Basket Cases

[Stu]

and sorry to hijack the thread..i'd like some info on which Class I should ride at the Aussie titles next year, Post Classic or modern bikes?

[Greg Harding]

Hi Everyone,

PA, really look forward to watching Classic and Post Classic sidecars in action, I remember there was a Bultaco outfit in the scoretent in 2007. Any more details on which class will be expanded for lower level riders? Definitely any class that allows more riders to compete at Aussie Titles level has to be a good thing!

Stu, being over 40 means you can ride Veterans on your Sherco or you can ride the `A` model in Post Classic, absolutely your choice. Both on `C` grade lines or do you mean that you want a Clubman option?

[Stu]

greg, as you know I rode in Post Classic in 2009 and was told the sections would be equal to C grade..but most of the sections were almost A Grade! Ive gone thru the MOMS and needed some clarification of what to ride and with what bike...choices. Is there a Clubman option?

[Greg Harding]

Hi Everyone,

Stu, with regards to 2011 Aussie Title classes, perhaps you should contact the organisers for clarification. South Australia held excellent events in 2007 with inovative ideas and something tells me 2011 will be even better!

Still no takers on identifying the second foreign piece in the KT motor photo????????????????????????????????? Its not that hard to spot!

The RL250 loan bike has been getting some attention lately with better tyres and lighter fork oil which has improved it noticeably. Last weekend we went camping for three days in granite rivergorge country, so we took the TLM and the RL. Granite doesn`t have much give in it and the RL got a bit of a workout! On the second day, I could feel the bike flexing more than usual and realized the frame was broken in the Achilies Heel right through the old repair done by a previous owner. With the riding so interesting and diverse and a river to cool off in, I couldn`t just park it. So I used what was in camp, 2 x tent pegs, 2 x tyre levers, tie wire, cable ties and duct tape. Twenty minutes and a cup of coffee later, refuelled and off to explore some more. However later that day, I managed to shear all the rear sprocket bolts, will have to rethink the spacer arrangement and maybe tackweld it to the sprocket. The 50 tooth sprocket is fairly big in diameter and increases the load on mounting bolts.

The joys of old bikes and metal fatigue or maybe I am just hard on equipment! Maybe Seventies bikes just like Seventies style sections? What do you all think??????????????????

[David Lahey]

Most of the other 1970s trials bikes were very resistant to that sort of abuse, but for some reason Suzuki did a very poor job with their design when copying the Sherpa T frame.
I reckon the old bikes are much more resistant to frame damage from hard riding than the modern stuff.
Love the Cobb and Co repair to that frame member. I've seen similar done on rally car suspension members to get the car home.

[Greg Harding]

Hi Everyone,

A little shed time and the RL is now fixed, tigwelded the frame and drilled and tapped the rear hub with a slightly bigger coarse threads.

The best part of fixing a bike is the test ride, so I went looking for something Seventies and here is what I found.

[David Lahey]

1970s bike, 1970s trailer, 1970s fence posts and 1970s rider? Maybe not the riding gear.

It looks like you have done some mods to the RL too while you had the welder set up.

Speaking of welding and old stuff, someone gave me a hard time recently when they saw the vintage stick-welding handpiece in my TY175 swingarm photos, and so I thought I had better explain.

The vintage CIG electric stick welder in the photos was bought new by my Dad and the first thing he made with it was the welding trolley seen in the photos. Being an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, he had fitted the welder out with starter motor cables from a Sandringham aircraft instead of the usual welding cables. The aircraft cables were a magnificent example of 1950s technology but were not very flexible and were incredibly heavy. Sadly, I inherited the welder in 1986 and being a CIG (BOC Gases) employee at the time, bought high-tech 1980s welding cables and have enjoyed using the gear ever since then. It has never missed a beat in all those years.

[Stu]

As requested by Greg, here is a couple of pics taken during the recent 'refurb' of my TY250a.
Thanks Greg for the brake plate and brake stay, the stay is a work of art! Im not sure how long it will stay in this condition, but I'm happy with it!
Roll on OZ Titles, Denman 2 day and the TY CHallenge!!!



I have posted these in Twinshock pics as well..

[Greg Harding]

Hi Everyone,

Stu, The "A" model looks really good, great to see you have your own colour scheme. It is amazing how the appearance of a bike can enhance your appreciation of it. When I am working on a bike, it owes me as least as much ride time. Hope you get the same value out of your efforts. Have you had the first ride yet and has the shorter header pipe changed the power charastics?

Below is a photo of a broken TY250B swingarm which came to me on a non runner as is, I was supprised just how thin the wall thickness is on the long tubes! Plus the ridiculous gusset arrangement, suppose they sorted the problem by the time the "C" model came out which used a similar gusset to the 175 one pictured with it.

[Stu]

Greg,
its the same pipe as before. Yeah Ive had it out on the leech infested hills and the new shocks make a huge difference!
Would you be able to post side on and top pics of a TY175 seat? A mate has 1 and need to rebuild his seat foam.
Cheers,