Thia weekend was Yorkshire Classics premier off road trial' The Captains at Castle Carr high above Halifax, so with the bike up and running I asked the permission of a local club member and farmer if i could use a piece of land for an hour to confirm that the gearbox was working okay and that all the other work in the last week was trial ready.
The box ran faultlessly although the chain dropped three times off the rear sprocket. I believe it could be either the rear chain tension er been a little too 'slack' or that the snail cams are not up to the job and are moving ( i had previously tried to refresh them with a file apparently to no great benefit) so back to the garage.
The Beta offered up its spindle and snail cams ( the F/B spindle was an all alloy Sherco item) The Beta item is 5mm longer and is alloy with a steel nut the cams are in first class condition, they both went on without fuss and were puled up nice and tight. the chain tensioner offered some scope for improvement, the spring arm was manipulated in the vice and given a dog leg so that it was now tensioned behind the rear engine mount this pulled the arm up smartly without it hitting the swinging arm.
Following the poor running earlier in the week the carb was cleaned and yet more grit was discovered so back again to FOUR filters ( one in the tap , two in line and one in the carby banjo!)
With 130 starters on the entry list I got to the venue in good time to find the clerks of the course for the day in buoyant mood despite the heavy rain and snow of my journey and true to form come start time the sun came out.
The bike would not run 'clean' for the first half dozen sections so I returned to the paddock after a lap to clean the carb again and on the section before I did the chain dropped off again so carb cleaned and chain and spindle properly tight I set about the second lap. The carb though continued to run dirty and then clean on and off for the rest of the trial though the chain stayed in place!
Certainly my scores dropped on the second and again on the third lap and the bike at times ran fantastic but the tank is definitely coming off during the week for re sealing in an effort to keep the fuel/carb clean!!
All in an excellent trial well laid out and mentione must be made of the efforts of the Clerks of course messers Anderton and former 'fat boy' brayshaw plus there band of helpers who have been out most of the week planting flags setting sections and all those things that riders take for granted. Special mention to the results team Barry pickard and frank McMullan even with 130 riders and fiftenn sections and the last riders still on the course at 4pm the results were e mailed at just after 8 O'clock Sunday night.
The expert route seemed just about right with many scores under ten and two class winners on just 1 a piece, the club man course was a coat of paint tougher though, in fact on 5 of the fifteen sections I rode the expert route as it was easier than the clubman route!
The bike when 'right' is great I certainly rode sections better than I have before and Ihad cleans where previously i have not I can certainly see light at the end of the tunnel.
One thing that a rider mentioned today that is abundantly clear is that the days of turning up on an old 'barn find' in pre65 are definately over. The very great majority ( all bar half a dozen perhaps) of todays bikes were pure and simple 20th/21st century competition specials and as is the way of these things this season flavour is certainly the Bantam once frowned upon the modern bantam is a proper trials bike and more than capable. Judging by the numbers ridden today and those talking of building one and the number of bits been sold for them at the trial today it seems certainly that the cubs/ james are slipping out of favour. I suspect the reason is threefold. light weight, todays specialist frames are light and narrow, complete bantams for donor bikes are plentiful on the open market at reasonable prices and finally the aging pre65 population wants an easy bike to ride and maintain.
looking forward, up front I will be sorting out the forks to replace with a pair of Norton legs that I have (just for appearances sake really, the works F/B bikes of 1963-66 had the Norton legs so they can be done . I'll also be looking at fitting either a wider front mudguard or a flap at the tail of the present one to keep the exhaust crud free, plus of course the tanks coming off for sealing . Other than that and some cleaning and lubing its ready to go for next weekend. Oh nearly forgot, MOT time as its the Poachers trial which is the first round of the Classic Dirt Bike and PJ1 British bike Series at the end of the month.. I coughed up for insurance earlier this week so looking forward to my FREE road tax disc, on the other hand, diesel was 142.9 a litre this morning..
The expert route seemed just about right with many scores under ten and two class winners on just 1 a piece, the club man course was a coat of paint tougher though, in fact on 5 of the fifteen sections I rode the expert route as it was easier than the clubman route!
The bike when 'right' is great I certainly rode sections better than I have before and Ihad cleans where previously i have not I can certainly see light at the end of the tunnel.
One thing that a rider mentioned today that is abundantly clear is that the days of turning up on an old 'barn find' in pre65 are definately over. The very great majority ( all bar half a dozen perhaps) of todays bikes were pure and simple 20th/21st century competition specials and as is the way of these things this season flavour is certainly the Bantam once frowned upon the modern bantam is a proper trials bike and more than capable. Judging by the numbers ridden today and those talking of building one and the number of bits been sold for them at the trial today it seems certainly that the cubs/ james are slipping out of favour. I suspect the reason is threefold. light weight, todays specialist frames are light and narrow, complete bantams for donor bikes are plentiful on the open market at reasonable prices and finally the aging pre65 population wants an easy bike to ride and maintain.
looking forward, up front I will be sorting out the forks to replace with a pair of Norton legs that I have (just for appearances sake really, the works F/B bikes of 1963-66 had the Norton legs so they can be done . I'll also be looking at fitting either a wider front mudguard or a flap at the tail of the present one to keep the exhaust crud free, plus of course the tanks coming off for sealing . Other than that and some cleaning and lubing its ready to go for next weekend. Oh nearly forgot, MOT time as its the Poachers trial which is the first round of the Classic Dirt Bike and PJ1 British bike Series at the end of the month.. I coughed up for insurance earlier this week so looking forward to my FREE road tax disc, on the other hand, diesel was 142.9 a litre this morning..
3 comments:
I saw your bike on Sunday, it looks really good with the new tank. Who painted it ? looks like a top job.
do you ride all the top trials in the north of england? ive always wanted to do the captains trial ive been told its a fantastic ride round an old estate, would it be possible for you to list the time and contact for next year on your blog.
could you put the date and contact details for the captains trial as ive always wanted to do it but seem to miss it every year.
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