Saturday NEW Yokie A539s on the refreshed 12" alloys. The NEW Falkens, that went on up front and only had the Brisbane to Tasmania drive about and a very few kilometres before the start of the 11,300 km. North American drive, arrived home at the back as near slicks.



Sunday a hurried swap of starter motors after the power post lost all contact. Even my wife was impressed with the 20 minute re & re. Love the clubby nose.



Monday, started on swap out of CRAP New cones that collapsed almost immediately after install as we set out to cross North America. Was able to pickup a NEW set of Alex Moulton Smooth-a-Ride cones at noon and got the rears in during the afternoon. Photo shows 1/4" of washers installed at White River, Ontario to give us an extra 1 1/4" height at rear.



Tuesday (today) will get the Moulton cones in up front. After which the suspension can be reset. Looking forward to the ride!

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

Get some Minitastic coils... Rubber cones are a thing of the past

Not aware of any Minitastic product in our corner of the world but have experienced the Smooth-a-Ride in another LWB Mini and over rough ground...was very impressed.

The Window Van won't see much fast road work, nor any track days or race days but will travel with loads. We'll see!

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

They are made in the UK, I recently brought two sets back from a recent trip.
Minitastic.co.uk

Falkens were the only 12" tyres readily available in Australia (well Brisbane area) when I was preparing the Window Van for the Brisbane/Sydney Test Drive, the Rylstone Classic, the Mini50 weeklong celebrations and the 70-days 'One Lap' drive in 2011.

I started with 6 new tyres. Bought 2 more new tyres in Adelaide to replace 2 of the original 6 that were shot. Back in Brisbane, I put 2 new tyres on the front put the 2 new in Adelaide on the back, bought another new tyre to replace the worn out Falken spare...we headed for Tasmania, shipped the Mini home, then set out across Canada/returning via the USA. 2 tyres were dead and gone, 1 was badly used up, 1 that had a puncture was relieved by the spare for the haul from Hot Springs, South Dakota to home. This last tyre is OK for a spare on a lightly used Mini.

The new tyres are Yokohama A539 12", which I could not buy in Australia, and had not chosen to reship from here (after Japan to UK etc.) or have shipped to Oz from the UK for use in Australia.

For a lightly used Mini Falkens should last a decent period. My experience is, that if you load the Mini then drive a great many thousands of kilometres, Falkens go away "quickly".

Years ago when we first started travelling long distances, I could drive across the continent and back on 10" Yokie GX501 tyres and it very difficult to tell that you had just driven 13,000 kilometres. The 501s were discontinued so A008s went on the 10" Minilites. This time there was noticeable wear over a similar distance.

I keep a log so I'll know how long the A539s will last.

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

A few more tweaks today to the suspension with the new Moulton cones in place. Will be ready for the "season ending" Classic Car run up Howe Sound tomorrow to the Sea to Sky Gondola for a wee bit of a show, coffee and chat.

Everyone gets an early start so they can get home in time for Thanksgiving Dinners (we had our Family dinner last night). We all bring non-perishable food items for the Squamish Food Bank to aid the needy as fall ends and winter sets in.

We will have a steep hill "The Cut" getting away from the start and up the Fury Creek Hill on the run up Howe Sound to Britannia Beach and beyond (neither as punishing as the Kings Highway climb on the way to Canberra). But the 1098 is a willing little workhorse.

Might be heavy rain but the new Yokies have lots of tread & grip.

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

Now have some 325 kms on the Smootha-Ride cones...much smoother riding up front (the back end of the unladen van is light and tinny sounding but also smoother). None of the harshness of the 'standard' cones.

Left the Koni Sport adj. dampers at 1.5 turns...seems to be just right.

Have not tweaked height adjustments for a bit. May want to increase RF (driver's side) trumpet by 1/8" but no rush to do so.

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

After your thanksgiving feast, your driving weight may now compensate for the difference in spring height(cone) .

Yup...turkey with the fixings - mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, squash (maybe 1 or 2 types), gravy, cranberry sauce or jelly...followed by pumpkin pie & whipped cream - will do it every time.

1st Canadian Thanksgiving in 16th century, US in early 17th century. Of course the menu was somewhat different.

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!

BBQ moose with maple syrup?

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

if your ever stuck to find 12" A539's minisport get them in here in adelaide, im pretty sure they get them from minispares in the UK

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Wallie,

The availability of A539s in Adelaide was not on my radar in 2010-11 when I was looking for 6 new 12" tyres for the Australia drive about. The Falkens were sourced in Queensland and 2 more new Falkens were sourced at MiniSport in Adelaide as we crossed the south almost 3 years ago.

One more new Falken was sourced in Queensland before the trip to Tasmania last October/November and that 9th Falken is the only surviving tyre (now spare) on ROO.

Rick/Hunter2

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Select a gear, bring up the revs and release the clutch...off you go!