michael_t

up and over have plain black... http://www.upandovertrials.com/pants/

This is a conversation between a man & his wife. Please note that she asks 5 or 6 questions which he answered quite simply, but then she is speechless after answering only one question. l bet this happens more often than not to most husbands out there; I'm just saying...... Critical Thinking At Its Best! Woman: Do you drink beer? Man: Yes Woman: How many beers a day? Man: Usually about 3 Woman: How much do you pay per beer? Man: $5.00 which includes a tip (This is where it gets scary !) Woman: And how long have you been drinking? Man: About 20 years, I suppose Woman: So a beer costs $5.00 and you have 3 beers a day which puts your spending each month at $450.00. In one year, it would be approximately $5400.00 correct? Man: Correct Woman: If in 1 year you spend $5400.00, not accounting for inflation, the past 20 years puts your spending at $108,000.00 correct? Man: Correct Woman: Do you know that if you didn't drink so much beer, that money could have been put in a step-up interest savings account and after accounting for compound interest for the past 20 years, you could have now bought a Ferrari? Man: Do you drink beer? Woman: No. Man: Where's your Ferrari?

Great to hear a new voice on the matter and one with experience and numbers to share. I totally agree having the few remaining riders fighting over who is right or wrong isn't doing anybody any good. Anything anybody can do to grow the sport by getting new riders out is critically important. If your club already has its own insurance just start having events. Especially If you are in PEI or Nfld where there currently are not any events being held, if there is no provincial organization or club with insurance reach out to the WTC for coverage and start having events. We also need to figure out how to get those who want to ride at the world level up to that level and have the FIM backing to do so... that is a very small number of people (less than 10?) so we will need to be very creative in how we can support them without expecting every new rider to pony up for something that doesn't really matter that much to them. IMO if the sport can work together we should be able to provide something for everyone. We just need to keep chipping away at building something great.

http://www.therideadvice.com/vertigo-ursus-takes-off-road-riding-in-a-new-direction/

During a training session a few weeks ago I realized a great little practice for dumping the clutch to give a good zap... I was actually using it for doing splatters but find it can be fun for a lot of situations. Drive along in second gear at half throttle pull in the clutch all the way leaving the throttle at half throttle just coast along with the engine revving for a second or so then start your wheelie as you usually would bend knees compress fork on rebound the front wheel starts coming up then just let go of the clutch. If you use a kicker it helps your timing and with starting the wheelie and you get more lift. I never did get the double blip as my brain can't process 2 blips yet... but I felt this was a great start for getting used to the bike launching on command. Caution - near the end of the day I was getting tired so my brain was fading I figured I would try this new trick to hop over a 2X4 on edge in a grassy field I came rolling up on it then compressed the front wheel just before the 2X4 and when the front wheel rebounded I tossed my whole body forward and upward to hop over the little obstacle... only problem was I forgot to tell my clutch finger the plan so the bike stayed put and I pulled just about every muscle in my body all at once .

I believe there is a need for both (a low cost option for those who just want to give it a try or have a more laid back experience AND a FIM internationally affiliated sport group) but the need should be explainable and the 2 should work together to improve the sport for everyone. I have been pushing this idea for years here in Canada as we also have 2 organizing bodies that always seem to be at odds and seem to lack communication skills. There are those that think if you got rid of the low cost option everyone would be forced to pour their support and $ into the FIM option and that level of support would drive great growth in the sport. My experience has been if you try to force people into doing something they don't want they just stay home.

I suppose if you wanted to get really fancy you could use a self leveling camera mount to keep the light pointed in the right spot and dampen it so it doesn't bounce all over the place... a fun winter project.

I think it is worth going with a helmet light if you are riding rough trails. Better to have the light pointed where you plan on going instead of where the bike headlight may be pointed, this especially noticeable when you wheelie it is great for lighting up the trees but I find it better to be able to see what you are actually headed for...

are you saying the standard light is not powerful enough for night riding? - LOL I use 400W light to lighten up my backyard to practice this time of year.

I wear varifocal glasses and hadn't given it much thought but I have been wearing glasses since I was 10 so at 53 they aren't something I give much thought to. I switched to varifocals about the same time I took up trials (6 years ago) which may be why I never thought about them but I am tempted to try distance glasses and see if that is why I am having so much trouble figuring out the darn double blip my mind might be too busy figuring out how close the rock is to have time to figure out what my clutch finger is doing

that is awesome! makes you want to go out in the shop and knock one together .

I agree. I had an EC200 and a TXT200 and they had very different power plants. Unlike the fact that my Sherco X-Ride 290 and ST250 have pretty much the same engine. From my experience I would say a trials engine really isn't well suited for a full on racing enduro bike. They however are a lot of fun in a light weight trail bike that can run on the road if needed.

That is strange I emailed them about gloves I bought from them because they ripped when I took a tumble into some rough stuff... emailed me right back and sold me a new pair at a discount... very good to deal with. I am very happy with the pants I tossed them through the wash yesterday and they are looking like new. And no I did not put on a pile of weight for our Canadian winter, I have protective gear on under my jacket...

I had a yellow GG and they had silver and white... lots of colour options. Torrot already had electric bikes before buying GG. I believe the Torrot bike is a real bike and somewhat similar to the EM bikes that you can already buy here in North America. The GG bike seems like more of a mock up of what people would like to see in an electric trials bike with a real clutch. the EM clutch is more of an off switch which I feel is better than nothing. I was a little involved with a local university project building an electric trials bike and it had no clutch and you really do miss it.

I hear the 300RR is coming to Canada this year... great to see Honda ramping up the trials market in North America.

I have heard from somebody visiting the show that the bike appears to be more of a concept than a real thing at this point. Although the Torrot bike next to it seems to be a real bike.

Yep it is a sherco thing... they should put it in their manual... although it isn't a problem if you ride a couple of times a week .

too bad Jim has been banned, it would be helpful if he could weigh in on his video...

worth it to get a Vertigo... but I think the question was is it worth it to pay the extra for the Ti version. I think it boils down to the fact that it is worth it to those that can afford it - it is all relative there are those that pay $1,800 extra to have metalic paint on their range rover instead of regular paint... is it worth it?

Another difference is that trials boats have good tread and are lighter for walking over rough terrain, more like a hiking boot. Walking sections in MX boots can be tough. Gaerne are very comfortable I went for the Gortex ones as I enjoy having dry feet especially when it is cold. As noted on a recent thread the Wolfsport seem to be a good lower cost option. For the price of the Gaerne you could probably fly somewhere to try on a pair of Wolfsport. I live in Canada but bought my boots in the UK... I almost went for the Hebo boots with the fancy tightener but figured Gortex for the same amount was a better buy.

Or your ego... I always think these things wouldn't happen if I was a better rider - big blow to the ego when they do (and they always do ).

There are a number of videos on the proper kicking action which does make a big difference for GG bikes. Jim Snell had a good one but he is banned from this forum but there are others out there like this one: https://youtu.be/cmdJAKEdYAY

Pretty sure my Mrs would be ok with me getting a new bike if I made $425k on a house flip... assuming she got a new $15k bobble for her jewelry box - LOL !

It seems to me the volume would be small... there are only so many people who would be willing to sell a rental property for a trials bike. Although if I can't resolve a current rodent issue I may do just that LOL !

This sounds very familiar... would I be correct to guess ACU is affiliated with FIM and AMCA isn't ? ...