steve

This was my first 'proper' Road Trial in about 15 years and was a very enjoyable day. I entered and rode as Class D which was over 40's (first Trial as an old git). I did ride the hard route on the elected sections and dropped 6 of my 7 marks lost on just two of those sections. I think these sections were necessary to sort out the winners as the other 35 sections were all very cleanable with a little concentration. Like Woody mentioned I also witnessed several riders riding the wrong route, some of the discussions overheard at the first of these sections was a little worrying as they didn't even know which class they had entered! I was one of the riders excluded from the first set of results with a section missing but this was later amended. I haven't seen any list of awards or places with the results though, is this as they are still trying to decide what to do?

The biggest problem most people have when hopping the rear is losing balance when it lands. What you need to do is from stationary let yourself and the bike fall to the side but instead of putting your foot down try to hop the back wheel over to regain your balance (just like you would do if you were standing on one leg). Step by step then (hop to right)- Front brake on, bars turned slightly left. let the bike unbalance to right. Compress rear suspension with legs As suspension moves up help by dropping clutch slightly and moving weight forwards. Hop wheel to right to 'regain balance' Simple!

How do I get to the start? I'm coming up the M1 from down south.

Are there any results up anywhere from the Xtreme enduro at Tong yet? Interested to see how Dougie and Graham got on against David Knight.

Did a couple of short stints first for Martin Crosswaite then Graham Jarvis 98/99ish.

Hmmm, good question. Not sure about Raga, Bou etc now but when I was minding the rider would normally have 3 or 4 bikes at any time but only ride the best one. This would normally have old plastics and wheels / tyres etc.. fitted for practice then before a big Trial be fully stripped and all the good / new stuff fitted. Certainly a new rear and good as new front tyre. Perhaps new middle box and silencer or repacked. The 'best' bike would perhaps be used for only a few weeks though before a new one bought and prepared. The old one might be kept for minder use then one of the others would be tarted up and sold. Not always a bad buy to be honest as often it'll have std new forks / shocks etc... fitted back on in place of the 'factory' items. Of course it all deponds on the teams, budget and strength/quality of the bike as how often the bikes and parts are replaced.

Fantastic, glad you enjoyed your ride. It's always tough choosing which bike to buy so when you finally get to ride it and love it then all those fears and anxieties just disappear. Now you can get on with enjoying your riding.

Awesome

I think you're missing the point here. I think it's a very good question and something that will compliment conventional practice. Something for those long cold dark winter evenings. I do believe that better balance will help your Trials. At my best I had really good balance on the bike and this really helped my trick riding style. I never really realised how good my balance was compared to other non-trials riding friends until I went bowling one night! Ok it didn't help my bowling but at the alley they had a surf board on hydraulic rams. All my work mates tried it and promptly fell off within seconds. I was eventually persuaded to try it but was a little apprehensive, I needn't have been as I found it really easy and the operator couldn't shake me of no matter how hard he tried! He asked if I was a regular surfer, no I replied - never been surfing in my life! I also managed to win cash at the country fair climbing up a pivoting wire rope ladder to ring a bell. So back to the question - how do we train our sense of balance? Answer - Err, in truth I don't know!!! Having a little think though how about one of these - wiki - balance board I made one at work once with an old builders plank and the head off a paviours maul. It seems to have been devoloped and given a name - INDO BOARD How about you do some yoga or join the local Ballet group!! Have a look on you tube for balance training also. I'm with you Scooterspal and will be working hard to improve my balance now I'm riding again after a long lay off. Those that don't think it's necessary then fine. Don't do it!

Quick glace to the left shows he rides a 290 Beta. That'd be my guess!

I did actually try to ring them on Friday afternoon (it's the obvious thing to do) but I had just missed them, I was interested in looking at a bike today and wondered if anyone on here knew. There has been much discussion on here about the faults, there is no question about sorting bikes under warranty, some of the bikes would be 2 years old now.

Hi, Could anyone please tell me if John Lampkin is still replacing cracked frames and swinging arms on 2009 bikes. If so do you know how long for? I am looking to buy an Evo and not sure which bike to go for? I am concerned that if I buy a 2009 model that hasn't had the frame replaced it perhaps won't be long before it cracks. I was going to wait to buy a tidy 2010 or even a new 2011 but now have plans for a Twinshock bike aswell!! The lesser cost of a 2009 would enable me to get both bikes. Thanks, Steve.

I found that if I compressed the fork legs on my Gas Gas with a ratchet strap it would wheel straight into the back of My Ford Galaxy people carrier with no need for any dismantling of the bike. The bike goes in front wheel in first and is a perfect fit with the rear mudguard just clearing the boot. I made this rack to hold the bike securely. It simply clips into the slots in the floor where the middle seat would be. What do you think? Only thing is I've now sold the Galaxy and bought a van!

If that's supposed to be a promotional video then it's the worst I've ever seen. I don't think they warmed the bike up well but the carburation sounded awful. Fluffing and rich when revved. Also I'm not sure if it was just the poor sound quality but I thought the engine sounded a bit rattley - like a 5 year old Gas Gas might sound after the Scott! Not impressed at all.

Thank you for posting on here. I really hope the low life are caught. I was actually watching this ebay item as I live nearby and am looking for a new bike! I had only said to the missus tonight that it looked a bit dodgy. The fact it was advertised as a Trails bike plus the chain not being through the loop. Only a serious Trials rider would buy a new bike and they would firstly know how to spell Trials and secondly know how to put a chain on! I was planning to ring the guy tonight to have a chat, get his name etc... If he was a genuine rider I would have know of him, if not I was going to steer well clear. Lucky escape. I feel for the poor guy who's lost his bike but also for the unsuspecting buyer. Lets all be vigilant at Trials and see if we can recover this bike.

Thanks guys but what is the potential for Trials?

I'll send it when your Beta arrives here !!! I've zoomed in on the engine no to try and help ID I was always under the impression it was a 500cc?

Hi all, This is one of my Dad's old bikes and I was wondering if anyone could help identify it? Could it be the base for a decent Trials bike, In particular the engine? I'm not sure what to do with the bike at the moment and wondered if there was any potential? Thanks.

Historically I think there were many riders with Fantic contract that took a pay cut!!!!

I had this problem on a nearly new 1996 Techno. A call to Lampkins put me straight. It was simply water ingress at the connection with the big black box under the tank cover. I took the plug apart and blew out with an airline, reassembled with plenty of WD40 - sorted. As regular maintenance I paid particular attention to keeping that connection dry and coated in WD40 and never had another problem for the 2 or 3 years I kept the bike.

Probably, but they have lovely clutch control that make up for it !!!

can you post a link please?

Very neat. I like the internal routing for the water hoses. Filler cap is sensible and should have been there day 1! White frame looks great but for me I prefer silver rims and shiny spokes! There's not many Sherco's in our centre so I'm waiting for Malc to give me a ring!

What's wrong with using a gasket scraper?

Most of the 'universal' ones for sale are copies of the original Yamaha ones so will look pretty authentic. Have a look at this one - universal kill switch on Ebay