couple of these frames over at Steve Gaggs and am very impressed. They look really well made and functional. If i was in the market for one i would definately choose one over the competition and i have experience of the Faber and the Mills frame or copies of look a LOT better thought out and definately better executed. Like you i havent ridden one yet but am open to offers Totally agree with you about building your bike to ride 52 weeks of the year and for the life of me cant understand peoples obsession with the Scottish Trial, bit like Macbeth dare we mention its name?, which is a one off and rule wise is a lottery and a minefield. There are other Trials out there so dont get such tunnel vision and obsessed with that Trial. When i saw yours and another bike Dave at Steves they did have the wow factor Lets have some piccys when you have it's debut outing.

To simplify the spring is what supports the unspring weight, inc you, the damping rate is what slows the spring down, compression and or rebound, and stops you Whatever spring rate you choose it should allow the shock to travel it's full length in use this includes occaisionally using the bump stop rubbers, if you dont hit them ever the springs are too hard. Hope that helps ?

Nothing to do with wanting a modern bike or getting one. The thing is the standard forks belong in the skip. No matter what you do with them, apart from fitting marzocci internals, they are crap and dont perform. Lets be honest here all we are looking for is a bike that can at least get through a section and a basically "period" bantam will just not do the business even in a club trial. OK if you enjoy paddling through everything and aim for a three on most sections but if you want to actually enjoy your ride then the choices are obvious. OK you dont need titanium this that and whatever. My James has a CDS steel frame not T45 cos i couldnt afford it and it wouldnt have made any difference to my scores because i'm pretty rubbish but i've done the mods i have just to make it an enjoyable and capable ride. Masochist i aint. Have you ever ridden a true period pre 65 bike in a trial lately? theyre horrible and they always were. Sincerely good luck with your project. i hope you have lots of stamina if you are determined to "keep it real"