tony283

You don't give us many clues. Have you recently acquired this bike? What altitude are you riding at ? What carb is fitted and what are the jet sizes, cut away on slide, needle setting ? What plug are you using and what is the gap? Has the ignition system been changed ? What state is the air filter and exhaust system? Is the reed system good? Are you using pre mix and what ratio ? Fill in the blanks and I'm sure we can all help. Tony

Do NOT go longer ! By using a forward mount with standard length you will push the swinging arm down thereby jacking the rear end up. You may find you need to lower the front forks slightly in the clamps down to the crown nuts or it will steer like a Harley ! Tony

Correct number 126cc per leg although I've always used 150cc Tony

No completely different size. Tony

Standard gearing is 13T front and 51T Rear but in the light of modern sections you may wish to come down to a 12T engine sprocket. The standard was for a 420 chain and 114 links. Remember if you are changing one piece of the drive system then change EVERYTHING ! See the good old blog, left side, 2008, Jan, then "How to Sprockets & Chains" published 22 Jan 2008 Tony

"tick over" = idle and is normally set by the idle screw on the side of the carb which raises the slide in the same way that your car idles at around 500-700 rpm when your foot is not on the throttle pedal. On 70's twinshocks which for the most part came with heavy flywheels the idle could be set very, very low. Many of the top riders of the day had ZERO "tick over" and just a smidge of slack in the throttle cable so they could control the engine at ultra slow speeds without touching that clutch thing! Tony

Mud and debris are the common problems which can then throw the chain. By removing the case to change sprockets you would be in your workshop and the only thing you are disturbing is the waterproofing on the case which can easily be redone when the sprocket is changed. Cutting the case can easily be done and this one is fitted to my current TY250A Tony

Well an allen bolt, if it won't come undone with a sharp knock, hammer air gun at a local garage will shift it. Tony

The simple answer is NO ! However it is not difficult but perhaps daunting if you have never done it before. For full instructions with all the pictures you can use my "blog" as a reference tool. Go to the left side and come down to 2008, select the year, then January. The article was published on 31Jan 2008 and is called "How to, Fork Oil Seals" Good luck Tony

The time has come! Just two weeks to the ITSA MT West Vintage Trials series opening rounds at San Ysidro NM Apr 13/14 . Pop over to our new web site for the flyer and directions. www.mtwestvintagetrials.org Remember there is a class for everybody including our NEW early Mono class Tony

Going back to the original question. On my original Sammy Miller Cub the engine was offset to the left, primarily to give better chain clearance and tire clearance on the swinging arm. The SM swinging arm kit comes complete with the rear wheel sprocket spacer which obviously moves the sprocket further away from the line of the tire. Up front on the Miller frame the front engine mount is widened to allow a distance piece to be inserted to the left of the motor. 2 other distance pieces are used on the lower mount and also the rear. Front and rear sprockets have been displaced the same distance and therefore line up. The lower tube has been subjected to some serious "SM" wellie!! to allow the oil pipe assembly and drain plug to be accessed Personally I thought this was VERY CRUDE. Also by moving the engine over the front of the exhaust pipe is very tight against the front downtube. My current frame doesn't use any offsets, and the lower tube has had a tubonectomy which as OTF said gets rid of all the oil issues TONY

The TY175 SM pegs and brackets are not as big as the TY250 set and therefore do not bend as the footrest mount is farther forward. The TY250 set has the footrest mount further back and that tends to bend in towards the frame, however it can be bent back without too much hassle. Tony

Well Glen WE got lucky with our newest member of the Mountain West Vintage Trials Association. After our Dolores 2 Day last year using town land Casey said he had some land we could use. He has a rock and grading company right here in town. I assumed he had a few acres around his house and we would lay out some sections for his kids. He took me out to view his land ALL 230 acres of it slab dab in the middle of town. Riverbeds, cliffs, rocks loose dirt the whole spectrum!!! You could use it for Vintage pleasure which we will be doing in August for the ITSA National, Club, National or even World rounds........ and all within 1 mile of my house........ currently under snow but its good, very good and FREE. Everything inside the red lines are his and he wants us to use it for TRIALS Tony

As I'm a smoker and have always smoked Rothmans for the last 60 years. (thats not a misprint) I have always had a desire for a "Rothman's". The first was the last of the RTL's although I had a ride on the earlier drum brake version. I was instantly at home on the RTL as everything seemed to be a perfect fit for me. It was incredibly stable, almost felt as though you were on a workshop stand! The power was soft at idle but there when you wanted it. Steering and suspension was very good. I also remember the one I built had a Titanium Carb!! Other memories of both these models was the "odd bits" that seemed to be put on as after thoughts, gas bottle, coil, and velcroed CDI ?? The 260TLM was often seen in Pentax colors and some like the one I acquired were Canadian imports and were very plain. The 260 motor was perhaps as powerful as a Jumbo and it also had a sloping bash plate that you would have real trouble getting stuck on. Power was very smooth but seemed excessive when you gave it some wellie! Suspension and brakes were very good and it steered well. The frame was weak at the back around the SA and mine arrived broken in 3 places. Preferences must be down to either being a 2T or 4T man. TLM oodles of instant power, RTL softer and perhaps a more stable riding position. Off course the "other one" was not designed for trials but would clip 170 mph and was the most user friendly crotch rocket I have ever ridden. Tony

motovita, If you hit the red "Tony's Blog" it should take you directly to the site. Failing that then go www.blackcatvintagetrials.com and then scroll down to 2008, hit the year, then July, and it will be at the top of that page. Tony

David, The TY175 replacement SM pegs are a direct swop, but on ALL TY250 models you MUST remove the hanger as it was part of the frame. Tony

One of the best improvements for the TY. As has been said the bracket is a little weak and will bend in over time. Easy to straighten. Things to note: Is your frame equipped with the lower rail studs? If it was a CAT model for the US it will be and fitting will be no problem. True 74 Ty's only had an open rail and you will need to either fill and drill + tap or go for the easy option of a length of threaded rod and use a self locker on each end. All later frames had the lower rail studs. You will need to check the length of your swinging arm bolt (they come in 3 sizes) if it was a CAT model and has those lower studs it will be long enough. Also you have to remove the old hangers with any of the footrest options. You might want to read my blog article on 7/28/2008 on how the operation works with all the pictures. Tony

Certainly looks really good, credit to the builder! However what class are you riding her in ? Tony

Doesn't sound like you are doing anything wrong, perhaps more a lack of experience or "feel". Assuming you cleaned the balls and cups from all the dead grease and then regreased and put 19 balls in the lower and 22 in the top then you are heading in the right direction. Tighten down the stem nut with either a C spanner or light hammer and punch and now turn the lower yoke back and forth a few times to feel the tension. It will tend to bind on the full locks and may feel a bit "gritty" if you are using the old balls. Fit the upper yoke and stem bolt and now line up the yokes and fit the forks. I would fit the wheel and brake cable and now give it a few turns left and right on full lock. It will be slightly tighter at the full lock position. Test the fore and aft movement by applying the front brake with the bike off the stand and adjust the C nut if required. Tighten down the stem nut and then the rear horizontal bolt when its lined up. Most likely you will need to adjust this all again as the grease squeezes out and beds in the balls Tony

OTF, boy its your lucky day!! I did the same thing on the rebuilt Superglitz Yam when I fitted the TY Mono forks and yokes. The wheel that I acquired (FOC) from a friend had those 322 shoes. You can see if your wheel looks similar to the one I fitted. These wheels which fit the Mono forks are from either 80-82 IT models or from the 80/81 YZ. They all carry 322 shoes which EBC cross relate to the grooved 507G so that is what you want! Tony

Just for Glen, the 2012 version of the Ex Don Morley factory 350 Bullet stumpuller! Fame shortened to give 51" wheelbase from 55", Titanic engine lifted to give 12" ground clearance from 5.5". Weight reduced from 309lbs to just under 270lbs. Fantic front end, Yam rear wheel. Integrated clutch decompressor. Tony

This is the bike that I lent to Mick which has been rebuilt for 2012/13. Ty Mono forks, Big bore WES exhaust through the frame, Magical shocks, OKO flat slide, Gas Gas front fender, Shedworks retro tank/seat unit. Tony

OTF, that set cost $75 off ebay complete with yokes and stem. Of course in the USA we can use anything up to 1974 for Ahrma and ITSA. No restraints on frame, or carbs with our ITSA trials. Tony

Just like OTF I let this bloke sit on my bike...... and within minutes he's off riding it in competition !!!!!

Depends what specification you are building to and what events you intend riding the machine in. The "cheat" forks are expensive and why they should be acceptable to the Scottish Pre 65 is still in my mind unreal as nobody, but nobody had them fitted back then ! ...... and again if "that" is THE event youy are building for then look at the frame as well and the fact that it must run on an Amal. If you are building to any other Vintage Trials org, check their regs and you may find you can use B50 4stud forks which has a 3/4" stem and will take a Yamaha TY front wheel. Tony