V2XS

Having signed up with Dougie and Mark to do the 3-day Sport Adventure “enduro-navigation” event in Normandie in November, I needed a bike to use. I contacted the organiser to discuss a few options and explain my basic level of competence. It seemed that it might be possible to do it on the Scorpa Trials but would be very hard work and hiring a bike appeared to be prohibitively expensive, so he suggsted just buying something, do the event and then sell it afterwards. Doug did very kindly offer to lend me one of his bikes if all else failed.

I searched around for some time and actually went to try out a couple of bikes – a Sherco 250 Enduro (which just felt too big compared to the trials) and a Beta X-Trainer which felt slightly smaller but was reletively new and therefore rather expensive. And then a Scorpa T-Ride came up locally and it felt easy to ride so I bought it. This is a French made bike but again using a Yamaha engine – in this case a detuned 250 four stroke 5 valve enduro engine. Scorpa are better known for their Trials machines and the T-ride is meant to be a cross-over bike in that it is bigger and heavier than a trials while maintaining some of the geometry, but not as large and unwieldy as a full size enduro machine.

Having got the T-ride home I spent many happy (some not so happy) hours fiddling about and “improving” it.

Steering head bearings were very tight but seem Ok now Ive adjusted them.

Wiring is a bit of a mess but only because of owner mods. The handlebar light switch is broken and they have added a switch for the lights (I assume) but it doesn’t seem to work. There is another add on toggle switch but I don’t know what it’s for yet – thought it may be a manual overidde for the electric fan but now not so sure as the fan wiring seems OK and uses a thermostatic switch. Horn had heath robinson wiring, but will probably remove and use the small battery electric horn I bought for the other scorpa but will not use on that bike as I’ll use this one if I want to go for a coffee etc.

Have removed the owner add-on stickers and got back to the original scorpa ones but the white has faded in the sun? and you can’t get originals any more. May be able to get a newer set which will fit ?

One headlamp rubber retaining strap broken. Slight damage to plastic inside bulb holder – araldite. fix needed.

Kick stand needs a bit of welding to get it to sit at the right angle – had the same issue on the other scorpa.

And so it went on….

Lots of fun re-doing the wiring.

Got rid of all the wiring that is surplus to requirements – indicators etc.
Found that the rear light / brake light was not working or only intermittent. Eventually traced to a loose wire going in to a plastic connector.
Two added-on toggle switches. One for the lights – why ? Because the light switch on the handlebar is broken.
Redid the connections for this switch but kept it.
The second switch appeared to be a manual switch / overide for the electric cooling fan. But I let the engine warm up and the fan came on by itself – thermostatic switch. So the extra switch and wiring were removed.
Also removed the horn – one of the wires was broken.

I mentioned that I had adjusted the head dearings but when I did a short test ride round the garden the front end was clonking as they weren’t tight enough. Played with the adjustment some more and then decided I needed to have a look. The bottom race was not too bad but the upper race has some corrosion – replacements ordered.

Welded some extra material on to the kickstand to make it sit correctly. Discovered it was bent and already had a stiffening repair.

Out for a ride with me on the T-ride and Alexander on the Scorpa Trials…

It was all going so well, until…

More trials training around the garden – with the benefit of the tricks in the sticks experience.

Following Dougie and Mark’s visit earlier in the month and my initiation into trail riding, the Duke had to go – despite it being my “dream bike”. Years ago, when I was working in the UK I did a secondment to one of our offices in the Midlands and used to chat about bikes with my boss – the MD. When the time came to move back down South he presented me with an envelope – inside was an unexpected bonus cheque and a KTM Duke 2 brochure, which I still have. It wasn’t until ten years later in France that I actually bought the bike.
Lots of pictures of the bike here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fn8axBPioAnAxXBu6

Here is the sales copy I produced for the English ad:

Most fun you can have with your clothes on?
For sale my mint condition KTM Duke. Fast and fun with massive grin factor, without getting up to silly superbike speeds. Very quick up to 70-80 mph and will see off sportsbikes in the twisties.
The KTM Duke is arguably the biking equivalent of the Mark 1 Golf GTi and heading for similar classic status – taking a motocross derived chassis and engine and making it “civilised” for the street with quality suspension components, big Brembo brakes and fat sticky tyres. This was one of the first supermotos purpose built for the road rather than being a converted off roader.
145Kg and 55hp.
The quality of the parts is excellent – Fully adjustable WP suspension, Magura bars, exquisite BBS wheels, Honda replica switchgear, lightweight screws, stainless steel oil lines, and hardened aluminium parts like the work-of-art brake pedal and eccentric chain adjusters.
MCN review : The Duke’s a mad indulgence, but it’s one of the most charismatic and beautiful motorcycles you can buy.
This is a 2003 bike and has covered only 8,600 Km. I have owned her for the last seven years and done more admiring and polishing than riding. Nothing needed on the maintenance front – ready to ride. Recently changed oil and filters, new radiator and hoses. Tyres are virtually new. Front is an AVON PXR – a road legal racing wet (ideal on a lightweight supermoto) and the rear is a ContiAttack SM – a semi slick supermoto specific tyre. French bike not an import, carte grise in my name.
The only mods I have made are the usual Duke 2 tweaks of derestricted airbox and debaffled silencers – it sounds awesome. Comes with original parts which could be refitted to return completely to stock in 20mins.
Good examples of these bikes are not depreciating any more and are on their way to classic status so this could be a good investment as well as a big boy’s toy.
Go on, you know you want to.

Dougie and Mark called in on their way to Spain for a week-long off road adventure called the “Mini Mondo” with Austin VINCE. Dougie was in his big van and it was full of bikes and we had a great couple of days riding the trails around here on a variety of bikes – from my little Scorpa Trials that I had only just purchased up to Doug’s big BMW G450X Enduro. He had also brought along two KTM Freerides – one 350 4T and one electric, plus Mark’s KTM 250 4T Enduro.

This visit marked a significant turning point for me as despite the fact that I live in a place surrounded by wonderful trails (which the other guys were very envious of), I had never done any off road motorbike riding. Although I have had many motorbikes over the years, including some pretty interesting ones, they have all been road bikes. My road bike at the time was a KTM Duke 2 – a 640cc single supermoto. This was my dream bike and I had wanted one for years, but in fact I hardly used it. The problem was that the bike was so capable that I found myself riding fast (too fast) in order to get to a level that I found interesting. This is clearly a dangerous practice on the road and as a result I tended to do very few rides. Trying the off road experience was a revelation because the same level of excitement and feeling close to the limit of what the bike and you are capable of happens at very low speed. I was sold, and so was the KTM shortly after Dougie’s visit. Off roading here we come!

I clearly needed to learn a lot of new skills and get plenty of practise if I was going to be able to even keep the other guys in sight on the trail. We talked about getting some training and we started planning to make a visit to Tricks In The Sticks in Kent for a day’s trials training. The other challenge on the horizon was a 3 day “enduro” event in Normandie in November which Mark and Doug had already signed up for.

Only been off roading 5 minutes and already picked up an injury – those footpegs have sharp edges. Need some proper boots / shin protectors.

Out to Cahors in the Morgan this morning, which just confirmed that the Mini is redundant. The Morgan is so much fun and makes you grin most of the time, even going slowly. It is actually pretty quick up to 70 or so as it is very light, but has limited grip and weak brakes so it’s fun and quite fast to push along in it – and it makes a great noise and you are in the breeze etc. And when you stop everyone wants a look or a selfie.

Finally got the registration through for the MINI – it took three months.

The last message was one month ago when they asked for a copy of the reverse of the UK reg doc – which shows nothing of value. Then another month goes by as it works through the queue again and now it’s OK.

This is the ad copy for the Mini

Mini Cooper S 2005 John Cooper Works

For sale is my near immaculate late model R53 Mini Cooper JCW. The is one of the last of the first generation of the new mini, before BMW started feeding them steroids and they became bloated. With the first generation (R53) the development team did a fantastic job of capturing both the classic look and wheel-at-each-corner-go-kart feeling of the original Mini that made it so much fun.

These are becoming increasingly rare and are sure to become future classics. The Cooper S variant is relatively common and makes a great performance bargain – if you can find a good one. With a 170 bhp they have enough performance for most people.

But to appeal to the real enthusiast and cope with the occasional track day, BMW developed a faster version in conjunction with John Cooper Garages (who developed the original Mini Cooper). The John Cooper Works makeover came in many flavours covering engine, suspension, wheels, body kit, seats and interior trim.

I spent quite some time last year searching for a Mini JCW in good condition and with the right specification. Eventually I found the perfect car, which I am now offering for sale as I have since acquired even more vehicles and it is getting out of hand.

In addition to the JCW parts this car has benefited from a lot of work and expenditure to make it an excellent fast road / occasional track day car. It provides huge fun and outrageous performance. I would say it is faster point to point on A and B roads than the Lotus Elise I used to run in the UK. It doesn’t have the same handling finesse but the wave of torque from the supercharged engine and the seemingly unlimited grip make up for that.

The car is a genuine JCW (with build certificate) has a fully documented service history and was in standard JCW form until purchased by the previous owner about 2 years ago.

It has done 104k miles, but a new engine was fitted at 72k so the engine has only done about 30k. This was fitted in October 2013 at a cost of £3,000.

In the last 2 years the car has had a lot of attention and upgrades and has only covered 4k miles in this time. The previous owner (retired company director) bought the car to use for a bit of fun and to do a few track days in the UK. He spent a lot of money on parts and maintenance. I have used the car on the road with one track day at Pau in March.

Don’t be put off by the track day use – this car has had more attention and maintenance in the last couple of years than most cars get in ten years.

Ownership plus points :
– Huge fun, brings a smile to your face
– The classic shape and glossy paintwork, together with the black body red wheels combination gives some real ownership satisfaction – it looks great and attracts quite a bit of enthusiast attention
– A hoot to drive with the go kart like responses, massive grip and huge torque at any speed from the supercharger
– The supercharger whine
– The pops and bangs from the exhaust on the overrun

Ownership minus points :
– The ride is very stiff – great on the track or smooth roads but not very comfortable on bumpy French lanes

Still reading, OK let’s go through the specification of the car :

UK car RHD
French registered on French plates
Carte grise in my name
CT 13 March 2018 (3 months old)

Engine

1.6 litre supercharged engine. In std form as a Cooper S it delivers 170 bhp. With the JCW upgrades this increases the output to 210 bhp. This car is running higher boost with an 18% supercharger pulley and a much larger motorsport intercooler. So the power is something over 210 and it feels like it. Still perfectly docile and civilised to potter around town.

Last service was in October 2017 at 102k miles, only 2000 miles ago. This included :

Motul 5w40 fully sythetic oil and Mahle filter.

Gerbox oil changed – Kennol 75w90 fully synthetic.

Brake fluid flushed and replaced with Motul RGF600 motorport fluid.

I have topped up the supercharger gear oil, which is not a normal service item and not easy to do but is a useful safeguard. I have also fitted a metal expansion tank to the cooling system as the plastic ones have a habit of splitting.

Coolant renewed with Motul -25 anti-freeze.

Resealed the tdc sensor to fix the slight oil leak – they all leak.

Fitted a bypass resistor to the fan so that the low speed fan works – most don’t.

Cam chain drive so no rubber belt to worry about. Tensioner was changed at 98k miles.

Air filter foam washed and re-oiled

New Bosch battery.

Exhaust and Intake

Full JCW exhaust and JCW sound pack – more noticeable supercharger noise due to the ITG filter and cold air intake – and pops and bangs from the exhaust on the overrun.

Suspension

JCW suspension replaced with Eibach lowering springs and new standard dampers at 98k miles.

New front suspension top mounts and obdurator plates fitted at 102k miles.

Brakes

Fronts are new Nitrac coated discs running Mintex pads with less than 3k miles.

Brake cooling ducts fitted replacing front fog lamps.

Rears are new Brembo discs and pads with less than 2k miles.

Amazing stopping power and fade free.

Wheels and Tyres

OZ racing lightweight alloy wheels.

Virtually new (less than 2k miles) 205/45 17 Michelin Pilot Super Sports – 600 Euros for the set.

Interior

The highlight of the interior is the leather Recaro Works bucket seats (£1500 option when new). The standard seats are comfortable for your granny to do the shopping but are useless for any spirited cornering. These seats are a rare but essential option (in my view).

Also has a rare leather dash rather than the usual painted metal.

Harmon Kardon stereo and the all important air con.

Works floor mats.

Body

Black gloss bodywork in great condition with the JCW body kit extras and badges.

Two small paint bubbles on the rear hatch which I have rubbed down, rust killed and simply painted black.

Underbody

In contrast to the upper body the underside did have some surface rust as a testament to many salty English winters. Although superficial this has been painstakingly rubbed down, rust killed and painted with hammerite. Now very tidy.

Lights – Fitted with Xenons, these have been given the joey mod – stripped and painted black and red to match the rest of the car – the standard headlights have a chrome interior and don’t look right on a black car.

Controle Technique / MOT

I have a print out of the previous MOT records from the gov.uk website which validates the mileage.

There is a folder full of receipts and I have summarised all of the service history in an excel document for ease of reference. A copy can be seen by using the images link at the end.

The French CT was passed on 13 March 2018 – 3 months old. Observations on the CT were :
Rear seat belts not present – the previous owner had removed the rear seats and belts but these have now been refitted
Slight oil leak from the engine – see TDC sensor fix above
Surface rust on the chassis – see details of treatment above

I have uploaded a few images but you can see a more complete set including the service records here :
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Woefed7yrahMjTLh8

Out in the Mini today, what a fun car !

One set of bends on the way in to Cahors is like doing a lap of a racetrack and normally not much traffic to spoil the fun and no gendarmes along that bit.

Trouble is the Morgan is probably even more fun on the same bends – at lower speeds.

For the record…

Things I Like about the Mini

– huge performance and massive grip
– supercharger whine and pops from the exhaust
– seats
– appearance and small size
– the mods and JCW spec

Things I don’t like

– No finesse to the controls or driving experience (it just goes and grips)
eg. Can’t feel what the front tyres are going. Even when understeering round corners on the track there was no feedback through the wheel, just a feeling that the car was pushing wide.
Controls generally too heavy – balanced in that they are all heavy but too heavy – clutch, steering, gearshift
– Black paint comes up beautifully but gets dirty instantly which doesn’t encourage use as a daily driver
– the handling balance – might have improved with the camber plates but probably should have addressed the rear
– To get the level of excitement I was looking for it had to be driven very fast (too fast on the road). The Morgan provides more excitement and driver involvement at much lower speeds. But if I hadn’t got the Morgan I would probably be keeping the Mini and continuing to work on improving it.

Mini faster than the Lotus I used to have but nothing like the same “feel” to the car – which is what i prefer. Mini would be better in this respect with less grippy tyres and set up to be a bit twitchy.