hrmad

Thanks for the advice. But there are circumstances where you have to pull the clutch in otherwise you'll stall, like a descent with a camber turn. I went out practicing today and used both the technique of engine braking without clutch and light use of both brakes as well as clutch in, hard on the front brake, light on the rear. Clutch out worked better on longer descents, it was simply easier to let the bike bounce down a slippery, wet and muddy bank than to use the brakes heavily. If you've got to throw the bike into a tight turn at the bottom of a bank pulling the clutch in seems to help. You can't really go super slow down a descent with the clutch out without risking stalling, it's not so bad if you've got a good run off. Horses for courses. I've learned something new about MTB, I thought downhill guys had their asses right on the rear of the bike! Thanks again

Hi, My name is Heather Too young to know better. I live in lovely wet Wales in the UK. I work as a clothing merchandiser at the moment, used to work in catering both as a chef and front of house as a waitress. My ambition is to sell paintings and drawings as a means of living, I'm still working on that. I enjoy horse riding with my mum and also enjoy riding a road bike quick, hehe. Other than that, trials is awesome! Getting better all the time, this is a long term game that's for sure!

Thanks for the advice everyone. I do feel more comfortable pulling the clutch in and using the brakes, I feel like I've got more control over the speed that way. If there is a clear run off then using the engine braking and feathering the brakes seems like a good idea. Thanks again

Having trouble with downhills... Do you pull the clutch in and just use brakes? Or leave the clutch out and use engine braking? I've been getting conflicting advice from different people, not sure what to do. I find I tend to stall the bike down hill with the clutch out, but my friends say keeping the clutch in will make it more likely to lock up the rear wheel...

wow, he's awesome. Puts the rest of us to shame, haha!

Should be able to use just clutch on the flat with very tight turns. Front brake is useful turning on a hill, as is the rear in this situation. Some people do use front and rear brakes for slow speed stuff, experiment, watch some videos on the subject and find what works for you.

Pick a colour? They're all bound to have their own pros and cons

Maybe look for a second hand one that has been maintained for competitions? Bikes depreciate a lot, you could probably get one a couple of years old for a lot less than a new bike. Plus new bikes off the shelf seem to need modifications any ways, at least that's the impression I get on these forums

Hi Burns. Spark plugs are lasting longer, cleaning out the motor more frequently. Can't get the rear brake lever where I'd like it, slightly above the peg and difficult to cover. She's also stalling down hills with the clutch pulled in, I've just been giving her a little bit of throttle to try to keep her going, so might need to fiddle with the clutch take up. Need new foot pegs when I can afford it, they are a little rounded and sloping downwards. There is also a slight delay with the power sometimes, I noticed it when practising wheelies. You can give her some throttle, release the clutch and sometimes nothing happens for 5 seconds or so. But at least it's running!

Sounds like a good plan mags, make sure you get all the legalities sorted out first though. Wish you all the best with the land

Thanks Dadof2, I'll give saddle soap a go. It's difficult to know what to use with white boots.

Hi all, I have recently bought some white alpinestars no stop trials boots. I ride a lot in streams and muddy conditions, at the moment I just wash off the boots with warm water and some cream cleaner at home. Not sure if this is good for longevity. I just wanted to ask how people look after their boots, do you guys use oil or saddle soap? Or just soapy water? Ta, Heather

You're right, got to get the slow speed control down and basic turns. I'm 24, I wish I had discovered trials when I was younger. Compared to someone who started in their early teens they've already got ten years more experience than I have. Plus when you get older you're a little less fearless I suppose. Saying that, just gotta keep trying, getting there slowly

Thanks, it's great you stuck at it and improved over the years. I think I underestimated it a bit thinking I could enter a trial with only a months experience. It was certainly a hard but good lesson to learn. Thankfully I've got a friend with a trials bike who is also a beginner but is braver than me and will try out lines I didn't think to try! He's given me a lot more confidence to attempt obstacles and it's great to have a friend to practice with.

Woods are especially difficult on a wet day, and this time of the year too with all the leaves on the ground, leaves can hide a lot... Rocks seem to be about confidence, a decent amount of speed/ momentum, smoothness and body positioning. Hell, a lot of things seem to be about that, but it's easier said than done. Thanks for the encouragement Hey Mags. That looks like quite a drop off, it's surprising how intimidating they are when you're on the bike and faced with the obstacle. You can do all the reading, watch all the videos but it's a different matter actually carrying out a technique. Going down hill, turning and going back up isn't so bad. It's turning maybe near the top of the hill to go back down is the problem, getting your weight in the right place is hard, at least turning into the hill the tyre has something to bite against, if you get what I mean? Good job Cindy was wearing a helmet when that happened, glad she was alright. A few years down the line, you never know thanks

I feel the same way about the trial I went to, in that I've got more of an idea of the level of difficulty. It's amazing what some of the boys on the twin shocks and classics consider easy (I think one of them laid out the course, not 100% sure) and make look so easy when they go round. I'm going to try some hills tomorrow, starting with easier grassy banks with plenty of run off at the bottom, to the more difficult, root and stone filled kind. It is an illogical irrational type of fear, just got to try to tackle it without throwing myself too much into the deep end. Turning on a camber is also awful, because as I turn I can feel my weight drop to the inside and fear toppling over the bike and down the hill. I'll need to practice turns on a camber too. Awesome, you know your bike and have confidence in yourself. And gotta love a Beamish, I really like the old school bikes. A friend let me have a put about his garden on a BSA, I think it was a 350, not 100% sure as I don't know classics. Very nicely set up though Hey Dave, thanks for the input and encouragement. Sounds like your first trial was similar to mine, some of the drops and turns were quite intimidating on the blue route, I wasn't confident I could do them without hurting myself on a descent. Don Smith 4 marks only, and on an expert route presumably? Wow, that's cool. There is another trial on new years eve, I'm going to attempt it, apparently it's a very muddy one, at least any potential landing will be soft. I'm a bit weary of something labelled 'dead easy' now. The way I see it the only way I can fail is if I quit, which I have no intention of doing. I'd love to be at Emma Bristows level, even if it takes me 10 years to get there! thanks, Heather

That's awesome! Is it all about confidence? It was great to watch the expert riders warm up before a section, they were doing rolling stoppies, wheelies, launching off banks etc. And they all looked relaxed and were really moving around on the bikes. Hats off to you and your son, fair play Thanks Dan the people on this site have been really nice and helpful, it's great to feel welcomed. When I used to crash on my xr 125 off road I tended to go with the bike, these days I just try to save myself a bit more. Thanks for the encouragement, Heather My biggest problem right now is overcoming my fear of down hills, it' a big problem. Off to practice this morning, basics again

tjp, thanks, sounds like trials in your area are of a similar difficulty to mine. If you asked me if I wanted to go back to the quarry the next day for another go I would say yes, that's reason enough to continue Hi Wayne, sounds like you've had a really good experience. I wish they offered an easier route for beginners locally like you've described, the novice blue route on Sunday shared some of the same route as the clubman and expert lines, the only difference being the severity of the turns and climbs. I wish I would have attempted at least the first section, but had problems with fuel coming out of the carb after a crash. A tap with the plug spanner didn't work, fixed her when I got home though. I found out the same Sunday, trials is a lot more challenging than it looks, especially when you see how natural some of the riders are and how easy they make it look. I do feel more confident down the woods now and am attempting hills I wouldn't entertain before, so progress is being made. It's a really good point you've made about confidence. For sure I'll stick with it, there is another trials on new years eve I want to enter. By all accounts its a muddy one, but this time I'll have more practice under my belt and a better idea of difficulty As always thanks Mags. Sounds like you've had some good times on motorcycles Fair play to all the practice and the results at your second trial, you both did awesome! I thought I was too late starting at 23, a lot of people start when they are a kid. I think what your wife is doing is really cool, takes some doing getting on a bike to begin with! Is she going to try a road bike in the future?

Hi all, I went to my first trial on Sunday at a quarry, I've only had my bike for around a month. Got my numbers then went to look at the sections, they were too difficult and intimidating to attempt. One of the riders told me not to attempt the course and to try the conducted route instead. Initially I wanted to give the adult route a go, so lined up with the other riders. They were practicing riding up and down a stony bank, so I thought to myself 'that looks easy, lets give it a go', this ended in charging up the bank, launching into a wheelie at the top and thoroughly embarrassing myself by forgetting the rear brake and ending up on the floor. I then heeded the advice given and had a go on the conducted route, apparently only meant for 80cc bikes. I waited for the kids to finish the course, then had a good practice doing the sections both in order and in reverse. I felt like there was a bit of stigma attached to riding a 'kids' course, but to be honest I really am a complete beginner, a years experience on a road bike hasn't helped with trials much at all, apart from where the controls are. And a lot of kids are awesome at trials! I did attempt the first part of the 'easy' section, got to the top of the bank, saw the drop I knew was coming the other side and lost my nerve. Bike went backwards, I bailed. All in all, a pretty embarrassing experience. The course was a lot harder/ intimidating than I thought it would be, considering it was labeled 'dead easy'. What was everyone else's first trial like?

I plan on having no responsibilities, hehe. I hear you on the work front though. I need all the practice I can get!

15.5cc as accurate as I can be

I've got permission from two local farmers and can also ask a club member to use his land. It's pretty good, I feel like there is more of a bias again motorcross/ enduro bikes down here, especially where green laning/ trail riding is involved. Plenty of competitions about within a couple of hours driving, which is nice. When I can afford it I'll get her on the road and out on the lanes, will be interesting to see reactions to a bike with no seat! Can you afford to move Mags? Or buy some land local to you? Your situation is pretty difficult, being able to practice 2 or 3 times a week makes a big difference to learning.

I usually put 1L petrol in a milk carton, use a syringe to measure out the oil and then mix it in with the petrol- then immediately add it to the bike. Definitely switching choke off, checked the choke too when we took apart the carb, working fine. The bike is much better than it was, I'm happy with it for this Sunday, will just have to bring some spare plugs and a spanner if she bogs down. Will try to sort out any niggles over the coming months.

The plug was black again this morning, lasted longer this time, worked fine again with a fresh plug. Sigh, an ongoing battle- It'll have to wait till next month if I get paid, haha! With the help of a friend put a new throttle cable on there, new front brake pads and master cylinder, brakes much better, no longer squeaking and work as they should! Exhaust packing is a possible fix. I use MX5 premix, might try Rock Oil instead- maybe it will make a difference. Beyond that is jetting. The simplest thing to try would be to rev the bike now and again to get rid of un-burnt fuel, I'll try to remember to do this on the next outing.

Sorry to hear that, I guess buying any bike used some adjustments should be expected. And yes, the bike is running much better, nicer to ride now. Just need a working front brake, haha! Hopefully will get the parts and get it sorted on Friday