woody

Below is a picture of some damper rods, not Fantic, they are from Betor forks, but the same in principle Just out of shot in the bottom right are the alloy cones that push fit onto the bottom of the rods, I'm guessing it is these that you can't seperate from the rods but you don't actually need to. I'm not sure if you're trying to do this to remove the damper rods from the original leg or whether they're already removed and you're trying to fit them to the new leg. If you're trying to remove them, pull the damper rod out to its full length and look inside the bottom of the fork tube there should be a circlip. Remove this circlip and the whole damper rod assembly will pull out of the bottom of the fork tube. Unless Fantic forks have a different arrangement but I wouldn't think so. To fit the damper rods, just insert through the bottom of the fork leg. The large alloy spacer you see in the picture sits against a shoulder in the leg so will only go in as far as it needs to. Fit the circlip and that's it, they're fitted.

They shouldn't touch, maybe your brake pedal is bent outwards

Stafford Auto will be running the Bert Tolfree and presentation trial followed by barbeque on Saturday 25th June at 4pm, Manor Farm, Milwich, Staffs The Tolfree Cup is awarded to the best Pre65 rider and celebrates the services of Bert, our longest serving member, now xx years young. The trial has all the usual classes of exp/inter/nov/o40 etc. although sections are aimed primarily at Pre65 and twinshocks. Two routes, the harder route will be pitched at giving twinshock riders a reasonable challenge whereas the easier route will be set for the Pre65 bikes, but it isn't run as a classic trial to no-stop rules.. Regardless of the bike that you ride, modern, t/s or Pre65, you choose the route you want to ride but the Tolfree cup is awarded to the best Pre65 rider on the easy route. If you're a handy rider and ride a modernised Pre65 bike such as James/cub etc. you may find the harder route a better challenge. It's probable that there may be a white route for beginners too. The emphasis is on a social event with the barbeque after the trial so hopefully the weather will be kind. The venue is mainly banks with roots on the side of a small stream which become extremely slippery if wet. Probably 8 or 9 sections with 4 laps so we are finished in time to present last year's trophies and enjoy the barbeque. So if you're around the Midland Centre and especially if you have a Pre65 or twinshock, dig it out and come along. There have been one or two newcomers from this area on the forum lately so bring your bikes and have a go. Milwich is signposted off the A51 at Sandon between Rugeley and Stone. The trial will be flagged from there.

Should be fine. They will sit the bike up a little more at the bike which in theory will quicken the steering, as mentioned above. However, it depends on the set up. If it is soft and your weight can get away with them being soft, they could settle under your weight to the same attitude as a shorter set with stiffer springing - swings and roundabouts. Ultimately, they shouldn't cause any problems if they are working correctly.

I don't mean this to sound flippant or sarcastic as it isn't intended to be, but by the time you have an answer to this, if there is one, you could have ordered and received a correct set from In Motion / Bultaco UK. It's just not worth the time and effort of trying to find out because as mentioned above, as long as they are good quality, one set of points won't work any better than another. Your points may be fine, if there is plenty of meat on them, clean them with wet and dry, but a misfire could be any of or a combination of some of the following; condensor, plug, plug lead, plug cap, LT coil, HT coil, bad earth, breaks in wiring, bad connections.

Should be straightforward then but someone better qualified than me will be better placed to answer.

That's about it. If you're buying seals from a local bearing/seal stockist make sure they are hydraulic seals and not rotary seals otherwise you'll be wasting your time and they'll leak pretty quickly. Not all seal stockists have hydraulic seals. If you just ask 'have you got sseals like this in x, y and z dimensions' you'll most likely end up with rotary type. I don't know how you tell them apart visually but they are designed to work differently, ie; for their own purpose, rotary like a gearbox shaft spinning in the seal, or hydraulic like a fork leg or hydraulic ram's in/out movement. From memory, they are 35mm id, 47mm od and 10mm thick. I think it is KTM SX65 or 85 forks that have that dimension so if you bought those you know you have decent quality fork seals.

Well, they probably don't now, as the championship has gone and even a win seems unlikely. But I don't think that would have been the plan at the start of winter testing. I'd say the eye was firmly on the title. Burgess had stated they have a very very good bike as a starting point, having seen Casey win on it at the end of 2010. They knew Casey was over riding it to compensate for defficiencies but after watching others ride the Ducati last year the problems in set up were obvious and with Rossi on the bike they could fix them in 80 seconds - whoops... Rossi just hasn't been able to ride it like Casey. Casey now on the Honda, with a front end he has confidence in, is going to take some stopping this year but I still think Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Simo will give him a scrap at times. I wouldn't be surprised though if the wins go into double figures.

To get a correct answer on this you need to say whether it is just a fibreglass tank cover with the alloy tank underneath, as fitted to the UK bikes imported at the time, or whether it is an actual fibreglass fuel tank. The repair methods will be different, the fibreglass cover will be easier to repair.

You have to have respect and admiration for what Casey achieved on the Ducati and the way he has just effortlessly switched to the Honda. The Ducati was capable of results but had to be ridden on a knife edge to get them and Casey rode it to that edge trying his hardest to win every race it seemed. Sometimes it worked sometimes it spat him off but it was entertaining if not a little frightening watch hime muscle it around. He has been the only one capable of getting on that knife edge for results. No-one else has come close. Now on the Honda, he looks a pretty formidable opponent to the others but I still think Lorenzo is not too far away and will push for wins at times, as will Simoncelli if he can stay on it and Pedrosa if he can get back to fitness and stay that way. Still think it's going to be Casey's title, accident/injury excepted, but I think he will have a few fights along the way. Ducati are in trouble as Rossi cannot ride the bike on the knife edge and is looking like a man losing his confidence with it. The Silverstone performance was an absolute shocker. Burgess' 80 second fix statement is looking a bit silly now, 7 months later.

You can still get leaded 4 star in the UK, it's not widely available but most towns/cities will probably have a supplier. It was kept on because of classic cars and bikes. Trials bikes will run fine on either so no point in paying the added cost of 4 star, probably knocking on the door of

I'm the same height as you and a stone heavier and I've never had a problem with standard spring rates on any modern bike I've owned or ridden. I don't own a modern bike any more but I've ridden a couple recently, one of which was a newish 300 GasGas and if I bought one I'd have no need to alter the suspension, so I don't think that is your problem. What you're describing sounds normal, the forks will use up most of their travel on a descent but without bottoming, which you say they aren't. More likely you are not getting a feeling that all is not right, maybe lack of confidence/experience? I don't know what level you're riding at but due to your question I'm guessing novice/not experienced? I'm also guessing you have fatbars fitted as I think they are standard on most bikes now and they aren't all that high (or never used to be, I'm a bit out of touch with this stuff now) Maybe swap to 7/8" conventional bars and get a 6" rise, set them just forward of vertical and that should give a comfortable riding position and allow you to get back on the bike over descents. You have to get your backside over the back mudguard on steeper drops and brace more with your arms which is more difficult with lower bars pushed too far forward if you're tall. Next time you are out, get someone experienced to watch you over a drop that you think is giving you problems in order to observe your body positioning. Also, try it on someone else's bike and see if you get the same impression. I'm pretty sure it is down to the way you are riding the descents rather than a suspension issue as stock suspension should (does) easily cope with our size. Have a look at your approach with the help of someone else and try it on another bike before going to the time and expense of swapping to heavier springs. You could always increase the preload a touch before opting for that anyway.

The tanks you see on the Spanish bikes are new fibreglass tanks, not plastic. Still not convinced about this petrol vapour permeating plastic tanks theory. My SWM Jumbo tank has discoloured to a darker yellow over the years, I think from UV. If this was due to petrol vapour why is it only the exterior surfaces that come into contact with sunlight that have darkened. The underside is still bright yellow and if I take the side badges off it is still bright yellow under them too. So why doesn't the vapour affect the underside and behind the badges? I have a plastic Sherpa tank that was painted properly by a car body painter about 4 years ago and it only has one or two recent bubbles, reason unknown although it is in the lacquer around a decal, but if petrol vapour was seeping through it would have lifted it all by now. A mate has a plastic Fantic 240 tank that was painted well over 10 years ago, not one imperfection in it. Neither have any lining inside. If you have a really scuffed plastic tank, you may as well have a go at getting it painted properly (ie not by aerosol can) Most problems with painting plastic tanks may have come from incorrect or no preparation and use of incorrect paint type. Only my theory of course but if someone can explain why petrol vapours don't discolour parts of a tank that aren't exposed to UV, I'm willing to listen.

There is no-one in particular Lee. There are plenty of people and riders throughout the UK capable of making and modifying their own frames and building engines, either for themselves or a mate. I know somone who builds nice 4-stroke BSA engines, but there is no-one specifically that I can think of that specialises in building and selling complete C15 or B40 bikes, especially in the Midlands. You're not thinking of Jim 'snowy' Pickering are you, he's in the Midlands but only does the Drayton Bantams (nice bikes) not C15/B40.

Also a forlorn labour, as a Pre65/twinshock will never be like a modern bike. Pounds can be shaved of the weight, steering angles can be altered to quicken steering and swingarm lengths can be altered, but they will never do what a current bike will do. And they don't need to. Today's classic trials are nowhere near as hard as the centre and championship trials were in the last years of twinshocks, despite occassional claims that you need to do x, y and z to make a bike 'fit' for modern classic trials. The only exception is Pre65 where today's Pre65 Scottish sections for example are probably harder than the actual SSDT sections from 1965 and before. If someone rode a genuine 1964 Cub or James they would be losing more than 2 or 3 marks. Anyway, as for prices, a bike will fetch what someone is prepared to pay for it, not necessarily what it is worth. 'Worth' is the market value and a market value is what something can be freely sold for, in other words you would have no shortage of people to buy it. Someone may want this bike enough to pay the asking price but if they did, should they want to sell it afterwards, the chances of finding someone else willing to pay that sum are minimal. Like the Majesty that just sold. If the person who bought it wanted to now sell it, could they find someone else willing to pay that much for it when the 'market' value is generally around

Link below to DVLA. Select the option for vehicle enquiry and put your bike details in. The enquiry results will include the date of liability which is the date tax is/was due http://www.taxdisc.direct.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/application?origin=vnav_bar.jsp&event=bea.portal.framework.internal.refresh&pageid=Vehicle+Enquiry

SORN came in around 1998/9. Only vehicles that were taxed at this time are subject to SORN. So if any vehicle was NOT taxed when SORN was introduced it will never be necessary to put that vehicle on SORN (assuming it stays untaxed) If you try DVLA will ignore it. It seems utterly ridiculous but that's the way it is. I have an Ossa that was last taxed in about 1995. They are not interested if I try to SORN it. I bought a Bultaco a couple of years ago that was registered but had no V5. I checked the DVLA vehicle enquiry database and found that the registration number was still 'live' and it had last been taxed in the 80s. I sent off for the V5 and sent a SORN form with it. Again, they weren't interested and sent the SORN form back. If your vehicle was not taxed when SORN was introduced SORN doesn't apply. If you buy a vehicle that is currently on SORN (as someone above did) you have to declare it SORN again now that you are the new owner. Seems ridiculous as the SORN is logged against the registration number not the owner, but I think that when there is a change of ownership the former owner's obligation is discharged and the new owner has to SORN it again, assuming they don't tax it. This makes sense but it would seem easier to just leave the SORN active, if the new owner left it on SORN they would get a reminder at expiry, if they tax it the SORN is cancelled anyway. Too simple probably. The DVLA guidance on this is hazy as it says SORN is needed if you buy an untaxed vehicle and don't tax it. It doesn't say that you have to do this if it is already on SORN with the previous owner. I wonder if that wording is deliberately misleading... In the case of a vehicle written off, the V5 is completed by the owner using the write-off section. This discharges any future obligation on the owner (now former owner) from tax duty or SORN, so how the chap with the written off bike got fined for not renewing the tax at a later date I don't know. DVLA were wrong with that one, providing he had completed the V5 and the change had been processed - he should have received confirmation from DVLA. If it was still in his name then he was liable. I can see how DVA justify all this by saying they want to get all untaxed and insured vehicles off the road and in principle it's a good idea. Only problem is, it only affects people who obey the law, tax and insure their vehicles and then innocently get caught out through not understanding the rules properly. They have to pay the fines as they are 'traceable'. The anonymous turds that drive around uninsured, taxed and with false documents are generally unaffected.

You can have a CLOSE THE GATE sign as big as the gate itself Charlie, but the fact is that there will always be some riders who are just too damn lazy to get off their bikes and do it. Or they see riders coming up behind in the distance and think they will close the gate so they leave it open. Those riders get there, think the gate is permanently open and just ride through, so it never gets shut again. I've ridden in trials where someone is stationed on a gate to open it and close it for riders but it takes a lot of resource for a club to be able to organise that. And what a thankless job. All to pamper riders because some just will not close gates. Clubs shouldn't have to resort to that. It's a pain having to get off to open and close gates yes, especially when your bike doesn't start in gear, but it's a small inconvenience in comparison to the work put in by the organisers of an event.

On a general basis, I still think that a 30 minute time limit for a protest is totally unworkable. Surely, results posted immediately after an event are provisional, not final, as mentioned elsewhere. There are also the logistics. As I mentioned before, a rider who may have a need to protest may not even see those results within 30 minutes. They also have to find the means of putting it in writing and finding the fee there and then. A rider could finish a trial and be on his way home 2 hours before the last rider has finished. It doesn't seem right to me. Also on a general basis, rider's personalities are definitely relevant as they can and do influence decisions. Not necessarily decisions to actual protests, but to events that could lead to a protest if everyone had a similar win at all costs attitude as some. Personalities can influence observing decisions to their benefit, they can get away with bloody murder, things that others wouldn't (or try to) but most riders know it would be pointless protesting so don't. I've witnessed it many times, it does happen. Back to the actual topic, it's good that the club have made the facts known. It seems a perfectly acceptable situation to me and if the rider is who I think, then I agree with Chris, he is not the type to unfairly seek any advantage.

Alternatively, why do we need to be in a club to have ACU Membership? What is the specific reason for having to be in a club? It's a genuine question as I have no idea what the club membership fee is allocated to. 100% to club coffers or a portion to the ACU?. If I take my own club as an example. It's not a big club. For the last few years there have been 5 active members which includes the non-riding secretary and 2, maybe 3 of us being certified clerks of the course. It's usually been the same 3 people who lay out the trials, 7 or 8 a year roughly (this year we have another 2 or 3 helpers) Historically, any other riders who join the club do so purely to get a licence form signed in order to apply for the ACU registration, usually at our boxing day trial (I'm not criticising this by the way) They aren't actively involved in the club after that, they may ride some of the events. It's impossible to put conditions on membership to say you have to help out by doing x, y or z, as they'd just join another club to get the form signed. So the club membership doesn't really mean anything. The revenue to our club specifically from club membership is insignificant as we probably get 15 - 20 at the most at a guess. So, what purpose does it serve? They aren't active members and the financial gain is too small to be of significance. I can appreciate that to survive, a club needs a membership and if you take away the need to join a club, people may not do so and then what happens to the club. On the flip side, if club members aren't active, the club can still flounder. My argument is that people who are committed to being part of a club and enjoy getting involved in the organisation, will join/renew membership anyway and the club will continue. So, I can see an argument for being able to apply for ACU registration without the application being signed off by a club secretaty confirming club membership. If a rider has ACU registration and enters a trial, aren't they then covered should they suffer some sort of accident and claim? What, if anything would being member of a club add to that? You won't necessarily be a member of the club in whose trial you are riding. So, for trials at least (as a pilot) is it possible to just apply for ACU registration without the need to have a club membership. If this isn't viable, then I favour the earlier proposal that registration includes a nominated club, the fee includes a generic figure for membership (

30 minutes seems an ill thought out time limit. I'm not citing this case specifically but just for argument's sake, it's possible to know a rider is going to be over time and liable to exclusion before seeing any results. You then leave the trial and the results are subsequently published on the scoreboard at the trial. You only see them when you next check a website or receive them in the post, so how can you protest within 30 mins? Finding pen and paper to submit a written application in the middle of a field would be an intereting excercise as well. Getting back to this particular case, if someone knows the reason for time being scrubbed at this trial then why not just put it on here (was it the time limit that was scrubbed or just one individual's time penalty) It's just a trial, it's not the official secrets act and I can't see why it is a problem to say so and so was late and had their time scrubbed because of whatever, or, the time limit was scrubbed for this or that reason. I can understand the original poster not wanting to complain directly about someone, but I can't see anything wrong with someone just stating what happened. Without the facts this discussion is pretty meaningless unless it is just about protest procedures in general.

Look like BHC, British Hub Company

That isn't a low British Pre75 entry for the Normandale series (it's not Pre65 in this series), it's about normal for most rounds. It's the premier national championship for classic riders and the sections offer a challenge in keeping with that, so they are harder than the average club twinshock/pre65 trial, hence the lower number of entries. However, there is nothing silly and they are in truth nowhere near as hard as nationals that we rode in the actual twinshock era. The person you are referring to has contested all Normandale rounds on a modern bike this year and I believe has opted to no longer ride Pre65 regularly. I also heard his Pre65 bike is for sale. Getting back to the original topic though, having time penalties scrubbed is nothing new and I've ridden plenty of nationals over the years when this has happened (as well as many more where it most definitely has not) It's particularly frustrating when riders who hang about to gain an advantage in sections that benefit later numbers then come in late and somehow manage to get the time limit removed. Riders who have not hung around can rightly feel aggrieved at having lost marks in sections that they have not waited to become 'scrubbed in'. They have no recourse or means of having marks removed that they probably wouldn't have lost had they waited another 30 minutes - and then been over the time limit. I didn't ride this event so have no idea of the reasons for scrubbing the time limit, but I can certainly understand the frustration. Punch cards can certainly be a contributory factor in causing delays. Ideally, two observers are needed, one to observe, one to punch. Obviously this is difficult to resource, but with only one it can take a long time to get a card punched in comparison to writing the score on a board.

Does anyone know anything about this event? They used to be two seperate events but looks like they've been combined. It's on the ACU fixture list for 10/7 to be organised by East Midlands centre?? I've heard nothing about it, just wondered if anyone else has.

The Midland Centre doesn't actually have any twinshock clubs, so there are no trials just for twinshocks in this centre. The only classic club is the BMCA which is British bikes only. As mentioned above, the neighbouring East Midland Centre has the Dales Classic and Peak Classic clubs (google for their websites and event calenders) and they run events once a month between them, over in the Derbyshire area. When you look in TMX, there are a couple of classic clubs around Gloucester and Wiltshire to look out for - Golden Valley Classic, Bath Classic. Both run events which would have an easy route suitable for you and most venues are within an hour or so from here. There is Wilts and Dorset club down that way too but they used to be a bit clicky and I never got a ride in one of their events, not sure what they are like now. Over into Mid Wales and there are Border Classic and Aqueduct Classic clubs, both who have an easy route suitable for beginners and again, most events with an hour and a half from here. Most if not all of these clubs have websites so google for them and have a look. However, you aren't confined to just classic trials. Most midland centre clubs now put on trials with 3 routes and the easiest route is aimed at beginners and novices and you will be fine on those sections (it's usually called the white route in this centre) You probably won't be the only twinshock or British bike there either. Also mentioned above is the Bewdley trial on 9th June and this would offer a good introduction to trials as it is for beginners and novices with people on hand to help. You don't say if you are looking to do your first ever trial or just your first twinshock trial, I'm assuming first ever, in which case you will be able to join the Bewdley club and apply for the ACU registration which you will need to compete in ACU events. My club, Stafford Auto, is running a trial on 25th June which is a Saturday afternoon/barbecue trial. It will have a route suitable for you. This is a link to the Midland Centre website, if you click on the events tab it will display the calender of events for this year. The club events that will usually have the white route are denoted MC 'B' http://www.midlandcentreacu.org.uk/index.html