Terrot MT 1, 100cc 2 stroke: non-starter!

[Terrotmt1]

Never thought of that, must google the subject!

[Terrotmt1]

I have decided that the bike is now ready as it ever will be for sale. The Lola Porsche is waiting for a cosmetic re-build, and the first race is only 4 months away, so I need to get going.

The parts for the carb have been fettled and painted and an air filter from a Royal Enfield has been adapted to the new Chinese carb to try to get a bit of an authentic look back.
It was time to get the bike off the stand for the first time since 10 months ago which allowed the final parts to go on, the chain guard and the foot pegs.

Out with the engine hoist and a gentle lift off the stand and onto the floor using the bike's own stand and time for a few pictures.
When the sun shines a bit I'll take some good pics and get the bike advertised.
Phew!

Quite a trip this one, surprisingly tricky which is what I wanted as the previous two were too easy/expensive.
The whole bike as you see it has cost about £2400 inc the initial cost and the registration. The number of hours? goodness knows, but a LOT.

I think there are 3 in the country, I wonder if DVLA would tell me?
Anyway, thank you to everyone who has chipped in, helped and encouraged me with this French Fancy. 












And as a reminder!

[The Artful Bodger]

Lovely job! Now time to smoke out the neighborhood before you sell it?
Colin

[Terrotmt1]

Ha! Been doing that for weeks....
Bloody 2 strokes, simple but so hard to get them right.

Up for sale now it is done, £2400 if anyone might see this.
This is the cost of the bike, the parts and the registration, but none of the 1,000,000 hours over the last 10 months!

[murdo]

Nice job. The carb doesn't look too out of place either.

[Terrotmt1]

Thanks, it was a shame not to get the original working, but I don't know why it would not; that will always be a mystery!
Maybe the next owner will crack it?
The carb is in the little tool box all wrapped up.

Saw a Bantam with a similar carb on it the other Sunday at a small vintage bike meet.

[Terrotmt1]

Sadly, I'm back!

Advertised the bike but had no answers (so many people have never heard of a Terrot motorcycle in this country), but had a bite a few weeks ago.
Thought I should start it after the winter rest.

IT WILL NOT START.

After a lot of kick starting, nothing.
Have a lot of fat sparks, 2 x cylinder head gaskets to be sure of a seal, nothing.

Left it for a few days then moving the bike in the garage thought I would kick it over. Off it went first kick and ran for some time.

It stopped and then refused to re-start and so it is after a few more days, nothing at all.

I really do think this is a fuelling issue, so tried the original carb, nothing, another new China carb, nothing, and back to the one that has worked, nothing.

I am at a loss now as to what to do except sell it as a shop display for £100 as it is useless as it stands.

Have thought about getting it to Villiers Services to see what they can do, and thinking of asking the Bantam Boys if they have any '2 stroke' ideas.

Bit depressing.

[Rex]

Have you tried the good old standby of a squirt of juice in the cylinder or a warmed-up plug?

[TGR90B]

From my experience with a James Comet, I would suspect the ignition (magneto) coil, iffy wiring (HT or LT) thereto or a weak generator. I'm assuming it hasn't got a battery & traditional coil.

[mini-me]

To be brutally frank, £2400 is 2k too much for a mundane 1950s french bike. Regardless of how much you spent on it or how well it was done.

The only way to make money on old french bikes is to fill up a van with them in France and knock them out at Kempton to folk who know no better.

Sorry if it offends, but that's it.

As for non starting two strokes I once took as a trade-in one of those horrid CZ  things; the guy rode it to my shop,rode away on a very nice T90 and I am damned if I ever got that damn CZ to start ever again, it had spark fuel compression, in the end Idecided my time could be better spent and weighed it in.

[mini-me]

I'll give you £100 for it.

As an after thought this sounds quite like the old Bantam problem of the crankcase filling with excess fuel; they used to have a drain plug in the case for just that reason. Sound to me, especially as its carb,in my opinion quite unsuited to the bike, could simply be flooding the crankcase thats why it starts again after standing for a couple days.
When it does start do you get a lot more smoke? that'd be the remaining oil burning.

No one ever got their money back from a bike restoration, whether a Manx or a moped, although plenty thought they would make a fortune.
That's why I gave up restoring bikes in 1984, just got fed up with speculators moaning they could not double their money.

[chaterlea25]

Hi Terrotmt1
Is the fuel "new" and not been sitting there for the last months?

John

[Terrotmt1]

It is 2 weeks old, ron 97 Shell John with a flash of oil in it.

When it ran just before Xmas it was the same type of fuel, fresh, this time it is fresh again. It would run for minutes, rev etc when it did actually start.
The Chinese carb it last ran on (no change of jets etc as I have none to change to) was straight as it arrived.
It has a minimum bore of 19mm as the original does.

The Chinese carb has a modern construction and is beautifully made.
Before this carb I tried another Chinese carb designed for a 50 to 80cc 2 stroke, but the engine has never started on this carb.
Finally, the original AMAC carb is all clean, drillings clear yet the engine has never shown any hint of starting. The float level is set to give the fule just at the top of the jet where the tapered needle enters.

I would expect the engine to at least fire if not run on all of these carbs, esp the original.

There are videos on YouTube of these bikes starting first kick!

[TGR90B]

Has it occurred to you that as all the fueling options have been exhausted that the fault may lie somewhere else?

[Terrotmt1]

Well, the selling price was dropped to 2k..not sold yet!
I've done this bike and (more popular type) bikes for fun, though the fun factor is at a low level just now!
Flooded crank case theory is very very plusable.
Have spent hours today on the internet about AMAC 903 carbs and have 2 sectional drawings.
Both diagrams are poor definition, but I now suspect that a jet or orifice is missing.

Maybe.

There is a vertical tube in the carb body cross drilled and is the fuel controlling jet from the float bowl, just like an SU car carb.
At the upper end of the tube the tapered needle enters into the tube.
At the moment the entry. Hole is about 4mm dia, the needle is about 2.5mm dia.
I think from the diagrams there should be a jet sized to suit the carb and engine which the needle passes.
When the twist grip is closed, the needle is the same dia as the jet, starves the running engine to stop the engine.
So, After all this, maybe I'm missing a critical jet!

I will turn a slug of brass to fit the vertical tube with a hole the same as the needle dia in it and see if that is the reason for my predicament!

The magneto has been re magnetised, new condenser, no coil, no battery.
Have tried neat petrol in the carb, tried a heated plug, tried Easy Start, nothing.
Timing is 5mm btdc, points are 14 thou.
Tried swearing in English and French.

Can't let this French Flusie beat me.