Found this while looking around on a MX forum

Can anyone remember anything about George Silk's trials bike, anyone ever seen one and any idea who is riding it in the video.

Cheers

Martin

I remember reading about them years ago. Also when I was at college back in the day we did a project on his idea for the long swingarm etc. Good bit of film.

thats a good bit of footage of the silk has anyone got a picture of this bike or even a bike the frame looks very much like my mc laren suzuki trials bike many thanks for finding it cheers !

thats a good bit of footage of the silk has anyone got a picture of this bike or even a bike the frame looks very much like my mc laren suzuki trials bike many thanks for finding it cheers !

Do you have a picture of your bike to share?

Did any of the trials bikes have a jackshaft to get the drive sprocket closer to the swingarm pivot?

Meney TY250 with forward pivot and disc brake on the transmission countershaft.

Concentric sprocket/pivot doesn't eliminate anti/pro squat effects in the rear end from the chain pull, but it does change them from the conventional setups.

John Hemingway's McLaren Suzuki at the 1971 SSDT:

cheers,

Michael

Here's one close to your heart Dave:

While on the subject of British bikes that should have made it (this could be a long posting) who knows what happened to the Mickmar engine?

While on the subject of British bikes that should have made it (this could be a long posting) who knows what happened to the Mickmar engine?

A friend of mine visited a very old established motorcycle dealership in the Birmingham area about 3 years ago. He was given the run of the place, and found loads of new Mickmar trials engines lying around in their basement......most of which had been robbed of the Bultaco components the engine used.

I think the rider of the silk on youtube is Duncan McDonald as he made the ealry chassis for it.

My dad Alan Morewood did quite a lot of development on the Silk.

The chassis changed to a more conventional one and the engine got developed further.

My brother Davy rode it in an A class champ round in approx 1980 / 1981. Think it was at Brimham.

Even though the chain tension was constant I remember a tensioner was added as without it it seemed lumpy / jumpy when riding on tickover / very slow.

The gearbox was very confusing. It had a conventional gear lever and then an extra one for high / low ratio thus giving it eight possible ratios.

There must be some pictures of it in my dad's or brothers scrapbook

Is that your father pictured in Morely's Spanish trials bike book with his Bultaco? Is that you or your brother there with him?

cheers,

Michael

I think the rider of the silk on youtube is Duncan McDonald as he made the ealry chassis for it.

My dad Alan Morewood did quite a lot of development on the Silk.

The chassis changed to a more conventional one and the engine got developed further.

My brother Davy rode it in an A class champ round in approx 1980 / 1981. Think it was at Brimham.

Even though the chain tension was constant I remember a tensioner was added as without it it seemed lumpy / jumpy when riding on tickover / very slow.

The gearbox was very confusing. It had a conventional gear lever and then an extra one for high / low ratio thus giving it eight possible ratios.

There must be some pictures of it in my dad's or brothers scrapbook

No, The rider is MGP winner Grahame Rhodes.

Is that your father pictured in Morely's Spanish trials bike book with his Bultaco? Is that you or your brother there with him?

cheers,

Michael

Be helpful if you provided page No and rider names...................quite a few references to Bultaco in that book.

It is the picture identified in the book as Alan Morewood with his Bultaco. It seemed unlikely that the English trials scene would be overflowing with people of that name, but then there are a few Michael Moore's in the world so I thought I'd ask him since he mentioned it just in case he had a cousin with the same name or something like that.

Page 41 opposite the photo of the Miller Highboy frame.

cheers,

Michael

There is a Talon Mickmar Trials Bike in Sammy Miller's Museum. John Close the Cotton works rider who rode Mickmar for a season or so also has some Cotton Mickmar stuff. Michael Martin (i.e. Mickmar himself) is still alive and kicking and does the odd talk about the engine to motor cycle clubs, etc.

There is a Talon Mickmar Trials Bike in Sammy Miller's Museum. John Close the Cotton works rider who rode Mickmar for a season or so also has some Cotton Mickmar stuff. Michael Martin (i.e. Mickmar himself) is still alive and kicking and does the odd talk about the engine to motor cycle clubs, etc.

Long dead thread but.... I built one of the Mickmar bikes and rode it for a season in '76. Mike Martin and George Sartin provided the parts and space at the Talon workshop in Yeovil. We used a Sammy Miller HiBoy frame and Honda tank. Another guy (Mike) also built one, chrome or silver tank if I recall.