4ourtea

Yep, heard that one myself a good few years ago! HSE and all that stuff... I suggest you pump the tyre up with a good few pounds in it and immerse it in a tank of water, preferably with a little washing up liquid in it. Lift it back out, be patient... you'll see the bubbles more easily when you then lift it out to look for the leak thanks to the w-up liquid. You can then stuff one of theose dog t*rds into the offending hole and seal it. Good luck!!

A mate of mine has got a Peugeot Expert 1.9 TDi van... absolutely fantastic. It has 3-man bench seat in front, 2 sliding side doors and usual 2 rear doors. Its pretty quick about the road, drives like a car, is comfortable and can easily accomodate 2 bikes plus kit... we've even had three in there for 250+ mile journeys and its still more than adequate. The Peugeot can also be found as a Fiat or a Citroen - same van different badges. Go for the diesel without fail. Other than that, you go for the obvious Transit/Merc Vito type. Hope you find a good 'un !!

This is unlikely to be a member of the public or one of the dreaded Ramblers Association... the culprit is likely as not .... good old DEFRA!!! EU and government legislation that was introduced 2 years ago is still doing the rounds and detering/preventing farmers from allowing non-agricultural uses on their land for more than a few days per year. The consequence of a farmer/landowner disobeying this is that his area aid payments ("subsidies" in plain speak) will cease to be paid to him by the government. As you can imagine, this would be a pretty catastrophic outcome for him, hence I imagine this hard-pressed trials-loving farmer is having to tread carefully at the moment. He wants to help trials (look what he's given in the past!!!) but he now has to consider his livelihood and keeping pennies rolling into his bank account. I'm afraid this is still going to prove tricky over years to come, so finding more plots of land will be necessary if thriving trials clubs are to keep going and practise areas are to be open to general use. This is not a new topic... remember the kick-up a couple of years ago?

This is a general call to anyone who knows where I can get a list of all the Nationals for 2007. I have usually been able to print off a list of all the dates for the Nationals in the trials calendar and thus book my weekends well in advance but this year I can't find such a list. Anyone help ????

I had various 315's ( 1998, 2001 & 2003) and the later the version, the better the bike. I disagree with the opinion that an '04 model is an experts bike... I tried one before going down the 4RT route and the '04 was no different to the '03 as far as grunt and wwhhoommppphhh are concerned. Build quality, reliability and ease of maintenance do not vary between an '01 and an '04 so I suggest (as per the previous scribbler) that you look at both, see which is less thrashed and base your decision on that. Do check the rear suspension for play. If you have to fit new bearings or shock absorber top mount bushes (or even both) expense will be incurred. Also check that the lower link has not been bashed on a rock (very vulnerable to this), because other pricey new parts will be needed to rectify this too. They were great bikes that were built well and hence you see old model 315's long after similarly aged other makes... a 2001 Mont. is worth something - not a statement you can make about certain other bikes!! Happy shopping!!!!!

The closing date for entries was today so I imagine you'll get notification in the post on Wednesday/Thursday. As for the trial... you're dead right... a brilliant event !!!! Proper sections, proper marking rules and proper scenery - worth travelling four and a half hours to ride in.

I completely agree with the pot hunter syndrome that plagues the Lyn Traders trial. I have ridden the event three times and have travelled three hours to the event with the philosophy that I am going there to have fun, and I do enjoy the ride. However, the award winners in the clubman class are the same people year after year and they are seriously good riders who would cope with the expert route. I know some will say that don't bother going there if all you want is a plastic trophy.. you can get them from a High Street shop if thats all you want. The point is, when you compete, you need to have something of a level playing field regarding fellow riders in the class. With no grading system, the whole "select your preferred class" leads to abuse of it when former centre champions end up claiming to be clubmen. After all, you don't see Steve Saunders riding the clubman route just because he's turned 40 years old !!!

If your mind is focusing on that six day trial in Fort William, then I can confirm that the YOU HAVE USED WORDS OR A PHRASE WHICH ARE NOT PERMITTED ON THIS WEBSITE. PLEASE DELETE YOUR POST/TOPIC. DO NOT TRY TO CIRCUMVENT THE FILTERS IN PLACE ON THIS WEBSITE number plate is more than man enough for it... the question is .... are you? The bikes I saw bearing the plates were fine and showing no signs of shedding them. Good luck!!

I know the clutch problems have been well discussed but can anyone answer the questions regarding oil type? I spoke to a 4rt '05 owner at a Wessex Centre trial last weekend and he swears that the REPSOL transmission oil is c**p and exacerbates the clutch drag and snatchyness problems. His bike is "on" the ELF stuff and after a ride round on it, there did appear a difference regarding drag. Having said that, he has also changed his gearing down so that may well be the reason for less of a snatchy & jerky take up. Ignoring the Mitani clutch and 315 master cylinder solutions, have many of you boffins changed the gearing? AND What is regarded as the most appropriate oil?

I was out last weekend and can confirm that the knack of starting has been well and truly sussed. With the bike in neutral, starting has been simple and been on the first kick 95 times out of a 100, and the 5 errant occassions were on second or third prod. Thanks for the advice

I agree with all that has been said but would add one other thing... Don't hang about unnecessarily!!! Many a time I've seen lesser/average riders looking at the top sub in Trotters Burn or last few subs at Fersit, eyeing up the line for a clean, taking 5 - 10 minutes to watch riders through, when in reality they have not got a cat in hells chance of getting up it. The usual result is that they have a five. If its a tight time day (Tuesday, Chairlift/Rannoch Moor day, Fersit day) concentrate on keeping on the move. Its too easy to waste section viewing time and end up racking up some time penalties. So the moral is: Don't spend 10 minutes (equvalent of 10 time faults) looking at a section you are at best going to "three" but most likely going to "five" and lose unnecessary time faults. Enjoy!!

Thanks gents... what a great response to my question! I'm rally grateful for all your replies and its reassuring to know that people are happy to pass invaluable little pieces of info on. Firstly, I fully understand... - NO THROTTLE when starting !! Secondly, it would appear the general concensus is that it should be in neutral if life is to be made as easy as possible. I think this may be where I'm going wrong as the clutch drag is certainly there and you can feel a certain amount of "lag" as you kick it over. Regarding water in the electrics... I rode last years SSDT on a 315 and watched as many 4rt's as possible to see how they fared (who didn't watch!!) and I was mighty impressed with the s**t they were put through by lesser riders. Two little Japanese guys were forever up to their armpits in water and the bikes never stopped. I haven't submerged mine (yet) but in its brief life it has already seen some torrents and it hasn't coughed at all. The more I ponder, the more I think its the clutch drag. Do the 315 air filters really make a big difference, and if so, are you just fitting them straight in with no trimming or mods? Once again, thanks for all your help.

I am hoping that all you experienced 4rt guys can help me overcome a starting problem, as I'm new to this 4 stroke lark. The bike is an '06 model and had no more than about 30 hours use. The bike is fantastic and always starts no problem when cold and usually 2nd or 3rd prod when warm/hot. However, I have had the odd occassion when stalling or fiving in a section that it's then been a complete pig to start. The usual "long-prod" technique fails to bring it to life and I end up having to kick it 10 - 15 times. Its knackering and frustrating, esp. compared to the 315r as this obviously fired up as regular as clockwork and got me out of the section pronto. I haven't tampered with the tick over speed (which is still as set up when leaving the factory) and I haven't been wiring it into the laptop gizmo software as I haven't got that! Any clues or tips would be most welcome on this particular problem. Any tips or hints on other 4rt matters would be equally welcome (I have read the pages of 4rt stuff on TC). Cheers