woody

I know the one you mean. Nothing wrong with that though as they were around when twinshocks were current. Just managed to source one for my bike but no idea if it is any good yet. Probably not knowing my luck. Back on the topic, be nice to see some of these SWMs in the Classic series this year. Only one that makes the odd appearance is Chris Dark on his blue framed 280. Wonder if the Jumbo that was on ebay a few weeks back was ever sold. It never made reserve and wasn't relisted. Looked in very nice condition too. Ideal bike for the Phil King round of the Classic with those BIG muddy climbs - if it's wet...

Falcon sets the Nitrogen gas pressure at 90psi

This will be of interest to anyone who has to use Birmingham licencing office to register an old bike. Went there on Thursday to register my C15. Had the MOT (from the day before)insurance certificate, driving licence (as it is the old non-photograph version you also need a utility or credit card bill as proof of address) completed V55 and a dating certificate from the Vintage Motorcycle Club (who are authorised to date old machines by DVLA)confirming the age as 1959. Whilst I was waiting to be called to the counter a memner of staff was doing the rounds checking that all paperwork etc. was in order before people got to the counter. She told me I would need to get the bike inspected. I thought we'll wait and see what the guy behind the counter says. Everything was in order but he said it would need to be inspected. I asked why and I got the predictable 'that's the procedure' reply. Asked to speak to the manager who promptly arrived and confirmed the same. No exceptions, it must be inspected. I pointed out that I had proof of age from an authorised body and an MOT confirming that the bike complied with the necessary regulations for a vehicle of that age. The inspection, I was told is not to 'MOT' it or examine its condition, merely to verify that it is what I'm claiming it is and that the details given are correct - ie; that the frame number on the bike matches the one I had given and that the bike was what I said it was. This, I was told, is DVLA policy and that all centres should do it (after I pointed out that not everyone has their bike inspected) No exceptions is the rule. So if you are registering at Birmingham, the chances are you will need to get it inspected before they will issue a registration number. To their credit, when I explained that I was unable to get any more time off to take the bike they agreed for someone to come to the house to inspect it. PS Anyone had an MOT under the new computerised system. Is this progress? 5 minutes to perform the MOT - 40 minutes waiting for the computer to get a response from wherever as authorisation to print off the certificate. And it is like that every time, that wasn't a one off slow response. It's halved the number of MOT tests this place can do....

It's a very good venue but any trial depends upon how it is used. It is mainly wooded bankings which offer big climbs, cambered climbs, mud holes etc. with potential for big open and flowing sections. If the sections are right 4th gear could be in play on some, depends on what the weather does with the ground. If it's wet, then it's very slippy. I've ridden it several times, it usually takes a few marks and hopefully the sections will again be of the open variety rather than tight up your own jacksy, hinge required in bike crap. There are a couple of muddy streams running through it, one has a few rocks but obviously we're not talking Yorkshire standard rockery here. Hopefully 2 laps of 20 sections again, it's always been a good event but obviously nothing is guaranteed. If you like only dry rocky going or rocky streams then maybe not for you, but if you like getting the bike wound up in slippery going then give it a try. It has been used as a group in previous Vic Brittain trials. Re; Earl Shilton, I was speaking to someone at a trial last week and they mentioned that you need a hinge in your bike to ride their events as they are a bit on the tight side. Now I've never ridden there so don't know but that is what was said, but obviously it was only that person's personal opinion.

Twinshock TY will have the same rim as my Majesty so you may have the same problem with it slipping partially into the well. With Michelins, not sure if you will notice any real advantage fitting a tubless type though. I have a tubed michelin on the Majesty and it works ok. Only reason I was using tubeless IRC is I prefer IRC to michelin but the tubed IRC has too soft a sidewall for me and rolls around a lot where as the tubeless doesn't (or at least hadn't used to, the last couple I've had feel softer and have started to roll a bit so don't know if they've changed them) With the michelins, the construction feels the same between tubed/tubeless

You don't say whether your TY is a mono or twinshock - I believe they use different rims. I've fitted my Majesty with an IRC tubeless but it won't stay on the rim all the way around. There is always a section of about 6 inches on one side that slips back into the well (not always in the same place on the rim) I re-inflate to blow it back out but after I start riding it slips in again. It's never dropped right off but I can notice it when riding. I've used the same tyre on Ossa rims with no problems whatsoever so obviously the shape of Akront rims as used by Ossa differ from Yam DID rims where the bead sits. I've been told that tubeless tyres have a longer and sharper bead edge than tubed type so that they sit deeper into the different shaped bead of a tubless rim. Remove this 'edge' from the bead of a tubeless tyre and it should sit with no problems on a tubed rim. I haven't compared the two myself or tried what is suggested though, so can't comment.

All depends on how much you want to pay, which I guess is linked in to how serious you are going to be in your use of the bike and therefore what you expect from the shocks in terms of performance. Top of the tree are Faclons which will set you back about

My bike is an 05 with recommended lubricants. Apart form the usual problem of the clutch sticking sometimes from cold on the first occassion of selecting a gear, as happens on many bikes, there is no drag at all when riding. It is just the sharpness of the take up that is the problem. There is a certain amount of drag on any clutch when kicking a bike in gear, not so noticeable on a 2 stroke but it is there, but more noticeable on a 4 stroke due to the increased compression which means you can't spin the engine as fast as a 2 stroke on the kickstart. 4 stroke MX and enduro bikes can also be a bitch to start in gear at times. Much easier in neutral but in riding they suffer no drag at all. The only time my bike is a problem to start is when it is in gear, although I can start it in gear sometimes. Put it in neutral and it will go 1st or 2nd kick every time, hot or cold makes no difference.

I remember seeing that red Steve Wilson Bultaco with the chrome exhaust at Wakelin and Ward and drooling all over it. The shop was only a couple of miles from my house and I used to live in it each Saturday morning when I got hooked on trials (thanks to watching some bloke on a 72 Bultaco riding in our local quarry when we went playing at scrambling on our pushbikes - it was Arthur Browning) Bunny Ward was a real character and a very nice bloke too. Still see his partner Roger Wakelin riding at local events. At 15 ish, I finally got a 71 Bult. We used to watch Arthur ride and when he'd gone we'd go and try his sections. He then used to bring Steve Wilson with him and Dave Smith would also join them. All of them now on spanking new red Bultos. We'd watch in awe as they made and rode sections and it really gave us something to aim at. It was just after this that his personalised Bulto appeared on show in Wakelin and Ward. At this time I decided to stay on at school for A levels so no money was available for a new trials bike but I did manage to buy a 2 year old 74 Ossa MAR, which is what I'd always wanted. On Monday afternoons, we always started with a double period of something called current affairs, which was usually some abysmally boring lecture by a fellow pupil or guest speaker on some topical subject or another. It really was gut-wrenchingly dire. One Monday in particular, skiving off was being discussed but this was in the days when teachers patrolled outside the school and checked the local snooker hall and such an offence resulted in being dragged back by the side-burns followed by a fair old thrashing with the cane, so we decided we'd better attend. Imagine my surprise then, when I walked into the hall, to see nothing less than Steve Wilson's Bultaco, the one I'd been looking at in W & W, sitting on a stand at the front of the stage. Steve himself was the guest speaker, talking about motorcycle trials no less. Who had booked him I've no idea as no-one in the entire school knew anything about trials. The only sight they'd ever had of a trials bike was when I sometimes turned up on the Ossa (at 16 - you'd never get away with it now) The talk was excellent, backed up with projector/slide show with lots of pictures and it was very well received. I even got a few nudges - is that what you do. 'Oh yes' said I 'I've been practising with that bloke'. Immediate hero status... Happy days indeed. Well, until I aborted the pursual of A levels and left school to begin work - this meant selling the Ossa to get a car, bringing a temporary halt to my trials riding. A soon as I could afford it however I got another bike - a 76 Sherpa 325. Below is a picture of me competing on it in a Stratford club trial in pimped up period riding gear It was taken in 1978 at Chips quarry, Broadway, just outside Stratford, a venue that was used in the Colmore until the early 90s. I'm sporting my school shirt and jumper, tragically wide jeans (that never caught in the chain) and the ever popular dunlop trials wellies - as is everyone else in the picture. And yes, I majestically cleaned huge rock step that I'm just lining up for, the air in the jeans helped me float up it.. As for the bike it soon gave way to another Ossa. But that wasn't the last I saw of it. About 12/13 years ago I was selling some Bultaco parts and I had a call from some chap, not entirely related to what I was selling but one of those 'do you know where I can get...' type of questions. Anyway it turned out he was passing through our area and he would drop by. He pulled up in a open backed Transit which contained a disassembled trials bike. A 325 Bultaco, but not just any Bultaco, it was OWP 4P, the one in the picture above. Couldn't believe it and neither could he. Showed him some pictures of the bike when I had it and it made his day. Ah, memories.

Hi Patrick, nice bike. I like that model. There aren't so many older Bultaco/Ossa/Montesa being ridden here as there is no specific class for them. We have pre65, or sometimes pre70 British bikes but after that it is mainly just a twinshock class, so older bikes like yours have to compete with Fantics, SWM, Yamaha Majesty, Honda TLR etc. As this is difficult, people tend to ride these later, more competitive twinshocks. Maybe one day we will see a Pre74 class in trials like they do in motocross, or even a pre70 non-British class too, but until then most bikes like yours won't get ridden, which is a shame, as there were many of them imported here. Where are they all?

Just what I'd like to know too, as the one thing I'd like to do with mine is slow up the throttle response off idle. Also interested to know how you get on with the Mitani clutch plates too as the clutch on my bike can be an absolute nightmare. Sometimes works well, normally in a non-critical part of a section, but on other occassions it hits like a sledgehammer, usually at the cost of marks as it shoves the front wheel out on turns with all the subtlety of a pub bouncer ejecting a drunk. Why Honda can't get it right I don't know, the clutch on my '98 315 was bloody awful and TLR250 and early RTL bikes were crap too. They can revolutionise fuelling with the 4RT, fit brilliant suspension, but can't do a simple clutch... Why..?

Yup, definitely better off starting it in neutral. There is a lot of drag from the clutch when trying to start it in gear, which makes it difficult. Should generally fire up fist kick in neutral, hot or cold, although as with any bike, there will always be the odd time it takes a few attempts for whatever reason.

If they use proper sections outdoors then I think Doug has every chance of lifting another title. If they continue the direction they were going last year however and use more and more indoor sections outdoors, then it will undoubtedly go to one of the Spaniards. I hope, purely for the sake of the true spirit of trials, that they use natural terrain as they should. Keep the man-made sections where they belong, in the arena. Outdoors should be a test of rider against the differing terrain of different venues and whatever conditions nature throws at them with the weather, not a test of someone's ability to slam up and down 6 foot steps over and over again. Dougie can still give anyone a run on proper sections.

There were 3 alternatives as I recall. Shirty did one, Talon did one and a Midlands company called Gateway (I think) did one. None were very impressive. You're better off finding a genuine Pinky Yam one as they work... Ellastone off-road may have some as they are often breaking Yams. Don't know about any weight difference but why worry? I think people get overly concerned about the weight issue. Even if it is a few pounds difference it isn't really going to be noticeable riding sections, it's mainly in our minds.

Thanks for that. With the 9 tooth gearbox sprocket fitted to my bike, that equates to about a 45 rear tooth so I'll give that a go as a starting point. PS Dirtrider, is it you that rides your Seeley in the Scarbourough? 3 day trial in August (organised by Bill Pye I think) and which one of our local riders, Bob Greenhough, also rides in. He mentioned he had tried a Seeley with a 250 conversion at that trial - would that be yours?

Just about to order some Falcons myself as the Seeley is now running around the garden at last. The shock angle is very similar to the Majesty and I'm running 60lb springs on that and they work very well (I'm 110kg before being kitted up and have to lose some), although on the Yam, the bottom shock mounts are further forward of the rear spindle than on the Seeley as I lengthened the Yam swingarm, so that may make a difference. I'll have to see what he thinks. Another question now - How many teeth are you all running on the gearbox and rear wheel sprockets on your Seeleys. The rear sprocket that came with my bike is 48T. Seems big, especially as the gearbox sprocket is 9T.

Yes, I've seen that carb body too. Also showed me a pure magnesium mikuni carb once and the difference in weight from a normal one was incredible. Not to mention the hand cut super-light gear cogs. Luvverly stuff...

Nice Gripper. I rebuilt one to look like that a few years ago, along with a 350. Sold them both but should have kept them as they were immaculate. Prefered the MAR to ride though so they went. So the mythical man in a Barcelona warehouse is no longer myth - he exists. I've heard this story on a few occassions over the years but no-one knew of his whereabouts, or even whether he existed. If you come accross any MAR front exhuast pipes let me know as mine have all had it and I haven't been able to source any (1974/5 chrome version) Original alloy mudguards would be nice too, along with the original type front stays. I've also had my moments of weeping and envy thinking about who got all that stuff when the factories folded. Still do....

Nice job on the bike. If your TL points cover doesn't turn up, try Ellastone Offroad (advertise in TMX under spares) as they have a lot of Honda spares. They often have the odd 200 TLR motor lying around too.

Penny's dropped and I've just realised the difference between the chin cup/strap and an under-chin strap. Can't remember how he resolved the problem, just recall that he carried on wearing it. I do remember it meriting headlines in TMX at the time, on more than a few occassions. Helments definitely compulsory on the road from 1973 as Montman says - unless you wear a turban.

Thanks for that. Saw the the girlings on ebay but I've never had pair of girlings that worked well so wasn't tempted. I've a pair of old Rock Shocks I can now check the length of and rebuild if they are ok, otherwise it's another call to Mr Falcon.

Added? or do you mean removed - as far as my dismal memory serves, wasn't it the fact that he had a chin cup that was the cause of the problem?

More help required again from you Seeley owners please. Anyone know what the standard length is for the rear shocks - centre to centre of the bolt holes. My bike came as a box of bits without any. Thanks

Yes and No They told him to stop wearing it but he carried on regardless. Think he was still using it when he was on the JCM.

Very nice - very original too. Steeled myself to have another go at the electrics today. Knowing that the wiring was correct and with the help of a second set of ignition components, managed to identify that the sender from the cam wasn't sending anything. With the replacement I have a nice spark. Further examination shows bare wires touching each other out of the sender so hopefully it is as simple as that and once re-insulated should work ok. Thanks again for the wiring info, made it a lot easier to sort.