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Glad to se you finally made it over here, Bob! It's nice to hear all about the SY125 development straigh from the one doing it. I guess we'll see you guys at the Nationals on Saturday; don't know which section I'll be checking but I'll be there along with the SY! I'm looking forward to the chance to check out what you've done with the 125 after the day's activities...

Eric, I checked the fork tubes and they're at 5.2mm from the top of the clamp to the top of the tube (caliper against the bottom of the cap). Can't see anyplace to drain the oil unless there's a drain screw accessible via the axle hole (not likely). I guess you have to turn the m up to do the job. I can't tell anything about the trans oil via the drip test; guess I'll just have to ask Bob Ginder what they put in it when he prepped it for me. Whatever it is, it seems to shift fine with no problems finding neutral (yet). I was swapping the water pump/radiator hose this afternoon & hoping to get my CF water pump housing guard soon; that thing doesn't care for the rocks at all! Hope you're having fun on your bike; min's a blast!

Hi Eric, Been too busy working on the Jeep to do much with the SY (had to re-gear the rear & install a locker) but hope to get a bit of time to prep it for some riding this weekend. I'll try & look at some of the stuff you mentioned & see if I can give you any answers. I can measure the fork tube drop for sure, will try & get an idea what the gear lube is since everything on the bike is as it came from the dealer. I've only had the chance to ride it in one event and a bit in the yard thanks to other distractions, but have yet to experience the shifting issue you mention. Maybe I'm not as sensitive to it since I'm coming from my 97 Techno (which was extremely picky about it's gears and fluids), but I found it's shifting quite easy and predictable. BTW, my Techno had a Rev3 bottom end in it, so it wasn't just due to it being an old motor & gearbox. I also just checked to see if there was anything in the manual about the forks; NADA! Interesting how that part of the bike got left out, isn't it?

I wouldn't know; I'm still waiting on my Long-Ride kit to arrive! You'd think it was on a slow boat from China instead of France; ordered it in late summer last year and got the bike in November. Still waiting for the seat/tank which was ordered the same time as the bike... I have heard it should be here soon; maybe this week I'll get lucky?

Be sure to get the CF waterpump guard for yours before you take it out in the rocks; I sliced my hose right at the inlet during my first event on it. I still LOVE the bike, just wish that the pump guard (which protects that portion of the hose as well), heat shields and flat skid plate came on it stock... I'll also be thrilled when my seat/tank combo FINALLY gets here on the slow boat! I've got some serious trail riding to do when it does.

I believe mine were set at 6 and 7 per the manual; I thought it seemed a bit odd that the rear was to be higher than the front! My front end stuck pretty well, biggest problem was traction with all of the mud. The rear didn't want to grip & it's probably due to the pressure being too high. That it behaved as well as it did is testament to how good the bike is! I've got to finish cleaning & reassembling it before I can try out the pressures you recommended, but I'll let you know when I do. Thanks for the help!

I'm really happy to hear that, Dave. I was working a clean when I nicked the rock & the hose started spewing; cost me a five because I shut it down & jumped off to push the last 3 feet or so out of the section & get it on it's side before all of the coolant ran out. I will be thrilled when I get the CF goodies for the bike and can feel a bit more confident about the ride home... BTW, that was my first event with the Scorpa & it went pretty well (all things considered). I hadn't even had it out on a trail yet so the whole time was a learning experience. I pulled a stupid that morning in all of the excitement & forgot to eat; couldn't figure out why I was having all of that stomach cramping during the loop. I had a bit of cold cereal at 6AM & didn't eat until 3PM, go figure!!! In spite of this and my muscles being out of whack from lack of practice, it was the first event since I rode in early 2000 where my second loop score was close to my first! In all actuality, it would have been three under the first loop had I not taken the five on that last section to keep from having to make a long walk back to the paddock. I'm still learning the way it behaves and probably had too much air in the tires as well, so I'm very encouraged by the possibilities it holds. My next event is in March and I hope to be more familiar with the bike by then; looking forward to seeing what I can do with it!

Ishy, it was frozen when we arrived that morning & thawed well by the time the day was done! we'd recently had a front come through dumping rain & then freezing it just to store up the nastiness for the event! John B., the reason you haven't been able to find the sticker is the same reason the bike shown doesn't have one. The first batch of them didn't stick! I was told they came without glue or that the glue didn't hold them on; that's why that bike looks so white! If you throw the seat pad on it to break up the white it probably wouldn't look quite so odd. It definitely looked like it had a white fence slat stuck into it's rump! BTW, those pics were while the bike was still clean and had only been ridden around in the paddock. I didn't get any of it afterwards because it blended in so well with it's surroundings you couldn't see it!

From another angle...

Here's a snap of the bike Bob G. had at Cartersville this past weekend; it looked to have the same suspension as the SY250 Racing model and Bob said they behaved much the same handling-wise. He too mentioned the clutch action as needing improvement, but was quite happy with the machine's overall performance. I'm trying to get him hooked up over here so he can answer questions about it first hand.

Bob Ginder had the Competition 125 that just arrived in the states at the trial in Cartersville, GA this weekend and rode it in what has to be the stickiest mud (north Ga red clay) that I've ever ridden in. The little 125 didn't seem to have any shortage of power and was going everywhere anyone else riding his class was. It almost looked like he had an easier time of it than some of the folks on larger bikes as it hooked up very well. Hopefully, he'll show up over here and give you a first-hand account of his first event on it! He's doing development work with Mike Komer on the 143cc & 160cc engine kits and so ended up with the first of the Competition/Racing models to hit the states (Mike didn't even see it, just swapped shipping labels & sent it on!). He only picked it up at the terminal on Thursday morning, so he didn't really even have any time to get it sorted out to suit him before this Sunday's event. Even so, he had a BIG grin on his face by the end of the day!!!

Dave, How far around the bend on the coolant hose does the CF guard go? I had my first event this weekend and ended the day in the last section of my 2nd loop when I clipped the hose on a rock! No damage to the pump housing but the hose got sliced pretty cleanly right on the edge of the fitting. I was able to kill it without loosing too much coolant; laid it on it's side and cut the hose in the middle of the damage and was able to stretch the hose just enough to fit it back to return to the paddock. I'm gonna have to get together a spares kit for this bike (let the one I had for the Techno go with it)... BTW, here's a snap of it after the day's riding; maybe the bike sensed I was ready to quit for the day anyway...

I haven't seen the works bikes; where can I find some pictures to check out that rear muffler guard? The more I can find to protect against dents & damage, the better off my bike will be!

I can only compare the demo ride I had on the 03 Long Ride & Competition models to my 04 Competiton; even then the time that has elapsed between that ride and my bike's delivery makes it hard to compare. The suspension sure seems much livelier and the balance superb; the power delivery certainly is more even than my `97 Techno. I'm able to do stuff on the Scorpa that wasn't possible (for me, anyway) on it because of the differences between them. As a developing rider (second step up the class ladder), I needed something that doesn't care where I am on the bike for traction and has smooth & predictable power delivery (a very progressive clutch doesn't hurt, either). I knew I wanted one when I rode the 03 models, just couldn't buy one then. I sure am glad I was able to buy one this time around!

We've seen the sharp CF water pump guard Dave posted; how about any other CF stuff for the bike? Dave, it looked as though you also had some CF (or CF look stikkies) on your tank; what about a CF exhaust header heat shield? I'd like to know what's out there for the fellow with the unlimited wallet (not me! ) . I haven't really seen any place that lists the goodies available or where they can be found. The Tryals Shop site shows some fancy fork tube/slider guards & anodized flat bash plates. Where is all of the CF stuff hiding out?

Alan, Given my experience with the Huntsville Trials Club and the STRA, I'd have to say that the biggest difference is the larger geographical area that most of the clubs you mentioned as having good longevity have allows for a larger body of enthusiasm to draw from. When the members of HTC are enthusiastic about riding and their livelihood doesn't interfere with trials activities, we've got a great group that has a lot of fun and can organize nicely into a very efficient unit. The problem with this is as you stated before; one or more key members gets waylaid by other circumstances (or burned-out by their role) and the club goes into hibernation. With the larger region to pull members from, the STRA has a better chance of distributing the workload and the management of the club among the membership talent without running them off. That's not to say it hasn't happened even with the larger clubs; it just means that the likelihood of finding someone capable of replacing the key members is better because of the larger pool to draw from. I may be way off base here, but that's the way I see it from my admittedly limited experience in the trials community. That said, I hope that the HTC will be resurrected this year (if only in a limited manner) as a few of us start riding again. I know I'm looking forward to riding in more STRA events this year than I have since the 2000 season & am really enjoying playing around on my new Scorpa. Now if I can just get the endurance back up to decent levels so that I'm not having to be pushed along the loop to finish events (unlike last year)...

Ya'll must have been really good! I got a new bike back in November, but I had to pay for it... I did get a couple of sets or riding pants/jerseys to go with it and the complete set of Trials TV DVDs under the tree, so maybe I wasn't such a bad boy this year after all!

I have to wonder if it wasn't just a cost based decision considering that Mike K. ran a flat skid plate last year without incident; no changes means no tooling costs and being able to use the parts already in stock from last year. With the manufacturers trying to keep costs down as much as possible due to the exchange rate changes, I can see this being the case. With the move to 4-stroke bikes coming in 05, it would also make economic sense to use up any parts in stock that might not fit the newer motor. The flat plate probably fits the 4-stroke fine and is retrofittable for anyone that would end up needing a replacement; that would keep them from being stuck with any parts that no one would buy (since they would most likely just move to a flat plate on replacement anyway). Has anyone on the board ridden a bike with the flat plate for any length of time to be able to share the differences in protection and rideability? I can see where it would be easier to balance on the flat plate; will it give any better water pump protection or will I still need to get/make a guard for that? I'm trying to get the bike outfitted the way I want it before I start the season & end up bashing something that I could have protected in the first place. I'm figuring on the flat plate & the neoprene tube protectors for starters; maybe the shorty levers as well as some bar ends will finish out the package... how about it?

Thanks for the series of pics! They show quite well how it's done. I wondered about doing this but didn't think it would be necessary on my 04 with the "new design" skidplate. It seems, however, that my bike doesn't have the new skidplate! I'll have to look into it a bit deeper & if it turns out that I'm stuck with the old design then I'll have to do like Boofont & add a water pump shield on (might still be required with the new design as well).

Oh yeah, here's a close-up picture of the 04 engine & skid plate from the Tryals Shop's own page; doesn't look a thing like my bike's plate!

The info on the Tryals Shop website listed a flat skid plate for 04, yet the one on my 04 looks to be the same as the formed plate on the 03. Can anyone else with an 04 verify that they used the same plate or that mine has the wrong plate? There's a picture of the right side of mine for reference below. Looking at the water pump guard that Boofont added to his bike makes me wonder how some folks are using a coil mount from a Beta for this purpose. Anyone got any pics of that installation (or is that what you used, Boofont)? :santawink:

I don't know about the current crop of bikes other than my new Scorpa, but it sure is more flickable than Frankenfender (97 Techno) ever dreamed of being! I tried all sorts of different settings on it but was never able to get past that "heavy" feeling with it. Last Sunday I got a bit of time on the SY to play in the back yard (just got the brace off my right wrist a week ago & didn't want to push my luck) and it was a blast. I could move the front & rear ends around equally well and with much less effort than my old Beta took. Talk about a confidence booster! I'm really looking forward to getting it out in the woods and doing more than figure eights & bouncing around in the back yard... It just amazes me how much difference there is between the two bikes; "modern" trials has taken on a whole new meaning for me!