dav cc

The bottom line is - modern trials bikes are not designed to be ridden on the road. When trials first began a person would simply modify their road bike so that it would be possible to be ridden off road to a degree. Folk would fill up the tank ride to the event ride the course then ride home. These days, no matter what, a modern trials bike if made totally legal for road use would be un-practical to ride in trials competition. So there has to be a trade off one way or the other, else road trials will no longer be viable.

Why are the Spanish so good? Ans. Jordi Tarres, Toni Bou, money, support, factory backing, terrain availability, national support, riding technique ,breading. The list goes on... I guess when Tarres came along and changed the way trials was ridden, then followed up more recently with Bou trials hit an all time high in Spain. Lets face it, certainly here in the UK off road motor sport is very unpopular with the masses and often frowned upon. In Spain, in a lot of places you can pull up at the side of a road get your bike out and have a ride on the local (usually dry rocky) terrain. I even saw a clip where some Spanish lads filmed themselves riding on a beach wave break rockery area close by to a town. The local constabulary, rather than shifting the riders on actually stood there along with some local residents, watching and applauding the spectacle. In the Uk you would most likely have your bike impounded, prosecuted, thrown in front of a judge then fined with points on your licence.

A friend of mine who is really into his motorcycling came with me to a trials event once. He had seen clips of the world championship, indoor & out, and watched a bit of footage of the ssdt. On the way home from the event I asked him what he thought? He replied " Its a bit like cricket, boring as hell to watch unless you are a keen enthusiast and you can't really appreciate the skills unless you have a go yourself." So I asked him what he thought of the world championship? He replied " Yeah its amazing what these guys can do with a motorbike, but once you have seen one rider conquer the section its boring after that" Now I've rode trials all my life, I'm a huge fan of all the championships, from traditional through to X trial. So I was rather dismayed by my friend's response, after all he is a keen motorcyclist and quite open minded. But after a while it hit home to me that in fact he was probably just stating what the consensus would be from the majority of the general public. The fact is trials is a motor sport and unless you do it yourself a rather un-thrilling one, because in general motor sports are often perceived as speed related.

I rode in junior Kickstart on a twin shock bike, was doing really well until I went up a jump landed and the rear shocks snapped off the swing arm. The thing that upset me the most was I had done the jump both time in the heats and everything was fine. Then they asked if they could do a filming re-take of some of the obstacles, it was during this re-take when it happened so this is what you see on the tv. My father was extremely displeased and ended up having a "quiet word" around the back of the filming trucks with Peter Purvis and the production staff. Made no odds, they weren't interested in seeing an old "twin shock bike" beat the modern sponsored mono bikes that were new on the scene. Just saying... lol.

I'm going to throw in a bit of controversy now. Why would you want twin shocks back? I rode them all through my school boy days, the day the yam mono came out I chucked the old twin shock away and never looked back! I don't understand the appeal of riding old bikes..? I have had a ride on a few since and couldn't wait to give them back and jump back on my modern Gas Gas. The old bikes are under powered, heavy, awkward, brakes are rubbish and just generally uncomfortable to ride (other than when you are sitting down on them)! But I guess that's just me TIN HAT ON

One could argue that a taller rider will have more leverage and also able to move body weight further. There have been great riders of all statures, small, slim tall, heavy... Doug is a big bloke over 6' and strong, Jordi Tarres, average height? & slim,.... Toni Bou I think is around 5'9" ?? and obviously a strong athlete. But ultimately in trials unless someone is particularly small or extremely tall or heavy, I don't think it makes too much difference. Like any sport - Physical & mental capability, natural ability, technique, skill, and hard work! are the key ingredients. I quick thought regarding size in trials - Maybe like pro boxing a tall heavy athlete is stronger and able to physically shift more weight around where as a smaller lighter athlete is quicker and more nimble. Perhaps what makes Toni Bou ideal is he is like a super middle weight, powerful and fast .. just a thought.

What a lot of people don't take into account is the fact that more power is only advantageous if it is controllable, else its a disadvantage. The top riders need the power because of the sheer size of stuff they have to ascend from such a small take off. Where as a less powerful more "grippy" bike would suit the majority of trials riders.

You've got to feed it in slowly and smoothly with less clutch than you would on a 2 stroke. Keep the throttle as continuous as possible, i.e less blipping than normal. I call it the tractor technique. It takes a bit of mastering but once you've got the idea you will see what I mean. The problem arises when you get tired and you get a little more throttle happy. This is why most clubmen riders would be better off on less powerful machines. The more forgiving the power the easier it is to control and react to.

The 4rt is a great bike to ride, but it won't grip unless you learn to use the power smoothly. Its a totally different throttle control style, some folk just never get to grips (excuse the pun) with them and revert back to the 2 banger. The problem is you see the world guys - Bou, Busto and Fuji on them and think to yourself "well they make them grip"! Yes but they live on theirs! and the truth is how do their scores compare, on average,on the slippy muddy sections to the other competitors? Has anybody actually done the statistics?

The X11 has harder side walls and stands up to more abuse, but it doesn't quite grip as good as the more durable Xlite. But for the majority of riders the difference is negligible Its a toss up between cost, longevity and grip. The choice is yours but personally, I run around 3psi in the back, else you may risk it coming off the rim. If the going is hard, i.e rocks, I run around 4lb just to protect against punctures.

I think there a lot of clubmen on over powered bikes! I have a 300 gasser, I love the power delivery on it, smooth low range but powerful when you need it. I ride in the experts at national level and am reassured that the power is there if I need it, like for a big step that has no run up. But I'm knocking on a bit now so when I drop down the ranks (pretty soon) I would definitely drop down to a 250 as the power delivery is softer and less brutal but there is plenty for the average section. Going back to the 4rt, I spent a lot of time riding my mate's and comparing it to the gasser on the same sections. I found it gripped like a train provided you didn't spin it up. As soon as it spun up it was over. Where as the 2 stroke would bite again when you shut off the throttle. On one particular section (turn with a muddy steep climb) if you kept the power really smooth the 4rt just pulled like a train and went up like it was on tarmac. The 2 stroke you had to deliver the power in harder and let it spin to get up. But if you spun the 4rt at any point it just went backwards, game over. They are a great bike to ride, but I wouldn't have one for competition simply because when you are tired and lose that little bit of throttle control the 4rt bites you and all of a sudden it becomes like an untamed animal.

I've never ridden one but have heard the same thing

5 in the rear is too high for mud you only need 3-4 max the 4 rt, is a different animal, as you already well know. You have to be really smooth bringing the power in, then it grips like a tractor. Problem comes as soon as the wheel spins it's game over. Unlike a 2t which will bite again once the power drops, i.e blipping the throttle then shutting off, the 4 banger won't bite using this technique.

Though I agree, the benefit of having a "catcher" is a necessity at this level. How far a minder goes in "aiding" the rider during riding the section is ( has done for years ) often cheating. But if they can get away with it why not? Its up to the governing body to impose stricter rules if they feel its required. As for the "non stop" rule, well this is a joke and it seems the higher ranking you are the more stopping you are allowed! I guess Bou gets away with it more so if he "cleans" a section that other riders have failed to negotiate, a big cheer from the crowd and the observer may feel obliged to show some discretion regarding momentarily stops. There is an observer at my local club who shows no tolerance for stopping if its no stop rules. He is consistent with all riders regardless of who they are! I have watched many riders make a great effort to attempt a clean but momentarily stopping, rewarded with a 5 by this observer. In fact I 've been on the receiving end myself, its very frustrating, but I broke the rules. Its well known now that this observer regardless of protest will give you a 5 if you stop at any point. Everyone knows this now so they make sure that they ride continuous else face the consequences.

look closely at his right leg, he's either dabbing on a big rock or just about to I reckon