woody

Only my opinion obviously but I think the Yam framed bike is nicer to ride than the Godden framed version. The Godden frame is actually heavier and whilst that itself isn't a problem it's the weight bias I didn't like. The Godden frame is very heavy on the front. The Yam frame is much lighter and makes it easier to lift and flick the front wheel around. I had one of each and preferred the Yam frame. The issue of copies is a subjective one. The original Majesty is only a modified Yam TY250, obviously I'm not overlooking the development skill and knowhow involved in deciding what those modifications were. So if someone else at a later date has modified a standard TY250 into a Majesty copy and got all the dimensions correct, it wouldn't bother me that the bike wasn't originally done at Shirt's place. Obviously I'm not talking about amateur-hour lash-ups here, if a privately modified bike has the same spec and appearance of a Shirt modified bike it should perform the same and in the end they are for riding in competition. Therefore they should fetch the same as a Shirt bike to reflect their competitiveness as a trials bike over a standard TY? - look what modified (or even standard) TLR Hondas fetch and they have no provenance whatsoever. With the Majesty, it was only a few supported riders whose bikes had additional mods to steering, forks, porting etc. Same could be said of a 'new' Majesty. No provenance, it isn't a real Majesty so why would they fetch more than an original Godden on which they are based? This isn't my opinion, I'm just playing devil's advocate on the subject of what something is worth. In the end something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it.

I haven't a definitive answer but have you tried Viliers Services as he has a lot of parts, or maybe Nametab. Also, Vale-Onslow in Birmingham if neither of the above. Phone after 11.30am if you try them as Len doesn't get in until then and he is the one that will know I would guess.

Riding position/comfort is subjective and depends how tall you are (or how old... knackered wrists, back etc) The riding position is normal for bikes of that era, the footrests were quite high, especially in comparison to today's bikes. So even with 6" rise bars, a rider over 6' is going to feel hunched however you position them. You may be able to find some 6.5" rise bars but they are not common anymore, 6" is usually the maximum. If it is really causing you a problem you will need to fit some kind of bar riser or relocate the footrests to a lower position

It's definitely not a novice bike that's for sure, the power is incredible. However, with the timing retarded against the stops and a flywheel weight it can be trickled around on the throttle like a TY175. Open the throttle though and it's off. It will stand on the back wheel in 4th from tickover and makes even my ported 340 Sherpa feel like a 250 in terms of bottom end torque. It's similar to the Sherpa in that the exhaust needs to be kept well packed otherwise the performance will go off. Other than that it is fine and totally unfussy. Just the typical Rotax clutch that lets it down. I'd go as far as saying the chassis is a touch better than a Fantic, it steers/turns quicker, front end is much lighter and rear suspension action is just as good. Fine in nadgery stuff. Front forks a bit iffy but that can be sorted. It is more nervous and twitchy than a Fantic chassis though.

You don't mean the very last 349 do you, as in the 349/4, MH349 and Cota 350 models, all essentially the same bike. They were good, better than the later 330 in my opinion, only let down by the clutch. Not as good as a Fantic I'll agree, but not that far away.

I suppose you can't blame him for trying. You never know, someone may be willing to pay it.

The C15 is a better engine for trials as it needs less work to put into trials trim. A standard road engine is fine as it is and just needs the gearing lowered. B25 has a big valve head, bigger inlet tract and much lighter crank assembly. They were designed as a 'revver' rather than a 'plonker' type motor and have better top end power whereas the C15 produces better torque low down. The light weight of the B25 crank makes them easy to stall so you need to use the clutch more. The C15 has a really heavy crank assembly and will chug to a virtual standstill, clutch out. The B25 is more prone to spit stalling due to the more racy head design. This isn't to say they won't make a decent trials motor as they will, but more work is needed over a C15. The frame on the ebay bike could well be a genuine Pre65 as that design with the 'V' shaped subframe was available in 1964, so the Pre65 label in the title isn't really inaccurate. The engine isn't Pre65 but what is anymore, Pre65 is just a generic label now that has stuck - Pre70 is more accurate these days as most trials run Pre70 British as a class, not Pre65, apart from the 3 mentioned above.

Most are Pre70 classes so it wouldn't matter It's only Scotland it couldn't be ridden, Yorkshire and Red Rose classic would probably insist it go in the specials class

Take your piick from Fantic 200/240/300, 310/320 Armstrong, 320 Aprilia, 320 Garelli, 320 SWM, Cagiva 350 Daddy of the lot though would be a well set up 350 SWM Jumbo. Modern geometry, light front end that can be easily placed and one of the tourquiest trials motors you could wish for. Most powerful of the lot.

They are just a bit long that's all, not as nimble as other bikes. Fine though for most of today's classic trials which are nowhere near as hard as centre/national trials of the day. Don't forget that the bikes ridden by the factory riders could be nothing like the production versions.

Found the shock - OD of the spring is 80mm, the spring coil/wire thickness is 10mm so ID is 60mm.

Just found my manual whilst looking for an Ossa one... Spring free length is 160mm Spring rate is 7kg/mm or 392lbs/in It doesn't give the spring ID or OD but somewhere I may have an old knackered shock so I'll measure it if I can find it. Not sure which year bike this manual is for now but I'm guessing the shocks were probably the same spec. It is for serial number 4GG-28199-80 according to the front cover.

Unless you've bought a different kind of badge, they should be self-adhesive, just peel off the backing and stick on, same as Bultaco badges. These stick fine to new paint, nothing else is needed.

One finished, two didn't. Not a dickybird on what happened. Really surprised that after the panning the Greeves has taken on this forum over the last couple of years, people haven't been flooding in with the 'I told you so' quips. Equally surprising that as it was the debut of an all British bike, there was no feedback, updates or apparent interest during the event itself, despite a thread being started. I'd have thought it was an ideal topic for the daily blog.

Oh well, it's peeing down outside, I've finished my tax return so what to do next. I know, prattle on about 70s bikes in answer to your question. A late 250 Bultaco, say model 190 onwards, is a good bet. Cheaper to buy than the 325 as everyone seems to want the bigger version, but the 250 is a perfectly capable bike. Very good spares availablilty, new or used and one of the easiest bikes to work on, both chassis and engine. Just watch out for the condition of the hubs as if the chrome has peeled badly it's about

I doubt it would matter if he was on a stock bike anyway in the SSDT as a stock bike can cope perfectly well with the sections. Big power and super light weight isn't really necessary. I had hoped he would win, not because he was on the Mont particularly, just because I think he is an excellent all-rounder and seems to genuinely enjoy his riding, trials or enduro. Difficult to see Honda going 2-stroke as it is against everything they have preached in recent years. Who knows whether there will be a new trials bike even. History shows they feel no need to produce a copy or replica of the world round bikes as there was never a production version of the works 305 or 360 twinshock. They were winning titles and that was enough. The RTL Mono works bikes were drastically different from the production bikes (especially Lejeunes aborted 360) and when titles eluded them they pulled the plug. Seems it's all about winning titles, as mentioned in other posts. As long as Bou is winning the title for them, I'd agree with previous posts, they probably won't care if there is a production bike or not as it is such small beer in terms of revenue.

The engine internals on the RTL and TLR are basically the same, piston, valves, cam etc. The RTL has a different ignition which gives a different power characteristic, smoother off idle than the TLR which in standard config is too sharp, prone to spit stall and doesn't rev out. Valve timing may differ as well. Later RTL had a bigger clutch and different gear ratios. Jerry - not sure which TLR you are referring to, the twinshock TLR wasn't made in '87, they were '84. The TLR250R was '87 but that was a different bike althogether, monoshock and a different engine.

Brilliantly done and very funny. I'm crying with laughter. "we'll get him a Beta"

He's riding a Cub in the Pre65 and Yam in the 6 day

Yes, I should be able to find you ok as I'm sure I'll recognise the bike - nice job. I'll be bringing some bits for you from Dave Dawson

Be careful if buying a flanged tubeless rim from a 90's Beta as some of them are 32 spokes, not 36.

Thanks again Daz, not seen that website before, no idea why it has never come in any of my searches.

Or try here and ask Colin about tubeless rim conversion as he is working on those for the TLR250 at the moment, although the 250 and 200 hubs are different I believe. Or possibly a replacement tubed rim which can be anodised silver. http://www.tyoffroad.webeden.co.uk/#

Thanks Daz Another question - has anyone who has entered received any confirmation of entry yet, entry list or whatever. I've received nothing yet and my cheque hasn't been cashed. Again, don't want to pester the secretary as he probably has enough to do this week, but I'll have to phone if I've heard nothing in the next couple of days. I've never ridden this event before so don't know what the norm is for entry confirmation etc.

Bit of help please - I know one venue for this trial is Barbrook, can anyone tell me where the other one is as I can't find anything on this trial anywhere on the net. Don't want to phone the secretary unless I have to. Also, which is the day 1 venue, Barbrook or the other one. Thanks Edit - sorted now thanks.