htrdoug

Automatic transmissions have meshing gears in them! and sliding surfaces,pumps,bushing,bearings,seals that slide,all kinds of chit! Many manual transmissions spec ATF as their fluid. That said,my old Fantic(note-not a Sherco) starts shifting stiffy on about the end of the second loop with straight ATF in the trans,but the clutch works great with it. I think it's just too thin for my bike,I'm running 50-50 atf and m/c gear oil right now,but haven't ran any events with that combo yet,so I don't know how well it'll do on a long day.

Yes,I can solder But occasionally I'm using old cables and old cable ends and things don't work out as well as I hope.I use a solder pot per Flanders website and flux and it usually works just fine. Whenever I try to buy cable ends the local Motorcycle shops don't ever have just what I need 'cause nobody makes cables themselves it seems these days(need to check with chopper shops since they have to make up cables for Ape's) Just giving the OP and quick and dirty method to solve his problem,bolt on cable ends work just fine. BTW,the bestest thing you can do for old drum brakes is to sand the parts of the shoe that is making contact with the drum everytime you take the wheel off,eventually you'll have solid strong brakes without drilling out the center hole or sending the wheels out to have the shoes turned on a lathe. P.S. the cable end that just pulled off of my clutch cable the other day was the Factory made end

Dig yourself up some of these: sourced at a bike shop or automotive store Use it at the lower end of the cable to set the inner strand length to just where you want it,Wrap the end of the arm with duct tape to prevent loss in case it pulls off(I have never pulled off a bolt on adjuster that was tightened properly,just ones I bodged the soldering job on)

My stock Marzocchi measure 360mm e-e

Man I've been thinking about it,but bikes that have sat outside are usually 100% junk, I really only need some decent fins off of the cylinder to weld where mine are broken,it would be fun though to have a second frame to experiment with altering the geometry to match my 309. This part week there has been tons of Fantics on craigslist in the $400-$500 dollar range that look good,and I can proudly say I've passed on all of them!(far too many projects,need to fix what I gots before buying more projects)

Preload isn't really what determines the firmness of the fork,it determines ride height(Unless you have so much preload that you have zero sag) Compression damping,oil level and viscosity control the stiffness of the fork. Sometimes too slow of a rebound setting will make a fork harsh in repetitive bumps.

As I can see the Hi-Lift jack factory from the front porch of my house I wholeheartedly endorse this method! Plus they are very nice people

I ought to try to make it up to the New Paris event(used to live up by there long ago),but that may mean trials events 3 weeks in a row,don't know if I can swing that. Maybe I'll ride my 309 since it's not a T.I. event(riding vintage class on my 240 in T.I. events),sounds better than driving down to tennesee for the ITSA that would be a one time deal.

You should try to get a ride on a modern trials bike to feel how the rear suspension reacts,modern pretty much means any single shock bike,I picked up a old airmono fantic to complement my 240 and immeadiately felt the difference in the rear,I won't be able to duplicate it but i'LL have a idea what to shoot for.

My 240 was missing the skidder too,I took a alloy one intended for a 640LC4e KTM that had cracked it's mounts and cut it down to fit the Fantic.The curve fit the frame well,it is slightly thinner than I'd like but it is light at least.I wasn't going to weld it up and put it back on my 640 since it reflects engine noise on a big 4stroke and I prefer the plastic one as the big dualsport ain't crossing any logs or rocks. If you can find one from a KTM you can have it cut down in about an hour.

Bultacos=restored to look at. Fantic= restored to compete! So no ones spending the dough for cosmetics on the Fannies,at least not in enough numbers to be profitable

Well,weather turned good and took both the 309 and the 240 out today,they are very different rides,only thing in common is the forward kick!The 309 fits me far better,feels more natural to ride. Of course the disc brakes and mono are great,but the main difference is the more forward weight bias plus the heavy flywheel effect. The 240 lifts the front without much input and the engine is snappier,but it may be geared lower(will check the sprockets when I clean 'em up tomorrow) The 309 needs a concentrated effort to pop up the front. Clutch action on the 309 in nice and light,I can use just one finger to ease it in and out. I was able to clean sections in my practice area that I was struggling on the twinshock. I will be competing on the 240 in the coming year and I'll prepare the 309 for a go at the senior class next year.This gives me a direction for tuning my 240 as it's the only trials bike I have ever ridden and don't really know what is best all on my own. The 240 responds smoother down low(ain't nothin' wrong with piston port engines!) but It does have an OKO,both were running on last years fuel,no doubt stale as hell so I won't judge any tuning until I dump the old stuff into my Jeep and buy them something fresh(today was a clear the trails day,not a full playride day) Yes,the 309 does have alot of piston rattle,Don't know what is considered normal for these,just what I've read on the net,she'll get a new one before riding her much more,I have no doubt she'll always be noisier than a 240 but if I put a new piston in her I'll have peace of mind.

Guys,it ain't cheatin' if there's a class for the bikes, and we have a special class for the bikes here in the U.S.You don't have to like it,but it does consist of people riding trials,which is always a good thing.The first trials I attended had a trail bike class that required non-trials bikes only,the entire group rode the loops together on their own special lines,and they all had a blast,It was great because it was more guys riding trials. If you should come across and old TY350 with a blown shock and no airbox it's not really a big dealio to build it into a twinshock,it doesn't take a airmono out of the loop, it brings it back into the game since it likely has been used as a farm bike for years,and not been involved in competition anyway. As far as a airmono class,yes,that would be fun,but first there needs to be enough out there to show up at an event to make up a class,I'll likely haul my 309 along to the events next year,but I'll be riding my 240 in the aircooled drum brake class as I still need to be on the easy line for awhile yet. If I get enough rides in to qualify for year end points in the vintage class then I'll ride the 309 in the senior class,which is one step up in difficulty as far as lines go,if there was a airmono class I'd bet it would ride the same line so it seems that a special class for airmonos would be redundant. I have access to 100 acres here in southern Indiana that I'm clearing out for playing trials on,maybe once I get all the streams and waterfalls cleared and the moss off of all the rocks maybe we should have a big airmono get-together!(I don't have much interest in promoting a full-blown event,just playdays) P.S.there's a TY350 for $800 just 15 miles from my house,and I'm itching for some garage project to weld on...

Here's a way to find trials bikes all across the USA: Jaxed mash click on tab marked "motorcycle" and scroll down,I had him add "trials" to his menu so that you'll get any craigslist or ebay add that has trials in the title or you can just google "trials site:craigslist.org/ mcy" and set the date preferences to "sorted by date"

So $2200 is a deal,better get it! When I was a kid riding a Cimatti 100 and a Bloop dad had a garage full of six cubs and terriors,I wanted one sooooo badly but he said I'd blow the rod outa one.... I wanted a Bantam too...he said something about fouled plugs and seizures... Somehow a Yamaha Big Bear Scrambler was a better choice Which I traded for Maico 125 I'd like to see someone here get that cub fersure rather than some resto nutcase shipping makes it a unwise deal for me

Offer to keep an eye on his place while he's out next time,tell him to leave a key under the mat...then go in and borrow his bike and copy every single mod you can...

I do believe you'll have to get all the bits and pieces and spread them out in your own workspace,stir them all around and reassemble into the combination you like,really if you can just find a decent 200 or 240 you'll be just fine riding it as it is... personally I'd like to have my 240 motor in a 305 frame,it's such a sweet little thing!! the weather turned sour right after I picked up my 309 so I haven't got a feel for her power characteristics yet,the reed valve fantics are alot noisier than piston port ones,don't gut a running 240 to put the larger engine in,find a knackered one please.

Just a quick suggestion,before replacing electrical components always clean and tighten any grounds,including the mounting surfaces or the LT coil to the engine case and the cases to the frame.Even though the wiring diagram shows a ground wire from the lower unit to the HTcoil the spark plug needs to ground through the engine and frame back to the HT coil via some route.

What gear oil are you running?My 240 clutch gets a reasonable level of effort when I run ATF in the trans,but it starts to shift stiffly after about 20 sections of a trial,I'm gonna try 50% atf and 50% 80 weight gear oil and see how well it does.ATF is about 5w and 80 weight is about 10w in motor oil equivalent in my unscientific tests. I am also going to experiment with the basic clutch engagement adjustment at the center of the clutch vs. the cable adjustment to see what the effects the internal cam position has on the feel of the clutch.

Make it a twin shock rather than a vintage class and I'll try to make some of the more southern events(I've got a Fantic 240,doesn't fit into Ahrma classifications,TI events run a twinshock,aircooled drum brake vintage class) I met Ed Logan at Dayton,OH this past year,what a character!

Finally got a chance to take this for a spin around the backyard(very small yard!),I'm really gonna like this bike,clutch takes no effort and releases quickly,turns way tighter than the 240,engine is alot noisier than a 240 though,it'll make a fun ride while going through the 240.

Reason it's in the back of my truck in the pics is I was too sick to unload it...going around bad I guess...

Yes,they need to get going on that,my grandson will be ready for a Oset next summer,and he'll need something just like that once he's ready for internal combustion!

...and while I was on the road a ty350 popped up on craigslist just 20 miles from me,I think I may need to go look at it due to proximity.

Picked up a 309 on ebay,was inside driving distance so I drove over to iowa and hauled it home! $780 bucks!Runs, Has great compression but needs carb cleaning,tires deep tread. Hubs have been spraybombed silver,hopfully pressure washer will strip them back to day-glo yellow!