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...