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Top notch ''The Addict'',the first one especially ,I'm trying to memorise it 'cos I'm going out tonight,I bet I make an a*** of it once I've had a drink.

Uh- oh! Looks painfull ouch

I'll be chuffed if it's: Rebecca Adlington ... I'll be narked if it's: Lewis Hamilton..he is sooooo full of 5h1t!

I had a few 'crossers and trail (not trials) bikes when I was in my early teens but that soon died out. About 20 years later I went on holiday to Cyprus with some mates and we hired some enduro bikes (suzuki DR?) and that re-kindled the off-road urges . When I got home I hassled a few of my contacts into letting me try out a Honda CR crosser . As you can imagine that 20 years of progress on the MX scene caught me by surprise and I thought; ''If I buy one of these I'll be dead by the end of the week''. Out of the blue, one of my mates came good and delivered a box to my door with a dis-mantled Montesa 242 in it. He said ''If you can put it together it's yours''. I did,and it was sh**e,but there was no shortage of twin-shock loonies to buy it from me. At the same time on't telly Steve Berry on Top Gear was highlighting indoor trials and I'm sure? it was Dougie doing a 15 ft standing leap from cable reels..I thought that looks easy!! I'll get a modern trials bike ('93 gasser) and I'll be doing that in no time Several years ,and bikes, later and I'm still trying ..6ft is my personal best. After starting off on 'crossers the strange thing is I now detest the high speed aspect of trials (getting between the sections) and love the slow/technical parts. P.S. ''love'' does not infer any level of competence.

Mark! is your keyboard still mis-typing vowels

It's good for Raga ,Cabs and co. 'cos the only reason I went to the show was to be hypnotised into making me a better trials rider than Mr. Bou...so there..I've put the World title attempt on hold for the mo'.

If any of you have seen Derren Brown live you will realise that this is one of his type of observation tests. Another one is the ping pong doubles team that turn into gorillas. What it's used for is not to highlight your powers of observation or your ability to spot misdirection, but your ability to focus on the task. I'll not bore you with the psychology behind it but if you laughed out loud when the gorillas/bears appear(as I did) then you are 'generally':- Easily bored. Have the attention span of a small child. Have an inability to concentrate or focus. Lack determination/ willpower. Far too willing to accept a compromise. Will under achieve in most aspects of you life (job,relationships etc..)..... ...And so the character assassination went on ..and how the audience laughed at my expense. .. when I was singled out. On the plus side he said he couldn't ''work'' with me as it would take too long to hypnotise me and it was 'unlikely' that anyone would ever sneak up on me .

Hi Chris, As the other posts have stated : there are advantages and disadvantages to every bike. I'm presuming you haven't compared the Gasser and Mont in a fast flowing stream where you can barely see where you are putting the front wheel...I would take the Mont in that situation.

Like it! that's what it's all about. You can't fault his ambition,especially when he tried that ramp so steep...how was he ever going to get down from there?

You are a bad man

Splat shop..I've used them and they were spot on. Here

Welcome Nicks-TR34, Nowt wrong with asking questions ...so here's an answer; Join a local club first ( local people with all the relevant answers) and they will be able to advise you on how to go about joining the ACU. As for riding gear this is what the ACU book states:- ''Clothing must cover legs and body and it is recommended that arms should be covered.Boots of appproximately knee length must be worn...Motorcycle helmets, which must be correctly fitted,must be worn by all..riders. The wearing of gloves is recommended for all..competitors''. So there you are:- 2 'recommendeds' and 2 'musts '. Hope you go on to enjoy messing about on a trials bike as much as I have done in the last 11 years..been crocked for about 6 months and, God, I miss it.

Ditto sealskins as I haven't tried the ex army gortex ones. Although I think I'll go for the gortex ones next time around as the price looks good and I'm tired of replacing the sealskins when I get a stone/grit/grain of sand in my boot and the bugger wears through,letting in water.

Wow 2 Mins in ..It looks like they're jumping over Osama's threshold.

A dab? How very dare you . Just to be contrary:- My mate dropped his Mont' onto it's (aftermarket) machined-aluminium footpeg and it fractured. The resultant ''forked weapon'' it left would have gone straight through his boot if his leg was in the way..evil it was..could have been a one off though. Also the aluminium hole can wear quite quickly (where the peg bolt goes through) and you end up with the dreaded... droopy-peg bike !! Rode a bike with( titanium ?

I got a page error for that last link Andy......and It's not the first time I've seen him...Go easy on the lad as he had a tough start in life:- Steve Balmer on skid row

Permit me to split hairs; The 2000 model was in fact a Bultaco

We are not allowed to assault them in this country but I share your frustrations !

Very soft set up,250? I'll have to presume we're talking about power delivery and not suspension. I've only sampled '05 and earlier models which were known for their snappy power delivery (a lot of riders + me, chose the 290 instead for it's softer power ). Most of the 07/08 bike reviews claim that the 250 motor has been worked-on to produce a less snappy power delivery so I'm not sure if this is what you're getting at? If it is suspension we're talking about ,I reckon the earlier bikes (inc. my own 01,03,04,05 models) had basic ''wooden'' shocks/forks with very little adjustment whereas later models had more scope for a personal set-up.

Aahh..now we're getting more clues. I don't know if the brake set up on the Beta 's are floaters but is this not an disc alignment /flex problem? Sorry for being a bit vague but the last time I had this problem it was so long ago I don't even recall which bike I had at the time...doh! Cue: someone smarter than me:.........

Saw the 'result' of a similar thing, although the flywheel never escaped the garage walls it did go through the bodywork like...well..a tandoori through a pensioner.

I have a 290 '05 and I use Rock oil(light gear oil) when I can find it or Automatic Transmision Fluid (Dextron 3) when I can't. The ATF is a bit 'grabby' though.

The only problem with using the rubber band method is that you are compressing all the clutch springs while you're not using the bike,which can't be good for those springs. If you ride as infrequently as me that's too much time for those springs to be compressed. I've had 4 Shercos to date and they've all had this quirk,mind you I've had a couple of old Gassers and a Mont which did the same thing. I believe it's the surface tension of the oil sticking the plates together momentarily (someone else may be able to clarify/contradict that). Like BikeSpace says: Rocking the bike in 5th gear/clutch in,to free it up before you even start the bike..... comes as second nature to me now. My mate had another method...he used to open the throttle, full bore,immediately from stone cold! to spin the clutch up. Funny how he only did that to my bike and never his own.

I refer the right honourable gentleman to my previous answer...retard the timing,it's much less snappy and less likely to stall.

Blimey it's dropped a grand in about 24hrs ...7 more days at that rate and I might be able to afford it!