Magnetos - Part 2

So I stripped my magneto. This is the armature:-

I needed to get into the non-drive end to remove the old capacitor and rewire, but the screws wouldn't budge. Cue an hour fannying about with a pillar drill drilling them out. Once in bits it was fairly easy to snip the condenser and wire the LT coil to earth and live. Reassembled and tested with a 3mm plug gap - big blue sparks. Result!

Now to fit it back on the bike.

This n That

Had a couple of days off so Ive been working on the van and the bikes.

Done an oil change and a bit more welding. Underseal going on (me and the VW...).

While I was waiting for oil to drain I cracked on with my 50's Ariel frame. Welded a bead around the head races to get them out

And fixed the broken seat bracket

Slowly getting the hang of this welding lark. 

Next was the Fantic rear brake. How it was:-

The previous owner was using the bike on the road so had forward pegs. Bit of cutting with my faithful angle grinder:-

Then weld it back together:-

Of course it wasnt that simple. The pedal is hollow so I blew a hole in it and had to plate it. Now back on the bike:-

Felt like a summers day:-

Of course the VW is now refusing to start and blowing fuses.

Return to Trials

Had a ride out today on the Fantic. Been a long time since I've ridden a trials bike. Met Heath at the Zona 1 practice ground, set out and rode a few section, took the carb to bits (well, Heath did) and had a cracking time. The Fantic rides really well but I need to lighten the clutch.

In its natural environment:-

Me mid section:-

Heath on his Beta:-

And on my Fantic:-

Hearh 'taking it easy':-

Few more jobs to do on the bike then back out on it.

Fantic Fettling

Did a few jobs on the Fantic today.

First off was to fit a kill switch and tidy away the lights wiring to under the tank:-

After a bit of fannying around I figured out which wire was which. Works a treat.

The front brake had been modified, so I decided to go back to original. This is how it was with the brake arm forward:-

 And the cable running in front of the fork leg:-

And how it should be :-

There is actually a hole for the cable in the lower fork yokes:-

Far neater and less likely to get twatted by rocks and trees.

Fitted some new grips and a number board too.

Would have changed the fork dust seals cos the old ones are cracking but I found that my forks are actually 35mm not the 32mm I was expecting so the covers I got at Telford don't fit.

Got a few more jobs to do - change the rear tyre, modify the rear brake pedal, but its rideable now.

Keeping my sponsors happy :-)

Telford Dirt Bike Show

Good day out in Telford with Heath. Cracking autjumble and some great stuff to see and buy. Got a few bits for my Fantic too.

Bultaco 198B and KT Kwak in the jumble

Graham Noyces 1979 world championship bike:-

Martin Lampkins 1975 world trials championship winning bike:-

A few other nice looking machines:-

Keen to get the Fantic fettled and ridden now.

Trials and Tribulations

I've had trials bikes on and off since I was 14. Always Bultacos, but the last one was a change of direction with a 2003 Gasgas 250, which was nice but under used. I've always hankered back to Bultacos.

So, after some years of pestering by Heath, and two trips to the off road show at Telford, I gave in. I was looking for a late Bultaco when this Fantic came along:-

It was too good a deal to miss and yesterday a very nice man delivered it to Heaths place near Weston Super Mare.

It is an early 80s Fantic 200, in fact a 156cc 2-stroke Minarelli engine. It was THE bike to have back in the day.

Needs a bit of fettling, and the tyres changing, but its good to go. First job was to put the footrests back to where they should be. Road pegs :-

Returned to their rightful place:-

Looking forward to getting out on it. Bug thanks to Lee and Heath.

Magnetos Part 1

A magneto is what provides the igntion on most old bikes pre-1960s. Its a rotating coil inside a stationary magnet, when the contact breaker opens it sends a HT pulse to the sparking plug and, with fuel and air, it goes bang. Mine doesn't, at least it does when cold, and will run when hot, but it won't start when hot - a classic sign of imminent magneto failure. 

My magneto is a BTH KC1:-

The usual cause of magneto demise is the condenser which is buried in the armature. One remedy is to fully strip and rewind the armature along with a new condenser, or you can snip the old condenser out and fit an external one. This is my plan. Fit one of these:-

Still got to strip part of the armature but hopefully this should fix the bad starting.

More to follow.