Hindall DT1

[firko]

After a bit of a journey, I've finally got my new Hindall DT1. A quick inspection shows the bike to be one trick little jewell. The more I get into Harry Hindalls work, the more I admire his attention to detail and tradesmanship. The frame # tells me it's the first DT1 frame out of his jig in 1970. I'll do some research to see if that particular design was available in 1969 for other engines as it'd make a very good pre '70 contender. As it is though, I intend to build it as a close relative to my Cheney in appearance. The plastic tank will be replaced with an alloy BSA B44 item and the Preston Petty fenders with alloy items similar to what's on the Cheney. I have another almost exact replica of that frame/swingarm made for a Kawaski F12 and it weighs 8.5kg so intend to uphold Harrys theory that weight is more important than horsepower. This bike was used for desert racing, a hint being the steering damper shown in the photos. The handlebars are rare Gary Jones items which will stay. The seat's a bit fugly so I'll switch it with my other Hindall seat or adapt a Maico item as I did on my Hindall Ducati. The forks appear to be 250MX items in good nick, as are the wheels. If I decide to go pre '70 with this bike they'll be replaced with my usual Ceriani/Betor forks and Rickman wheel combo. The engine that came with the bike is rebuilt and came with two top ends, a GYT and a ported 80thou over item. I got a GYT head and a stocker. The pipe provided is a Bassani which may be replaced with a Torque Pipe made for a DT2MX or a GYT item. I won't know until I actually start the build. All in all though, I'm a happy chappy. It's a sweet little bike that will remain in the collection as a memory of poor Bob who died before I even recieved it.

[mx250]

It sure looks sweet - light and nimble even as it sits there nude  . I look forward to seeing it lined up with the DT from hell and your other DT/RT specials.

Do you have a Rickman DT/RT Mark?



What DT/RT special do you have? From memory you have several. It would be interesting to line them up in a 'beauty competition' one CD.

[DR]

very nice Firko, the construction is so very Cheney to look at to start with I lend myself to the less weight vrs more HP argument/theory also, for me lighter = less tiring = more fun for longer

[mx250]

.... for me lighter = less tiring = more fun for longer

...is that with you on the top or the bottom Doc?

[firko]

I guess I've become a bit predictable Graeme . I never set out to build every known DT1/RT1 combo...it's just evolved that way kind of by accident. My beloved Maicos still have a premium place in the shed but these DT1 things sure are becoming adictive. I think it's the old hot rodder in me finding an outlook to combine four loves..old dirt bikes, DT1's and building trick specials and doing it on the cheap.

I do indeed have a Rickman Graeme that was originally earmarked to recieve a Maico squarie engine. I've now changed plans and will fit a DT1 engine to it as soon as I finish the Hindall and Benelli projects.

[bazza]

Nice bike Mark, You Kevlars do have style

[Nathan S]

Having seen this bike (frame) up close, it is a sexy thing.

Wonder how it would go compared to a YZ250A, in the handling stakes?

[firko]

Wonder how it would go compared to a YZ250A, in the handling stakes?

Good question. I reckon this bike and my Cheney would have simlar handling traits. Nathan, feel free to take both them out for a blurt at CD8 or HBBB and make your own mind up. My money's on the Cheney.

[firko]

I've lately managed to get some decent shed time in on the Hindall DT1 and I'm pretty happy with the progress. I've managed to pull apart and rebuild (properly) the engine that came with it which I was pleasantly surprised to find that it having a close ratio trans, most probably a period GYT set, as I also got an 80 thou over GYT Barrel and head in a seperate box with the motor. The barrel I've used is totally stock which will do for the moment. The second engine is the old spare I had for the DT1 from Hell which I'd built out of left overs including a DT2MX trans back in the early 90's. It's pretty good but needing a 1mm over single ring piston. The third engine is the methanol DT1 from Hell motor that's really well modded with Warren Willing ports, A Peter Reynolds modded head and all sorts of good shit like a YZ250A gearbox. It's going into Hindall #2 that I'll talk about in a minute.
I've tried every tank I've got in the stash and I've settled on a 1.5 gallon BSA B50T (trail)tank which looks a lot better than it does in the photo. The plastic tank that came with it looks good but I hate plastic tanks on old period bikes. I've also decided to replace the Basani pipe with one of my original GYT pipes. I know they're not all that good when compared to a modern purpose built pipe but this bike is being built as a reasonably authentic circa 1970 racer with proper racing as a secondary to CD riding. If I decide it'd make a good racer I have the fast engine and a Peter Reynolds built fatty pipe to go straight in there.

The best news however is that the Hindall now has a brother. I have another Hindall 2 stroke frame that originally housed a Kawaski Bighorn motor . I've now decided to build it up as another DT1 based racer but this time a flat tracker. I'll use the DT1 from Hell motor with the ACK head shown in the photo, a Matcho Mick seat base, and an MX250/Akront 19" front with a Carlilse dirt track tyre wheel I've used on my Maico for Dirt track for 20 years. I'll use a stock 18" MX250 rear with a Michelin trials tyre. I've yet to decide on which tank to use...the one in the photos is a plastic Hindall item that some idiot did a botched POR lining job which is peeling off. I've got another Hindall tank but...as I said I hate plastic tanks. I'll probably buy a replica Champion or Knight style 'glass tank once I've worked out a scheme. I never intended to build two bikes but the opportunity was too hard to resist. It's pushed my Benelli 650 back a notch on the production line but that's cool...I know these two will be done in time, something I couldn't promise for the Benelli.
I'll take both of the Hindalls along with my Cheney to the HBBB to use the dirt track for some serious jetting and dialing in for the bigger races later this year.

[mainline]

you need a bigger shed Firko

Bike's looking good, is the b50 tank getting stripped/polished?

[firko]

Yeah Paul, I definitely need a bigger shed but don't we all? That's why I've limited myself to X number of bikes, I quite simply haven't got the space for a mega collection. Having said that, the sheds actually about three times bigger than what you can see in the photos. It's a good, comfortable place to work in. It's airconditioned, has a fully stocked beer fridge, a better sound system than I have in the house and all the tools and equipment I need to do the job. It's my little retreat from the real world .

Bike's looking good, is the b50 tank getting stripped/polished?

The tank is pretty straight and bog free so it'll get a polish job, I want the bike to look a bit like the Cheney in concept. Ditto polishing the frame for the flat tracker. The frame is pretty badly tarnished, even worse than the Cheney was but if you look at the photo you can see a couple of test areas (steering head, rear engine mount and a little bit of the swingarm) where I've had a bit of a go at getting it shiny. I think it'll come up OK in the places that show.

[firko]

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything on the Hindalls. You've all seen the flat tracker which I finished in time to take it to the HBBB at Easter. The motocross version was stuck in a funk of not being able to find a pleasing to the eye seat and tank combo so it fell behind the tracker in the build process. In the end I fitted a Wassell trials tank and seat to get it to CD8 which looked pretty smicko in the shed but upon getting the bike into daylight the combo looked poxy. I hid the bike in the tent at CD8 and once I got her home I started to undertake a minor rebuild. Where I'd got it all wrong was that I'd been looking at the bike as a DT1 powered Hindall when what I should have been doing WAS TO build it as a Hindall framed DT1.

The new plan is to construct the bike in a way where it wears its DT1 origins on the outside so that upon first sighting it's easily identified as a DT1 and only under close inspection would it be noticed that the frame and other bits and pieces aren't what they should be. Well, so far the plan's coming off OK, I'm making a new seat base similar to my Cheney and I've decided on using either a DT1 tank or the similar but slightly smaller AT1 version. At first the AT1 tank got the nod but today I had another look with the DT1 tank and liked it too so that now I'm unable to decide which one to go with. It's not a big dilemna right now as I'm going to prep and paint both tanks in similar stock DT1 pearl white with black pinstripe (and a third DT1 tank in black with a yellow stripe in case I fit an RT1 engine at a later date). Below are a couple of progress shots of the bike with both tanks. Which one do you guys thing look better? The tanks are subtly different in size, the AT1 item being about 30mm smaller all over.
AT1 tank

DT1 tank
 

[bazza]

AT1 for sure, "its all about style"

[vmx42]

AT1!

[Husk72]

Looking good Mark.
Whats the exhaust pipe on the bike? A bassani,or something??
I don't know much about these bikes,but the AT1 tank would round it off nicely.


                                                                                      Cheers,Mark.