woody

Depends what you're used to riding - bike and event type. The bike would need to be a good one with good suspension and working brakes, much in the mode of a modernised Cub or James. Naturally, the more capable the rider, the 'worse' a bike they can manage around the event but ideally, you'd want to be on a well sorted one. In terms of events, if you have ridden any Normandale Traditional rounds and found them too hard, then the Lakes will be too much without question.

If you can travel to another licencing centre try them instead. What yours is saying is garbage but as they can make their own rules up it is hard to fight against it. When the bikes are over a certain age I don't think the VAT issue applies anyway, but regardless of that, the fact that Honda say it was a genuine UK bike means VAT would have been paid.

Yep, that's how it goes

The parts look the same but there are differences and they don't swap straight over Early 325 up to model 151 are basically overbored 250 barrels with different fins. Later 325 M159 on has a thicker liner and the exhaust studs are further apart because the port is bigger, so exhausts aren't interchangeable. You can use an M158 or later 250 exhaust on the early 325. 92 has bolt on carb inlet. You'd have to swap it for a push on carb inlet from a later 250 if you want to retain the bing as the later 325 inlet is bigger and won't fit the early 325 Clutch basket and hub have different fittings, look the same but aren't Clutch crank weight shaped differently to allow for the different shape clutch case. Later weight will foul the inside of early cover. Gear shafts are different, mainshaft has different bearings clutch side and shafts are different diameter. Clutch springs held with pins on early bikes, nuts on later - hub not interchangeable, different shape at the rear. Forks have a tapered top yoke on early (or all) 92 so you'd have to swap the entire front end, not just the forks. All have the same bearings/steering stem fitting so not a problem. Maybe more I've forgotten about...

Yes, it's possible. I'll check when I get home tonight

When you screw the selector plate back on with the 3 screws, the rotating peg will engage the pawls that sit behind it into the selector drum. The peg should be pointing upwards at around 12 o'clock position and will move side to side from about 10 - 2 o'clock. When you then push the selector shaft assembly on, the spring should sit either side of the rotating peg which then sits in the slot in the selector. When the selector moves left or right the spring tensions against the peg and returns it in either direction after a gear is selected. There is only one way it will fit really. When fitting the selector, just move the rotating peg with your hand to position it so that the peg engages in the slot. Check that the shaft isn't bent. Although it is only short, the gear lever is quite vulnerable and can get caught and bend the shaft - which could also cause it to stick as the spring would not be strong enough to return it if it is bent where it comes through the casing. Your gear lever needs to be set at 2 o'clock, it's at about 5 at the moment which is the number of minutes it will last if you ride it like that... Very nice bike. Definitely an M92 which is 325cc yes. I never knew the earlier 325 had a 25mm fitted. I thought they were all 27mm, as per the 250.

They all float a bit so don't worry about it. You'll certainly worry about the cost of replacing that bearing....

Carb should be a 627 - typo? Gear selector mechanism can be looked at by removing the clutch cover and removed without having to remove the clutch. Only 3 screws hold it in place. Check that the spring is fitted correctly or not broken. It'll be obvious when you check it. Lever position is up to you but angled up is better to help avoid it catching. Vertical would be a bit extreme for me... Best drain off old oil and start with new. Clutch 300cc of ATF (ok as plates are all steel) Gearbox takes 600cc and normal Silkolene light gear oil will be fine, or other equivalent. The engine will be pretty much the same as your old Alpina and if the Alpina was an early one, they are pretty much the same bike, different gearing, big tank and seat.

Great news Andy Hugely recommended, this trial, hard route as good as any of the Normandale rounds so ideal for twinshocks and good Pre65 bikes. Easier route comparable to one of the harder Miller rounds.

Hadn't thought of that, I'll give them a try. The real shame of it was that I did it whilst showing a bit of consideration for a couple of walkers coming towards me inbetween sections across a field. I was moving over to the edge of the field to give them a wide berth out of consideration, hit something hidden in the grass and BANG, was off before I knew it. I was half chat in top gear so motoring a bit, ended up about 30 feet from the bike, face down and facing the way I'd just come. Result - bruised, dazed and a collarbone in 4 pieces and neither the bloke or his bitch wife bothered to stop to see if I was ok - and they were only 20 feet away when they passed me lying on the floor. And my mate who came upon this carnage reckoned the bloke was taking pictures of me crawling on all fours, so I could be featured on the ramblers assc. website satisfying his perverse humour... (walker's not my mates... maybe) So the result of considering others is never finished one of my favourite trials, missing the Nostalgia and Manx and quite possibly the Manx Classic as well if it isn't anywhere near fixed in 3 weeks. Probably not. Have to add though that most walkers I've come across in all the years I've been riding have been fine, only the odd exception like these two. Last Miller round in Pately Bridge, a group of about 20 saw me coming up a track and waited a couple of minutes and held the gate open for me. Opposite extremes eh.

It used to be worse years ago. Bikers going to the TT had the petrol syphoned out of their tanks at the docks before the bikes were allowed on the ferry (not sure if this happened to cars as well) Just enough was left in to get to a fuel station when on the island.

Empty cans are fine, yes, so no need to hide them As are full cans on the way back home....

Whilst we're on about the Isle of Man, I have a place booked on the ferry to the Manx 2 day that I don't need now thanks to a broken collarbone. Depart Friday 26th 2.15pm Heysham - Douglas, leave Douglas 8.45am Monday. Booked for a LWB Sprinter plus driver. PM me if interested.

You can take empty cans and they aren't bothered if they come back with fuel in, but you can't take fuel over in cans. If they find it you'll have to dispose of it.

Although you haven't removed the weight someone else may have, so it may be seated incorrectly. I guess it's possible that the tensioner could be bent which may cause the chain to rub, unlikely but not impossible I suppose. The basket will provide the line for the chain. The chain will run in a straight line from the basket to the sprocket on the weight and shouldn't touch the inside weight. If it does it's most likely the weight isn't seated on properly, as mentioned above. The magneto puller is no use for the weight. I've never needed a puller for the weight, they ususally come off by hand or with gentle tapping from a hide or copper mallet. You have to remove the basket and weight together and equally, if one comes of further than the other you will bend the chain and the resistance will stop them sliding off the shafts. You won't need to worry about where it has been rubbing

To fit a new clutch (as in clutch plates) the entire clutch assembly doesn't have to be removed, only the plates. So just fitting new plates will not have disturbed the weight. What I meant when I said has the clutch been refitted recently was the entire clutch assembly - basket weight and chain (ie; engine rebuild or replacing crank seal) I can't advise you on replacing the chain and tensioner as I can't see it so have no idea of whether it is worn or not. If you can afford

Rollox, those footrests are quite weak and can break. If they do you could have a nasty crash. I have broken 2 or 3 of them. They can break if you hit them on rocks or roots and one broke under my weight when I hit a rock step hard. I still use them but I now strengthen them with weld at the points shown on the photo. At each end of the 'cross', top and underneath, vertically down the inside and finally where the footrest section attaches to the pivot as they can break off quite easily there. I can't mark that place with a circle as it is hidden from view but I have marked it with arrows. You can't put too much weld here as it will foul the bracket when the footrest pivots, stopping it from doing so. Once welded I haven't had one break, but if you don't you may have a crash if one breaks. I was at the top of a rock step when mine broke and it was a long way down backwards with a KT250...

The chain is catching the weight where? If your chain is rubbing on the inside of the inside weight (as it is a double weight on the 350) then you probably haven't got the weight seated far enough onto the shaft meaning the chain is out of line. When you fit the weight, the woodruff key can ride up out of the back of its slot and prevent the weight from siding far enough onto the shaft into it's correct position. Remove the clutch (obviously the clutch basket and weight have to come off together as they are joined by the chain) and look at the woodruff key. If it is pushed upwards out the back of its slot, that's your problem. Best way to fit the key is to loctite it into the slot with thread/bearing lock and let it set. The remove any traces of loctite from around the key and then carefully refit the clutch making sure that the keyway lines up with the key when fitting the weight, otherwise you may dislodge the key if you catch it with the edge of the weight. It's best to have the bike on its side when doing this as it is easier to line things up. Make sure the key isn't worn or damaged. I can't believe the chain could be that worn that is is moving around that much that it is hitting the weight. No matter how worn it is, the tensioner should control it. Not impossible though I suppose, but more likely your weight may be seated incorrectly. Has the clutch been refitted recently?

Seat upholsterers use glue to fix the cover to a fibreglass base. No idea what sort, probably special adhesive for that specific purpose, but it works. If you have an upholsterer near to you it's worth getting them to do it, they will make a foam and cover and fit it for about

I think there are many people who are worried about how safe it really is out there in terms of radiation. Personal view only, but I wouldn't believe any government or 'independent' report declaring it safe. Not where money is concerned.

May be to do with earthquakes, tremors, radiation? There are some MotoGP riders not wanting to go there for the MotoGP race later in the year as they don't feel it safe.

I honestly don't think there is a need to do that. The TY Mono forks work really well with very good compression and rebound damping. I doubt you would get any benefit from fitting modern forks. It's only my opinion but I don't think modern forks work that well on older bikes, or rather, their quick action doesn't feel right on older bikes. The mono forks have pretty linear damping characteristics both ways and the slower action, by comparison to modern, allows you to ride slower with more feel over obstacles such as rock jumbles, either dry or streams. The quicker action of the modern forks are more suited to the point and squirt modern technique and get a bit lively when riding 'old style' and picking your way over obstacles. I've tried a couple of twinshocks with modern front ends and to be honest, I felt there was no benefit over the original Marzocchi forks. If anything, the feeling was worse with the modern forks (for me)

Nothing to be honest, what's wrong with it? They, or the earlier 'banana' type, are a good replacement for the triangular one on the earlier models. As long as it isn't clogged up it should work fine. The section that runs up to the shock is perforated tube and the packing can get clogged or just disintegrate and get blown out. It can be cut open and repacked but it's a messy job. From the shock to the outlet (ie; the box section) it is full of baffle plates, presumably for the job of spark arrestor, so there is nothing to repair in there as long as they haven't come loose, I can't see how that chamber can get blocked up. As a mod, the plates can be cut out and the perforated tube extended to the outlet, effectively giving it the same internal arrangement as the banana type which is tube all the way through. The outlet just needs to be changed from 2 to one larger hole, as below

Original brochure picture showing how it sits

To be honest, your better off temporarily positioning the mudguard with tape and eyeing it up to see if it looks correct. Lots of Sherpas you see have the mudguard fitted too far forward which means the rearmost tip falls well short of the rear edge of the wheel. This makes the mudguard look too short. By playing with the positioning using tape you can see exactly how it lines up. I don't have a 199a now and can't remember if the mounting hole at the rear of the airbox is the same as a 199b. At a guess, on my 199b I have the mounting hole in the mudguard only 10 to 20mm from the mudguard edge. This gives it a full curve around the wheel.