woody

£800 is on the steep side but around £500 is common - it's not cheap due to the labour intensive work - the frame needs to be polished several times. Once on bare metal to apply the copper, again before the nickel and again before the chrome, then one final polish on the chrome itself. It is a pig of a job and they don't always get the polishing mops into all the nooks and crannies or the insides of some of the frame tubes so sometimes you will see rough finishing (I'd imagine they do on the £800 job...) There are other issues as well like rust coming through eventually and if you break anything and it needs welding it will make a real mess of chrome (unlikely though if you're not riding it)

No, he dealt with that superbly at the time with the ambition / talent line. I'd stab a guess at what Casey is enjoying is repaying the jibes that Rossi threw his way when he signed for Ducati. Asked how competitive he thought the bike would be, his sarcastic reply was it is impossible to tell how good the bike is as Stoner isn't trying hard enough. Add in a few more jibes about Stoner and his crew not being able to set it up properly and he set himself up nicely for one of the biggest doses of humble pie eating ever seen. Casey is just enjoying helping a few more spoonfulls go down - and why not. Something like 23 - 0 in Ducati race wins, never mind the poles. Rossi should have kept his over inflated ego in check and his mouth shut. Loving it - should spice up the race this weekend...

Crutchlow still has until the next race weekend at Indy to re-sign with Tech3 - according to Poncheral. A contract has been offered to both him and Dovi and he is still waiting for an answer from both - but Dovi has been reported to have signed for Ducati, although unconfirmed by anyone at the moment. If Crutchlow doesn't re-sign, there is the possibility of the Ducati factory B team. Scott Redding could also be heading there. Crutchlow wanted a factory ride but the Yamaha and Ducati too it appears, factory seats have now gone. The Ducati itself is a gamble, the B team even more so as there is no guarantee it will be a full factory bike. Probably his best option is Tech3 again next year. Hayden is only on a one year contract with Ducati for 2013, so maybe Crutchlow on a factory Ducati in 2014 if it has been improved enough. Suzuki will be back then as well. A good season on Tech3 next year may open more doors.

Great event, really enjoyable weekend, well done SSMCC team. Absolute pleasure to have two days riding around that area. Even better without the bust collarbone Right Buzz - you've had your day's rest - hope you're on with sorting out next year's now

Carol Nash, Aviva, Bennett's etc. - they'll all do it off the frame number but generally only provide cover for 14 days to allow you time to get it registered. They may not necessarily extend that period so you have to take it out again or with another insurer if 14 days isn't long enough. Get it MOT'd, get the forms and everything you need completed and get booked in with the DVLA centre - you should be able to arrange to have it inspected and registered at the same time. Only when all this is complete should you insure it so that you can be sure that your 14 days covers the date of your DVLA appointment. If you insure it and then try to sort the rest out you may run out of time with the cover note. As far as number plates are concerend there is only one legal size/dimension for a motorbike and that is the full size job that road bikes (should) have. Anything else is illegal and is the same offence as not displaying one at all. Obviously these are totally impractical on a trials bike and the police do at least accept this if you get stopped on a trial. Generally, if you've got something half sensible they're happy - not like you can do a runner at 170mph on atrials bike anyway.... What you fit depends on your bike and therefore the style of mudguard you have. Pre65 and twinshocks are still able to use the old style yellow or black stick on background with stick on numbers/letters as the profile of the mudguard means they are still visible from behind. Modern bikes are what you saw in Scotland due to modern upward facing rear guards - all sorts of solutions. None though, will meet the requirements of the law.

There is no requirement for a speedo for a motorcycle MOT. It is not a testable item. There is no requirement for a rear reflector. It is not a testable item when, no lights are fitted, fitted lights are permanently diconnected or permanently masked over. The MOT testable items differ from what is required by road traffic law and the use of the bike on the road.

They don't need him with Lorenzo there in terms of winning next year. With Stoner gone, Lorenzo has a trouble free run to the title next year. The odd win for Pedrosa maybe but overall Lorenzo will be too strong, provided he is injury free and Yamaha don't make a cock's hat of next year's bike - unlikely. The only reason to have him back is to milk the marketing potential and take whatever sponsorship money he brings. They have been doing fine without that though and leaks coming from various sources suggest they have agreed to take him back but on their term - way reduced salary, no. 2 in the team and without Burgess and Co. He's also stated himself that a 'disadvantage' of going back to Yamaha is having to be no. 2 against Lorenzo on equal machinery - he doesn't like strong team mates on equal machinery, especially as this time, that team mate is clear no. 1. He has reiterated again how p****d off he was at Yamaha, after 'all he'd done for them' that they took such a strong rider as Lorenzo into the team against his wishes. Seems the Ducati has battered his confidence but the ego is still intact. He's put himself into a real dark place by having his tantrum with Yamaha back in 2010. If he returns it will be as no. 2, on Yamaha's terms and with the proverbial tail between his legs. Results against Lorenzo aren't impossible but definitely not guaranteed. Can't see him taking the title against Lorenzo If he stays at Ducati, he has to hope that they can give him something that suits his style, which looks pretty set and not flexible enough to ride anything any different. Unless they hit 2013 pre-season tests with a Yamaha clone, it will be another long barren season. Either way, hard times ahead.

You don't need a reflector or speedo. Bicycle horn from Halfords, battery operated continuous tome for post 1973 bikes. Bulb horn is ok for older bikes.. If you have Michelin tyres that say 'not for road use in USA or Canada', I'd erase the wording unless you're know the tester and what they expect/look for. Although it isn't applicable here, if the MOT station you use is finicky they may fail it for that, even though they shouldn't. Some I've been to have no concept of day time MOT and won't even look at it without lights and indicators. Not all of them know the law....... Similarly, if the silencer has not for road use stamped on it (TYZ for example) grind it off or cover with a decal or stick on carbon. There is only one set of rules for the MOT, but many testers make their own up... Also - pump your tyres up - you could get a fail for under-inflated tyres - they don't understand trials bike pressures.

Assuming you have a good earth (green wire) and that you have the black wire from the stator connected to the HT coil (they have been known to run with the yellow connected to the HT coil but badly obviously...) and that you don't have any breaks in the black wire either in the stator or up to the HT coil so that it is earthing out:- as you've replaced points, plug, cap, condensor and HT coil, there is nothing left to go wrong but the LT coil. It's 45 years old - just put a new LT coil on it. Then you have all new electrics. It's rare for an LT coil to fail but they can. If it was me I'd replace the lot (most of which you have) As for readings, I've never understood electrics, so given the cheap replacement of all components. that is what I would do, only costs about £60 over here everything, cheap for peace of mind. . You could go on forever messing with voltmeters or whatever. New components with no frayed or cracked wiring and problem should be solved.

I had a Dunlop on my TYZ and grip was no problem. Had one on my Bultaco (tubeless rim) and it gripped well enough but not as well as an IRC does on that bike. When I had to put a tube in it because it split, the grip worsened noticeably. In my opinion, as mentioned before, the IRC grips better than the others in mud, lasts longer and still grips when knackered. They are cheaper than Dunlop or Michelin - generally.

Your Sherco has tubeless rims - the Pirelli MT43 is a tubed tyre so you can't use it on the Sherco as it won't stay seated on the rims. Someone on ebay is advertising MT43 Tubeless which is wrong - unless they have started doing a tubeless version of the MT43. The tubeless Pilrelli was always the MT73 but I have no idea if they are available any more The price of an MT43 seems to be between £55 AND £70 (generally the latter) with £10 delivery. You can get a tubeless IRC for £70 with £10 delivery - that's £10 difference for a massive difference in performance. IRC in my opinion is unrivalled in mud and will outlast any other tyre in terms of wear rate and ability to continue gripping when pretty shagged. The IRC is probably as good in snow as well now, so the Pirellis have lost that advantage too. If you're riding trials events, Pirellis shouldn't even enter the decision making process.

The Sammy Miller fibreglass tanks had chrome filler caps

You can do the kickstart shaft without splitting the cases. Remove clutch case. There is a shim on the end of the kickstart shaft which may stick on the inside of the case so look out for it. Once the case is off you have access to the shaft. Remove the circlip followed by the shim, gear, needle roller and another shim. If I remember correctly, if you rotate the shaft in the direction of the kickstart, the spring that preloads the ratchet assembly will shoot everything across your garage as the ratchet slides out from behind the stop, so take care here. Hold it all in your hand when rotating. You need to rotate it far enough to disengage it from the stop and slide the shaft out. If you can, slide your finger inside to hold the spring in order to draw the return spring out with the shaft. I'd recommend lying the bike on its side to do this as there is another shim at the end of the shaft under the spring. If the bike is upright, it may drop into the gearbox. Not the end of the world as you can retrieve it, but better if you don't have to go fishing. To refit is just a reversal of the above. The large bolt head you can see in the top of the crankcase above the shaft is the kickstart stop. It may be easier to refit the shaft if you undo it (can't remember if I did or not) Don't forget the shim on the inside end of the shaft - plenty of grease to make it stick as you insert the shaft. The return spring location is pretty basic, you should see the marks of where it locates both ends when everything is removed. Once the shaft is fully home, tension the return spring by rotating the shaft and then slide the ratchet fully home so that it engages with the stop. DON'T be tempted to then turn the shaft to test the tension otherwise the ratchet assembly will fly off with no case fitted to stop it. You should be able to feel if there is enough tension with just a small turn. Don't forget the outside shim and replace cover. Make sure the kickstart stop bolt is fully home if you removed it (not sure you have to but can't remember) This is from memory but should be about right. There are parts diagrams for the hiro engine here. http://www.armstrong-trials.co.uk/

Generally my favourite too. Wanted one when I was 16. Bunny Ward had a new one in and he was going to ride it in the '76 Scottish, then it would be for sale. I had a 2 year old 250 at the time and so much wanted the 310. Odd job and pocket money were never going to do it though - Still didn't stop me going straight to the shop after the Scottish to look at it - but it was sold. Nearly cried. Following Saturday, off out on the 250 and over to the local quarry to see if Arthur Browning had made some new sections I could try (Arthur, Bonkey and Steve Wilson used to practise there and we'd try their sections after they'd gone) I was down in one of the holes practising pivot turns off the sides and I heard another Ossa up top. Rode back up and got a real kick in the nuts. There was Bunny's 310 Ossa with one of the other local lads on it. Gutted. It took me until 1990 to finally get hold of one as they're quite rare and in the following 22 years it has had an absolute hammering and 3 rebuilds. It's now waiting for a 4th... Just one of those bikes I'll never sell.

The 303 came after the Gripper and Ossa were dead and buried by then. Few were sold and the remaining job lot were supposed to have been sold off by the factory (or what was left of it) to another country but can't remember where. Essentially a re-styled Gripper but with steeper steering and the front frame tubes reverted to welded on, not the Gripper style bolt on. Never imported to the UK. There are a handful to be seen riding in Spanish classic events. Never ridden one, I'd think very similar to the Gripper but I'd imagine they were more exciting on steep drop-offs with that steering angle and the high footrests

First, I'm not a mechanic so I'd never try and give specific advice on how what's wrong or how to repair an engine, as I wouldn't want to mislead someone if I got something wrong However, from what you say, it does sound as though the main bearings are pretty worn, so yes the engine will need to come apart. Whilst it is apart the condition of the big end and piston/bore can also be checked. If you have no experience with this you are going to need a competent mechanic to check them for you. Stripping the engine is fiddly because you have to remove the sleeve from the crankshaft that the clutch weight sits on. It's a tapered fit and can be very difficult to remove as they can be a very tight fit. You need a special puller to get this off and the only place I have seen one for sale is Keith Lynas in USA (Ossa Planet website) Someone clever may be able to make you something that will do the job. You also have to remember the left hand thread on the gearbox sprocket and the ignition flywheel. Once you have the crankcases split you have to watch out for the shims. They can be on both ends of every shaft in the gearbox including selector drum and kickstart and they need to go back in exactly the same places - Or, you can carry out the extemely time consuming job of trying to re-shim the shafts (crankshaft should have shims too) from scratch when you reassemble. Or there could be none in there, but unlikely. if you've never done an engine before they can be a bit fiddly, so it may be better to find someone who can help and watch them do it, or do it under their supervision. If you get the shims wrong in the gearbox, you could end up with the shafts not turning, no gear selection or stiff gear selection. That's why, when you split the engine, do it gently and make sure all the gear cluster sits in the right hand side (ignition side) crankcase. Any shims will stay on the end of the shafts or be stuck onto the bearings with oil. When you remove the gear cluster from the right side crankcase, the same applies, watch for shims staying on the shaft or sticking to the bearings. There can be more than one shim on the end of each shaft. There is generally a big shim behind the final drive gear which is usually left in the gearbox when the cluster is removed. It's the same size as the crankshaft shims. When you get replacement crank bearings, make sure they are 6205 C3. If you get normal 6205 and not C3, they will most likely melt - they did in a Bultaco I rebuilt years ago. Forgot to check I'd been given C3 - I hadn't. They must be C3.

You can't really date a Gripper as they all have frame/engine numbers beginning 73 (76 for 250) The 350 was built from late 79 - 82/3 so the higher the frame number the later the bike, that's about as close as you can get. There is an on-line manual here, at the bottom of the page, although it may be the same one as the link in the post above http://hem.passagen.se/ossa/

Why do you need a class? You have the bike, just pick trials with suitable sections, what does the lable of the trial or class matter? A TR34 will be more than capable of handling modern B route sections. Remember the sections they were ridden in at WTC events. Still don't understand why people worry about classes and labels. A trial is a trial, the main point to consider is your own ability relative to the event - the TR34 will handle anything most of us can throw it at - my '72 Sherpa is capable of more than I can make it do. TR34 is a nice bike to ride in its own right, it would be criminal to destroy it with twin shocks - and for what purpose really? You already have twinshock bikes.

It's the same as a MAR engine so the Clymer manual will cover it. The only difference is the MAR has a cushdrive on the clutch whereas the Gripper doesn't, it has a counter weight. Gearbox sprocket nut is left hand thread. The ignition flywheel may also be left hand thread, some are left, some are right - can never remember if it is the early Ossas that had left hand thread on this or the later ones - it changed around 1974. Clymer may mention it.

To be fair with the rookie rule, Yamaha, Ducati and Honda all wanted it ditched - but I take your point, the combination of Honda, Repsol, Marquez and the Spanish connection probably helped.... As for CRT, it's a joke and has achieved nothing. More bikes on the grid but for what purpose

What I did with a Pursang a few years back was to cut a pair of Bultaco rests in half and weld the half that bolts to the frame lug onto a Honda (or whatever) motocross footrest. This gave a modern wider rest which bolted to the existing frame lug. It was the best option I found for better footrests if you aren't bothered about moving their location. Used M/X footrests should be plentiful and cheap on ebay - They're usually steel off the older bikes.

Supposedly made for the home market as holiday resort rental bikes - most had the dual seat, lights and passenger footrests. I remember seeing a good few of them in Ibiza many years ago. Basically just a model 190 with sleeved down barrel to make it 175. Only difference in the frame from a 190 seems to be the rear mudguard loop which is longer like the later 198/199 bikes.

Memory is a bit hazy but it is part baffle and part tube / packing, so if you're handy with the welder it's worth cutting the back off and checking the condition inside. If you're going that far you may as well replace the insides with a tube from front to back with a single outlet. Welding them back up is the hardest job for me, I can only use a mig and it's too easy to blow holes in the thin metal. I have to 'spot' it all the way around. I hate the job.... The Jumbo is a standard Jumbo frame - doesn't look so nice in silver. The last 240/320 bikes used this frame as well and they're quite rare. They are a sharp handling bike with quick steering and light on the front - especially the 350.

The 221 model used the 250 frame with the bend in the downtube from the 190

If I can remember correctly, the SWM backbox is similar to the Sherpa clubfoot and is part baffled inside. If so, what they've probably done is remove the baffles and replace them with a straight through tube and packing, like they do with the Sherpa. Unless you're really serious and want to ring every last rev out of the engine, it's not going to be worth the work. The standard system works well on the SWM if it is in good order. They have a great sound when the system has been repacked.