THE TIGER CUB

 My first bike was a rigid frame Post Office BSA Bantam with a 123cc engine and 3 speed box.
Bought for the princely sum of  5 GBP way back in 1960 it served as an introduction to woods
riding until I was 16 and old enough to ride on the road. Smartened up for road riding it served
me well to pass the "test" and then as 52 m.p.h was not all that I wished for it was traded in for
a 1959 Tiger Cub Bushman edition. This was similar to the Mountain Cub exported to the USA.

 I tried my hand at a couple of trials on the beast but in all fairness it was not a true trials cub
and was lacking in all departments other than noise!

 With the passing of time I promised myself that one day I would get one! Nice idea but the cost
was quite ridiculous for anything that was even close to being competitive. When my dear Mother
passed away her meagre inheritance that I received was ploughed into the business as things
were not going too well thanks to being ripped off in divorce and further compounded by a
cheating foreman. When things improved I ordered the one in the Sammy Miller catalog and
some 4 weeks later it arrives in Houston. It sat in Houston for another week until Homeland
Security managed to get their Bin Laden scanner over the container. Having taken them a week
to do this I'm informed I have to pay the wharf dues!! No matter, it arrives and all that is
required is to oil it up and put the bars on. 

 A test ride round the yard brings back lots of memories, especially the "CLUNK" of the forks as
they top out during a wheelie and the kill switch throttle which stalls the motor if you open it too
quickly. Well some work to do here!







 My machinist, Brian Crawford, makes me an exquisite new stem and a 1974 Yam front end goes
on the little four stroke. It handles nicely but it increases the wheel base by over an inch. Well
time to look at what everybody else is doing. Lots of Cerrianis, Betors and a few MP's .........
eventually find a NEW set of Cerrianis and I ask Brian for some more of his magic. He is swamped
with work and his time frame does not gel with mine, so over a weekend I measure up a set of
BSA B50 forks that I just happened to have, the stem fits? Amazing! and after putting the legs in
the wrong side I have a perfectly matching brake anchor point for the Yam front Wheel. The Forks
are wider than the Yam set so the front wheel spindle isn't quite long enough but the TY175
swinging arm bolt is perfect.




 The Steed gets it's first outing in December 2006 at the local Arizona trial and it's performance
in the throttle/carb department leaves a lot to be desired. More consultations with all the Oracles
and its time for Mister Amal's finest to go! First replacement is the Kehlin which after some
machining of the stem fits reasonably well and gives tremendous performance off idle but a
horrendous backfire when  dropping back to idle. Maybe the inlet tract is too short?





 So fitted with the Jap carb and the Yam front end its off to Wittman for the AHRMA season opener.
It behaves reasonably well and a class win is in the bag. Now the changeover to the BSA forks
and the wheelbase is back to normal again and the front end just a little higher. While at Wittman
a few other Cubs were tested that were fitted with the Del Orto carb, and this really is a chalk and
cheese affair and now the motor is responsive and smooth and also picks up beautifully off
idle....... order one from Martyn Adams before he leaves for Australia.




 Over the course of the season confidence has increased with every outing and stalling (I hope)
a thing of the past. However, despite 5 AHRMA wins and a few seconds the riding position always
felt a little off and an analysis of several "over the bars" 5's revealed the distance from spindle to
footrests some 2 inches shorter than desired and the footrests themselves being up close to 14
inches. The mind ponders the dillema of A over T and after 4 mind bending inexplicable incidents
when I have ended up head first on the ground with hands still on the bars and feet still on the
rests! Brenda says that it looks like I'm standing too far forward and my feet are too high up and
sure enough she is right!






 Yes, Yes, I know why! It's that Sammy Miller man!! After the magnificent 1972 250 Bultaco
( probably the best trials bike ever) I switched to a 325 Miller Hi-Boy Bultaco which although it
looked wonderfull was a bike that I could not ride for love nor money. I wonder why? Could it be
design or something in that word Hi?? Well off to see my welding Guru and after a days work the
rests are 2 inches back and down and the handling, though I say so myself PERFECT. So thanks
to Brenda for her photography and noticing my stance (It pays to have a great support crew)
and Barry from Premier Motorsports for the superb welding, I now have a perfect handling cub
and will be fresh out of excuses next year!






Tony Down (without headache!)