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Finding the perfect end can for my Elefant – life after Micron
Ever since May 2014 when I posted about fitting a Micron carbon race can to the Elefant I have been trying out other options. The Micron looked good and gave a lovely fruity sound, but for me, and round here (lots of horses), it was just a bit too fierce. Micron race – carbon … Continue reading
Lands End Trial 2015 – order out of chaos
One of the problems with using an old 2-stroke for long-distance trials is that you need so much stuff. Higher fuel consumption and the need for pre-mix oil means you have to find room for three litres of various petrochemical fluids before you start stashing the tools, tyre levers and spare inner tubes that everyone … Continue reading
Lands End Trial 2015 – Chott suspension improvements
An oil leak from the right-hand fork slider near the pinch bolt has proved impossible to cure by simply making/remaking/improving the seal at the damper-rod retaining bolt. I am beginning to think that the problem might be a hairline crack somewhere impossible to see – perhaps as a result of previous over-tightening of the pinch … Continue reading
Laverda Chott clutch clean-up – part 3
The switch to 20w/50 engine oil in the gearbox (as per the 1976 handbook) did indeed prove a great success, but not a long-lived one. The clutch worked well for about 80% of the trial but started to drag towards the end, making the Blue Hills 1 & 2 restarts tricky enough for me to … Continue reading
Elefant gets Micron can.
The standard silencer/dead-cat thingy on the Elefant is a bit of monstrosity weighs a tonne (7.6kg to be precise) and comprehensively spoils the music. This beautiful Micron can came off a Kawasaki ZX6R. It is sleek and lovely, weighs 1.9kg and promises to restore the music. (Many … Continue reading
No such thing as the perfect bike.
I met the owner of this beauty today. It really is as lovely in the flesh as it looks in the photo. Spotless. And so tasty you wanted to lick it. You don’t see much of this sort of exotica in West Cornwall. Well, I don’t. As the owner climbed off I rather let my … Continue reading
Lands End Trial 2014 – ready to go!
Chott 2 – the sequel
Bought another! Ostensibly for spares but when I put a litre of fresh premix in her she burst into life on the second kick and the engine sounds at least as crisp and lusty as Chott 1’s. Lots of lovely bits on this bike that are missing from Chott 1: both instrument drives and good … Continue reading
Lands End Trial 2014 – final shake-down ride
Here she is. Ready to go. Main mod for this year is a modern headlamp so that I can use H4R bulbs borrowed from a ZXR 400 – 35w dip for general running (so as not to overwhelm the measly 55w generator) and 60w main for emergencies (ie, night sections). I also have a fantastic … Continue reading
Better lights for the Chott
Desperate for some extra lumens during the night sections of long distance trials like the Lands End, I have fitted a modern headlamp – which takes H4 bulbs. Problem is, alternator produces 55w in total so a standard bulb (55w/60w) would drain the standard battery in no time. I have a bigger capacity gel battery … Continue reading