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#54

ISSUE Fifty Four Spring 2020

PLUS JUMBO SWM CRACKING COTA MIGHTY MATCHLESS Czech mate

Eastern Blocker

Black ’n’ blue

Yammylicious Tasty tiddler

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Bernie’s Bult

SURFACETOAIR HIGH FLYING FROM OUR MX SERIES

IN BALANCE

An annoying little drip

There are few things more troubling than dealing with a drip...

O

f the many things this column could be about in this issue, the drip we’re dealing with here is an oil drip. Yes, we’ve all experienced the sinking feeling when we look under our motorcycle and see a patch of oil on the garage floor. It is a feeling I’ve experience recently with my Yamaha TY Mono.

The engine had to come apart after the kickstart shaft stop moved on the shaft.

On the face of it, this doesn’t sound too bad, but once the stop moves, the spring pressure is gone and the kickstart flops around like a floppy thing with extra floppy added, and then it damages the case. The case is magnesium and, once damaged, it is not easy to repair and it is even harder to find a replacement at a reasonable cost.

So, the shaft is best repaired or if a new bit can be found, then it can be replaced.

As it happened, Nigel Birkett knew the problem and, even better, he had a new, old stock shaft on the shelf. All I had to do was strip the engine, replace the shaft, reassemble the engine and fill it with oil.

Pulling the engine apart isn’t difficult, it’s a Japanese engine and things are made sensibly without a multitude of spacers and distance pieces that have to be in exactly the right place or gears won’t stay in, or the ignition won’t work or… well… lots of other things can happen.

As with most things taking an engine apart is easy but putting it back together so it seals and holds oil inside is the tricky part. Luckily, the world has moved on in terms of gasket goo and there are all sorts of anaerobic concoctions that will only set

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❝Yes, we’ve all experienced the sinking feeling when we look under our motorcycle and see a patch of oil on the garage floor.❞ if all of the air is squeezed out. So, while it is still a good idea to make sure the case faces are flat and meet perfectly and use the goo as a belt and braces thing, the problems of the old days, when the goo would set and solidify and block oilways and breathers, are potentially gone. So, all things indicate a nicely sealed face that will keep oil inside the engine.

Of course, the engine isn’t the only area that can let go with an annoying drip, which itself can prove frustratingly difficult to trace at times, while other times such leakage source can be glaringly obvious.

I don’t know about other people, but my own personal experience of annoying drips and their source seems to swing between two extremes… if it is difficult to source then it will be in the workshop but on the other hand if the leak is glaringly obvious and massive, then I will be out in the middle of an event and thus unable to do anything about it.

Just such a scenario happened to me some years ago with a Can-Am. The top tube of the frame is the oil tank and feeds oil into the engine via a tube and a pump.

In the middle of an enduro my feet started slipping off the rests and when I eventually stopped to investigate, oil was pouring out of a crack in the frame. Unable to stop the flow but needing to ensure oil would lubricate the engine, I had little option but to convert to pre-mix on the spot by catching oil in the petrol cap and tipping it into the fuel tank.

This was not a precise modification, but it worked and the event was finished. Then, once home, the frame could be stripped out, the top tube flushed out and a welder

instructed. This cured the problem and as far as we know the repair is still in place.

I do have a drip of oil under my own Can-Am and the issue needs addressing, though I think it might be a simple issue with the oil tube from the tank outlet. At least I hope that’s what it is, as the bike now has a sidecar stuck on it thanks to a moment of weakness.

Other annoying drips can be from fork seals… I just cured my B40 and Bultaco of such drips, but the Bulto is causing grief with the primary case drain screw refusing to seal.

A bigger issue with the B40 engine is the puddle under the engine. This has been traced to a split sump bolt hole and will require a full strip in order to sort it – why has this not been done I hear you ask?

Well, I don’t want every single bike I have all stripped out and in bits on the bench at one time, so the job will have to wait until the source of the oil leak on my Yamaha is cured.

The pool under it was frustrating until I took the bash plate off and realised a lot more oil had settled in the plate than I realised. A few days without the plate on showed a leak-free engine. Now to deal with the next annoying little drip...

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In association with

Regulars 03 In Balance

What to do about that drip? Answers on a drip tray please.

06 News, news and more news

Keeping you up to speed with what’s happening in the feet up world.

24 You need

This is where we say you need another bike in your shed or workshop. This time it is a factory tweaked Ariel HT3.

40 Subscribe

Simply subscribe to CDB and we send you joy, entertainment, a selection of bikes, events and much more.

52 Dicko’s View

John Dickinson has been around the offroad world for quite a while, this means he has views… this is where he jots them down.

61 ’cross words

It is a sad fact none of us live for ever – Ian Berry pays his respects to two of our sport’s finest.

74

Dirt Talk

Letters, opinions, you’re doing it wrong… you’re doing it right… all come in to CDB’s office by post, electronic communications or even the telephone.

11

82 Moto memories

The crown prince of MX, the young pretender, the champion in waiting…

Dave Thorpe sets his stall for the future.

Events 58 The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show 2019

Just a quick review of the Mechanics Show held at Stafford in October, which was right on our deadline last issue.

62 A year of champions

Andy Withers gives a review of the CDB-backed Classic British Scrambles Championship 2019. See the presentation during the show at Telford.

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In association with

Features 11

16

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Modded Montesa…

…makes a magnificent, masterful motorcycle… The winner from the 2019 Leven Valley Two-day Trial.

On top of the world

World championship winning machines sometimes get lost in the ether, this one didn’t. We review Bernie Schreiber’s 1979 Bultaco.

27 From the archive

In 1970 Bryan Goss raced his Husqvarna to success in the 500cc British MX Championship. We had a look at what the press said about that momentous year.

36 Czech this out

CZ were still a force to be reckoned with in the early Seventies, of course a few mods can make one even better.

54 Sport in crisis

1957 was a bad year for UK sport thanks to fuel rationing curtailing events. There wasn’t even a championship that year but Matchless still produced a bike or two.

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66 Jumbo training

Bigger was supposedly better. Enter the Jumbo, or TL350, or Schreiber’s works machine, which shows a few development ideas to make the big bike more rideable.

76

Small but well formed

A good-looking 125 Yamaha catches the editorial eye at the International Dirt Bike Show. Its story is quite intriguing.

Technical 44 In our workshops

A new project leaps into the forefront this issue. It wasn’t the editor’s idea, it was forced on him… oh and the Triumph is closer to being a motorcycle.

50 Dirt Products

A selection of tasty bits and bobs from around the dirt bike world to help your bike or you perform that bit better.

54

On the cover: Andy Withers captures Greg Speed flying high on his way to the Pre-68 class championship.

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DIRTNEWS

Great selection of goodies d lined up for Telford Depending on when you’re reading this spring issue of your favourite magazine, the Hagon Shocks sponsored Classic Dirt Bike Show is either upon us or already over for 2020. Make sure you check out the next issue for the show report if you missed the event.

As we went to press some superb, tasty treats were being arranged to delight you at the event, including a massive line-up of 20 Montesa motorcycles from the early years of the marque in the UK and covering trials and MX. Yrjo 'Vesty' Vesterinen – more associated with Bultaco – won the coveted SSDT on a Montesa and he still has his winning machine, which we featured in issue 19. It will be on display.

Also in this stunning line-up will be the actual bike which Charlie Harris developed for Montesa in the late Sixties, plus the Cappra which Freddie Mayes raced in the same period. The display spans the era 1967 until 1985.

Elsewhere in the halls, the Honda RTL Club will display three prototype development Honda trials machines, associated with that other American trials star Marland Whaley. Sadly no longer with us, Marland, along with show guest of honour and fellow American Bernie Schreiber, spearheaded a new breed of trials rider in the mid-1970s, bringing the sport into a new era. This will be the first time all three bikes will have been displayed together.

Show sponsor Hagon Shocks will be bringing its tribute to MX legend Vic Eastwood who passed away recently. Vic worked in conjunction with Alf Hagon to produce an alloyframed MX bike based around an SP370 four-stroke Suzuki.

This revolutionary machine is in the Hagon collection, has featured in Classic Dirt Bike and oozes interesting features – look out for it on the Hagon stand.

Add in lots and lots of private entries of all eras of dirt bikes, plus displays from Sprite, club stands, trade stands for bits and pieces, autojumble for more bits and pieces, projects and advice galore, enthusiasts, stars, and, well, loads of our era dirt bike stuff going on.

So, if it's not too late, make sure you join us at the Telford International Centre this weekend – February 15/16.

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Vesty's SSDT winning Montesa will be on display.

Not just dirt bikes The show covers all aspects of motorcycle sport and indeed has displays from those who encompass more than one aspect, riders such as Sammy Miller for instance.

It’s easier to say what he hasn't been successful in, rather than what he has: “Speedway’s all I’ve not done, they didn’t do it in Northern Ireland.” Plus he’s changed the face of trials riding three times, been a successful dealer and now museum owner.

It is from the Sammy Miller Museum in New Milton, Hampshire that he brings a 1959 four-cylinder 50cc Mitchell that equals 12cc a pot; a five-cylinder Radial Verdel built in 1914 near Paris, and he will also be showcasing a 1957 Moto Guzzi V8 of the type raced by Bill Lomas in the Fifties. Be sure to check Sammy’s display at Telford.

Telford tickets

Further details of the show and advance ticket sales can be found at www.classicbikeshows.com

ADVANCE PURCHASE PRICE*: ■ Adult: £14 ■ 15s and Under go free ■ Dinner price: £33 *Advance tickets close 8:30am Monday, February 10, 2020 ON THE GATE PRICES: ■ Adult: £16 ■ 15s and Under go free

Come dine with 'Badger' Goss ...

...and Bernie on Saturday evening.

CDB show dinner with special guests We all like a bite to eat and if there’s a chance to enjoy some food in good company and listen to some tales teased from the star guests by Jack Burnicle, then so much the better.

The two guest stars at this year's Classic Dirt Bike Show, Bryan ‘Badger’ Goss, 1970 British MX champion, and 1979 trials world champion Bernie

Schreiber don’t get to relax after the Saturday in the halls and being on stage. Oh no, they have to sing for their supper too.

The Classic Dirt Bike Show dinner is a fantastic opportunity for dirt bike fans to listen to fascinating exploits from their off-road heroes.

It’s interesting that both were

champions in the same decade – obviously either end of it – but represent two different eras of off-road sport, quite apart from two different disciplines.

Badger was nearing the end of his top line racing, whereas Bernie was, at the time, the youngest world champion.

To check for late minute ticket availability, please call 01507 529529.

Sammy to be guest of honour April date for MacGregor celebration The Pre-65 Scottish Trial Committee is very excited to announce that Sammy Miller will be the guest of honour at its May 1/2 trial.

A spokesman for the committee told CDB: "We are very privileged to have Sammy this year and look forward to him sending our competitors off with his wise words and best wishes."

The ballot took place on December 8, with 301 entrants included in it. A further 10 entries were received after the closing date and so were not included.

The reserve list has been compiled in the four capacity classes and any withdrawals will be filled from the same class of the withdrawn entry.

This is to keep the balance of entries as close to the criteria of the ballot. There are eight reserves in each capacity class: A – up to 200cc: B – up to 250cc: C- up to 350cc; and D – over 351cc.

Five-time SSDT winner Sammy Miller is guest of honour for the Pre-65.

Pre-65 observers needed Pre-65 Scottish Trial observer coordinator, Sally Burton, will be sending out invitation letters to last year’s observers... but if you have not observed before and would like to volunteer your services, please contact Sally as soon as possible, by email: observers@ pre65scottish.co.uk or through the contact on the Pre-65 Scottish Trial website: www.pre65scottish.com.

The Pre-65 Scottish Trial will again be attending the Hagon backed Classic Dirt Bike Show at Telford International Centre this weekend (February 15/16) and their stand will be in the usual place in Hall 1 – just look for the blue Pre-65 Scottish gazebo.

So, if you are attending the show, pop along to see them, have a chat and ask any questions you have.

Now an eagerly awaited fixture in the calendar, the Bob MacGregor Motorcycle Run will be on April 28, with special guest of honour Sylvia Bickers.

As in the past, the event will be for Pre-75 motorcycles, though special dispensation can be given for something special.

It will start and finish at McLaren Hall, Main Street, Killin, Perthshire, FK21 8UH, Scotland which is 37 miles north of Stirling.

The circular route takes in the Killin-Loch Rannoch-Pitlochry area and follows A and B class roads, though there are alternative off-road sections for those interested.

The first motorcycles will leave at 10am and the remainder will follow in groups of five-10 at one minute intervals.

Entry is £15 – includes £2 donation to Bob MacGregor Trials Club – contact Pete Remington Tel: 07891076320 email premington2@gmail.com Entries to be received by Monday, April 11.

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2020 AMCA/Classic Dirt Bike

BRITISH CLASSIC MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP

This year sees the 25th anniversary of this series. Although changes have been made over the years it is still basically a championship series which allows the best riders to race against each other.

There are separate results on the day and awards down to sixth place are made at the end of the series in each of the three classes: Pre-65, Pre-68 and Pre-74.

Six rounds are planned for 2020 – all six clubs are AMCA affiliated.

They are: ■ April 26: Bath Classic MCC @ Yatton Keynell, near Chippenham, Wilts.

■ June 14: Acorns MCC @ Butterton, near Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs.

■ July 12: Mortimer Classic MCC @ Ameys Copse, Bennetts Hill, Theale, near Reading.

■ August 9: Westmorland MCC @ Crooklands, near Kendal, Cumbria (M6 J36).

■ August 30: Moseley (Birmingham)

MCC @ Clun, Shropshire (venue to be confirmed).

■ September 27: Llanthony Classic MCC @ Court Farm, Llanthony, near Abergavenny, Mon. Essentially the series is an invitation event, but this year, in addition to regular championship competitors being invited, riders who have not ridden in the championship before (which is quite competitive and involves two eight-lap races at each meeting) and would like to ride this year can do so – as long as they have an eligible bike.

You don’t have to commit to the whole series and formal registration is not required, but basic details needed are: name, contact details e-mail or phone number, riding number, type/cc/age of bike and club membership (if any), a week before the first round on April 26.

You can get Dave Gittins at davidgittins650@gmail.com, or on 01432 273627.

Kris Winder in action during the 2019 series.

Bultaco Revival gets a July date for 2020 event Back for 2020 is the popular Bultaco Revival event hosted by Westmorland MCC in Cumbria.

Due to a clash of dates, the event has been pushed back a month to July 25, which is a Saturday.

The event will still feature as many Bultaco riders as possible and be at its regular venue, as well as being preceded by a get-together on the Friday evening where compere Robin Luscombe will be master of ceremonies.

As usual, the event will feature a special guest from the Bultaco world and for 2020 John Lampkin will be the man on the spot.

John Lampkin – flanked by dad Arthur and uncles Alan and Martin – is Bultaco Revival's guest this year.

Highland Classic Two Day – edition Fantic Trials riders will be heading to Alvie Estate near Aviemore in the Highlands at the end of June, for the Inverness DMCC’s Highland Classic Two Day Trial.

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This year the marque being celebrated is Fantic, with Juame Subira the special guest. This event has grown in popularity immensely, to the

point where entries are generally full a couple of days after they open. So keep an eye out for the announcement which should be anytime soon.

Colin Seeley did a trials-orientated Honda too.

Vic Eastwood at Hawkstone Park.

Gone but not forgotten It is a fact of life that life comes to an end and none of us can go on for ever. Here at Classic Dirt Bike we regularly deal with images of the stars of yesteryear, pictured as they were 40, 50 or more years ago, when they were youngsters.

We know these riders have aged, in the main we see them as guests at events and are well aware of the passing of years. It is still upsetting to hear of such riders’ demise though and the off-road world has been particularly hard hit recently with Vic Eastwood succumbing to a long illness and

Les Archer passing shortly after.

Ian Berry has devoted his column to these two stars this issue but there wasn’t room for photos on his page, so we’ve included them here.

As we were going to press we heard Colin Seeley had been lost too. Though Colin was more widely known as a sidecar road racer he did influence the off-road world as a manufacturer with the Seeley Honda trials bike.

Please enjoy our photos of these great riders and if you would like to see more visit mortonsarchive.com

Les Archer cammy Norton MXer.

Middle England’s trials review Looking back on a good first year of their championship, in spite of cancelling an event, the Middle England Classic Vehicle Club is keener than ever. Congratulations to the class winners: Class A (Rigids) Steve Kingston 8pts Class B (Twinshocks) Andy Hesketh 6pts Class C (Monoshocks) Lee Abbott 8pts The championship will be limited to MECVC events only for 2020.

The volunteer marshals/observers will be encouraged to commit to the events. Instead of a free meal they will be given £10 towards their expenses if they do one section in the morning, moving on to another in the afternoon. A great day out watching and marking the entrants in the fresh air of Weardale, Cumbria and Northumbria – who can resist?

In the past the club have also provided the entrants with a free meal. Next year the club will instead try to organise refreshments and a meal to be available as an option for them to buy when they enter. This will give the entrants more choice and reduce the entry fee.

A further reduction will be the charity donation. This again will not be in the entrance fee but an option on the entry form.

'Steady as she goes' is the drill for water crossings.

The events 2020 ■ The Durham Dales Trial March 15, 2020 This is for cars and bikes ■ Bike only July 19, 2020 ■ Bike only October 11, 2020 More info on www.MECVC.org.uk or ring Bernie Pugh on 07835 407626, or Graham on 07989 446131

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MONTESA COTA 250 1978/9

Nowt like a winner

Everyone likes to know what goes into a winner, so we asked the rider of one… Words and Pics: Tim Britton

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M

ontesa, despite being the second of the Spanish manufacturers to enter the trials fray in the Sixties, soon had a worthy product, thanks to the help of riders such as Charlie Harris who suggested the initial mods needed to their trail type bike and indeed brought the Barcelona company its first successes.

He was followed by Don Smith and Gordon Farley, who did so much to popularise the model and Farley was to take the British trials championship on his works developed machine. As ever, with such success to promote the machine, sales were on the up – it helped of course that the product was a good one and in many cases easier to ride than the opposition.

Once Jim Sandiford got to grips with the importership, Montesa in the UK were on the up and by the time this particular bike was produced in 1978/1979 (it’s a ‘T’ reg), Sandiford and Montesa were major players. They had an enthusiastic team in their Lancashire HQ, dedicated to the marque and keen to suggest modifications to the factory and many club riders bought a Cota. These days, Montesa still has a dedicated following and with the popularity of twinshock trials the Cota is being seen more and more in action.

Above: Not standard, but not radically altered.

1: Yes, you’re right, they’re not Montesa forks, they’re off Butch’s Fantic.

2: Fork yokes are similar to original but made by Gerry Minshall.

3: Domino controls are popular with trials riders.

1

The tale of woe which befell this particular Montesa is explained further on in the feature, suffice to say here the initial rebuild got the bike up and running but since then it’s had more work done… a lot more work.

But, to step back a bit to the early days, there are a lot of parts on a motorcycle which don’t react well to extreme heat such as is experienced in a fire.

Naturally enough the tyres, tubes, mudguards, cables, oil seals, petrol tank cover and seat were all destroyed, being of rubber, plastic or glass fibre, but the frame, engine, wheel rims, airbox, exhaust system and a few other metal bits and pieces were salvageable.

Once up and running, its owner Paul Norman used the bike for a few trials, then laid it up when another came along. A chance conversation with Butch Robson saw the Montesa heading east from Carlisle to Castleside and a slightly more in-depth rebuild for the poor abused thing.

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LEVEN VALLEY TWO-DAY TRIAL The chance to ride older bikes from our youth, on sections made famous in the Scottish, is a chance a lot of people want to take, which is why the Pre-65 Scottish, and now the Leven Valley Two-Day Trial fill up quickly.

Butch got in for 2019 and was one of several riders who went clean on both days, which brought the tie-breaker in to action.

The clearly stated rules are that in the event of a tie the oldest rider will take the win… See Butch, there are advantages to being our age...

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MONTESA COTA 250 1978/9

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THE WINNER

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6

The starting point for this machine was a Cota 247 C which, according to the manual which came with my own version from that time, is of 237.5cc.

The year before though the 247 would be 247cc and had the French licensing authorities reduced their capacity cut off from 250cc to 240cc, so would things have remained. This change affected every 250cc trials or enduro motorcycle as they would in those days generally be road registered and the 250cc class was also a learner legal capacity.

No matter, the whole scene was 10cc less, one could of course order, at extra cost, a full-sized 247, but most people waited until it was rebore time. This local regulation thing also affected other areas of a motorcycle and thanks to the café racer craze of a few years earlier, when badly made glass fibre, five or more gallon race tanks for such machines as Tritons, churned out in here-today-gone-tomorrow back street shops for 27/6 plain or 30/- with stickers, gained a reputation for exploding and led to the material being banned.

There was no problem with quality made tanks but a blanket ban was in force. What this meant for the Spanish trials industry was for the UK – an important market – an all metal tank was needed. Montesa created a slave tank from alloy, mounted it under a cover which was effectively the top half of the, still legal in other markets, glass fibre tank. This kept the machine looking the same for all markets and met the law of the UK. With so much fire damage destroying original components there have been a few replacements which were used to get the bike going – the petrol tank for instance, resplendent in Montesa red is actually a steel TY Mono one which was available.

Where the original cover would have a seat built in to it, what was cobbled together here was a temporary aluminium sidepanel and seat. We’re assured by both owner and rider a different arrangement is planned and indeed in production, but there have been other considerations to deal with which took priority, things like the engine.

Though fully stripped and rebuilt, (the thinking being the low-life who nicked it ran it on straight petrol and everything was worn thanks to too little lubrication, see p15), there were still some issues with the engine. Bearings and seals are fairly common and easily matched but pistons are not so common

As fellow North East centre trials riders, 60-year-old Stephen ‘Butch’ Robson and I have known each other for a long time and we’ve been in the same motor club since the early Seventies.

These days we ride under the Castleside Trials Club banner and enjoy proper trials. There the similarity ends as Butch – the nickname originates from his grandfather who was a master butcher – has enjoyed a lot more success in the feet-up game than I have. From riding a Dot round an orchard when he was six or seven and unable to put his feet down, to support from Montesa and Fantic, the lad has certainly made his mark.

The early Dot went in favour of a Montesa Cota in 1973, a bike which brought him his first success – a novice award. The Cota needed work and the cost of the bits was more than the cost to change to a new OSSA MAR and once mounted on this he started to become a force to be reckoned with.

A brief sojourn to Suzuki with the standard RL250 was not good so he started riding his dad’s Bultaco and did rather well on it.

The Bulto went down to Midlander Steve Wilson who reworked it into something special. This gained him his first centre championship and a call from Jim Sandiford – the UK Montesa importer. Jim wanted all the centre champions on Montesa so a 348 came to Butch through local dealer Quinn’s Motorcycles. The 348 was replaced with a series of 349s, then when the trials world changed and Fantic’s tiny 200 came on the scene, Butch went Italian with the 200 – which was 156cc – and then the 240 – which was 200cc. At this time he also set up a business in Newcastle with a Fantic agency…

and the pattern piston which went in caused a lot of headaches at first. First problem was to deal with the piston crown hitting the underside of the head and at the other end of the barrel four base gaskets were used to even get the engine to run badly.

With piston ported engines barrel position is critical, as moving it up or down by different gasket thicknesses will alter the port timing. In the end, once this particular penny had dropped and the port timing measured, it was found to be 25% out… a lot!

Replacing all of the base gaskets with the single one it should have, then machining the piston, brought things back into the realms of normalcy and Ossy Byers machined the cylinder head to achieve the correct compression ratio. Once this was done the engine began to perform more like a trials bike.

Butch added a 26mm Dellorto carburettor, which is smaller than the standard 27mm instrument, but gives a smoother ride – who are we to argue with a winner? “It will run quite happily with a 28mm carb,” says the lad, “but it’s a lot sharper and I prefer the softer power delivery of the 26mm one.”

The rest of the engine is the standard five-speed 

Above: He’s smiling, or maybe the grin is frozen in place as it was brisk that day… Butch Robson, the winner of the 2019 Leven Valley Two Day Trial.

4: In the old days we’d have a decompressor in the cylinder head, Butch fits a spare plug instead.

5: Modern Dellorto carburettor is an improvement on the original Spanish Amal which was pretty worn.

6: Rear torque arm is ditched and the brake plate altered to this locating method.

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Cota unit with its geared primary ry y drive.

Clearly not standard is the frame, and a Montesa of this era should have steel tubes running under the engine and a steel mesh to protect the underside.

Butch didn’t know who had done the modification saying only a cry ryptic y “…like this when it arrived but it’s been well done. It was Andy Bingley who did the frame mods in I think 2011, I had a 247 in the Seventies and it had been altered in the same way, Sandifords did several this way, saves a bit of ground clearance. Oh and while he was at it he moved the footrest mounts back a bit.”

Still on the chassis, Butch told me the fork yokes were made by Gerry ry y Minshall and he fitted the forks from his own Fantic 200.

“They’re set up for me and I’ve used them on all sorts of bikes, there’s nothing fancy inside them, just well prepared and working properly with 7.5w oil in them.” The drum brake on the front is a standard Fantic one and like most people, Butch uses a Michelin front tyre. Things are a little different at the rear though, the hub is pretty much as Montesa made it but the brake plate has had some serious welding.

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Originally, the plate would have been located by a long torque arm requiring several tools to remove the wheel in an emergency, which is okay if the emergency is in a club trial and you’re in sight of the support vehicle. However, in an event like the SSDT having to carry ry y a lot of tools is a pain – two ways to tackle this are to make sure one spanner will undo a lot of bolts, or make the wheel need only one spanner to undo it. This latter method is the one done here and the plate is built up so a stub welded on the frame can locate into a slot on the plate. As for the rim, well it is a tubeless type, since Michelin stopped making tube type X11s tyre choice is limited if the standard set-up is in place. However, the twinshock scene has no problem with going tubeless so that’s what’s on here, the tyre is a Dunlop because that’s what Butch prefers.

Once the bike is up to rolling stage the ancillary ry y bits can be hung on, there’s had to be a bit of creativity

Below: Bright sky, a good looking trials bike and frost on the ground… ah winter trials!

MONTESA COTA 250 1978/9

here too, take the airbox for instance. It was a pressed tin affair on the original which was protected by the rear mudguard which was formed out to create a shield.

A smaller mudguard needed a different arrangement but when you are a time-served welder with the talent and ability to create things from any metal you fancy, then creating an alloy airbox is easy.

While he was at it Butch made the airbox bigger so the engine can breathe a little better. The filter?

A Beta 80 one. Now, getting the mixture in the engine is only one half of the process and getting it out is just as important. The internet is a wonderful place and one of its benefits is when some stainless steel bends of tube are needed… they’re there for the asking. Again welding these things are a simple task to a welder and the exhaust pipe may look similar to the original but it is tucked in a bit more and matched to an alloy middle box and ends in a WES tail pipe.

What else do I need to know Butch? “Well, Ossy Byers at Audit has been more than a bit helpful with engine mods; I’ve Renthal bars on the front; Domino controls; all new cables; more modern footrests…” he stopped as we both looked over the bike.

That side stand looks a bit fancy, is it an old Renthal? “Hah! No it’s not, picked a few sets of alloy bars up at Telford last year, everyone laughed and said they’d bend first time the bike went over…” Butch smiled, they didn’t realise I’d bought alloy tube with a handy bend in rather than handlebars…”

7

BURNT-OUT

7: Silencer lo ooks like the original but is an alloy WES item.

ABOVE: When Paul Norman went to collect his stolen recovered Montesa, this is what greeted him.

8: The original tank was aluminium with a glass fibre cover. Neither survived the fire and this steel Yamaha Mono tank was pressed into service.

Sometimes sportspeople are classed as burnt-out as their careers come to an end, but we feel few are ever as burntout as this Montesa was before its career even got started.

Sadly, there are such lowlife out there who feel they can help themselves to anything they want, no matter who owns it or how much grief they cause. In the case of motor vehicles, thieves often set them alight when they are finished with them and just such a scenario happened with this Montesa Cota.

Owned by Paul Norman of CA2 Specialist Cars in Carlisle, the call came from the police to say the bike had been found and was available to be collected as their investigation was concluded. Paul wasn’t entirely sure what he would find when he went along to pick it up but the wreck was comprehensively burned and all of the glass fibre and rubber had melted.

Paul contacted Lee Granby to see if it could be saved and he managed it, obviously there were a few things to change but once he got it up and running Paul rode it for about 18 months until he got his Fantic 80, then it got put in the shed for ages. Then, after a trial in the Costa Brava, Butch Robson and Paul got talking, Paul offering Butch the op pportunityy to ride the bike in the Kia series...

8

This is how it looked before being burnt out.

SPRING 2020 | 15

Nothing fancy ‘Standard but well put together…’ is a phrase often heard but rarely believed where works motorcycles are concerned – this time however…

T

Words and Pics: Tim Britton

he actual 1979 world championship winning Bultaco is pretty much standard, and yes, well put together. Mind you, those of us who were riding trials at the time knew the works bikes had something special about them.

If we’d thought about it the special component was obvious – it was the rider. Since gaining world status in 1975 the premier trials contest had been dominated by Bultaco with Martin Lampkin taking the inaugural win and Yrjo Vesterinen following it up with three consecutive titles. Things were looking good for the factory ry y to chalk up another win and ‘Vesty’ was favourite to do it.

History ry y records Bultaco did indeed win the world title again. but with Bernie Schreiber behind the ’bars. His win, still the

16 | SPRING 2020

Below: A world class machine.

only American rider to lift the title, meant riders with three completely different styles had won the title.

Lampkin was much more forceful in his riding, always wanting more power from his machines; Vesty, more technical, leaving nothing to chance in having his bikes perfect; Schreiber, more laid back and riding whatever he was given.

In 1977 Bernie had surprised the old guard with a superb placing in the Belgian world round of that year.

In 1978 he came back to Europe and unfortunately failed to repeat the Belgian success of 1977 – he slumped to 14th – though he won the next round in France, then a week later he won the Spanish round and was second in the German round… all of which helped him not only finish third in the 1978 series but also ensured Bernie

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Forty-eight Autumn 2018

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No. 330 October 2018 £4.30 UK Off-sale date 31/10/2018

MOTO MEMORIES // TECH TALK // MONTESA COTA 200 // BULTACO MATADOR

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