BMCA Trial - Mamble - More Pics

Here are a few pics from yesterday, they include Jim Pickering (winner of the over 350cc class on his Royal Enfield), Steve Hay (winner of the trial on his BSA Bantam) and ........ 2 pics of Steve Thompson - with no brakes and lots of steep slippery banks it just wasn't Steve's day - here he is playing rodeo on his Triumph Twin up the rocky stream on section 7

BMCA Trial - Mamble - Pics

Couple of pictures from today at sections 5 and 7

Eventpost 48 - BMCA Championship round 4 - Mamble

Yesterday I took the BSA up to Steve Gagg's place in Nottingham for the finishing touches and again this left me without a bike for the BMCA championship round this weekend. (Note to self - don't rebuild bike mid season again!!!!)

I had been offered the loan of Alan's Greeves again, however since I last rode it the engine had been rebuilt and unfortunately the barrel had not returned from its re-bore so I had resigned myself to not riding.

Jim Pickering, the Midlands 'Bantam' man rides the majority of the BMCA events and so far this season had been riding his Royal Enfield in the over 350cc class in the BMCA championship so I asked if I could borrow his Bantam as he was not likely to be using it himself and he kindly agreed to being my sponsor for the day!!

Well, I must say that I was a little dubious about the BSA Bantam as even though Jim's bike was always going to be one of the best ones around (he does the engines for many Bantam riders including Peter Gaunt apparently)but even bored out to 180 or 190cc I couldn't really see it pulling my slender 17.5 stone up the muddy banks that were bound to be present after all the recent rain.

A few adjustments on the controls and half a turn on the tick over screw were all that was needed and off I went...First impressions were that it felt a little flat off the bottom but was quite clean through the rev range and pulled quite well in both 1st and 2nd gear.

So I was straight into the trial after 5 minutes of practice and section 1, on the side of a fairly steep bank with a tricky set of cambered turns up a sandy/muddy bank with a tricky steep exit where throttle control and low down power was required to get to the ends cards without either the front rearing up or breaking grip. I had a slack dab at the bottom (probably getting ready for the lack of power that I expected!) then the little bike pulled and pulled all the way to the top, never feeling like it was going to lose grip or want for power.

Now confident that it would drag me round I took a different level of confidence into the rest of the first lap which included muddy drops, banks and ruts as well as rocky streams and as the lap went on I began to really enjoy the bike and the trial, never ceasing to be amazed by the grip I was able to get and the power that was available. It turned out that where I thought the engine was flat, it was actually an engine characteristic that allows you to bring the power on nicely without spinning the back wheel and once I was used to it was finding grip anywhere I needed it..

I completed the 1st lap for 4 marks which consisted of 4 single dabs on sections 1, 5,7 and 9. The second lap was similar with another 4 marks lost with 2 on section 2 which has become slippery and took me by surprise and another 2 on section 9 when I knocked my foot off the footrest on the bank of the stream and took 2 marks to sort myself out. The last 2 laps went for another 3 marks with my best lap of 1 mark coming on the last lap when the sections were at their worst.

Overall a really enjoyable trial with good sections considering the conditions and a load of fun being a sponsored rider for the 2nd time in two trials... I was really pleased with how I rode too with no real mistakes, just dabs where I needed them and some really good and consistent rides.

I must say thanks to Jim for the loan of the bike - if you need anything to transform your Bantam, he's your Man! He can sort you out with everything from engines, exhausts and even the Drayton Bantam frame which is his baby - give him a call on 07850 836571 - see the pics of Jim's bike here - I can now vouch for the fact that it goes as well as it looks!!........advert over...!

Today's results will be posted as soon as I get them.

....Results just in....

Results

Experts Up to 350cc
1. Steve Hay 0
2. Dave Wood 1
3. Alan Nicklin 3
4. Dave Dawson 11
5. Nathan Jones 17
6. Gary Hawkins 18
7. Mick Parkes 22
8. Keith Gardiner 22
9. Alan Borton 34
10. Gerry Minshall 52

Experts Over 350cc
1. Jim Pickering 29
2. Peter Reed 38
3. Bob Greenhough 89
4. Steve Thompson 92

Beezerpost 23

Popped round to Dad's this morning and took a couple of pics of the bike. As you can see there is not much more we can do without the skills of Steve Gagg to do the finishing touches. I am hoping to take it up in the next 2 weeks and possibly getting things complete by the end of the year. The only addition that has been done in the last few days is a modified Gas gas chain tensioner fitted. I know that some other riders using these frames don't use a tensioner but I like to be safe and it just adds that small piece of mind to the job..

Beezerpost 22

Couple more bits and bobs done today....

The KTM kick starter wouldn't clear the footrest on the new frame as the engine is pulled further back than the Faber one. I therefore decided to go for the standard BSA style kick starter from Terry Weedy. Unfortunately it wasn't cranked out enough so it needed a bit of heat and another tweak to get it out past the footrest. I know it's not a big deal but I hate having to lift footrests to kick the bike over and on the odd occasion that I have tightened the bolt so that it stays up I find it catching a bank or something in a section and staying up so it's not there when you need it. easier solution to change the kick starter me thinks...

The clamps that had been made for the fork brace/mudguard bracket were made in a bit of a rush last year and were never really finished off. These have now had the sharp edges rounded off and finished a bit smoother and also a couple of nylon cable guides made for the front brake cable. All little touches that finish the job off nicely and make a difference..

Beezerpost 21

Nice couple of touches to the bike today that may not seem much but make a big difference.....

Firstly I was never too keen on the routing of the clutch cable round the left side of the engine as it always felt like it was exposed with a potential to catch on something and even get burnt where it touched the side of the barrel.

I had a nice little modification on the Sprite with a wheel that helped the routing of the cable and managed to get Alan Nicklin to make a similar mechanism for the BSA. It attaches to the original cable stop on the engine and allows the cable to route cleanly up to the top tube without getting in the way and also actually makes the clutch pull lighter.

Also the throttle cable from the top of the carb had to bend in order to route under the tank on the old frame and I wanted a better solution. I managed to get hold of a Montesa cable tube and Dad soldered it to the Amal carb fitting so that the cable routes much more cleanly now.

The pics show these 2 additions...

Beezerpost 20

It is starting to take shape nicely with a few more mods this week in the hands of Mechanic Pete!

The brackets have been brazed on for the rear brake anchor and the side stand, the spacers made up for the rear wheel along with some nice new snail cams and the chain guard fitted. The wheel now slots into the swinging arm nicely.

I should have a new rear sprocket and kick start arriving this week from Terry Weedy. I have decided to make the 1st gear a little longer so I am changing the rear sprocket from 62T to 58T, also the KTM kick start currently on the engine doesn't clear the footrest on the new frame so I am putting a Miller type kick starter on it which will clear the footrest without having to fold it up.

Not too much left to be done now before it goes to Steve Gagg's for the finishing touches (tank, exhaust, seat, bash plate and rear brake pedal) unfortunately this will have to wait till mid December due to Steve's workload so it looks like there will be little progress now till the end of the year when it comes back.

Jan will then be busy with stripping, powder coating and re-building before I get to ride it....

BMCA Trial - Old Mine, Kinlet - More Pics

A couple more pictures from this weekend's trial. Steve Thompson on the Triumph Twin, Alan Nicklin on the James and Me on the Greeves.

Eventpost 47 - BMCA Championship round 3 - Old Mine, Kinlet

With no bike to ride, I faced the prospect of missing this week's championship round until Alan Nicklin stepped in with an offer of lending his Greeves late last week - of course I jumped at the opportunity as I have ridden it before and know that it rides really well.

Today's trial was a mix of streams and banks that had seen some serious rain over the last week but as the ground used to be a mining area the majority of the banks consisted of a mix of mud and shale so held up quite well and remained quite grippy.

I had an odd start to the trial as there was a lot of debate about the correct route at the start of section 1. One or two riders took a route that looked to be incorrect but the observer gave them cleans so I had planned to do the same and as I went into the section other riders told me to go the other way which I hadn't looked at. I ended up stalling going down the bank and after debate with the observer about the correct route, she fortunately allowed me a re-run and I rode away with a thankful clean.

The first lap went well for the loss of only 1 mark, however the bike was not running well and refused to rev out cleanly even after a change of plug. Alan advised that he'd changed the carb before the trial so I can only assume that this was the cause as it normally runs so well.

The second lap wasn't too bad (a further 5 marks) and I was on 6 at the half way point which I was quite satisfied with, however the bike was deteriorating rapidly and was bogging under power and running very lumpy.

Where I had been able to ride steadily on low throttle early in the trial, this was no longer possible as the muddy banks got worse coming out of the streams and I needed more clean power available. The result was that more marks slipped away, specifically section 7 which was an undercut root out of the stream and a steep bank and I struggled with a couple of 3's just to get through.

A number of other marks were lost in similar circumstances which was a bit of a shame as it all started so well, however I think my final score will have been something like 25 - 27 marks. Not the end of the world, but after the strong 1st lap I felt that I should have been on something more like 10 marks less.

I thoroughly enjoyed the trial and even with the bike not performing like I know it can, I owe Alan a big debt for the loan and the opportunity to score a few championship points!

Results just in.........It appears that although the observer gave me a re-ride on section 1, she didn't change the score and gave me the 5 anyway... Not that the result would have changed anything as I would have still been 4th in my class and scored the same championship points.

Experts Up to 350cc

1. Dave Wood 12

2. Alan Nicklin 12

3. Mick Parkes 21

4. Dave Dawson 28

5. Gary Hawkins 28

6. Keith Gardner 31

Experts Over 350cc

1. Steve Thompson 25

2. Jim Pickering 49

3. Arthur Browning 42

4. Pete Reed 52

5. Bob Greenhough 62

Beezerpost 19

Mechanic Pete has had a couple of busy days on the bike since the frame arrived on Wednesday night.

Firstly the oil pump cover needed a modification to reduce the depth that it hangs down under the engine and will allow for a completely flat bash plate. The original was removed and replaced with a 5mm alloy plate, milled out on the inside to allow for the oil to still circulate through the pump.

Next was a re-fit of the yokes. As a solid alloy spindle came with the frame along with different sized bearings, the insterts in the yokes needed adapting to allow for correct fitting.

Other mods have included a head steady, making up T Joints for the oil pipes and some mods to the inside of the swinging arm to allow my rear wheel to fit without the hub fouling on the insides of the frame.

All this has now been done and it is sitting on it's wheels as a rolling chassis with the engine in.

There are a few bits and bobs to be done next week - rear brake anchor bracket, side stand mounting point and a bit of tidying up on the mudguard stays for the front mudguard, then the week after next it will do a trip up to Steve Gagg's place for a tank, seat, exhaust and silencer, bash plate and rear brake pedal to be made.

I really think that this is going to be a cracker when it is done and I have some nice plans for the stuff that Steve is going to make but I will keep those ideas under wraps until they are done.

Today's pics are from the first stages of the initial dry build..

Beezerpost 18

It was confirmed today that the new frame will be arriving tomorrow....At the same time I found out that the BMCA Championship Trial due to be held in 2 weeks time has been bought forward to this Sunday!!

It looks like mechanic Pete has a busy few days as he is confident that the first 'dry build' will turn into a 'wet and muddy build' so that I can ride it Sunday with the bare metal frame before it is stripped back down for powder coating and final build after the weekend.

This is probably a good thing in all honesty as it will allow me to give it a run and make sure that everything is OK before it gets painted and completed.

Thanks to Alan Nicklin I also have the offer of an alternative bike for Sunday if anything goes wrong with the BSA build which takes the pressure off a bit.

Will try and post pics as it is coming together and put a report on the site from Sunday.

Classic Experts Pics

After I had retired I watched a few sections in the 3rd group whilst waiting for the van to pick me up. This was a double sub at the end of the stream that took most of the Expert field for marks.

Perhaps a rare photo of Normal Shepherd on his ear in the stream, Alan Whitton with his feet down on the root step, Steve Gagg on Simon Chell's Triumph Twin having a BIG dab and Peter Salt going for a big dab on the turn before the root step.

I watched most of the Expert field through here and saw no cleans (in fact the best I saw was a single Dab at the turn).

Eventpost 46 - Classic Experts Trial

The curse continues.....

You may recall that I went to the Classic Experts Trial 2 years ago and failed to get to the 1st group of sections when the ignition failed on my Sprite..... well I did manage to go a little further this year - to section 8 in fact.....

I started off steadily, leaving the first group on 7 after losing a 5 on section 4 and a couple of steadying dabs, then in the second group on a double sub I dropped into the stream and felt a clunk from the bars, then after the section I checked the bike and found that the steerer was loose. Closer inspection revealed that something was very wrong and it appeared that the alloy insert in the yokes had broken, so it was an early bath as it was not something we could chance for the rest of a difficult trial like that.

I decided to nurse it to the next group to watch and then it really dawned that it wasn't my day as I then had a rear tyre puncture on the road!!!!

Fortunately Dad had come with me and was following the trial on his Serow, so he was able to go back and collect the van and recover me.

I am now writing this on Saturday evening and the bike has been completely stripped down ready for repairs to the yoke insert and waiting for the new frame to arrive.

Beezerpost 17

Last week the bike went back to Pete Kirby and my Dad for a few mods to be done. As I have mentioned before, the clutch was never brilliant on the bike and although I could get it working well at home, as soon as I rode in a trial and the engine got hot, the clutch started to be inconsistent, often dragging and not engaging and disengaging as it should by half way through the trial.

This had been causing me some problems, considering my style of riding is really affected by having no clutch - I don't know why but riding off the clutch doesn't suit me as I like to ride sections slowly and deliberately and off the clutch it just all happens a bit quicker than I like.

Anyway, Pete has been developing a diaphragm clutch that runs dry with a belt drive for some time and as he is just about ready to turn them loose, I decided to give one a try.

At the same time I decided to try a different set of yokes with a little less offset in order to try and slow the steering down a bit and make the front end a bit more stable.

On Sunday last week, the BMCA ran a Clubman trials day to encourage new riders to give it a go and the Experts were on hand to give a bit of advise and direction to help the less experienced guys.

It was a good opportunity to try the latest mods to the bike and have a bit of practice (not some thing I do enough to be honest). I can say that the clutch is working fantastically with consistent bite and release on the lever and a good progressive feel - I can certainly recommend them if you are considering improving your BSA engine (not exactly cheap but worth every penny if you ask me - give Pete Kirby a call on 07886 745942 if you are interested - Pete can also work wonders to your BSA engine too!!). The yokes seemed to help but I think the next rocky trial will really show whether any improvement has been made.

I do have another update - I have a new frame on order..... I have placed an order for an original Mick Mills built BSA frame. These are considered the best BSA trials frames out there and are copied by many so I am glad to say that I will have an original from possibly the last batch that Mick built before he became ill. I hope to have it in the next couple of weeks so will post pics of the build as it comes together.

There really is nothing wrong with the Faber frame, it is really light and it works well, however I have chosen the new one as it is a little more modern in terms of its geometry (certainly physically lower and a steeper steering angle) and as I am always looking to improve my bike so it was an opportunity that I couldn't let pass....

This weekend will probably be the last trial on the Faber frame as we are heading for the Classic Experts Trial at Rhayader. I recall that I nearly rode this trial last year but the ignition failed on the Sprite so I didn't actually get to the 1st section - hopefully this week will at least be better than the last attempt - I will update the BLOG with a report and pics on Saturday night...

Eventpost 45 - BMCA Champs Round 2 Heightington

Great trial today at Heightington for the second round of the BMCA Championship. It made a nice change from the normal tight and twisty sections that are usually the norm for the BMCA and instead Keith Gardiner put on a great trial along the rocky stream at this venue.

The first lap was quite difficult with all of the slime on the rocks but it soon scrubbed off and made for a really good event.

I actually felt that I rode quite well and looking at the results I guess I found my level as the usual top guys scored really well. Although I lost quite a few marks I honestly think that only about 9 of them should have been saved so I am pretty happy with how things went.

Bike went well and no injuries, which could have easily happened on the slippery stuff!

Next round is at the Old Mine, Kinlet next month.

Results

Up to 350cc Experts

1. Alan Nickin 3

2. Alan Wright 6

3. Steve Hay 21

4. Chris Denney 24

5. Mick Parkes 37

6. Dave Dawson 39

7. Keith Gardiner 44

8. Alan Borton 45

9. Simon Anderson 47

10. Gary Hawkins 48

11. Nathan Jones 49

Over 350cc Experts

1. Jim Pickering 23

2. Steve Thompson 29

3. Pete Reed 66

Eventpost 44 - BMCA Champs Round 1 - Marshbrook

Today was the 1st round of the BMCA championship and with a different format this year (7 rounds with all 7 to count) I decided to ride even though I was still suffering pretty badly with the chest infection. I figured that a few points would be better than no points!

As it turned out, the entry was very good with more Experts entering than are normally seen at BMCA events. The trial was held in a wood which was on the whole very dry so the banks, although quite steep, were quite grippy and easy to ride so the organisers had to tighten the sections and make the normal tight nadgery sections that were not too testing but could easily take marks - which they did!

Although suffering with a tight chest which made breathing difficult and a general feeling of weakness, I was actually riding quite steadily with just two single dabs on lap 1. Lap 2 was similar with 4 marks lost due to a bit of a mistake at the top of section 8 which needed 2 dabs to get back on line.

After a reasonable start that I was quite happy with I dropped into section 1 on the 3rd lap which was a tricky entry down a steep bank followed by a step then a blast across a muddy bog which had got badly rutted. I had been using a line which skirted the bog then required a hop over the rut to get back onto line, however when I tried it I lost the front wheel on landing and ended on my ear for a soft 5 marks. That was instantly followed by another 5 when I stalled the bike on section 2. The rest of the lap went for 2 marks but those 10 marks were just too many for todays trial as it wasn't difficult enough to claw them back. I did the last lap for 1 mark but the damage was already done and a total loss of 19 marks was the result.

The bike went well today and as it got hot in the wood, the carburation was much better, however I did notice that as it got hot on the 3rd and 4th laps the clutch stated to go off again.

I just had the results through and it seems that others had similar inconsistent rides to myself as I finished 4th in my class with some good riders behind me - I am now glad that I ventured out as I am pleased with the final result, though without the two fives a score of 9 or 10 marks would have been much more pleasing!!!!

Results

Experts - Up to 350cc

1. Alan Nicklin 4

2. Nathan Jones 11

3. Mick Parkes 11

4. Dave Dawson 19

5. Gary Hawkins 20

6. Nick Wooley 23

7. Dave Wood 24

8. Adrian Kent 24

9.Keith Gardiner 27

10. Brian Dale 28

Experts - Over 350cc

1. Jim Pickering 12

2. Pete Reed 28

3. Arthur Browning 29

Beezerpost 16

Got the bike back (again) at the weekend and all is back to normal.... Clutch fixed and timing sorted so it feels just like it did before we went swimming! Thanks Pete..

I now really must do something about carburation to try and remove the slight cough when I snap the throttle open. I know 4 strokes generally do this but I am sure that it can be eliminated with a really good set up. I have been advised so many conflicting ideas on this relating to less cut away on the slide to richen it, more cut away to weaken it, more space between the carb and the engine - I guess everyone is an expert in their own right and are basing their thought on what has worked for them - I will need to try them all and wee which one might work for me.

I remember on the Cub we couldn't get it how I wanted it until we opted for a DelOrto carb then all was OK (perhaps that's the answer)..

Anyway, I didn't ride last weekend, instead I opted to observe at Bromsgrove to help my dad out and also get over the chest infection that has been thoroughly pissing me off.....Sleeping on the sofa because my coughing is keeping the house awake is just not fun and as i write this on thursday morning it still isn't getting any better (10 days now so I hope I get some improvement soon!).

I am planning to ride the 1st round of the BMCA championship whis Sunday at Church Stretton so health permitting I will report on how things went on Sunday night.

Old Pictures (BMX Racing from the 80's)

I managed to upload some old BMXphotos from the early 80's - please take a look here

Old Pictures

I was having a look through some stuff and found these old pictures of me in the 90's on modern bikes and my 360 Bultaco scrambler at Hawkstone Park.

Eventpost 43 - BMCA Trial, Ullenhall

Following my recent dip in the water, after the Nostalgia Trial my bike went back to Pete Kirby for the engine to be stripped, examined and rebuilt - mainly for my own piece of mind to make sure that I didn't cause any damage to it.

Pete bought the bike back to Ullenhall on Sunday so it was a bit of a testing day to make sure that it was all running well and get the settings back to where they were before it went away.

Well, all didn't actually go to plan to be honest. The engine was running fine but I had some problems with ignition and clutch.

Firstly the clutch started playing up as soon as it got hot, not engaging and dis-engaging as it normally does - I checked with Pete and we believed that it was down to the oil that had been used as I normally run AFT in the primary case. Not a major problem as the trial was fairly easy and I thought it would be a good idea to ride off the clutch and see how I got on. Bit of a culture shock to be honest as I never ride without full use of the clutch!

I then felt that the bike had lost it's punch at mid throttle and felt quite flat so I went back to the car, dropped the oil from the primary case and avanced it up a bit.

This seemed to improve things but unfortunatly the clutch had now stopped working completely.

I continued to finish the trial but I was losing marks for fun! A coupls of 5's were taken where I stalled the bike, needing a bit of clutch at the bottom of a steep bank and another couple due to over running tight turns and missing the line because I was ahead of where I wanted to be.

The problem was that I generally set quite a lot of tickover to ensure that I dont stall then ride on the clutch and this clearly was not going to work in this trial because there was no clutch and the tickover was jus too quick for the tight sections.

Anyway, as the trial went on, the bike again became flat. It was like the timing was inconsistent or we have come across a self reterding ignition system!

Needless to say, Pete has taken it back to check these bits and bobs out and I should get it back next weekend at Bromsgrove.

The result was as expected, pretty poor considering it should have been a single mark trial, however it was good to identify these issues sooner rather then later at an event that mattered.

Pics are from this trial - I decided to wear my mountain bike helmet because it was so hot! You will see that on neither of these pics do I have a finger on the clutch (pretty unusual for me!)

Results as follows;

Experts (Up to 350cc)

1. Nathan Jones 7

2. Dave Jones 14

3. Laurance Alden 22

4. Dave Dawson 34

5. Ray Barrett 39

Experts (Over 350cc)

1. Pete Peed 18

2. Jim Pickering 20

Intermediates

1. Steve Neale 5

2. Pete Kirby 29

3. Ian Bullock 32