New Builds - Learners

Hi Eddie,

Ah, okay. Thank you. And yes, I've read Mike Powell's gearbox page and I might also delve into my Haynes Manual to check the gear tooth. It's too cold to work in the garage now but I'll bring it into the kitchen for some work tonight hopefully. Just need a Halogen heat lamp that will do the trick. What I'll do after that will be the engine, and when the ignition and everything is sorted I shall start to work on the frame. Did your Dad start off with a rolling chassis and work it up bit by bit or go my route and buy a complete rolling chassis (everything original) and then have the initial idea of taking it piece by piece apart and adding new and better parts onto it?

T

Hi Tim,

Well thats why i think mike did they page so we know what to look for at autojumbles and to check what you already have. Well good to have a plan and stick to it.


My dad already had a bare frame that he wanted to use so started with that as a base and we had some forks already that we wanted to use so that was the start.



Eddie

Hi Eddie,

Ah sounds very interesting! I'm pleased to hear that. What frame model did he use? And what forks? I guess a 125 i.e. CG, CB, RD etc?

T

Tim,

the frame is a d7 and the forks are off a yamaha rd125dx



Eddie

Sounds good to me. I had an RD200 fork setup going last year, but then Legal issues asked me to "send them back" to the owner who said I could have them for free. Pretty annoying. And same here, I have a D7 rolling chassis. Bit rusty though...

T

Tim,

Well these things happen, best not to air dirty laundry on here though. We all have to start somewhere with a build though and there are always bits to clean or check or strip and get ready for the next phase.



Eddie

hello to all just wanted to introduce myself.i've been veiwing the forum for a few weeks gathering info for a potential bantam racer.i defenitly come under the learner catagory. there's an absolute wealth of information from the guys who have been racing for years on here which is fantastic for a novice like me. at the moment i'm working on three bantams a d14/4 for the road,a trials bantam(which is my sons)and the last one i'm hoping to convert into a racer. best regards adam.

Hey there Adam,

Ah, sounds good. And er welcome haha, guess this is now a three person membership to this learner thread. Sounds very nice! I am interested in your projects; trials you say? B175 forks or have you changed them? What are your plans for the upcoming racer? 175 or 125?

T

Welcome Adam,


You are right, there is an awful lot of info on knowledge on here and they are very helpful in pushing us learners forward.

Tim, although he hasnt posted in this part i think you are getting mark taylor who is building at the moment and has been good in showing his exhaust design and pictures and what he used.


Eddie

thanks guys, the bikes a 175 tim had it a while now was going to put it on the road but now i've got the d14 it's lost it's purpose,i think it's going to take a while to re-engineer it but i will get there in the end. as for the trials standard front end at the moment but will go japanese at some point. will post some pictures when i get the hang of this ! lol.

hi adam how about posting some pictures of your bike or bits and pieces, this if you have a bike or are you WIP - building one.

out of interest what made you pick bantam racing (open to all you young gun's)

lotS of people would like to help you on here, our question TO YOU is have you set a date for starting to race. ?

your answer to this one will dictate how serious you are taken about starting.
and there is a lot of people who want to help YOU AND new starters TO get going.

Kind regards Derek

hi derek,i will post pics asap(need to learn how to do it first) i don't understand what wip building is. i've been interested in old motorcycles since the early eighties, i had a bantam back in '87 and thought it was ace since then ive been hooked,as an engineer bantams appeal to me because of their potential for modification etc.i wouldn't call myself a young gun(i'm 42). i have not set myself a date to start racing i would like to but it all boils down to time/money,this does not mean it won't happen . there are many mods i can do that won't cost me money eg rear sets ,rear brake mod (cooling holes,beefed up torque arm)and other frame mods.please understand that i'm genuinely interested ps me and my boy are hoping to get up to the cadwell meet in june. very best regards adam.

Hi Adam,


Lucks on your side with being an engineer. Definately get to race meetings, if they arent too busy then they are a wealth of knowledge and very helpful with getting us new people on the track.

Eddie

hi all,going to try to post some pictures .

oh that did'nt work

Hi Adam,

Good luck, sounds like a proper project you've got going. If you want some tuning manuals from 1950 onwards email me on tim.cornish@tiscali.co.uk if interested. I've got loads of the stuff lurking around on my C:// drive. True, I have built my Bantam project on a budget, and I'm down to just <£50 now. Shame though. Oh well. Still can do most easy mods like rear torque arm and all, cooling and make my own water-cooling methods as I've already done so with 1 barrel.

Hopefully when you get your photos up we can all have a good look...! Can't wait.

T

thanks tim,much appriciated,will keep it in mind about the tuning stuff best regards adam.

Adam do you have a link to your photos? I.e. Photobucket, Flickr etc?

Hi Adam,

have you had any ideas with regards to doing the rear sets, tim has put a post about this but no replies so thought would be worth asking you as being a learner but also a engineer.



Eddie

Hi Edward!
I started racing a Bantam because we could NOT find a `jockey´ to ride our DIY racing Bantam: `Icarus-1´.
During development of our resonant-tuned exhaust pipe the testing at Brands Hatch had me thinking I was not too old at 45 to have a go at the real thing.
The realisation of that came during a Wednesday when at Brands I passed and repassed a Norton Dominator several times which had me thinking I was Jimmie Guthrie or Stanley Woods resurrected -- or some such thing.
...
In the section called Articles here you´ll find my story. If my memory serves me right I have a feeling I made a mistake in it by saying my very first ROAD race (at Snetterton) was on a 175 Bantam when in fact the engine was a 150*** and because of that I was in a 250 Class race....
Terrible experience of feeling all squashed up and finishing 2nd from last.
***we wanted the 125cc motor with its studs centres at 54mm and what we had was a 150cc with 52mm. Reason, of course, the 54mm gap allows more space for larger transfer ports...
...
The Avatar here shows Icarus-1 when rounding Cadwell´s Mansfield (left hander) corner (in June 1968) on the way to winning the Novice race with the clutch almost burnt out ....
I estimated Icarus-1 at 80 something quid to build from scratch with engine free (found in a field!)
and my 2nd hand leathers (once only raced) cost 20quid.
...
Good luck!
John-Boy!

PS ... somehow in the wrong section -- who cares????

Hi John,

no it doesnt matter that its in the wrong section as i started the topic as i thought it would be good reading for us learners. yes i have read your article several times, thanks for posting and sharing your story with us.


Eddie

Right Eddie
Don´t let anybody or anything put you off.

Sun was coming up as we approached Thruxton circuit and it all looked so very grand but when practice started the rain pelted down... One thing I´d not thought of was a waterproof -- whatever? -- to go over my leathers. As practice proceeded I could feel a trickle of water around my private-parts gathering momentum -- which extended itself to join the rain-water already in my boots. In two Bantam races I finished 4th with the front wheel of a chap named French alongside many times in the second race ...
Nothing in the way of results and lousy weather but I can remember the excitement of what seemed VERY REAL RACING that day and I do claim it was worth it.

The BRC was only able to hire Thruxton that year for two meetings. During the second one I helped run the meeeting so I had only the one opportunity
to Race there and I did!

Snetterton was my jinx circuit -- what could go wrong, WOULD there! Yet I can recall some moments of sheer joy of satisfaction of passing someone in a trcky section -- even if the motor seized shortly after. Every bit of mileage meant learning something new -- even if it was finding out what I was doing wrong ...

I feel sorry for the Costly situation of now because back then we had a lot of unpaid volunteers helping our club with meetings and everything... The Bantam Racing Club, in particular, was a club that did help the young, up-and-coming riders get in some experience at low cost.
All the best.
Cheers!
JayBee.

Newcomers!
The decade of seasons of Scrambles, Grass Track and Speedway training were not good influences on my attempt at road racing. I was forever wanting to sit up and put out a foot and always felt the clip-ons were not real handlebars....

A lot of riders will say that the above is not strictly true, that all forms of MC racing or other MC competition complement the road art --even Trials... I´ll say now the practice at any road race circuit is well worth the effort and cash. I remember Brands Test days with great affection. In those days -- Wednesdays & Saturdays(when no meetings, of course) the rules were rather sparse and as long as the rider was wearing a crash helmet nothing much else seemed to matter. On many occasions there was just the one -- dubious looking old geezer -- with a flag looking after everything. On the other hand it was a long push back if something went wrong over by South-Bend or Clearways because invariably there was no one there with the means to shuttle it back to the Pits.

Good luck!
JayBee!

Hi john,

As always great to read your posts and to share with us, i certainly wont let anybody or anything put me off as i want to see my dad race, as with regards to help and advice we have had alot of that, if it wasnt for certain people helping then we would never of got started.



Eddie