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Glyn said :-
I’ve arranged help from a friend with a van to travel to the testing station.
01/04/2026 11:46:08 UTC
Glyn said :-
Ref the changed engine Ian. Who will know? Locally theres a fella driving around in a Morris Minor Traveller who openly boasts about paying no tax or MOT as it’s number plate is over 40 years old. Under the immaculate body, there is the chassis, axles, engine gearbox etc of a Mazda MX5. He doesn’t get it MOT’d so who knows? Next month my TZR becomes 40 and so I will report back what steps I will go through for it to become historic.
01/04/2026 12:23:25 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Re changed engines - or indeed a modern car with classic bodywork - it's not a problem until it's a problem. What happens if your local Morris Minor MX5 owner has an accident? That's when questions get asked, that's when insurance companies look for an "out", that's when PC Plod starts pondering if there's a case to be answered.
01/04/2026 12:34:34 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Glyn's mate's car would definitely count as substantially modified so would fall foul of the rules, vague though they are. I have explained to my insurance company exactly what engine I have fitted and it's shown on the insurance schedule so I think I'm OK with that. Although we'll see.
Re the TZR: it's not 40 on its exact birthday but as I remember the start of the calendar year following that. And it's date of construction not first registration just to add confusion (although there are some weasel wordfs in the link). And to add more the wording for MoT says "built or registered" and seems to relate to the actual date of construction / registration not the 1st January. See link below.
There's a lot of discussion in sidecar circles about whether the leading link type forks lots have fitted are substantial modifications. I actually think they're more so than my engine change but what do I know?
https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles...
01/04/2026 13:19:55 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Currently struggling with my air compressor which loses all its pressure when it reaches its target pressure. I got a cheap regulator box for a tenner from ebay but that hasn't saorted it out. Always something.....
01/04/2026 13:21:10 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've fixed the compressor thanks to Anthropic's Claude. This is the conversation - if anyone's interested. I must say AI can be a great help.
https://www.iansoady.org.uk/claude/Conversation%20with%20Claude.htm...
01/04/2026 15:00:41 UTC
nab301 said :-
Excellent Ian although I believe the model used in their office vending machine became a bit like Hal when threatened with removal...
Nigel
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqeng9d20go...
01/04/2026 16:19:49 UTC
nab301 said :-
This one is a bit of a longer read but interesting enough ...
Nigel
https://www.anthropic.com/research/project-vend-2...
01/04/2026 16:22:54 UTC
Glyn said :-
I had not read that bit about the year after for historic vehicles. As my TZr is imported I had to have a dating certificate which I do hold that states the bike was BUILT on 1st May 1986. So it might seem that I will have to wait until 1st April 2027 to obtain the exemption. It will be a few weeks off 41 years old by then.
01/04/2026 16:37:25 UTC
nab301 said :-
An interesting car modification story here, strange when there are tv programmes documenting major patch repairs to rotted A and B posts
Nigel
https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/maintenance-and-gear/dvlas-dos-and-donts-the-...
01/04/2026 16:49:07 UTC
Glyn said :-
I forgot to add that the Morris Minor / Mazda MX5 is fully insured by Adrian Flux in their full knowledge that it is a 2 Litre Mazda with 6 gears. Apart from bodywork it is an unmodified MX5 with many of the safety features intact. Given the modern brakes, steering and suspension mechanisms it is probably a lot safer than a period Morris Minor. So, in the event of an accident Mr Plod might not be overly concerned. It’s the revenue that could be missing out here together with the loss of the MOT fees. Grey area for sure. I understand that the government feels that a 40 year old vehicle generally belongs to an enthusiast but I am seeing more tatty old VW golf’s, full of rust, still on the road and I would feel happier if the MOT test was a requirement for all. I could understand “less stringent “ for vehicles with rod brakes and leather shock absorbers but they should still be covered by some sort of test in my mind.
01/04/2026 16:52:26 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Interesting article there Nigel, apart from the ranting responses! I vaguely remember the anthropic coffee machine takle but will read the longer article later.
Glyn - I take your point but being tight fisted I'd rather not pay for something I don't need. I will have the B'Zuki outfit tested later in the year but only to check I haven't missed anything. Having said that, what will a 20 year old spotty youth know more than I do?
02/04/2026 10:13:10 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
First (short run). Needs some attention.
Finally I took the B'Zuki outfit intending a short run round local roads. Fortunately I started by going to the end of our road then down a local cul de sac with a turning circle at the end. It was awful! As soon as I set up there was a terrible flutter from the bars, getting much worse if either the sidecar or one of the bike wheels hit a bump. I never got out of second gear and was thankful I didn't venture onto the main road. Scared me quite a bit I can tell you. Of course my outfit piloting skills are very rusty!
I've checked tyre pressures at 34 bike front, 38 bike rear and 26 sidecar but not looked at anything else yet. My initial thought is that maybe it's due to the Roadrider front tyre which has quite a round profile. This can easily be changed. Second thought is that aligment is not right although I have checked it carefully. Toe in at 3/4", sidecar wheel lead 10", lean out when I'm on the bike about 1/4" at the tyre. I'll check again. Worst case is just that the bike geometry - trail especially - is just not suitable.
07/04/2026 11:25:57 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I think you are correct about the front tyre, a square section tyre is always better with a sidecar.
Although it is treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, a steering damper may help?
07/04/2026 13:42:31 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've had a lot of helpful comments from the Federation of Sidecar Clubs FB page. Suggestions include stiffening up the rear suspension (I have a spare pair of stiffer units); thicker oil in the forks; yes a different tyre although there aren't any sidecar tyres in 18" size that I can find; reducing front tyre pressure; increasing front tyre pressure. And as you say fitting a damper though I agree I should be able to get it better without. A last resort maybe.....
07/04/2026 14:06:32 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
OK, have fitted the stiffer rear units (Falcons) and reduced the tyre pressures to 28 front and 32 rear (left the chair one at 25) and checked aligment carefully. The back wheel was about 5mm out of alignment with the front so have corrected this but toe in is still between 1/2" and 3/4".
so full of trepidation I tried it out. The shake has definitely reduced significantly but is still there. It's worse under power: coasting seems relatively OK although still only tried at 10mph and under. I feel there may still be some play in the steering head bearing so will jack the front up and adjust it.
Classic Bike Spares, my local shop, has a pre-unit BSA steering damper complete which may be worth adapting. I'll give it some thought.
So slowly getting there I think. I may try reducing tyre pressure by a couple of pounds or so more.
On the positive side, I was flagged down by a bloke who besides being very complimentary about the outfit wanted to show me his dismanted TriBSA that had been in the corner of his garage since he built it when he was 17 (now 77). It was a bit sad looking but complete. I did have to tell him that prices had plunged but he was in a position where he couldn't do anything with it and none of his potential will beneficiaries had the slightest interest. While we were chatting another old bloke stopped and loved the outfit and took pictures. Fortunately he'd gone when I wobbled off!
https://www.classicbikeshop.co.uk/triumph-bsa-norton-steering-damper-complete-ki...
09/04/2026 12:50:02 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Oh by the way, harking back to the previous conversation, as testing staions no longer actually ride the bike it could easily have passed the MoT despite being potentially lethal.
09/04/2026 12:51:10 UTC
nab301 said :-
I remember in the early 80's , my Em Zed was off the road waiting for spares , a local lad offered me a lift to a bike show in his Em Zed sidecar outfit in the sidecar , (on the R/h side...)
It handled exactly as you described yours Ian , i.e horrendously , it had a factory friction damper fitted , he'd ridden the outfit through Europe and seemed unperturbed by the wayward handling and by my uncomplimentary comments!
Maybe it's time for a Factory Harley Trike...
Nigel
09/04/2026 13:43:39 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I suspect if I was brave enough I could probably ride out the shakes - various people have said that they get better with speed. On the other hand it might get bad enough to end up in the ditch. It would be a shame to scratch the nice new paintwork let alone the damage it would do to me.
09/04/2026 15:21:21 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ian, do you have a large carpark local to yourself which is empty at weekends.
If you do that would probably be the safest option to set up the outfit.
09/04/2026 17:25:45 UTC
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