michael_t

So are you saying the importer is selling 2018 bikes to customers for circa 5k or selling them to the dealers for that? My understanding is that dealers typically make about $1k and importer makes about the same so at the end of the year if they decide to dump their bikes without making any profit between the 2 of have lots of room to move.. good for people who don't mind having a year old bike... not great for trade in value if not.

Very similar to the NHL Hockey teams not letting their players play in the Olympics as it disrupts their season... In some ways it helps level the playing field a bit for other countries and returns it more to an amateur sporting event but there will always be that argument of it not being the best of the best (which wasn't really the original intent it was amateur only for the longest time)..

I was referring to the comment about Red Bull not sponsoring the British World round... but I suppose that is a bit off topic. Lots of sponsors pour money into Olympic sports without having to have their logo on an athlete. It may very well be that everyone has to ride the same bike (like sailors sailing Lazers or 49ers). Wonder how happy Yamaha would be if everyone was riding the TY-E. Having all athletes on the same bike may (or may not) effect the outcome certainly wouldn't be the first time people have thought about "what if everyone had the same bike?".

Did anybody ask Red Bull ???... funny thing about sponsors, usually somebody with a lot of passion has to ask them just the right way before the start forking over cash. People often assume somebody has been hard at it looking for sponsors but it isn't always the case... takes a certain type of person

Here in Canada none of the sailing events get any TV coverage - hopefully trials will fair better if they do get in... but sailing has been an actual Olympic sport for ever and Trials would be a new sport with no real corporate backing.

World Sailing has previously “locked in” five sailing events for 2024. These are the men’s Laser, women’s Laser Radial, men’s 49er, women’s 49erFX and the mixed Nacra 17. The Laser is the least technical and least expensive. My Brother bought a used 49er this summer tried sailing it twice and put it up for sale - He has sailed his whole life but the 49er is an absolutely crazy technical boat and the Nacra is even crazier. .

as per the article in the first post... "Paris will be able to showcase several non-Olympic sports consistent with the IOC’s criteria: young sports, open to men and women, sustainable, spectacular, practiced on all continents and requiring no new infrastructure." e-trials is certainly a young sport and meets all the other criteria as well. if you compare it to horse riding (especially when they where the only form of horse power) or think about the technology in things like bob sleds and modern day sail boats in the Olympics I really don't see this as a big stretch. I would caution though that having it become an Olympic sport will not automatically make it more popular... it will certainly help but only if people are willing to get more involved in promoting the sport than they are today. Currently trials in Canada is almost unknown but I am pretty sure it is still bigger than Biathlon (another sport I am involved with) which has even fewer people involved despite being an Olympic sport that is hugely popular in Europe.

minivans are pretty handy as well just pop out the middle seats don't even have to take off the front wheel. Really just depends what else you need the vehicle for.

I had friend who pulled his trials bike with his BMW cruising bike and found it to be a great way to travel. Similar to this setup:

I think by the time you built your frame and bought all the parts like brakes, forks, shocks, tank, plastics ... you would find things really added up, the gearing and clutch would not be ideal and your resale would be very low - but maybe a fun project none the less ?

Careful guys.... I was reading in a UK bike magazine yesterday about a guy who found a Honda TL250 on Craigslist in the US for a decent price so shipped it back to the UK... We already have enough of tough time finding good bikes we don't need the UK shipping them all out of the country

I would think it would be fine but you could ask your dealer. I never changed the coolant in my Sherco but I don't usually ride it much below -10c.

Yes -10c I typically don't ride colder than that as fingers on the leavers get really cold even through gloves. Petrol isn't an issue even at -40 (which is the same for C and F) but below -10 you need to start thinking about changing the jets - I suppose the EFI on the TW200 would actually be a benefit as far as that goes.

I was out riding yesterday at -10 and at that temperature even my Michelins can get pretty stiff. Riding on frozen ground can make it tougher than you might think... I made a silly error riding last winter and ended up falling over it wasn't anything drastic but I can tell you that falling onto frozen ground is nothing at all like falling on the ground in the summer. It really knocks the wind out of you and makes you ride a little more cautiously when in similar conditions

ahhh yes... now I remember why people outside the UK hesitate to post here.

People can ride whatever size bike they like here in Canada... I would guess that there are probably less than a dozen trials bikes in the whole country less than 175 cc. Just a very different mentality on this side of the Atlantic. I do agree with you that a 125 is plenty for most people but nobody ever listens to me ?. I really think this TW200 has enough power and is light enough for any adult starting out but that is just my opinion.

I don't think anybody is suggesting this as a replacement for an Oset to start kids on or really promoting it as a "youth" bike... sorry if I offended you by saying a KE100 wouldn't be the worse bike to start out on... I was really just saying that if your dad had put you on a modern 250 or 300 cc bike (wasn't really thinking about the smaller ones at the time as they are very rare here) you would have had a whole lot of different difficulties but maybe not... It really depends on what sort of 11yr old you were - everybody is different - different strokes for different folks.

First demo ride went well - apparently the fellow bought it after the demo :).

Well you have me there I have tried a new Beta 80 and it really is a brilliant little bike and would be great for a youth starting out ... but still don't think I would be complaining about learning to ride on a KE100 or were you bragging? - sorry but can be bit hard to tell sometimes. My point is that a few extra pounds (like 10 or 15) and a few less HP really should not hinder anybody starting out. I would suggest it is way better than what we see very often here in NA that people feel better to get the "best" so buy a 300cc factory edition... get tossed around and then decide trials isn't "fun". From what I have seen of this bike it certainly seems it could be a lot of "fun"

I would feel better about putting an 11 yr old on a 78 KE100 than putting one on a modern day trials bike... a little more weight and a little less power isn't the worse thing for a beginner … it was tough to stall those old bikes (you could slam on the brakes and they would just keep riding along - hahahah)

Resale is an issue and you will always lose less buying second hand but if you compare buying a 9 to 10k new bike that will be worth 4 to 6k in a couple of years to buying a $5.5k new bike there is little chance you will lose as much. If you can buy a good used bike and sell it for more than you paid for it after a few years of use that will always be your best deal (and what I have done in the past before biting the bullet and buying a brand new Sherco) but not always possible.

It really isn't that overweight and in Canada the most common place to sell stuff is on kijjij if you search all of Canada there are currently 20 used trials bikes for sale from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean (which is a huge area) only 10 of those bikes are newer than 2001. We can buy new Beta, GG, Montesa, Sherco, Scorpa, EM, TRS, Vertigo and now TW but finding a used bike for a good price is really tough. https://www.kijiji.ca/b-motorcycles/canada/trial/k0c30l0

I think they are both targeted to a similar buyer. The Sherco also has an inexpensive Chinese engine both have electric start the Sherco is air cooled the TW water cooled, TW has EFI...

Lots of chat on the ADV rider trials forum about this new bike. They just had a good showing at the Toronto motorcycle show and I am hoping the distributer will lend me one for motorcycle show here in Halifax. The Canadian market is very small compared to the UK and a reasonably priced starter bike may be a big help to the sport - there are lots of opinions on the subject but my opinion is that anybody trying to grow the sport is way better than anyone who sits back and complains about things without doing anything positive to help out.

Riding "events" is way more about riding for fun than it is about competition -everyone is "good enough" as you only have to be as good as you are... don't be shy give it a try you will most likely be surprised to find out just how much fun it can be even if you have never ridden a motorcycle before you can have good fun riding with like minded riders enjoying a day messing around on bikes.