MT Riders Club

A couple of years ago I bought this little beauty off Ebay , strangely nobody else bid on it . 500 mile round trip to Yorkshire and it was mine Armstrong MT500.
Since then it has been buried in storage waiting for a time when when I have a bit of spare time on my hands at home ......, and I have been squirrelling away a few bits as I see them

Anyway , its been keeping me busy over the last few weeks

Why "project clown bike" ? Because I was told by a fellow member it looks like something from the circus, where you parp the horn and all the panels fall off
Not that it has a horn on it anyway . Further posts to follow

I hid it behind a rose bush in the garden so my wife wouldn't see it my daughter asked what that pile of scrap is doing in the garden

First step take it apart - a great improvement already

The aim of the project is to produce a respectable looking MT , not a show winning job by any means of course , just a useable bike done on a reasonable budget .

Frame is hand painted using a semi matt paint used for wrought ironwork and looks fine for what I want .
I chose a BS Crimson for it , not military, I just like the colour , and that is a cellulose paint applied through a spray gun after primer applied .

I removed the standard 500 engine , I did have it running but due to a long standing knee issue I don't like kickstarting Armstrongs .
A while ago I bought a 350 Rotax engine from an Aprilia Tuareg from a fellow forum member ,in a dismantled condition . I arranged for Gary at Sportax to get the gearbox together (I cant do gearboxes , I have a mental block with them !) , and get the crankcase halves back together , and I have reassembled the rest of it .
Apart from a broken clutch backplate (replaced and broken part binned ) and a couple of stripped threads on the sump bottom cover (I helicoil fixed now ) all looks very good . Just a starter motor to add.

(note important precision mallet)

Good to see that you aren't just idling your time away. If the bike a Clown, you must be the Lion Tamer . You'll need a top hat, long red tail-coat and a whip though

Good luck with the project

The front frame section is away now with Phil (Arceye) to work his magic on converting the frame to accept the electric start engine .

I have loosely assembled and I'm quite happy with progress, slight improvement on the starting point .

The bike as I got it only had the coil and CDI wired up , so I am going to have to install all the wring (I have bits of loom ) which should be fun and games . and get a carb sorted out . The 350 Harley carb doesnt really go in the Armstrong frame , too big , I have a dellorto and an Amal in the spares box which may do the job - autojumbles are great places for picking up treasure .

Front forks etc are off an unidentified donor, they are not MT , seals leak and front brake doesn't work . I have most of a MT350 front end lying around so I am possibly going to be using that. Bike is registered on a C plate . I want to keep it lightweight so wont have any panniers etc or rack. need to get a bigger battery in to power the electric start so that needs a bit of thought as the battery tray is too small for the normal 350 battery .


an enjoyable project , a bit of time and patience pays off . Hoping to get it to a MT meet when we are back to having meets again , maybe Wye Valley autumn ..

Looking good

Well done Ian keep it up; keith

A bit more progress on "Clownie "
Front frame section has been away with Phil Arceye to work his magic with the frame conversion to fit the electric start , now back and very nice job done .
Engine now in the frame loosely , its a 350 Aprilia badged Rotax .
Moving on soon to the rest of the painting , and the front forks to come off to be sorted out or changed haven't decided yet , and to get the front brake working , then electrics , much fun ahead


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Great to see that you're making good progress. As you say much fun ahead but I'm sure that you'll get the job finished in time for the next MT meet. Good luck !