Over the weekend I picked up a TFS that I am really excited about. I have had my Challenger for about a year now, and I wanted a trials machine to go with it for local vintage meets. This one came up on ebay and I was able to get it. As it was sight unseen, I took a chance and it has a few quirks which some of you have helped me uncover on the Facebook site.
The bike was 'assembled' after the motor was rebuilt professionally. It is clear that the person who put it back together forgot to take 'before' photos, or perhaps was not familiar with how it should go together. The wheels are both 19" and feature conical REH hubs. Nice looking, but they won't work on this application. I had a couple of full width Challenger wheels which I will use to replace them. I have an 18" for the rear, and a 19" for the front which should work for now.
The front forks featured a strange brake stay, which (although Moorland Blue), did nothing except lock the fork and render is useless for dampening. I removed this and the forks now work as they should.
The rear axle on the REH wheels was a larger diameter than the Greeves wheels, so a previous owner had cut the wheel notches to accommodate this larger axle. When I installed the Challenger wheels, they just wobble and spin in the slot. I will need to cut some flat steel and line the notch with a weld.
The pegs are Anglian, but the brake side has an issue with the brake lever not fitting. I will just re-work the one I got to fit inside and around, rather than under.
So overall, I am happy with the bike. I will keep working through things but I should have a nice trials bike for next season. I finally got my Challenger working too so I can do some motocross riding.
The bike was 'assembled' after the motor was rebuilt professionally. It is clear that the person who put it back together forgot to take 'before' photos, or perhaps was not familiar with how it should go together. The wheels are both 19" and feature conical REH hubs. Nice looking, but they won't work on this application. I had a couple of full width Challenger wheels which I will use to replace them. I have an 18" for the rear, and a 19" for the front which should work for now.
The front forks featured a strange brake stay, which (although Moorland Blue), did nothing except lock the fork and render is useless for dampening. I removed this and the forks now work as they should.
The rear axle on the REH wheels was a larger diameter than the Greeves wheels, so a previous owner had cut the wheel notches to accommodate this larger axle. When I installed the Challenger wheels, they just wobble and spin in the slot. I will need to cut some flat steel and line the notch with a weld.
The pegs are Anglian, but the brake side has an issue with the brake lever not fitting. I will just re-work the one I got to fit inside and around, rather than under.
So overall, I am happy with the bike. I will keep working through things but I should have a nice trials bike for next season. I finally got my Challenger working too so I can do some motocross riding.
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