woody

I'd try a simple change before you go altering the chassis and that is to fit longer rear shocks, or extending your own, which will also have the affect of pulling the front end in a little. Due to the design/layout of the Sherpa frame there is little room for pulling in the Sherpa forks on the head angle or by reducing the offset with different yokes as the front mudguard will hit the frame downtube if it is moved rearwards even slightly. I've never really understood the 'stability' theory of the Sherpa. I find they can get off line the same as any bike up rocky streams/gullies but because they have a lot of lead on the fork angle you need a lot of room to get back on line, KT kwak is the same. I have a 199b and apart from the 10mm longer shocks it is standard. Steering in tight stuff is fine, although it has a lot of lead on the forks, the turning circle is tight. I'm more concerned about improving the crap front forks than steering. The bikes that had the swingarm pivot moved forwards by Commerfords here in the UK were done to improve rear suspension travel and grip, not turning. They had longer swingarms to compensate for the pivot moving forward. You really don't want anything less than 51" wheelbase otherwise your never going to keep the front down. You can get that wheelbase by running the rear wheel as far forward as possible.

Well, it's Border Bikes who have them in stock and on sale at them moment

Yes, in my experience that is correct, with or without the tube, no need for security bolt/tyre lock

If you mean a second hand used crank (rather than a new crank or conrod kit) you could try the following, assuming you're UK. In-Motion (Bultaco UK) Sammy Miller Wakefield Offroad Ellastone Offroad Price could be anything up to about

Could well be a Shirt silencer yes, I seem to remember a different shape one from his usual type appearing at some stage. It's actually the same shape as the Kato one that I have but that is in alloy. Straight through should sharpen it up and maybe give it more mid to top end power. If the perforated tube in the silencer has an S bend it makes it a bit softer ans gives a bit more bottom end torque

Come on Malc, you two have got to get to learn about your Bultos now you know. Model 91 is 72/73 250 Sherpa, the model after the 80, so your engine/frame are only one model apart which is nothing to bother about. I'll be impressed if it is done for the opening Miller round, that's a tight schedule. I'm trying to get my model 92 done which is the 325 version of Gav's bike. Be nice if the pair of them are there. You know where you went wrong with the 'er indoors' knowing how many bikes you have by the way - not trading her in for the first one....

Well, that's more like the price I thought they should be - apart from this ebay item though, no-one seems to advertise prices anymore. Someone I know phoned BVM this week and couldn't get a price out of them for a new bike, two different brands I think. Personally, I've no idea of the prices of the current bikes, doubt I'll ever be buying one again so don't follow them, but the prices I mentioned were the prices I was told by someone last week who has recently bought a new 250 GasGas. If they're correct I'd no idea they'd gone so high. Will many people be spending that sort of money on a trials bike in this economic climate. Used car market is dead at the moment so what chance of hobby bikes selling in the sort of volumes from previous years. Still can't believe over

I was told at the weekend that the price for a 250 GasGas (not Raga) is

Woosters have got Michelin tubed on ebay now

Hard to tell from the photo angle but could be a Japanese aftermarket Kato I think Shirt tail pipes were only in steel

For 18" tube type you have 3 tyre choices - Michelin, IRC or Pirelli The Michelin isn't the X11 as that's the one they discontinued, it is a sort of remake of the old X1 but in our experience in the muddy Midlands it isn't very good. However, given the absence of mud in the Scottish it should be ok. The IRC tube tyre has very soft sidewalls, some seem better than others, but they can roll badly on the sidewalls the heavier you are. On a rigid they may roll but obviously I can't say categorically. Pirelli will work ok but not have as much grip on the rocks as the other two. Have you asked Clive Dopson what he uses on his Norton, may be worth doing so. Don't fit a tube tyre to a tubeless rim as it will more than likely give you problems. If you fit a tubeless rim you can use a tubeless tyre in Scotland, just fit a tube. No need to ruin the rim by drilling for security bolts as the tyre will seat just the same as it would without the tube.

The gasket between the head and cylinder is a metal (alloy) ring. They can be used over again, no need to replace it unless it is damaged in any way which is unlikely. Cylinder base gasket is paper, any gaskets you need and a fair amount of other stuff are available on ebay USA as well as USA Ossa specialists. See this site for links to various specialists; Mats Nyberg Ossa Site

You'll have to ride in the modified class with 18" you know....... (sorry, there isn't an icon for slapped wrist...)

The engine on a MAR won't come out before removing the cylinder without a huge amount of difficulty, there isn't enough room in the frame cradle to manipulate the engine into a position where it will come out with the cylinder on. If you manage it you'll be the first I've heard of and you won't do it without damaging the paint on the frame. Remove the front engine bolts, remove the rear top bolt and that will let the engine drop slightly at the front whilst pivoting on the bottom rear bolt which you need to loosen. With the engine tilted forward you can now remove the cylinder. If you don't tilt the front of the engine downwards there isn't enough height in the frame to remove it, it will just hit the top frame tube. Once the cylinder is off the engine drops out of the bottom of the frame, not lifted out from the side. To remove without tilting the engine you have to remove the two rear cylinder studs after removing the head. With those out of the way the cylinder can be tilted forward as soon as it has cleared the piston. If the engine is coming out anyway, tilting the engine forward is the easier way to remove it. Replacing is reverse of the above, engine has to go in without the cylinder, get the engine in then replace the cylinder. When removing the exhaust ring be sure to use some sort of tight fitting C spanner. If you use a hammer and drift to turn it, it can be done this way but it depends on how tight it is and should be an absolute last resort. You risk damaging the threads in the exhaust port which are very fine or the ring itself.

There is a pretty original model 92 on ebay USA at the moment with decent pictures if you want some reference points Item number 220343089293

Location, given the reference to road reg. and tax exempt is going to be UK. Bultaco is the easiest of the twinshocks to restore as virtually everything is available off the shelf from a dealer or specialist somewhere. Of the stuff you have listed the exhaust will be the most difficult to source. On the 92 the front pipe anf silencer weren't all in one like later models, they have a chrome front pipe and seperate silencer connected with a rubber hose and then a triangular spark arrestor inbetween the shock and frame tube (not required and usually missing anyway) No-one makes aftermarket front pipes or silencers for the 92 yet (decent ones anyway, forget the Miller versions which are awful quality and appearance) so you will have to trawl ebay USA for those if you can't find them here, they come up faily often. If you're just interested in getting it up and running to ride and not obsessed with originality then you can also use an exhaust from a type 125 or (I think) 191 and also use a banana or clubfoot rear silencer which quietens it down and just requires a mounting bracket welded to the rear frame loop. I've done this on mine. The earlier bikes without a rear silencer can be a bit noisy. Or you can also use an exhaust plus flange from a later square barrel 250 as they have the same exhaust port size as the early 325. Later 325 from model 159 (maybe 191, can't remember) have a larger exhaust port so won't fit the earlier 325. The only other items on the list you may have trouble getting are the seat and chain guard. For the seat, a Miller replacement used to be available, not sure if they still are, don't fit quite so snugly as the original but perfectly acceptable in appearance. Original chainguards are big ugly things, you may be better off making a smaller one from alloy. As much as I hate chainguards they are needed here in the UK really as they help keep mud from clogging around the final drive. The other stuff should be no problem. For parts, new or used, there are Bultaco UK, JC Motorcycles Port Talbot (John Collins, ACU Official who posts on here) or Sammy Millers Give the rebuild a go, finding a good running type 92 in the UK is difficult and even if you find one you may end up spending a lot of money on it too once you get it home and get into it, so you could end up worse off. At least with this one you know what you've got already.

Hi Malc - just had a look at Gav's new toy but off to a trial now so only a quick glance. First thought is are you sure the frame number isn't stamped M85 rather than M80, or been altered from 85 to 80. There are a couple of things that are wrong for an 80 but right for an 85. I'll have another look later. M85 is an early 72/74 Alpina but exactly the same frame dimensionally as the Sherpa so not a problem if it is.

Not sure what comments you're responding to there as I've never criticised the age of riders in the event. In a previous post in this thread someone stated that it was a trial catering primarily for older gentlemen on old bikes and I responded by pointing out that it wasn't. The age of riders in the event is of no interest to me young or old, therefore I've no feelings to express on that subject. As for Mr Wylde I know someone who went to buy a Pre65 trials bike from him once. He was looking for an original example and given the man's well voiced opinion on originality, thought that the bike would be what he was looking for. Imagine his surprise to find that it had been modified by the owner to make it 'more rideable'. Another case of double standards. There's a simple enough reason as to why riders began to leave the genuine specification of Pre65 bikes behind and that was to gain any mechanical advantage they could over their fellow competitors. It began long ago and has eventually spawned today's cottage industry that provides 'lookalike' (that's a laugh in itself) Pre65 type components to 2009 specification. People these days seem to have been sucked into believing that all of these brand new components are 'must haves' in order to create a rideable machine. That in itself isn't true, a nice rideable bike can be created for a fraction of the cost of what is being spent. Unfortunately, regulations governing some of the Pre65 scene, not just the Pre65 Scottish, prohibit anyone doing it on a modest budget because of the 'eligibility' rules. And that is the biggest grievance that a lot of people have as it is an absolute farce

"Please remember that this is a Trial for Pre65 bikes and not Pre65 Riders and that the ballot is done by category and not the first 180 out the hat." So - borrow or buy one of the bikes that has been used by one of the regulars and that's it - guaranteed entry as it is all about the bike, not the rider, and that bike will have been accepted year after year - who is actually entered on it should be irrelevant...

Holes at a guess are 1.5 - 2mm but that is just a guess from memory when I've repacked them in the past. I have one lying around somewhere that I cut open as I was going to try and make one myself a while ago. However, fabricating isn't my trade and the external shape of the silencer looked too difficult for me so I gave up. If I can find it I can confirm the size but I have no idea where it is and it won't be until the weekend that I go back into the shed in this weather, as I've no heat in there. However, you can buy the perforated tubes so I'd save yourself the trouble of making one. I think Off Road Only (ORO) in Llandrindod Wells sell them, DEP will probably sell you one and most motocross shops will have them. If you can't get one with a big enough diameter, as most may be for motocross/enduro tail pipes which use about a 25mm tube, try a car exhaust manufacturer as they will have bigger tubes. It's about 30mm from memory in the middle box but again, I can confirm if I can find mine.

There are no baffles inside the middle box on the MAR, It's just a straight through perforated tube wrapped in wadding. The original, barrell shaped, push on tail pipe on the MAR has two baffle plates inside

I know the rider concerned

493 - 3... makes it '78 onwards yes. Yamaha UK customer services will date it for you if you phone them with the frame number, they're helpful enough.

Wiggy's second card score was 2...... Bloody brilliant given the conditions - ice, ice and did I mention ice. Although so was 11 for the first card.

Can't speak for Fantics but I have fitted a 26mm OKO to a 320 Majesty and it ran perfectly, started first kick, straight from the box, no mods or even adjustment of the pilot screw. It will stand on its back wheel from idle in 3rd gear and revs it nuts off so the carburation is working right from idle to full throttle. I've just put a 28mm OKO on another 320 (bought for a Bultaco) just to try it and got the same result. No adjustment, 3rd gear off idle and it's on the back wheel. That engine isn't yet run in yet so I can't say whether that carb revs right through. I'm not saying one thing or another here and I may have been lucky that the jetting just suits a 320 Majesty, but from that experience the pilot circuit is working fine on those two carbs.