ralpher

Thanks chaps, I realise that progress doesn't always mean getting better!

Hi all, is there such a thing as a paper workshop manual for the 4RT? Or am I just being old fashioned?

Ha ha Toneh you are a wag! I have already tried it pal, I borrowed a pair of the Mrs' high heels, trouble is they tend to stick into the ground exacerbating the problem, coupled with the funny looks I was getting from the neighbours, expecially when I snagged one of my stockings while swinging my leg over the seat, think I will just have to accept being a short-a$$

Lol S.E.Lucas, the 4RT feels like a bicycle anyway after riding the things I used to have to get along with! I remember one of my first bikes was an AJS/Matchless 350, none of us kids were heavy or strong enough to kick start the darn thing, so it was imperative to have a gang of you along to start the bike and push it when (inevitably) we ran out of fuel or broke down... Wish I still had some of the old bikes and cars I demolished as a youth

I like your thinking about the Goldwing trailer, I guess you could chain an angry dog to the trailer with the key around it's neck...

All interesting points I'm sure, however it is the "feel" which is important as Crazybond700 points out, for example - here in the west (the UK in my case) we prefer slim ladies (gross unfounded generalisation) but in various other cultures the men-folk "prefer" ladies of more substantial proportions. Who is to say which is best? It's all down to individuality (I know, you think I'm drifting way off topic now, but as it's my post I feel that it's okay), so can we also equate this to motorcycles? Is there such a thing as a bike that's just too skinny? Sometimes some weight can be useful, ask the England Rugby team! *Glances at his Welsh friend* So, can the same be said of bikes? It's not all about power-to-weight ratios. Note: Anotherfive, where can I get cheap Helium? Note 2: Toneh, if you think pushing your 4RT in a bog is bad, try being 5'5" and trying to drag a KTM EXC-F250 (39 inch seat height!) out of the quagmire of mud on top of clay/chalk and rain... I fell off SEVEN times the other week, full enduro garb, pishing with rain on a trail with dozens of delighted "Ramblers" trying to sound concilatory when they were clearly delighted at my frequent spills, I'd lost several pounds in sweat and any dignity which I may have had left

Car keys? Leave the car at home and ride (slowly) to where you're going. Plus points. 1) Never lose your car keys! 2) The wife/husband can use the car, thus distracting them and allowing you more time riding. Minus points. 1) Running out of petrol (like I did last week, 10 miles from home in the middle of nowhere!) Thanks to the kind old fella who game me a lift to the garage! 2) Pheumonia from having the heavens open on you 10 miles from home (see above!) Conclusion. 1) Buy you own land to ride on, preferrably adjacent to the house. 2) Get the wife/husband to take/collect you from the venue. 3) Buy a Honda Goldwing (their tanks hold 32,000 litres with an additional 12,000 in the top box and panniers) * I don't recommend the Honda goldwing off-road unless the top box and panniers are removed.

Guys, seriously, I have been reading articles about saving weight on bikes that weigh less than a well-fed five year old child. "I can remove the bank sensor and save 110 grams!" Really?! Now I'm new on here and I'd hate people to think of me as a Heretic *cough, cough* but 110 grams isn't even a good cr@p, in fact according to my calculations it's a little shy of four (4) ounces... Now I'm an engineer so I'm familiar with cumulative effects etc. but is it really that important to save a few grams here and there in persuit of having a bike that's a tiny bit lighter than another already diminutive machine? Now that I'm already thought of as a Heretic, I may as well continue my rant... These are the probable forces at work (in our phyche) in my opinion. 1) We need something to obsess about. (yes we do, you know it's true!) 2) People are generally bored $h1tl3$$ in the evenings, especially during the long dark winter months. 3) I will be a better rider if only my bike was faster/lighter/more responsive/(add your own excuse here). Okay, that bit's out of the way, now for my explanations: Point number 1) We all have obsessions, I'm not brave (or drunk enough) to go down the gender route, but we have fads, I have a garage full! Spend on this and that, buy the latest rubber gear lever etc, better to spend time riding? Point number 2) Boredom, our old friend boredom, Ebay made billions from it! I don't know about you guys (and gals) but I spend hours trawling through Fleabay looking at and buying mods and upgrades (?) which I never have time to fit to my bikes - let alone ride and enjoy! Point number 3) If I had Tony Bou's bike, I could ride up the west face of Everest and down the other side while collecting 50 years worth of tin cans left on the mountain - by dragging a magnet behind me. The reality is surely that a few grams/ounces/pounds even, would make little difference to most of our bikes performance, might be better for all involved if we ate and drank a little less? A few pounds less around the waist would surely improve everyone's riding and improve a lot of other things beside I might well imagine!

Thanks again guys, lots to look at and think about. If only I had more spare time! Ralpher

Thanks for the help guys, I like the sound of easy, I prefer to fall off when I'm on my own or with a pal who falls off even more than me!

Hi all, I might be interested in joining a club if there is one locally enough, I live near Fleet in Hampshire UK. Any club would need to have suitably talentless members as not to make me feel too uncomfortable, of course. I would appreciate any ideas! Cheers, Ralpher.

Thanks guys, I was worried I would bore the Cr@p out of people or come accross as a smug a$$! I even asked the Mrs who assured me that both was the probable answer! Look forward to learning a lot from more knowledgeable folks on here.

Hi all, been exclusively riding road bikes since mid 80s but new baby forces self preservation (sort of). I was toying with buying a new Harley - yes I know, they don't handle, they're slow and they don't stop etc... all of these things are true, which is my point, you live longer on a Harley! However, after trudging around most of the Harley dealers in the south of England, my wife asked me whether I would actually ride this one, or would I scan the horizon for anything resembling a cloud before I would wheel it out of the garage. Damn her for her insight! After a long serious think I decided she was right (as usual). My VTR1000 SP1 sat in the garage for a year after my back injury prevented me from taking it out, I found it impossible to turn around to see behind me without moving my whole arm in the same direction. Please don't suggest mirrors, the darn thing vibrated like something from an Ann Summers Hen party, rendering mirrors useless, if not dangerous (dangerous by way of rendering you befuddled while trying to figure out whether that was a police car behind or a herd of blow-up sheep escaped from the previously mentioned party-ware shop). Anyway, I digress, the whole point of the soul searching excercise was to A) buy yet another bike - hopefully one which I enjoy riding enough to take it out. Buy something which didn't insist that you should be breaking the national speed limit before accepting top gear. C) Not require all weekend cleaning it, just to have a couple of hours of riding (then clean the darn thing again before putting it to bed!) Well I'm not exactly sure where the seed of the idea came from but after chatting to a few friends and many long hours of gazing into the computer monitor at riders doing crazy things on dirt bikes, the idea appeared before me in black and white. As a young man in my early teens I learned to ride bikes in the woods not far from my home. After this I went on to buying my own trials bikes... ah those were the days... anyway, TY Yamahas, KT250 Kawasaki (anyone remember them?) then Maico motocross bikes etc. Well that was a long time ago as I have said, but this idea to buy something which was fun, didn't need constant cleaning, wasn't going to cost me my driving license or throw me under a lorry at supersonic speeds was now perfectly formed in my head. Hello is that F£%@&rs Motorcycles? Yes, good, I would like to buy a KTM EXC-F 250 Six Days please. A week later I had hired a van, driven to the dealers and picked up my new bike, in the van it went along with lots of extra must haves, tyre mooses, wrap around hand guards etc. Got the bike home and got it ready for the first ride (1 hour to break the engine in ready for it's first service, I kid you not). What's this got to do with trials I hear you asking? Nothing at all is the answer. Well, having "saved" 10K from NOT buying a Harley and settling for a KTM, I figured that it would be sensible to buy a trials bike - after all, nearly all the best riders ride trials (sadly I'm not one of them but we all improve with practice!) After another internet searching session, I decided that the Montesa Cota 4RT was the way to go - no messy two-stroke oil to faff about with and a wonderfully reliable Honda engine. So, that's the story to date, loving the 4RT and riding the KTM when I can get some company!