Beer Fest

What to choose....alright, I'll have the lot.

Quaker Run

I haven't done the Quaker in ages and haven't been to Darlo either so me and Beale decided it was time for a road trip.

Packed the bikes in Dens massive van :-

And headed off to Darlo via Bradford:-

Saturday was the social ride and we went on a long and windy road to Cumbria and back via this place:-

Many beers were drank and pies eaten. Brian likes the company :-

Sunday was the Quaker Run itself with a nice turn out of bikes.

My 1930 Ariel ready to go:-

There were other lesser bikes there too:-

And a moped:-

Lunch stop was in Reeth:-

All in all, a grand weekend. Beer, pies, bikes and good company. 205 miles with no trouble. Think my magneto fix was successful. Lookin forward to the next event.

Kryptonics

Love the old skate ads

Fantic Fun

After my first ride on the Fantic it was clear that the clutch was a bit heavy. The easiest way to lighten it is to bolt a 428 chain side plate to the clutch arm and another to the cable lug. 

Modified clutch was tried out at Nettleton yesterday and what a difference. Made the bike so much more rideable. Still struggling to find the rear brake pedal tho.

I am truly amazed how good a Fantic 200 is. It handles well, turns well and a great engine with loads of power. You wouldn't think it was just 156cc. All of this plus amazing grip even with original suspension and a shagged rear tyre gives me confidence to try stuff I would never have done on the Bultacos. Brilliant.

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.