Feed Back

FEED BACK

Readers, as well as those involved in the motorcycle industry, are invited to have their say about motorcycles they own or have owned. Anything is fair game: performance, handling, reliability, service, parts availability, lovability, you name it. Suggestions: be objective, be fair, no wildly emotional but illfounded invectives; include useful facts like mileage on odometer, time owned, model year, special equipment and accessories bought, etc.

BULTACO BUMMER

I read every publication available in my area that covers dirt bikes and can readily see why your magazine is rated number one. Your approach is very professional, dealing with specifics and not generalities as most magazines tend to do. Your opinions are supported with facts and I have used many articles from your mag in preparing my bike for the weekly battle (motocross).

I presently campaign a 1974 Bultaco 360 Pursang that I purchased halfway through the ’74 race season. Rather than make a lot of radical changes on a new bike late in the season, I ran it stock. It should be noted that, at age 34, I am not going after the AMA Number One plate, but race for recreation and as a diversion from the business world. After five races, it was time for winter cleanup. The racing toll was as follows:

1. The frame was broken in six places (front engine mount downtube and under the seat), due to a lack of support gussets and poor factory welds.

2. The stock expansion chamber cracked and/or broke in half in no less than eight places.

3. The front sprocket, rear sprocket and chain went out to lunch after two races, even though proper adjustment and maintenance procedures were used. The replacement items do not show any sign of wear after three races.

4. One piston with bore job necessary.

5. New clutch needed. The throttle stuck open when the frame broke while landing off a jump, and before I could get my head out of the sand, the clutch plates blew off.

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6. Engine brace broke after first race.

7. Amal carb slide stuck open often and required a great deal of emery cloth on the slide to keep it operating freely.

8. Fenders front and rear (fiberglass) broke at first opportunity and were replaced by flexible plastic type.

9. The three springs that hold the Twin Air filter in place took turns breaking and all required replacement.

10. Eight rear spokes broke and were replaced by Buchanan stainless heavy-duty type.

I spend an average of 10 hours per week on bike maintenance between races and thus do not feel that any of the failures were caused by lack of maintenance. I think Bultaco, in an effort to make a super light MX bike, did not design enough dependability into the machine. The bike handles fairly well and has good Open class power, so I elected to spend the winter rebuilding the Bui rather than starting from scratch on another new bike next spring.

I had the frame rewelded and heavily gusseted at all stress points. At the same time I had the swinging arm gusseted and the bottom shocks moved forward four in., while retaining the stock location on the top mounts. This duplicates the 1975 Bultaco FMS setup.

I replaced the stock Telesco shocks with the Maico G.P. Konis. The stock Amal carb was discarded in favor of a 36mm Mikuni, mainly for more dependable operation and a small advantage on the low end. The Mikuni made use of the stock airbox and filter impossible because the adaptor plate puts the carb too close to the airbox, so I went in search of a replacement unit. I could not find -a replacement airbox that would fit the relatively tight quarters, so I bought a K&N air filter that bolted directly onto the carb throat and used a five-pound Shedds Peanut Butter plastic pail for an airbox. It may sound strange, but it draws air from holes drilled in the rear and is virtually watertight. It was also a lot cheaper than the replacement airboxes I looked at, especially if you like peanut butter!

I have the new aluminum handlebars and hex grips mounted and they give me a much better feel than the stockers. Castrol R bean oil in the clutch case, with proper warmup (three to five minutes) prior to engagement, has all but eliminated the clutch creeping I had experienced last summer. The FM shocks give me 6.7 in. of travel at the rear, which is in line with most FMS systems available. A chain tensioner was added to combat the chain slack required on the FMS.

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The changes should make the Bui as competitive as any bike in the Open class and any losses can be laid at the feet of the rider instead of the bike. Come next spring I’ll know for certain. Until then I’ll pick up on all the hot setups in your magazine.

Walter Nelson Newaygo, Mich.

SLOW RECOOPERATION

I am writing this letter to Feedback because right now I have missed four weekends of trail riding. Why? Because parts are scarce—the ones that I need for my Cooper.

I bought the bike in May of ’74 from a reputable dealer here in San Jose. Seven months later I needed some parts, so I called him. His answer? We don’t sell Coopers any more, but we can order parts for our customers who bought Coopers from us. Fine, just as long as I get my parts. So far it has been three weeks and they still haven’t arrived. I should point out now that my Cooper is a great-handling bike, but that the engine needs constant looking after or it will fall apart under you. Maintenance is the key to this bike.

I don’t think that I should have bought my bike from this dealership because it is strictly a street-bike shop; but I wanted a Cooper and it was the only place that had one at the time. I don’t blame them for anything, it’s really my fault. I should have bought from a dealer who was into dirt riding. This dealer (Sam Aremas Harley-Davidson/Kawasaki), has been sincere and helpful.

Conclusion: before you buy a bike, look into your dealer’s parts situation, see what he’s got. My Cooper is a great bike, but parts sure are scarce.

Rudy Miyamura San Jose, Calif.

NO RELIEF ON THE HORIZON

In April I decided to purchase a new CZ, and after receiving price quotes from both local and out-of-state dealers, I, unfortunately, decided to make my purchase from Horizons Unlimited in Woodland Hills, Calif.

On April 26, I mailed a certified check to fully cover the cost of the motorcycle and related accessories. At the time of my order, I was assured that both bike and parts were available and would be shipped as soon as the check had been processed by the bank.

When the bike did not arrive, I telephoned Horizons and was told that the shop was having "problems," e.g., missing parts, seized engines, etc., with some new CZs, thus the dealer, Jeff Starr, had, presumably in my best inter est, temporarily deferred shipment, but promised he would ship in the very near future.

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I waited, but again the bike was not forthcoming. Another phone call to Horizons was made and I was informed that an oversight had been made and the shipping company had not yet picked up the motorcycle. I was told that it would be shipped the next day.

After waiting two weeks, I made yet another phone call to Horizons and was informed that the motorcycle had been destroyed in a fire. Really! As Horizons could no longer supply CZs (they had dropped the franchise), I requested that my money be returned and was led to believe that a refund check would be mailed that same evening. The check, like the motorcycle, has not yet arrived, and as all previous contacts with Hori zons have been fruitless, I have now initiated steps through other channels to attempt to recover my money.

The purpose of my letter is to forewarn other potential buyers of the delays and frustrations they may antici pate encountering should they decide to purchase a motorcycle from Horizons Unlimited. My advice would be to make the purchase at some other shop, in fact any other shop.

David E. Holley

Salem, Ore.

CAN-AM CAPERS

As soon as I saw Mr. Van Tassel's letter in the Feedback column of your June issue, I just had to put in my two-cents worth.

All last summer the only thing I could think of was a Can-Am 250 T'NT. Finally, in October of `74, I ordered one and in January it arrived. At the time I was only 15 years old, and when I heard the bike arrived and was told to come and pick it up, I was the happiest kid this side of the earth has ever seen.

However, now I have a different story to tell.

On my first outing with the bike, the rear tail reflector fractured and fell off. The reason was that one of the bolts that held the reflector on had no threads to hold onto. However, I went back to the dealer and he gave me a new one.

A few days later, with about 30 miles on the bike, every light bulb blew, including headlight, tail lamp and idiot lights. I was told that bulbs are not under warranty and that I had to invest $15 in a new set (headlight is sealed beam and costs $11).

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I got a hundred yards with the new set and they blew again. The bike was then sent in to be checked. The dealer replaced the bulbs at his expense, but could not find any defect. The bike got another 1 00 yards and everything blew again. Finally the dealer called Bombardier for advice after checking the bike over for the second time. In the meantime, I was told to hang onto the machine.

More than a month later, Bombardier answered and told the dealer to replace the voltage regulator. However, voltage regulators were back-ordered and nobody knew how to get them. Finally, my dealer called and told me that he had a friend who was a distributor for Bombardier, and that he just happened to have a voltage regulator sitting around. As soon as the regulator was replaced, no more electrical problems.

By this time I finally turned 16 and got my license, and wanted to know what it would be like riding the street. At 901 street miles (an accident and a cast kept me from doing any dirt riding), my problems with the bike started again.

In the Can-Am 250 T’NT manual, it says to re-torque cylinder base nuts. But there is no such thing on the 250, only on the smaller ones. At the time, though, I thought they meant the head studs. So with the head off, I placed two nuts on top of each other and tightened—and also busted.

I ordered a head stud and waited and waited. I am still waiting. I finally decided that I might be able to fix .the broken stud with some new threads, and I did. I continued to ride the bike with the homemade stud until the bike started stalling at idle and would not restart. I chased the problem to the oil pump; it was getting stuck halfway open. I cleaned and lubricated the cable, and when I began to adjust it-because the oil pump was still pumping way too much—the adjust bolt would not budge because there was not enough thread in the engine casing to ease off on the pump. So I tried to force it and it broke. Naturally I went bitching to a hardware store for an easy out. Guess what happened to the easy out? Good guess, it broke too. I went to a machine shop where they managed to pull out both the easy out and the bolt. I got a new thread for the adjuster, now I’m waiting for a back-ordered kickstart lever.

Bahir Salib Scarborough, Ontario