walworth

I have a Triumph 5TA distributor engine in a trials frame, and currently have the engine out for repairs. I have noticed a lot of twins with breathers out of the dizzy mounting hole. When making this mod do I blank off the original breather, and remove the associated disc valve?, or do I run both systems? I always worry about water entering through the original breather when in deep water sections, but I have never seen any evidence of this happening. I would like to alleviate this worry, if I can. I have also seen a few bikes breathing out of the primary case, I presume this means taking out the seal between the crankcase and primary, but does this include drilling a hole and allowing the engine oil from the bottom of the crankcase to drain ino the primary, as I know some B40s have adopted this system? What would be the advantages of this system? I would appreciate some advice gents, if you can.

Try here, I know it's B50, but I think they are pretty similar. www.B50.org

From my viewpoint , being a member of the Observing teams for the last 5 British rounds WTC I would thank both supporters and critics, I need you both. Supporters offer me the feeling that there are people on my side who will back me up if things get hairy, who understand the effort needed to stand in all weathers, and who tend to be people who themselves will give, in some way their own efforts to keep the sport healthy. Critics are inevitable, in any sport, and a source of much pain, BUT, they keep me on my toes, knowing somebody is looking over my shoulder, watching for mistakes is always a good thing. There was a video camera in our section all day Saturday. I know that the resulting DVD will be scutinised around the world by a legion of armchair observers, tinny in hand, feet on the coffee table,with the benefit of slow-mo, replays , freeze frame etc, etc. They will spot mistakes I made, and I will not apologise for them, human error is only eliminated by the removal of the human. We are not perfect, but we are the best you have got. As for the riders/minders, I think the football anology is quite appropriate in some cases. I get youngsters at club level who will throw a tantrum if I give them more marks than they think they deserve. And why? because they see their heroes doing it at world or national level. Not all of them , or even most of them, but certain top riders set a bad example to the kids, and younger riders can think it acceptable behaviour for minders to interfere with the section, and try every form of coersion to reduce their scores. I was sworn at in at least 5 different languages at the weekend, mostly by younger riders, and that is worrying. Last year at Carlisle a certain Mr Agar looked my wife squarely in the eyes, smiled, and called her a witch, in Spanish. Very funny, Mr Agar, but a bad example to an impressionable youngster. I would take the opportunity to say that the trial was overall a brilliant event, a showpiece of what we can do in Britain, and a credit to the organising team. My only concern might be the commercial viability of this event, given it's distance from centres of population, it may just be a few miles too far for it to really draw the crowds in.

Thanks for the replies chaps. I am simply going to have to have a bash myself now, just 'cos.

I reckon this man has no idea what he has here, so he's not a trials rider, so I am guessing he doesn't read this forum. That is obviously a Beta rev 3, although I can't tell what size, and Ulverston is about 10 miles from Broughton in Furness. Can anyone tell what size it is before I go 2+2=5?

Hi everyone, I am confused by the process of adapting modern internals into a pre-65 type fork leg. I am an engineer by trade, but find it hard to visualise the process. Is anyone out there able to explain the concept? Do you bore out the classic fork bottom? That would weaken it. Do you make special bushes? That would be difficult, as modern fork stanchions tend to be of larger diameter than classic. Do you machine the outside of the modern leg, and somehow fit the entire modern fork within the classic fork bottom? I can only imagine that classic fork legs must be chosen carefully, with larger diameter ones preferable, or modern forks chosen that are close to the diameter of classic ones. Clues anyone?

Is the rear wheel too far over to the left? looking at the second pic, it looks as though the chain is not parallel to the casings. On the first pic the chain is over to the left, closer to the frame tube than I would expect. Good luck.

Thanks lads, got the ball rolling now.

Anybody got any contact info for the guys in SEME Bordon? My lad has just been posted to SEME for his trade training basic, and would like to get in touch with them.

Hi, Davetom. I fitted a Sammy Miller small sprocket kit to a B40 a couple of years ago. It came with a printed instruction that specified that you HAD to relieve the seal housing, to stop the chain doing it for you. It even went so far as to reccommend the use of a "sharp chisel" to remove the offending metal. I think the supplied sael was slightly narrower to allow you to remove this metal, and still have an effective seal in place, if needed.

Hi, Buzz. I have done a couple of conversions like this, though not as radical as C15 to modern, usually drum brake t-shock converted to disc front end. Easiest way is to have a new "hybrid" steering stem machined by an engineering shop, and swap the yokes with the matching forks, you will retain the original C15 steering head bearings, with the modern adjusting nuts. You just need a mate who is an engineer , and who knows what you need of him. If you take it to the local engineers shop, and pay the going rates, a lot of general jobbing shops may not want the job, or quote you telephone numbers, because they will not take a job at a loss. I reckon on about 4 hours work usually does it. Steering stops may be an additional headache to consider, either engineered into the yokes, or welded to the frame, or a mix of each. As far as which forks will fit easier than others, sorry, no experience with C15s. Remember that the purists will not let you enter P-65, you will have to run against the likes of T-shock Fantics and Hondas. To keep it P-65 you will need to fit an appropriate set of period forks, suitably "Funnied" if you want them to work better. That is a much more expensive job altogether. Good luck.

Thanks for that, 4stroke. I have a 14T gearbox, and 16T primary sprockets on the way from Dave at D&C. The rear he suggested was a 52, but I will have to see what will fit when I get the bike bolted together.

Hello everybody, I am currently building a triumph twin (500) into a Whitlock frame, and would like some advice on sprockets. The engine is currently on standard sprockets, and I need to try to keep the rear(wheel) sprocket small, as it's quite crowded back there. That suggests I need to use the smallest driving sprockets available, which are 13t gearbox, and 16t engine. BUT I don't want to be having to tackle sections in top gear if I go too far, so- the question is, has anybody out there got any experience of the optimum sprocket combinations for a Triumph twin?