overthehill

good photos Andy - they all look as they are enjoying themselves Remind me why you guys subject yourselves to this again? when you could have a week in Spain lying on a beach sipping chilled lager?

going back to the original post of this thread i thought that there was only one booze-up at the scottish - Location - Fortwilliam start time Saturday night finish time Sunday morning (7 days later)

As you know Gizza - its the way you ride em - pull high gears and watch where you go - it does mean the difference between running out or not. you're right -longest is probably the saturday from the dam to the bothy at the end of the path after bradilieg. but if you remember they used to go from Kinlochleven to Fort William in the good old days - i remember being concerned that the plastic tanks on TY yams would not be big enough and fitting a steel one - that was when you got fuel two or three times for the whole day. I see Gas Gas are producing a big tank now . ps if anyone wants a two gallon alloy tank for a TY250 I have one in the garage - i used it one year but got fed up carrying around enough fuel for the entire day!!! - going cheap handy if you plan to ride an old TY in the Paris-Dakar

could have been last year - we had a route planned which involved refuelling the bikes 15 miles away from the nearest road at the East end of loch Morar - the fuel was going to be taken out by boat - we had boats lined up and everything!! - however a few hundred yards of land ownership put a lid on all the work! - win-some loose-some the problems of small tanks really curtails the possibilities of routes nowdays and still they get smaller if we tested regulation 6.3 it would be interesting

Sundays Lauder trial (12th March)run by the Edingufgh St George MC is cancelled - there is already an inch of snow covering the course and more is forecast over the night - we will try to run the event later in the year. sorry - you'll just have to go to the bike show instead Mark CofC

yup - into Lauder on the A68 from Edinburgh and turn right at the war monument - there will be flags - its 1 mile up the hill.

Just to make it clear - a reasonable numberplate which can be viewed from behind must be fitted - this will mean fitting something similar to the YOU HAVE USED WORDS OR A PHRASE WHICH ARE NOT PERMITTED ON THIS WEBSITE. PLEASE DELETE YOUR POST/TOPIC. DO NOT TRY TO CIRCUMVENT THE FILTERS IN PLACE ON THIS WEBSITE plate - it is an example of a suitable plate but other suppliers manufacture similar plates. I understand that Montesa may be supplying one for the 4RTs - worth a check with Sandifords. This applies to foreign bikes as well

Perce - go for the Masters route - it should be just about right for us old timers

ok its not in the class of Duncans Z but i did 3 ssdt's on a 2000 Sherco (Bultaco) 250 - the bike had 3 new plugs (one for each ssdt) never had the head off it and only required a waterpump seal in the 4 years i had it - its still going strong in the highlands. its how you look after them that counts. - change the oil often - during the ssdt change it on wednesday when you come in - its nice and hot and takes 5 mins to do. - look after your spokes, and most important keep your radiator clean. Use the choke on the road and dont thrash it - if you know what you are doing (and where you are going ) you can make up all the time you need on the rough.

The popular Edinburgh St George Plaza trial takes place on Sunday March 12th near Lauder in the Scottish borders - its a good regular trial - approx 3mile lap and no silly stuff - 'A' route is laid out for non experts but will still challenge experts - and we cater for all classes down to B youths on the easier 'B' route - As we give out no silly plastic awards, the proceeds from the trial go to a local good cause - last year the local village primary school got a cheque for

You're panicking? if you want to see real panic you should see me

"with my eyes closed" 4ourtea

Has amyone fitted the aftermarket numberplates such as those sold by yomee? will they stand up to a hard trial - or rather six on the trot????

speedy recovery so that you can come back to Scotland in '07 and show the lads up. I had the same op in September and rode first trial (badly ) two weeks ago. - stick into the physio

Let me tell you that putting the flags in the ground is the best bit - its not all hard graft - we have all day to do a days job and have been known to have a few detours on the way - there are hard days and easy ones but we all do it for the fun of it. The real hard bit is the 8 months of organising, of keeping happy all of the landowners, tenants, farmers, shepherds, gamekeepers, of complying with all of the requirements of the environmental bodies, the various authorities, Commissions etc etc all of which gets harder every year. The one side of it that often gets overlooked is the secretary (yes our very own Highlandlassie)and her office. not only does she put in a horrendous amount of work from October to May but then when the trial is running she lives in the office from morning to night along with the rest of the results team - every night they eat their dinner at their desk while inputting your scores -but dont feel sorry for her - just take her a bottle of wine when you sign on to keep the office going through the night. - i believe they prefer white

Dont know anything about the bikes but the company sponsors the SSDT so they are OK by me they have a website Xispa

I hope i'm not tempting fate answering these but: When you've been across these moors every year for the past 20 years you get to know them - you head for landmarks and get to know the bogs - we do try to vary the flagged route from year to year to try to reduce land scarring. in fact in the years that i rode the event i never looked for a flag - i simply rode to the next section - often i used to look around and see that i had taken a different route than the flags ! We have three teams out every day made up of 2 or 3 riders - the route is laid out the day before and each team lay out 1/3 of the route - we carry all of the flags and section markers between us - flags in a belt and markers in a rucsack - the worst crossing is the thursday from Gorton to Glen Lyon and then over to Fersit where we each have to cary 150 flags- we often get to Fersit in the dark! - the other problem we have is fuel for the bikes - we either have to carry it or plant it beforehand. Laying out the sections acn take a long time - some of the river erosion can be severe and we acn spend hours moving rocks an filling in holes.- Over the last 20 years, i have ridden about 10 and laid out about 10 - i can assure you that the easier option is riding ! As far as closing the route goes - there are three backmarkers who sweep the trial up ahead of them - they will not pass anyone without ensuring that they are set on their way home safely or get their bike going - we have had some instances where a bike has failed in some remote area but we have always got it out - usually by towing it with a rope- even if it has meant leaving it til the next day and taking spare parts out to get it moving. hope i've answered your questions

would we do that its the thought of the mayhem it causes that keeps us going just think of the routemarkers having to carry 200 flags each across the moors, stopping every 50yards and also working out where to go - along with a rucsac full of spare fuel (petrol and lager) as we dont have the Army waiting on us !!! we have to have some enjoyment

I dont want to get into this too deep but from a legal point of view the main concern is from civil claims. As these are covered by the event insurance i think that we have to do sufficient to satisfy the insurance companies. I am sure that the ACU have consulted with the insurers and any guidance given probably reflects this. However from what i have seen we could do with some more guidance. Dont get tied up on 'risk assessments' - the important thing is to consider what control measures you need to put in place to minimise risk to a reasonable level. Having competent and experienced officials will go a long way to achieving this. - this is where my concerns with the current official licencing system comes in - i dont know what the ACU does, but the SACU gives out a Clerk of the Course licence to anyone who attends a seminar and passes a test which proves that they can read a handbook. I feel that competence and experience must also be shown for the important officials at national events - if you can demonstrate this, it is your main defence in any challenge to the running of the event.

if you want one with a montesa bias - and its free - i'm sure that there will be a 2006 one coming up here repsol calender

Back up and running - sorry about the downtime - billing error!

following the huge success of the Scott and looking at the interest that the T&O Little Bear trial has started, a few Scottish enthusiasts are considering running a T&O trial in Scotland - however it is a lot of work and a big commitment if only a handful of riders enter. As the last one I remember in Scotland was over 20 years ago - (i remember as i ended up in hospital along with a few others!) - it may be something that scottish riders are a bit apprehensive about. What are your feelings? - if you have never ridden one would you give it a go? if enough interest is shown we may get things moving. - its up to you

attended a scottish trial today and the subject of

you need to be as fit as you possibly can. Have a big breakfast before you start - stuff like mueslie is good as it stores energy. the big thing about the Scott is to ride within your ability - but you have to do it for 7 hours non stop - The petrol checks are your goals along the way - tie a bottle of energy drink (the stuff you mix with water) to each of your petrol cans (use a rubber band as its quick release)- you will not believe what a relief it is to see a check coming up -especially the last few. try to eat something along the way - either take energy bars or get someone to feed you with them along the route. if its muddy (and it will be)get that someone to take a couple of spare pairs of gloves and change them when you meet. look after the bike - for joe clubman if you have any mechanical problems its over, so the best thing you can do is make sure you dont crash/puncture etc. only take a few essential tools. you will be overtaken by riders flying past you - just ignore them - they will either be getting spoons or you will pass them burnt-out later. dont be afraid to ride all of the sections - they seem to get worse as it goes on but you are also tired. however there is nothing stupid. after about one hour you will regret riding it, after two you will vow never to come back, after seven you will be unable to think. but you will be filling in that form next year. - its the only real trial in the world. go for it

dont quite see the point in this - are 4 wheeled vehicles not just to get you to bike events at minimum cost - anyway heres the inside of mine