earthmover

No, they are not. Some in the South are ethanol free, but ANY fuel that has come from Stanlow has a percentage of ethanol in it. Some of the oil companies will tell you what that percentage is, some (Shell for instance) will not. Mark

More pictures, as promised. Rolls along much better now! Rear wheel now with full compliment of spokes, and smaller sprocket. New sprocket bolts and an o-ring in the cush drive to keep everything nice and tight. Found a cable stay off a DT 175 to tidy up the front end, still need to make a decent bracket for the mudguard. I also picked up some washers and r-clips for the clocks, which looks a whole lot better than the bent paperclips that were originally holding them on. Cheers Mark

Bet you thought I'd left this languishing in the shed......... Well actually, there has been an awful lot of other stuff going on, and another addition to the garage over Christmas, but we have progressed. The exhaust trim rattled, owing to the bolts holding it being stripped or snapped off. Cleaned up and tapped out, 3 out of the 4 were saved, but the 4th needed drilling and an insert. I also got some new exhaust rubbers and dampers (as the parts book calls them) so now the exhaust doesn't flop around. New gasket and seal at the manifold as well, to keep the gases where they should be. This where my camera skills let me down again, I'm too busy bolting stuff back together to get the photos! I took the tyres off both wheels, cleaned the inside of the rims, and replaced two missing spokes in the rear. Cleaned the hubs, took out the bearings and seals and replaced with new, put new brake shoes in, and replaced the tyres with something a little less perished! My plans for the front mudguard didn't pan out. I was hoping to use a spare fork stay from the TY175's to hold the mudguard, but they don't fit these forks. Back to the drawing board. I will take some better photos at some point, honest! Mark

I heard a lot about the local franchisee, couple of people I know had their bikes done by him, and decided to give him a try. He came to my office and made both mine and my girlfriends bikes look like new again! Fair play to him, my 05 was minging! Time alone will tell how good the treatment works, but he definitely gave it the best chance of success. Yes, you could quite easily do it yourself if you wanted. I chose to let someone else do it. Mark

Hi Quigleyje, If you check out the cmsnl website, they show the part number for the item you are looking at for the 250, then check the part number for the same item on the 125/175. If they have the same part number, you can safely interchange them. Cheers Mark

I've fixed forks before with Araldite. Clean out the pits with a brass brush on a Dremmel, brake cleaner, then dab some Araldite into the hole, leaving it slightly proud. When its dry, carefully file it down flush with the surrounding chrome, then wet and dry it until smooth. Preparation is the main thing, Araldite dont stick to oil! I did a set of TY forks this way, and they've done a full season without a problem. Mark

Are you saying that the bike won't run at all when the choke plunger "falls back in"? If so it sounds as though your carb needs a clean out. You may have a small amount of water in the float bowl, or the jets need a clean. The exhaust gases that you see, where exactly are they coming from? Mark

Not if it's an IT, they were premix only. Mark

Quick update. Saturday afternoon saw me visiting a local farmer friend, who is also a keen off-road rider, and happens to have a long concrete driveway! With the gearing as it is at the moment, I can get all 5 gears within 100 yards, but at least it proves they all select. With fresh oil the clutch is a lot better, but it still slips at higher revs? Not entirely sure about why that would be. The kick start works ok though, so back into the garage, and I think we'll start with the back end first........ Mark

Hi, I get the pipe back through the plastic grommet with a little lubrication, a pair of snipe nosed pliers, and some swearing! I did contemplate trimming the end of the pipe with a Stanley knife to give it a taper, but have managed without so far. Can't help with tank location on that bike, but yes the pump cable should connect to the throttle cable somehow. HTH Mark

Hi Wayne, Sent you a message yesterday, did you see it? Mark

Oops! That really doesn't sound good, but at least it didn't start! Mark

Might have a spare carb for that, with all new jets in it if you're stuck. Mark

So after taking the clutch and kickstart mechanism of, and a thourough clean up, we have this. The scars and gouges are a result of the broken spring being forced around with the kickstart gear by the previous owner, but they aren't going to be a problem. First thought was to drill and put a nut and bolt through in place of the missing stop, but there are webs at the back of the crankcase which put paid to that idea. There is enough meat to drill and tap it though, so that's what I did. I'm not that good with a camera and unfortunately the shot of the drilled and tapped hole was blurred. An M6 allen bolt was carefully screwed in, et voila! Some liquid gasket to seal the threads seemed like a good idea. But when I tried the kickstart mechanism there was a slight problem. I hadn't realised the importance of the hole in the casting just to the right of the allen screw. It's where the tang of the kickstart spring clip fits, and without the hole to locate it, it can rotate on the shaft and force the starter gear into the idler gear all the time. So out with the JB weld. I first undid the screw and picked off the liquid gasket, then re- applied it only to the threads in the hole. As I now have a good solid "stop" for the kickstart to return to, I don't have to worry about the shearing force, so I just need to replicate the shape in the casing. As it happens I have a example to work from lying at my feet....... I carefully pressed a blob of JB weld in place with a screwdriver and built it up to what you can see here. With the idler gear in place, I was able to drop the kickstart in to check I hadn't overfilled, which I had, and carefully remove any excess with a Dremmel. I took a picture, but again it came out blurry. Too concerned about getting dirty paw prints on my Girlfriend's Canon. Back on with the clutch, fitted the seal holder from the AT engine which had been missing, new gasket and bolted it back together. Poured some fresh oil in, and then stood it on end overnight to test the integrity of the seal. No leaks, result! Replaced the engine in the frame. Notice it's a lot cleaner now? Not pristine, but cleaner. The shift drum cover was missing, so another piece robbed off the AT. Two of the three bolt holes are damaged, but I was able to get enough purchase on two of them to hold it. Whilst the carb has been off I've checked that through and cleaned it, then refitted with an NOS connector boot and a new oil pump cable courtesy of Venhill. Switched the clutch actuator arm from the original cover to the AT one and fitted that, along with the magneto cover. Oil tank, petrol tank and seat back on, bled the oil pump through, chucked some fuel in and wheeled her outside..... After a couple of wary prods on the kickstart, which went without hitch, I switched the fuel on, pulled the choke and crossed my fingers. Second kick was a splutter, third kick and she sprang to life! Need some daylight and a quiet stretch of road now to see if my theory about the clutch is correct, then I can start on the little things which will probably take months to get done..... Mark

Most people learnt off reading on unsuitable bikes, I certainly did. Your biggest problem, as Blackhat suggested, is that your tyres will make life interesting. On gravel tracks it will be less of a problem than on grass or mud. The only damage that is likely over normal use is mud and grit wearing parts like chain and sprockets, pads and discs quicker, and of course your bike will get dirty. The problems start when you drop the bike, which you eventually will, and break bits off it. Then of course comes the thorny question of where to ride, is it legal to do so, or are you going to get in trouble for it. Good luck! Mark