I realize you are in deep but maybe a different set of forks? You could go to a set without the offset axle and fabricate some triple clamps that would give you the same geometry as a modern bike,and the greater depth of the fabricated clamps required for non offset forks would increase your steering lock.
I would not put very much saddle on that at all,maybe a outline of one in black paint (-;
I like to be able to lay the bike over in turns and have the saddle just below knee level (have no idea how tall you are) so you can get maximum lean while still having your body vertical.
I lowered some foot pegs too far on a bike one time and tilting the bike over would drag on my thigh and pull my weight to the inside of the tire contact patch, it made it more difficult to accurately guide myself in turns.
And oh yea, the seat pan works really well visually with the side panels!
Most trials exhausts that have expansion chamber tuning have very shallow angle cones,for example the air cooled Beta. The exhausts that look to have steep cones I believe are actually absorber mid boxes with perforated tubes through the middle and packing around the tube.
Are you doing anything to increase flywheel weight?
2500 bucks will buy a good early 2000s watercooled modern bike,then you can get to actually learning to ride trials, leave the air cooled and odd ball stuff to the guys who are into that kind of thing.
The CST Legion I tried was narrower than Dunlops and Mich,but I’d say it had the traction of a overinflated tire and squired like a under inflated one...but likely better than a bargain dual sport trials tire.
TY 175 head and shoulders above RL. RL Suzuki always look clumsy in sections to me,I briefly had one that had the head angle reduced 3 degrees or so and it did good enough but still no match for the TY175s I have ridden. Only situation where a TY would need some extra effort would be on the Expert lines,and I believe several Experts in Northern Indiana have been riding TY 175s. I was not overly impressed with the RL Suzuki power either. But my main vintage rides have been Fantic 240 and SWM 320tl. Whatever you end up with work on the clutch action and brake response so the bike is effortless to ride,make sure the jetting is spot on.
Magic combination of engine temp,exhaust temp,combustion chamber temp,tiny bit of combustion able fuel causes rpm to skyrocket. You can usually yank the plug wire off and they will still scream. Your bike is barely doing it compared to what it can do. My Sherco had a slow cooling fan and I was just hoping between sections last fall at a trial I was trialmaster so bike was getting hot soaked every time I shut it off. It tried doing it at one section so I decided to get it back to the truck. When I pulled up it went to max revs ? I calmly( to the shock of those around me) just jammed the front wheel against the front tire of my van and dropped the clutch and started up shifting. Had to get all the way to 4th gear before it started to pull down and the stalled. Waited several minutes,made sure throttle wasn’t sticking, started it and it immediately did it again. Allowed to cool completely and it was fine. Replaced cooling fan and has never done it since. I have seen rumors that if you open the throttle wide open when they go into free rev it will cool the combustion chamber enough to get it to stop revving, I have never had the wherewithal to try that cure though. Honda experimented with a 400cc race bike way long ago that put itself into free rev at part throttle,emmisions go way down I guess. I know this sounds like bunk but it really isn’t your throttle slide going wide open.
I always tell new riders to hang out with the locals a bit see what they like, I like being able to compare jetting,suspension setup,repair techniques and such. Any of the brands set up well will give you better results than a unusual bike that you will be on your own on development. It might be ok to have a distinctive bike after you learn what works for you if you are wrench adept,but I wouldn’t start the sport that way. Best of luck and have fun!
I think what happens is if the low throttle settings are off (pilot,mixture screw,slide) then once it comes up onto the properly set midrange(needle,needle position,spray nozzle) it can snap to attention rather quickly.
Has anybody tried removing the ethanol from the petrol before use, as an alternative to sealants etc ?
there was at least one company selling a kit { Ethanil.co.uk , I think was one ? }
I remember reading an article where you added a certain amount of water to your petrol, the ethanol would then be absorbed by the water.
this ethanol + water mixture would then separate from the petrol and sink to the bottom of your container and then you syphoned off the now ethanol-free petrol .
sounded a good idea , but never met anyone who tried it.
if it works the only problem I can see is that you are still left with all the other modern additives still in your petrol and these may also attack glass fibre
Your octane will drop if you remove the alcohol from your fuel,plus the petrol that remains will likely have water absorbed into it. This water will compete with your oil for adhesion to the metal in your engine.
Make sure your carb is adjusted to very smooth running at Idle and just off of Idle,if the setting is off and the motor blubbers or stumbles it will aggressively respond once the throttle is opened up father and the next metering component of the carb comes into play. That said it is also important to think of your clutch lever as a second “throttle” twist grip sets the power level,clutch lever feeds it to back tire.
Buy 2 vehicles,cheap economy car for everyday and used full size van to haul bikes and camp in. You will save on hotels on 2 day event,can be outfitted as a rolling workshop with all your need in it. I prefer to buy a bit of fuel in pursuit of comfort. Ram Promaster full size for events,Dodge Caravan 3.8 PUSHROD engine for daily driving(I haul a bicycle in minivan to ride on my lunch break,so enclosed transport is best,and hauling my prized two wheelers on the back of vehicles Is a non starter for me in this cellphoned inattentive driver world),including hail damaged exterior plus rust. Comfortable cruising at 85mph. 20 mpg U.S. is good enough for me(maybe I can switch display to British gallons)Very reliable vehicle so no stinkin’ high repair bills. Pushrod engine rule. In a pinch can haul trials bike in minivan. Liability insurance only on minivan. 20mpg also looks good to me because my previous daily was a lifted Grand Cherokee,12 mpg,but not quite that bad due to 35 inch tires fooling the Speedo.
When are you planning to do this? I can come by and help you if you’d like. I won’t be doing any riding until my shoulder is fixed so I plan on doing a lot of bike work in the meantime.
Emulsion shocks run body up...Yes, you should be ok. My own MAR runs period correct Curnutt shock, bodies up, shafts down and are emulsion type. I would say, but have not tested these shocks as emulsion shocks. I suspect that what I have seen with these shocks, if you ran them as emulsion type, you could also not gas them since the sealhead is clamped between the clip and the end cap. No doubt gas pressurized performs better, but no pressure makes seals last longer and less likely to leak.
Thank you for the info (-: The Ozo Experts do not come apart at both ends like the Ozo Pro do,I was thinking it would be easier to switch to emulsion and have less pressure rise as the shock compresses due to the increase in volume with the IFP out. Maybe run about 10-20 PSI to help the seal at rest but not rise as much when compressed. I am not a shock guy but I assume your mods free up low speed damping more than high speed? I will have to see if Experts are the same inside when I get them apart. Sounds like a project I can do while recovering from shoulder surgery once I need to start moving again this winter. I hit on the idea spring rate and preload spec last time I rode the SWM while doing Trialsmaster duties, I was trying to get good turning and first had the preload up too high which killed stability and made it tiring to ride,Backed it off a single groove and old girl became really sweet in both stability and turning ability. Made her so good I was able to ride it much more aggressively and what do you know,clutch started slipping, New discs are coming from Martin..Forks need work too,feels like internal friction and too high of spring rate,already have Redline Like Water in them and still too slow,have installed Kawasaki Super Sherpa accordion boots in place of wipers which may be adding to spring rate progressiveness but fit like they were designed for them.
Ironically, expecting an internal bladder, I was super cautious on disassembling the first shock. Once I saw the internals, the second was apart in minutes. No bladder lessened any likelihood of damage while working on them.
How did you position the floating piston on reassembly? If running them body upwards is there any reason that converting to emulsion wouldn't be ok? Seems for a trials shock emulsion would be good. Tricks to reduce damping secret? I put some basic black OZO on my SWM mainly for appearance but they are surly too slow for good action. 40 LB spring couldn't get themselves pushed back up,50 lb seem good but still slow.
My Suzuki DS 185
in Suzuki/Beamish
Posted
Cool, carry on with your plans! Very interested in how this turns out😀