woody

Far from an expert on this but how you do it is down to your available abilities and resources. Boring out the standard yokes seems to be the most common way. This is difficult to do whilst retaining the standard offset I am told (by offset I man the angle the forks run at in relation to the stem, not strictly offset but it will do) However I guess you could bore them parrallel to the stem which is easier, as the mono forks are leading axle you could afford to reduce the head angle slightly. You can try pressing out the mono stem and replacing it with the t/s one. You may would have to bore out the mono bottom yolk to do this as the ID on the t/s bearing is much bigger, can't remember about the top bearing but you get the idea of what is involved. I think to fit the mono yokes complete may be difficult due to the odd bearing sizes. You'll have to measure up what you need and then you could phone pyramid parts (they have a website) who stock odd bearing sizes. They actually do taper rollers for the t/s so it's possible they could supply bearings that would fit the mono stem in the t/s. Or you may have to make up sleeves or collars for the bearings to get them to fit. Whichever way you do it it is a bit of a job that is probably going to need engineering skills somewhere along the way.

Don't you believe it.... I lost a GasGas off the back of my Sierra 4x4 years ago from wailing it round a roundabout. Centrifugal force took over and the bike just shot out sideways and got dragged behind the car. I was only 200 yards from the house. The RAC rally was in town that year and a few crews were using the local filling station on the roundabout as a service area so I thought I would impress them with the Sierra's cornering ability. Gave them a good laugh anyway. No way could I have got that bike out manually though, it was well strapped in using the tailgate hinge, towbar etc. Never figured how it came out but that Sierra did corner well... Not learning from this experience I lost an Ossa a couple of years later on the way home from a trial. Feeling hungry enough to eat anything I went into one of the local shopping centres that had a MacDonald's. The place was pretty empty so rather than follow the lanes to Mac's on the farthest side of the carpark I bollocked it accross the middle. Didn't know about the slight elevation change, only spotted it at the last moment, obviously too late, so the car (Mk3 Escort estate this time) launched off the slight ramp at around 30mph. It bounced hard enough to smack my head into the roof, first bottoming the front suspension, then the rear. As the rear rebounded the Ossa catapulted upwards out of view of my rear view mirror before returning with a loud thump on the tailgate and landing on the tarmac, once more resulting in a dragged bike before I brought the whole sorry mess to a stop. Fortunately no damage to the Ossa which was more than enough of a relief to offset the large dent in the tailgate inflicted by the bike on its return to earth. Strap them in tight boys.

Have you tried Steve Goode, he may have some NOS decals as he has various parts for old Betas, been a Beta dealer right from the outset. Or he may have a brochure picture you can use

I used to ride my Ossa to school, never in the dark so didn't need lights, but I was 16 then and didn't think twice (about a licence either) My mate also used to ride his TL125 to work and back. However, no way I would even contemplate it now. Traffic is far worse now, the lights on the Sherpa are going to be like 1960s xmas tree fairy lights or candles at best and if it's dark and raining you probably are not going to be seen and get wiped out. On a proper road bike you are at least sitting high enough to see around and over cars, on the Sherpa you will be below roof height, again hiding you from other road users. I don't think the police would like it much either these days. On the plus side I guess in a traffic jam you could do a 'Freebie and the Bean' and ride over the cars instead of sitting in queues.... I'd also suggest buying something purpose made.

I used to ride my Ossa to school, never in the dark so didn't need lights, but I was 16/17 then and didn't think twice. My mate also used to ride his TL125 to work and back. However, no way I would even contemplate it now. Traffic is far worse now, the lights on the Sherpa are going to be like 1960s xmas tree fairy lights or candles at best and if it's dark and raining you probably are not going to be seen and get wiped out.

Have a look here Shows the various TR34 models, maybe you can get a clear cutting of the decal.

I had a ride on some Puma Racing Bultacos recently. These bikes are built and set up almost to perfection, possibly perfection itself even, as everything works as it should, much better than when they were new. The rear brake was no exceptopn. A couple of the bikes had cable operated rear brakes. Perfect feel on the pedal meant I could even use it to steady the bike balancing with clutch in, the pedal action was light, smooth and progressive and responded to the lightest of touches. Not far off the feel of a hydraulic brake by comparison. I guess the secret is a perfectly machined boss that the pedal locates on with correctly bushed pedal with no slop/resistance, quality cable with routing for least resistance (although I think it was normal routing from memory) and then whatever Mr Puma does to the brake shoes and actuator in the hub. The front brake and clutch gave the same superb feel on all the Puma bikes I tried, very close to modern bike hydraulics in lightness and feel (clutch was probably lighter actually - yes, on all three Spanish marques...) These are both cable operated so why shouldn't the rear brake work well by cross over cable. It's all in the set up obviously from someone who knows how (ex factory Montesa and Bulto mechanic) No way I can get my Sherpa rear brake to work like that and I'm just swapping it to left hand pedal/rod this week as it happens... But if you can find a man who can.

Are you sure it isn't a problem with electrics giving a weak spark and giving the impression of running rich. It would be very unusual for a carb that hasn't been touched to start running rich at the next event unless a jet is loose or float needle sticking etc. The 250 Villiers should run fine on an Amal MK1 although it would usually be a 26mm rather than 24mm. Mate of mine has a 37a engine on a MK1 which gives no problem at all. Before you fit a Dellorto I'd check the rules of clubs you ride with. Riding an easy route in a modern event, no-one will care what carb you have but for Pre65 events I can't think of any club that would like a Dellorto fitted, has to be British - the only exception I know of is Yorkshire Classic who allow bored out Cubs to have a Dellorto for some reason

First of all you need to decide what events you want to ride your bike in and with which clubs as this could have a bearing on which forks you fit. If you are going to ride it at local modern bike events on the easy route where they may have a pre65 class, the chances are they won't be bothered about the spec of your bike as they won't know any better, therefore the forks you fit won't matter. Always the chance other riders may whinge though. If it is to be ridden in classic club events then they may be a little more fussy over what you fit. Some classic clubs excercise a certain amount of tolerance with modifications, others go apoplectic if they find you have so much as a metric nut and bolt holding your chainguard on (slight exaggeration as I'm induldging myself...) Most clubs will accept forks doctored to have a period appearance (whatever that is as some that are allowed look anything but) Most forks are 35mm stanchion diameter so you want yokes of that diameter. Montesa Cota 247 yokes (from 1973 - 76 bikes) are a good choice as they are basically the same as the billett yokes manufactured by several specialists and these are all accepted. Most yokes use bearings with an ID of 25mm and OD of around 47/48mm. The OD of the original C15 headstock bearings is obviously imperial measurement but works out at about 49mm so metric taper rollers won't go straight in. What I did was to make a sleeve to fit in each bearing housing in the headstock which sleeves it down to 43mm. Pyramid Parts do taper rollers with ID 25mm, OD 43mm and depth of 11mm (maybe 12, can't remember) This allowed me to use the Montesa yokes. You can then fit any 35mm forks. Ossa yokes are another 35mm option although they take bearings with an ID of 20mm, not 25mm. Gives you a few options, but you really need to decide what events you are going to ride it in as to which direction you go in. Depends also on which part of the country you are in. If you aren't bothered about riding it in a pre65 class, then if the mods aren't acceptable to any given classic club, most have a specials class you can ride it in.

When I tried to insure the Jumbo, I had the same problem in that Carole Nash didn't have it listed and couldn't do it. I never got as far as you did, even though I had 2 bike policies with them and 1 car policy. As I had another long standing policy with Norwich Union through Swinton brokers I tried them. They were able to insure it but as it was added to my existing policy (which takes up to 4 bikes) there wasn't an actual premium for the Jumbo itself, it was just an add-on fee. Going back to Carole Nash, the policy they operate for bikes also allows multiple bikes. Even though it is one policy, each bike has its own certificate and is insured seperately meaning that if they all get stolen they are all covered. The premium is generally based on the highest rated bike and other bikes are just subject to an add-on fee, similar to Norwich Union (except I don't think NU offer this anymore) Any bike prior to 1984 I think, is regarded as a classic and therefore has a cheaper premium. If memory serves I have 3 bikes on a classic premium which costs about

Friend of mine spoke to secretary a few days ago for entry details and was told already full with about 30 on reserve. Popular event then...

Off Road Only in Llandrindod Wells have (or used to) a fairly large stock of piston pin sizes. If you can find them on the net they used to list all the pin sizes in their catologue, or just ring them with the size.

Someone, somewhere, must know how the kickstart is held onto the shaft..??

Below is the method from STU on one way of fitting the GasGas kickstart to the Cub shaft ################################# To fit Gas Gas kickstart:- The flat on kickstart shaft that takes normal cotter pin needs to be groung back carefully with a hand grinder so the flat now comes right to the end of the shaft, now ream out the steel swivel of the Gas Gas kickstart so its a nice fit on shaft then from a piece of round bar cut a d shaped piece that fits the d shapes space that remains when you have fitted the kick start swivel on to the now reground kickstart shaft, make sure you have it positioned in the right place and then weld this new d shaped piece in place in the kickstart swivel. Now a bit of pub, we make half hard ali kickstarts for cubs along with our new wide ali forged footrest/ali mounting brakets that take ali brake lever and ali chain tensioner..... PS, What is best is to use a dummy kickstart shaft in a vice, to be sure you've got it all set up/dimensionaly correct and it can then be checked at itervals so your not making a cock up.....Gas Gas kickstarts are not cheap and all this work while not complicated needs to be done well/acurately....... ################################# Now, the only thing I can't work out here is how you retain the modified kicker on the shaft without it falling off. The GasGas knuckle/swivel doesn't have a pinch bolt as on the GasGas the end of the shaft is drilled and tapped and a retaining bolt stops the kicker sliding off. This can't be done on the modified Cub (C15 in my case) shaft so how is it held in place on the shaft?

As it was a 2 day trial it was a chance to use 2 bikes, one on each day, so I planned on taking the Ossa and the KT which both fall in the pre77 class. However, I've just got the BSA (C15, not B40) back together after some very lengthy work trying to straighten the tired old frame. So I took that too with the intention of trying it on some sections after the trial as the Manx classic is coming up and it has to be right for that. So did one lap on the Ossa on Saturday, no problems with it apart from the new IRC rear tyre which has sidewalls so soft it was hard enough to ride it in a straight line in the field, never mind sections. They've really gone in the wrong direction with their tyres. So, decided to ride the second lap on the BSA as the sections looked a good test for it and would show up any problems. It performed well with the exception of the chain jumping the rear sprocket on section 15 I think. The rear wheel seems to be pulling out of line so have to look at that, but I decided to use it again on Sunday. All was well until about section 11? up on top of the hill. I stopped to take my rucksack off and it wouldn't restart. 15 minutes of fiddling and it still wouldn't go, I think it had an electical connection problem maybe. Decided to roll down the hill back to the carpark but when I stuck it in gear it fired up. Turned round, went back and rode the section but it misfired towards the ends cards and died. So, rolled back down to the carpark, got the KT out and finished the trial off on that. It's like a barge after the other two so it was like riding a different set of sections that time around...... Great fun though.

Nothing to worry about I'd say. Mine is the same, if you screw it tight it is way out of line for the cable so it needs to be backed off. It was like that when I got the bike and has probably been like it for years. Hasn't caused any damage to the threads.

Brilliant race. He had got it. Unfortunately, seems he decided to get Rossi back for brake testing him on the penultimate lap and did the same himself on the last but one corner. That caused him to run wide enough to let Rossi through. If he'd have just held his line instead of trying payback he'd got it, Rossi was beaten. Although he must have been gutted at least he had the decency to get off his bike, take his helmet off and do an interview holding a pleasant demeanor. Unlike Rossi at the last race who sat on his bike and kept his helmet on refusing to acknowledge Stoner or Lorenzo at the end. When he did finally get off his bike and walk to his pit crew Lorenzo held his hand out only to receive the most cursory of touches from Rossi before Rossi turned away. How different yesterday when he was happy to crash Lorenzo's TV interview to make the point he had won. Whilst he's a brilliant rider there's a dirty side to his racing that is ugly. Brake testing riders takes no skill and is not gentlemanly, it's as good as cheating in my view, he's done it to several riders over time, Stoner in Laguna Seca last year and Lorenzo in this one. He punted Gibernau off the track a few years ago and should have been black flagged for it but got away with it. He pushed Stoner to the edge of the track twice in Laguna Seca down the main straight, which is what Stoner wasn't happy about. He now hangs his leg out ridiculously wide going into corners to try and block someone coming through. Someone should run into it. At least now he has a team mate who has equal equipment and with the single tyre rule (I hope) Rossi can't have special tyres anymore, so his team mate is giving him a good run so he's not having it all his own way. Stoner or Lorenzo for the title with any luck - hopefully Stoner purely for the way he hangs onto that Ducati and gives it everything but particularly as he has no ridiculous post race celebrations with which to 'entertain' us.

Yes, just like to add also what an enjoyable weekend it was. Got home from work on Friday and finished prepping bike, give the van a checkover for the 400-odd mile journey from Brum to Alvie, sort kit out, get tools together and load everything into van. It's now 11pm and time for bed.... Set alarm for 2am... Alarm goes off before head has even touched pillow. Sod it, is this really a good idea. Mash down a few rounds of toast with Golden Shread's finest, mug of tea and onto the M6 by 3am. Relieved to have a trouble free run out of the Midlands as believe me, I've been at a standstill on the M6 in a queue of traffic on more than one occassion at that time in the morning. Press on and soon passing the Lakes turn off. It's around this point that the signpost that says Carlisle 90 miles looms into view. Great, as once there, the next signpost says Glasgow 90 miles and it's at least another 90 after that. Not far to go then... Never mind, lots of CDs to play. Then the player packed up so it was Radio 2 after that as it was the only station which stayed in reception. Holy christ, whoever gave that **** Alan Carr a job on radio....... what an a***, a stuck CD sounds better than him. And then there was Paul O'Grady. Radio 2 has definitely sunk its standards. Luckily I missed Jonathon Ross' show. Anyway, past Glasgow at around 7.30ish and starting to feel hungry. I'll pull over at a roadside cafe and have a proper breakfast I thought. Mile after mile, no cafe. I now know they don't exist north of Glasgow.... Get to Alvie around 9.30am. Trial doesn't start til 11am so time to go into Aviemore and get some breakfast. Find a roadside space big enough to park the van right outside a cafe. Result. Three cafes later and I still haven't found one that serves cooked breakfast - what is it about Scotland and cooked breakfasts and cafes..... the breakfasts in the bed and breakfasts and hotels are fantastic. Anyway cafe number 3 at least did sausage and egg sandwiches so two of those please and a mug of coffee and then ready for the trial. Walked back past cafe number one where a nice young lady was busy setting tables and chairs outside - this was really optimistic as it was p***ing down all morning..... And so to the business end of the weekend, the trial. First few sections in the stream by the carpark to set things off, nothing silly but enough to make you think about lines on some and easily capable of stealing marks. Then up onto the hillside for a few more sections that were plotted around rock outcrops embedded into the hillside. Remainder of the sections were in the forest grouped in about 4 or 5 clusters connected by some nice forest tracks which let you play at enduros. This also brings the reality check that trials drums aren't as good as KTM discs at stopping so more than one 'moment' was experienced en route to sections. Great fun. The sections set in amongst the trees had a Lakes 2 day flavour about them (not as hard obviously) with roots and rocks becoming exposed with the passage of bikes and it was here that the major mark takers were situated. Sections 13, 14 and 15, 15 in particular, were very good and on older twinshocks really made you think about getting line and acceleration points sorted in the section recce. Get off line and that ancient suspension won't help you at all. It will stop you dead, no chance of recovery as the rules are proper - no-stop. The last 3 sections were back on the hillside just above the carpark and 16 was another tricky one to get right with a proper no-stop ride. 17 and 18 to round off the lap and back to the start for the punchcard change. Day 2 had some sections replaced with new ones and some existing sections altered slightly for an increased variety over the weekend. The major mark takers were still in apart from 13 which was a shame (personal opinion only, not meant negatively) as it was a bitch to clean. The forest tracks were enjoyed again and the brake drums got another good warming in several places before lap 2 brought the event to a close. Load up the van, hit the burger van, then the road and home for 11pm. Thoroughly enjoyable weekend with great banter between competitors. Good variety of bikes and really nice to see an Ulf Karson 247 Cota being used in anger and from what I saw quite effectively on the hard route. I can't remember the last time I saw a 70s Mont being used in a classic trial. A few early 70s Bults as well with some nice pre65 machinery. Beautiful scenery (as long as it isn't raining...) great ride around with good sections over 2 routes. So, what puzzled me is why weren't there more riders from Scotland supporting it. If classic trials are at a premium up there (from what I've heard) why aren't classic enthusiasts riding this one. The two routes cover most abilities so most will be catered for. Where are they all? - especially given the number of pre65 riders that enter the Scottish 2 day. Get your bikes out and ride it and make the most of it whilst you can. Wish we had terrain like that down here. I'd put the standard of sections somewhere between the better of the Sammy Miller series and the easier of the Traditional series, the greater percentage leaning more towards the Miller series. In other words, if your handy at expert level and you have a modern twinshock then preventing loss of marks will be more down to concentration than anything. For older bikes the sections are just about right on the A route with several that present a good test and to reflect that there is a pre77 class on the A route. Twinshocks can also ride the B route on a no award basis (I think) but who cares about awards, most importantly, if your ability suits the B route you can ride your twinshock. B route is perfect for pre65, although pre65 front runners in the traditional series would cope with the A route on their modernised bikes. Thanks to the Inverness DMCC for staging the event. Definitely hope to ride it again next year and hopefully take some mates along too. If you want a nice pleasant weekend's trialling in a very pleasant setting then give it a try.

I'd guess the Miller boomerang (never had one) is the same construction as the original Bultaco item inside, except it's made of alloy not steel. The original has a perforated tube with packing, no baffles, and there is no point trying to clean these out. If the packing has clogged with exhaust goo or disintegrated the only way to repair it is to split it open, clean up the tube (the holes get blocked with carbon) and replace the packing

Sherpa 75cc and 125cc are also 6 speed

I don't think the full width weight was a Yamaha option. There were full width weights available for the Majesty but these were made by John Shirt. They were generally for the 320 not the 250. They are pretty heavy. One of those on a 250 will kill the motor and the throttle response will be really slow, the motor just won't pick up. It's interesting what you say as generally, we find that the 250 doesn't have a problem lugging at low speed but needs the standard weight skimmed or removed altogether to get any sort of urgent response from the throttle as they lack decent power and struggle to pull with the standard weight in anything other than bottom gear. I was riding a 250 Majesty at the weekend which we were setting up. The flywheel weight is skimmed to about half its normal size and the bike is fitted with electronic ignition. We started with the ignition reasonably retarded and it was flat with no pull. Moved it onto full advance and the motor was pretty lively for a 250 and would lift the front wheel in second gear off tickover speed with a twist of throttle. It lugged right down low and showed no tendency to stall. Although it is a Majesty it is a standard TY motor, they weren't tuned on normal customer bikes, only suppoted riders. As I'm pretty sure the big weight isn't a Yamaha part I think you may have trouble sourcing one. You could try Ellastone Offroad in the UK as he has TY parts and has broken Majesties in the past, so it's possible (remote though) that he may have a big weight. Or he may know of another source. I think he is on a trip to the USA at the moment though so may be away for a week or so. Craig Mawlam who bought up the remaining Majesty stuff from Shirt doesn't have any. I asked as I wanted one for a 320. Other than those two, I'm not sure there are any other options other than getting one made.

It's been a while since I looked at one but it looks like a TYZ flywheel to me too.

Bou? - Yes, and he rode back against the flow of the section. But it's WTC - anything goes

Several options: Put a wanted ad in the ads section on this site Keep an eye on ebay - they come up from time to time, more common on ebay USA and not too expensive to get something that size sent over Try the various breakers, Ellastone, Wakefield Offroad etc Get it repaired by brazing and get it rechromed if you want an as new finish, as long as it is good enough to rechrome. If the metal is thin where the hole is then the polishing may polish through it. Millers do a new replacement but it isn't a single tube bent to shape, it's several pieces welded together and isn't as good an appearance as an original. When you say a late MK2, the MK2 was only made during 74/75, the '76 green/white model with the angled shocks was a MK3 although it still had the shorter chrome front pipe. Later MK3 bikes had the long black front pipe. The Miller pipe is the short one (black though, not chrome) I'm assuming it is the chrome pipe you have. However, you can use the short or the long, there is no difference in fitting. Doubt you'll notice any change to performance with either.

There are a couple of places in Devon - they advertise in TMX (or used to)