Beezerpost 10

Just a quick picture for no other reason than I like it. This was taken last Fri when I gave the BSA its first run out on Steve's farm next to where I live. The Royal Enfield belongs to Steve and as I had teken the stand off my bike we leant the two bikes against each other whilst we had a look at the sections.

Beezerpost 9 - 1st ride!!!

Managed to get out and get some practice in on the bike today - one of the benefits of having sections to practice on right next door to your house....Thanks Steve....

As this was the first ride I expected a few issues to have to iron out but in all honesty it went like a dream. Brakes and suspension worked great, it steered quite well and felt nice and light. 

There were a few things that need loooking at, mainly a little bit of tinkering with the timing as it needs advancing a bit, the chain tensioner needing some mods as the spring is a little light and the side stand not working too well, but really minor bits and pieces. 

As you can see in the video, it pulls well and everything is looking good considering this was the first time it had turned a wheel....  Will add something on here after Sunday's trial.

Must say thanks to Dad for all the work that he has put in to this and produced yet another great bike - dont know what he will do now to fill his time .... dont worry dad i'll think of something!!

Beezerpost 8

Finally the engine is in, new seat has been covered and fitted, we decided to add an oil fiter to be on the safe side and it is ready to have a shakedown test tomorrow before it's first run in a trial on sunday. 

Will post some more photos and an update tomorrow when I have given it a try. 

Beezerpost 7

A couple of progress pictures with the bike in the Faber frame. 

The engine is almost ready so should be with us early next week and we remain on target for first ride out at Tardebigge in the BMCA trial next weekend. 

Beezerpost 6

OK - Regular readers of my BLOG will know that changes and evolution was enevitable - well I was searching for some brakes for the bike and had promised myself that this bike was going to be sensible in relation to cost so didn't want to go silly and buy new Alan Witton hubs as on the last few bikes because, believe it or not, by the time you have got the hubs, brake plates, sorted the brake shoes out, had them built into new ally rims with stainless spokes then added tyres, tubes, security bolts, a rear sprocket you have little change from about £1300 - thats just the wheels.... Anyway, I digress, i decided that a pair of Grimeca hubs would be a cheaper option so managed to find a complete pair of wheels, freshly built for the right money and to help fund them the old wheels could be sold on.

When I got talking to John Danter about my old wheels he mentioned that he had a Faber frame that had never been used and wanted to sell - eventually an exchange deal was done for the wheels against the frame and before I knew it the new wheels and frame were waiting to become BSA phase 2...

As this bike will be staying in the family for some time I decided that while the engine was between frames I would have it rebuilt and make sure that all was in order and anything that needs repair/replacement was sorted at the same time - thanks to Pete Kirby the rebuild is well under way and will give me some piece of mind for the coming season.

There have been a few bits of fabrication required to make sure that the bits from the 1st bike will fit the Faber frame, these have been done and the frame is now at the powder coaters so building should commence some time next week.

A few other bits and bobs - A KTM motocross kickstarter has been grafted onto the BSA stub as the old one was broken and did not clear the footrest without lifting it up which was a pain, also a new seat base has been cut out and is being covered which will fit the new frame better.

A few pics have been added from the early build activity with the new frame and also the new kickstarter - I will try and add more as it comes along.

Beezerpost 5

Here is the final picture of the BSA in phase 1. You can see the shorter rear shocks have changed the geometry quite a bit so that the head angle isnt quite so steep and you can see the clamps on the front forks to add the required stiffness. Now onto phase 2 of the project.....

Eventpost 36 - Red Marley 2009

Dad managed to work wonders on the bike during the week before Red Marley. 

1. A set of clamps were made for the forks with a brace to replace the mudguard stays which stiffened the forks no end. 

2. A knock through spindle, spacers and a modified brake anchor (together with a bit of filing on the brake shoes) improved the braking quite a bit - still not brilliant but at least I was able to go down hills slow enough to be in control. 

3. The frame was re-welded to secure the bashplate mounting points

4. We found that the rear brake was hampered the week before by a spring coming off the brake shoes.

5. A slipper was made to help the chain run and stop the wear on the swinging arm and smooth things up a bit. 

6.  A pair of shorter rear shocks (Betor) were purchased from Sammy Millers which lowered the rear of the bike and took some of the steepness out of the steering. 

I must say that the steering was a revelation with the combiination of stiffening things up and better geometry the bike handled very well.

So, on to the trial....  The trial was marked out just about right with a mix of banks, roots, streams, soft loamy climbs in the woods and some good testers over fallen trees. I think it was a good test without being dangerous. 

I felt that I actually had a good ride, with few silly mistakes and really only the odd 1's and 2's where I felt that I needed them. I did have 2 stalls which messed up my overall score but I put that down to learning how the engine works best for me. I found that running it with a little more tickover than normal and riding on the clutch seemed to eliminate the odd spit - stall type of characteristic that is often associated with 4 strokes.

I found that the power was great with plently of grunt when needed yet in the streams with muddy exits it seemed to grip quite well too. 

As for the result, my score put me mid pack in the over 250cc class amongst some class riders and some good guys behind me so overall I am quite pleased with how it is coming along. 

Next steps will be to get some consistent brakes sorted and perhaps at some point in the future a lighter frame - not sure about this though as there are a few options available out there (the latest Faber frame appears to have been improved and is reasonably priced , Nigel Randal is making some frames that appear to work well, Mick Mills has made another batch of his frames that are supposed to be very good - even though they are a bit expensive and Roger Heap - who made my Sprite frame - also has a jig for a BSA frame). 

Now that I know the engine is capable, I may have it stripped and re-built to give me the confidence that it is all as it should be and ready to do a full season including some road trials.

Will update the BLOG as things develop and put the trial results on when I have them..

Thanks to Colin Bullock from CJB Photographic for the pics from Sunday - I owe you a bacon sarnie Colin!!

Results (added 2200hrs 15th April 09) 

Hard Route

Class A (Up to 250 Unit) 

1. Alan Nicklin  0

2. Ross Danbly  2

3. Alan Wright  9

4. Nathan Jones  12

5. Chris Denney 13

6. Kevin Taylor 20

7. Mick Parkes 23

8. Dave Wood 29

9. Kirby Bennett 43

10. Paul Houghton  48

Class B (Over 250cc Unit) 

1. Robert Bowyer 7

2. Chris Collins 13

3. Mick Thurman  24

4. Simon Chell 24

5. Chris Chell 26

6. Dave Dawson 27

7. Gary Hawkins 40

8. Chris Pearson 68

9. Peter Reed 75

10. Mike Maskelyne 81

Class D (Unit) 

1. Neil Gaunt 9

2. Andy Richardson 14

3. Arthur Browning 39

4. Steve Jones 49

5. Steve Thompson  78

Eventpost 35 - BMCA Ullenhall

I gave the BSA it's debut on Sunday at Ullenhall. The event was a good test for a new bike with some good banks, very tight turns, cambers and roots - overall a good trial and quite a test. 

The good guys (Alan Nicklin and Steve Hay) made the result look like the trial was a lot easier than it actually was as both of them finished on clean, however on any bike I think a good ride for me would have been more like 10 marks so their rides were a bit special. 

Anyway, it was a good first test for the bike and gave us plenty to think about. I am, however enthusiastic that it will be a good bike once we have addressed a few of the issues - not many though when you consider it was it's first time out. 

- the steering needs some sorting - it tucks under on tight turns and doesnt feel too stable

- the front forks flex quite badly which adds to the strage steering characteristics of the bike

- the mounting points for the bash plate snapped when i grounded the bike on a particularly large root

- there is a strange grinding sensation from the rear of the bike (could be rear brake, chain or even gearbox - will need to investigate further

- rear shocks are too long (possibly adding to the steepness and feel of the steering) 

- Brakes are pretty poor - not sure whether this is just bedding in or whether something more drastic needs to be done to sort them out?)

So - back to the trial - well, I certainly learned a few things about the bike and the way to ride it and I expect that it will take many more events before I am comfortable with it and the way I need to ride it - just like learning all over again. 

During the trial I managed to have 3 5's through the engine doing the usual 4 stroke cough stop thing - mainly down to me experimenting with tickover speeds and also being undecided whether to use clutch or allow the engine to pull from tickover. 

I had one five through knocking myself off the bike when I banged my head on a tree (thank god I wear a helmet!), another trying to change gear in a section and finding a neutral, 2 more 5's because I simply couldnt stop at the bottom of a steep bank and a further 2 5's through my own choice of gears. 

This collection of 5's plus another 6 marks left a massive total of 51 which saw me propping up the entry on the hard route!

What did give me some heart was that the engine was really powerful and nice and sharp which is how I like my bikes. I did manage to clean every section of the trial at least once (except section 9 where my best was a 2) so I think that once I sort out the few niggles and get used to what the bike is capable of, it will be pretty competitive. 

It will go back to Dad's this weekfor a few bits and bobs and have a 2nd outing next weekend at Red Marley.  

Beezerpost 4

We have managed to get the bike to a rideable state this evening and the engine started and ran really well so I am looking forward to a bit of testing this wekend to see just how it goes. Watch this space!

Beezerpost 3

A few pics from today's progress. 

The clutch arm has been extended and a bracket made as a fixing point for the clutch cable to operate from.

A brake anchor made for the front wheel. 

The NJB Trickshox have arrived and been fitted and the rear frame loops have been cut off and some blanking plugs made to go into the frame - we plan to have a bracket that attaches to the two top shock mounts and holds the mudguard in place.