I'm guessing they mean Long Distance Trials, which is a very different kettle of fish to Observed Trials!
My advice on bike choice: get something light, and if you're new to it something with a front disk brake. I would err towards a 4 stroke, but that's personal preference (says she who owns a 250 Pampera and a EC 250 which were both long distance trial machines). Make sure you have an o-ring chain in good nick. Be prepared to be soaked, frozen, and exhausted - think about what kind of bike you'll be happy picking up out of the mud and kick starting when in that condition.
Yeah, they would be fine to get going on ... I started out with a pair of generic motorbike boots from Lidl (which I got second hand for a fiver), and they worked ok until the soles peeled off
Best thing is to go meet up with the club to get a look and ask questions ... you don't need fancy gear to get started, and clubs are a good source of used boots and bikes.
I started on a 2004 Gasgas 125 and it was a great bike, plenty of people will say a 250 is good to start on but that would have been too much for me. Good luck!
Trials crosstraining on youtube has nice video guides on setting up the bike (including where the back brake should be), and wheelieing. I have an old injury in my right ankle and prefer my brake pedal to be slightly below the footpeg, it hasn't held me back so far but then I'm a rubbish rider
For near-stationary lifting of the front wheel, like Pakjeem, I don't cover the brake and just shut the throttle when I panic. Note that 1st gear on a modern larger-capacity gentle-revving bike can be a bit slow for wheelies, 2nd is good, 3rd is easy to loose the bike.
It also helps to use a "kicker" (a small rock or tree branch) to begin with. Good luck!
Personally at 6 foot tall I'd say the TY175 will be too small for you
I'm 5'10, on my TY 175 the pegs are down and back and the bars up ... without those changes yes it would be too small for me! Thing is, it's much lighter than the TY 250 but with the same Yamaha parts availability.
Catalunya is the place for trials and enduro (MX less so), and most clubs will have facilities for kids - though the emphasis is usually on youth trials over smaller children. There's a list of clubs in Gerona province here:
Price is relative, but it seems the UK is catching up with European prices which were generally much higher pre-Brexit. Still, it gets people to maintain their bikes better in the long term, which is a bit of a silver lining
I had a nice jaunt today, thought I'd share some photos ...
Left at the fork is lying, after 100m it goes up at a 1/3 gradient with some steps and lots of loose gravel, you have to really commit to it to make the top!
Then you can drop down into a valley that's prone to rock slides, which means it's a nice rock garden to trundle over ...
And then out the other side for a nice view on the way home
Some notes on this, from someone who is not a very good rider ... I started on a Gasgas TXTPro 125, which was a cracking bike and very reliable for the year I had it (I only had to service it, and sold it in the same condition I bought it). Then I got the itch for a twinshock and got a TY175. Then I spent a LOT of time and money to get the TY to ride somewhat nicely and not weigh quite so much.
Now I have a 1999 Sherco 250 "modern" bike that was well kept by previous owners, and it's just lovely to ride. It's road registered and was very cheap. I've spent about 6 hours on it this weekend, meanwhile I need to get around to an engine rebuild on the TY and getting the wheels rebuilt, and other things.
Well, I haven't got any further with this so no worries on lateness That sounds like a smart solution to make it more "factory" ... we're out of fire season now so having a perch has been back on my mind this weekend after a couple of longer rides
Actually, thinking about it I have some Stihl premix kicking around, and that doesn't go off. It's 50:1 mix, maybe I could try that in the old bikes when they're going to be laid up for the winter (and if they don't like it much I can drain it and use it in the chainsaw, lol)
I've lost the contact details, but with paperwork from the right person it's not horribly hard - just photos, signed bill of sale from the previous owner, and the right forms filled out.
Just to chip in, I use forecourt 98 octane E5 fuel because I don't have anything with a fibreglass tank. I've experienced gumming in the carbs of bikes used occasionally with 95/E10, and a noticeable drop in performance when it gets old, the E5 seems to be ok.
It's one of the reasons I decided to get a cheap new trail bike than looking for nice old one - designed for E10 throughout.
I've since made several cables using Venhill kits (using electrical soldering iron and non-flux-cored solder as recommended by B40RT) and haven't had one fail yet. The highest strain being the clutch cable on my 650 Kawasaki, which has done about 20000 miles since.
There was a drain hole fitted, without it the airbox fills with water any time it's splashed up and there's no way for it to get out. If you look for photos I'm sure it's easy to add one yourself.
The reason I said about the rebuild kit is because it replaces all the little squishy bits including o-rings that often go off with age and cause air leaks, the Dellorto carb has more of those than other trials carbs I've fiddled with (admittedly not many), but maybe it does only need a clean
Make sure your airbox has been modified to the 2004 spec if you're planning on playing in water.
My TXTPro ran like crap when I got it, a carb rebuild kit (just over 10 quid at the time) and untrasonic clean and it started and ran great right through after I sold the bike
That sounds like a smart solution to make it more "factory" ... we're out of fire season now so having a perch has been back on my mind this weekend after a couple of longer rides
LDTs
in General Trials Talk
Posted
I'm guessing they mean Long Distance Trials, which is a very different kettle of fish to Observed Trials!
My advice on bike choice: get something light, and if you're new to it something with a front disk brake. I would err towards a 4 stroke, but that's personal preference (says she who owns a 250 Pampera and a EC 250 which were both long distance trial machines). Make sure you have an o-ring chain in good nick. Be prepared to be soaked, frozen, and exhausted - think about what kind of bike you'll be happy picking up out of the mud and kick starting when in that condition.