tony283

Tombo, If you would like a step by step owners manual type way to proceed then have a look at my blog and scrol down to the Feb archives and you will find an article "How to, Wheel Bearings" with lots of pictures and another tricky job made easy. Tony

The Donner Day 2 Saga is up on my web for those that like Vintage stories and a nice picture of TC regular "Swooshdave" in action www.blackvintagetrials.com Tony

I'm told by NOON tomorrow (Sunday) Tony

For those following the AHRMA saga full report of Day 1 is on my blog with pictures; www.blackcatvintagetrials.com Tony

I assume you have the forks set correctly in the yokes? You should have about 1/2 inch protruding through the top yoke, if not it will steer and rebound like a Harley. If the springs are good use either 10 or 15 wt and about 150cc a leg. Tony

The Standard TY had the left side combined lights hi/low beam and on /off switch. The kill switch was mounted on the throttle body. The light switches come up on e-bay but the throttles tend to get broken as the cable entry was cast alloy. Tony

Well done, you figured out the holes in the flywheel are there for a reason. Sounds like you have done a good job, very satisfying and a whole lot cheaper than the electronic option. If it has the oil injection disconnected run on a good mix of 40:1 and bear in mind that our current fuel is not that good and quite often has to be completely replaced with fresh. Other problems to frustrate you will be the old carb. Clean the inlet plunger for the float with a very light emery as these will stick closed or open and make sure you have a new in line filter between the carb and the tank. Remember the Carb rules 1 No start = blocked Choke/Enrichment circuit. 2 Starts but won't run off choke= blocked Pilot. 3 Poor pick up= airscrew or pilot jet size ..... you need a 30 or 35 ITS FUN! Tony

Very unusual for there to be much wrong with the top coil on any of he 70's TY models. With an older bike remember the gaps on the ignition system need to be set acurately. 15 on the points and 22 on the plug. A lot of plugs, even the correct one that you are using, come new with a much wider gap. New points sometimes come with a coating on that needs to be polished off before they will spark correctly. In your case before you go to all the expense ($300 +) for an electronic system start by cleaning the points, a small nail file will do if you are not taking the flywheel off. They will often have a "blackspot" on them so file back to bright. Check your plug gap and then the plug cap to lead which often goes rusty on the wire. Next check the wiring loom where it comes out of the case and feel along it. This will often become hard and brittle in which case just replace the wire, the black one is the hot wire. Disconnect the kill switch wire. If you still have no spark it will either then be the top coil (unlikely) or the source coil on the stator plate (left side) lower or the condenser. Always change the condenser and the points at the same time. Good luck. Tony

For those of you following the nail biting saga of daring do of older men on older bikes. Here is the last Championship offering from Milliken Colorado. On my "blog" of course. Tony

80:1 is the manufacturers guide for the TYZ Tony

200 for the rider and down to 279 from 309 on the bike. The new lightweight front wheel weighed in at 21 lbs as compared to the original full width Enfield hub at 21 lbs !..... and it didn't fit. Saved 7 lbs by replacing the Enfield back wheel, a load more from the under engine center stand bolts and tubes. The nicest item is the integrated clutch and decompressor lever with needle roller bearings. Tony

This was an ex Don Morley 350 Bullet and it's last UK trial was the 2005 Pre 65. The forks seem to work well enough in competition now that the old girl is up and running. The yokes had to be changed for a new set made by Spartan, the originals had self tapping screws as the only way to hold the bars steady. The front wheel is also standard Royal Oilfield. I'm running a 26mm Mikuni, who, if we get into all those nasty back biting "What is and what isn't allowed" discussions made AMALs under licence back in the 50's ! A great fun bike to ride, despite the weight! Tony

More reports on my "blog" from the 2 day AHRMA event in Cotopaxi Colorado. Tony

I use 150cc per leg of SAE 10 for a 200lb rider. Depending on what action you require and the state of the springs you can go lighter to 7.5 or heavier to 15. With regard to the motor you may find the clutch won't work after standing for 10 years! With an old motor they should take 1000cc if it has been completely drained and cleaned. Realistically if you drain and refill it will take about 600cc or to the dipstick if you have one. I would use any ATF until the clutch starts to work again (maybe about 1 hour or when hot) then drain and refill with a good SAE 30. Tony

Looks like Woody has the perfect answer. It was a constant problem but as Woody says get the correct "C" spanner and when suff tight wire lock it. Tony

Most trials air cooled 2 stroke engines have had a fair bit of abuse in their life and a little rattle is quite normal. In this case drain everything and use 40:1 mix for aircooled. Take the plug out and give a couple of teaspoonfuls of oil in the head, ease the kicker over slowly and allow the oil to seep past the rings and line the cyclinder and piston. Of course it will smoke a bit on start up but then should settle down. Tony

For those following this Championship there are a couple of articles up on my "blog" Tony

Just published an article on my "blog" called "The First Week of May" with all the fun and preparation for the SSDT back in the 70's. Includes an interesting quote from a young (then) Martin Lampkin on how to ride the event. To all attending, good luck, I wish I were there...... maybe next year? Tony

I'm assuming we are talking Yams here? Most TY's have a tendency to go "stale" in the clutch department and usually if they have been standing for a long time, or the corks have dried out, they will not work at all until the engine heats up and he clutch is fully lubricated. ATF or Dextron is a good clutch lubricant, but once the clutch is working well swop back to the 10-30 and don't overfill. Somtimes you may be better putting new plates in and remember the offset sequence to give a smooth operation. Tony

I rode the Beamish Suzukis in 1977/78 and although they looked the business they were a bit "tin and tinsel". The side cases were very thin. Very popular in the South when Brian Fowler was winning everything on them in the sand and mud, but they didn't much care for rocks with the angled shocks of the day they tended to hop and not keep the rear in contact. Not as good as a Majesty or later TY for that matter, in my personal opinion. Tony

j I use 150cc per leg of SAE 10, also 14st it works well unless your springs are shot. Tony

Shercomike, Right under my name where it says Tony's Blog or www.blackcatvintagetrials.com Tony

For those of you following this nail biting series there are 3 articles on recent activities on my blog. 2 on Diamond Don's in the rain, and what we had to deal with at our newest location in Perris CA. Tony

I know what you mean, and it may not all be down to the forks. Have a look on my web site at all the mods I have tried and it may help you setting up your bike to handle better. 3 articles; "The Tiger Cub" "Nursing a Cub" "One Trick Cub" Tony

There is so much talk of barrels, liners etc that I'm amazed that some so called "experts" ever have time to ride anything! Traditionally most 2 stroke engines were designed to run on 20:1 back in the 70's. Autolube on the early Yams effectively delivered 25:1 but we were using leaded fuels. Currently most 2 stroke trials engines that are liquid cooled run on 80:1 FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS SPECS An older 1970's aircooled motor currently runs well, and without problems, on 40:1 The 1980's air cooled engines seem to run best on 50:1 Liquid cooled engines normally run at 80:1 Other current problems come from some of the fuel itself with all its "enviromental additives" and some do not even MIX well with oil. They also can go off quickly resulting in very poor power delivery that you would think was poor jetting/ignition. If in doubt drain it and start with fresh every time. Tony