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Help required for an old man


bultoboy
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Evening all,

 

My old dad has riden trials on and off all his life. He has riden bultacos the last 15 years or so.but now finds them too heavy. I personally think it may have somthing to do with lack of maintenance and the bike being a bag of bolts!

Any way........I am wondering if there is an alternative for him. He is convinced a lightweight trick bsa bantam holds all the answers. I reckon a modern lil 4 stroke with electric start. 

Either way just wanna keep the old boy riding .

Many thanks

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Would recommend a lightweight twinshock too, thus he and keep up with his style of rideing and do not have to "fear" the artistic stuff you do nowadays.

The mentioned Yamaha TY 175 is a very nice bike even so a 200 or 240cc Fantic I would take in consideration.

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12 hours ago, mcman56 said:

TY175 is almost as light as a modern bike.  They start very easily and are easy to ride.

My Majestized TY175 with short Wez exhaust etc is 84Kg (could maybe shave off another 1Kg if I threw a load more money at it), my Sherco is about 70.
 

A modern bike might not look as sexy, but they're much easier to ride - things like the brake and clutch levers are lighter, and the extra suspension travel is easier on the joints, too.  I have a bad knee, yesterday I rode the Sherco on some of the toughest single track I've ever tackled in my life, and today I didn't have any pain while walking the dog - usually I have a bit of a twinge at least.

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53 minutes ago, turbofurball said:

My Majestized TY175 with short Wez exhaust etc is 84Kg (could maybe shave off another 1Kg if I threw a load more money at it), my Sherco is about 70.
 

A modern bike might not look as sexy, but they're much easier to ride - things like the brake and clutch levers are lighter, and the extra suspension travel is easier on the joints, too.  I have a bad knee, yesterday I rode the Sherco on some of the toughest single track I've ever tackled in my life, and today I didn't have any pain while walking the dog - usually I have a bit of a twinge at least.

That is much for a Majesty? I have reached 76kg in running order with a schoolboy frame.

A modern bike is easier to ride yes but the riding style has changed too much more aggressive not floating, riding the classic style on a modern trials bike looks suspicious...

 

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I agree with pschrauber on riding style, particularly for an older rider probably set in his ways.  Not that it has the same capability but I actually find the TY175 easier to ride than a modern bike for a couple of reasons.  First, on a modern bike I'm frequently using both brakes, clutch and throttle.  My TY175 is geared so low that there is engine braking and almost all control is throttle only.  Brakes are needed for steep down hills.  I find the clutch to be kind of grabby so stick mostly to clutch out riding.  With throttle only riding, there is just one variable to control.  This is easier mentally and physically.  

Second, on a modern bike I can use all of those controls plus force on the bars to sort of force the bike through full lock turns.  With thumb arthritis and some forearm issues, this can beat me up a bit.  If I try and force the TY like that, I can not keep the front end from washing out so have learned not to.  I put much less force in the bars and have even learned to lighten my grip on a modern bike so it is easier on my body.  This is not to say others can not force the front end and I would expect modified frames to allow that but this is just my experience as an average rider on a stock frame geometry bike.  Being so short, the TY will turn as tight as a modern bike except maybe when you need to stop mid turn.  Several people tell me that they can turn sharper on a TY175 than a modern bike.  The power is so soft that is easier to avoid little power surges that tend to push the front wheel wide when doing tight turns on a modern bike.   

With just 4" of suspension travel, the rear suspension is quite a bit more harsh which can beat you up a bit on a loop and sharp obstacles.  I would like to give a TY125 4 stroke a try.  

Would a Bultaco weigh more like 98 kg?  

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22 hours ago, pschrauber said:

That is much for a Majesty? I have reached 76kg in running order with a schoolboy frame.

A modern bike is easier to ride yes but the riding style has changed too much more aggressive not floating, riding the classic style on a modern trials bike looks suspicious...

 

I went back and checked my old notes, my TY was 84Kg before mods and is now 80Kg so I remembered wrong 🙃

In terms of riding style, many of the changes I made were to make the bike handle closer to a modern bike which did help a bunch since I can switch bikes and not adjust how I ride (I don't use the clutch or stop or hop around)

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This old bloke has a Scorpa Ty125f. Lightweight, easy to ride, easy to maintain. And the big bonus for me.... Electric start as well as kick-start. Its never going to be able to compete with the latest bikes, but neither can I. 

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Well as its the Dad thats wanting a lighter bike, go with his enthusiasm for a lightweight Bantam. With all those years of riding experience it would be his decision what to ride. Everyone is making suggestions for different machines but let the main man make the decision, that way he will be happier than being cajoled onto a bike he doesn’t want! You could of course try and get his current bike into a better state of maintenance.

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