ChrisCH

What tyre pressure are you running? My 280 is powerful enough to break the traction easily in wet conditions. I am lazy and often do not bother to check or adjust the pressure but the difference between (for example) 3psi and 7psi is huge. The missus has a Beta 250 and an IRC rear and it copes well with the poor surfaces. My Michelin loses pressure and so I tend to pump it up a little too much to compensate and (as I am lazy) often run a bit too high. I am not sure that such drastic measures as a change of bike should be needed?

Putoline Nano Trans

I am sure you will master it quickly. Firstly just one finger on the clutch? It is the #1 control device - not the throttle. If you are used to road bikes it is a bit odd at first. Second do not rev the bike very much. A 250 two stroke is powerful enough to do most things without a lot of revs. Listen to the engine tone on this -

We started with a (shared) Rev 3 250 and my missus used it all the time so I had to buy the TRS. We upgraded the Rev to an Evo soon after. The big difference I noticed was the older Rev 3 needed fork compression to de-weight the front compared to both the newer Evo and my TRS. The Evo is lighter and more nimble but the Rev is not a bad bike. A guy at the club has one and rides well on it (far better than me). You need to slip the clutch a lot on a trials bike. If you pop it then the front wheel will lift and if you are not far enough forward it will spit you off. My TRS spat me off a few times when I got it as it was so much more powerful than the old Rev 3. You don't need much revs most of the time if you are not climbing a steep slope. Even then slip the clutch to keep the speed under control. From your description I would say persevere. If you can control a big road bike you can control a little trials bike. My missus still struggles with the clutch (she has a Ducati Monster for road bike) and that, plus a lack of confidence are her issues. Both Betas have spat her off at various times and this is the heart of the confidence problem. If you pull in the clutch the bike will not spit you off the back. I really doubt an old bike (with a cable clutch) is going to help you much if I am honest.

This subject is one that gets a lot of people arguing but is actually quite easy to research. There are a lot of published O ring compatability charts, one that covers pretty much everything including ethanol is here: https://www.allorings.com/o-ring-compatibility One problem is working out what the material is if you do not buy the O ring from a specialist supplier and get a "standard" O ring. There really is no such thing as "just rubber". As you can see there are two types of Viton so the above comment is correct for one type not the other. The shift from E5 to E10 is not really that significant so if the bike was OK with 5% it is probably OK with 10%. The compatability charts are for 100% of the selected chemical. People also overlook the many other chemicals in petrol because there is a lot of nonsense being promoted about E10 by the same sorts of folk that promoted nonsense about the removal of lead from petrol. O rings are generally pennies but the problem is where to buy just one and whether or not you believe the eBay seller or bike shop as to what material it really is.

These guys can make them if you cannot find ready to go https://www.feked.com/wheels/wheel-spokes/universal-spokes/

Get an electric bike and it will solve the noise issue and let you ride as much as you want. The other ICE bikes are just as loud if you gun them.

http://81.139.49.104/news/2010/3/toni-bou-talks-about-his-impending-trip-to-scotland/

Do what suits you best. During the lockdown there were closed to club events so being a member of more than one would have got you more rides. I think a lot of that has relaxed now. Our club also had a physical distance limit (also gone) so multiple membership would have not been such a big deal. Personally I would support the club that you like and enjoy and where you get on with the people. My club is really good and I try to support them as much as possible. Some of the good riders (that group does not include me I might say) are multi members and are bothered about scores and so on. As an ACU member you can enter other (open) events so not a big deal. If you join more than one club then more than one club gets your subscription fees. I am sure they are not going to mind that 😁

Acu website is first place to start. https://www.acu.org.uk Clubs near you but you are at the junction of three regions so a bit complex for the nearest. There used to be events at Barnack when I was a lad but no idea if that venue still used.

I used to dabble a bit in my youth and was equally bad at making money and also rather too honest I think. I had a Greaves Scottish at one time which I bought for peanuts with a 350 triumph engine in it. I split the two and got about 20 quid for the rolling chassis IIRC. I dread to think its value now.

A lot of breakers back in the day were not 100%. I remember the commonplace "frame with V5" on eBay for sale at about twice the price of a new frame from the manufacturer. I think the likes of Datatag and so on really began the decline of that, but probably the engineering improvements that made secondhand parts much less profitable. Breakers had the problem everyone wanted the bits that you broke in a crash and all the bikes people wanted to sell had been crashed. Some scrote stole my XL250 and Norwich Union gave me virtually nothing for it as it was old. They fetch 3 grand now. Humph. I bet it died going round and round a field somewhere with a halfwit riding it. I had just got my GPz 750 back after it too got pinched (living in London then). The Kawa had done 7 miles or so and in that time they had bent the forks somehow. They got caught and a slapped wrist. The "victim support" people contacted me and I asked for the details of the thieves so I could sue them for the uninsured loss (car hire and so on) but no reply. Not much "support". I guess trials bikes are not worth enough to be a major issue, particulalry when you look at new sports bikes. Top end Ducati now 13 grand plus and a grand a year service costs. Phew. I will stick with my old Suzuki.

Yes. It just isn't normal practice here. I doubt it is any more of a real problem than theft of cars or other machinery. Trials bikes are cheap compared to a tractor or a combine. Getting all the importers to register new bikes on the voluntary database would be a good start.

Fair enough, as you well know we do not have an ID card in the UK. Short of mandatory registration I am not sure there is much one can do as things stand. (well here anyway)

I am sorry but you are missing the point. The only way to know if the bike has been stolen is if the dealer sells it brand new. A secondhand bike has to be recorded on a database from new otherwise it can be a stolen bike. If I steal a bike and use it as trade in the dealer then sells that bike in good faith. The new scheme that b40rt kindly provided a link to is what is needed. Of course it is also very easy to register a stolen bike on that scheme and for it to be sold with the registration. The registration needs to be mandatory for all new bikes and then in 40 years time there will be virtually no opportunity to sell a stolen bike. In the meantime we all have to do the best we can - which is more or less nothing.

Yes, it is a vast improvement on nothing. Whilst it remains voluntary it will be limited in its effect. It also needs promotion by the dealers so that there is some sort of registration. If it were done automatically when new then in time all bikes would be on the scheme. Also another benefit would be the ability to check the HP status.

Even if you buy from a legit dealer how do they know? My bike came from John Lee where it was traded in. How can they check if there is no database to check? Unless we all record our VIN, frame and engine numbers and then lodge them with the police if there is a theft there is no method to check. In the UK like Lineaway's post above the different police forces have different databases, so a bike stolen in Yorkshire can be sold in Essex and almost certainly the frame number is not on the local police database. Besides how many of us keep that record? (No, I have not before you all ask)

But it doesn't prove anything. With a modern PC and software I can create an invoice for anything you want with a pretend company in seconds. What is needed is a proper registration scheme and most governments run one for road machines. Even then a lot of vehicles are stolen and sold on with false documents.

I fear then that very very few bikes would ever change hands. I doubt I can find the receipt for my bike and the missus' was without any paperwork off eBay. I would now be unable to sell them.

My missus' Evo 250 runs a BR5ES. It is what was in the bike when we bought it. I researched a bit on here as I also read the manual and it says a 7 heat value. I found a post that suggested 5 was better for a "cold climate". No idea if that is right or not. However the bike still has the same plug in it and has run 2 years without any issues at all. Never had the plug out to look at it if I am honest. It runs on V-Power 99 and Putoline TT Pro at a 80:1 mix or thereabouts. Starts first kick (well with me - wife takes a few more prods). Can't fault the engine (suspension is pants and the brakes not so hot either) I bought a spare plug and bought a 5 just in case the 7 made it harder to start. (After research it seems to me the starting has nothing to do with the heat value - so I have learned something in the process)

https://www.ngkntk.in/importance-of-heat-range/

Interesting study on E10 and various rubber/plastic etc here: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jfu/2014/429608/ There appears to be some effect with prolonged contact but it seems unlikely that most trials bikes would be affected. Really old bikes have brass carb floats and so on and metal tanks so are almost certainly fine. I think there is a lot of nonsense in circulation about this subject. All the same I will stick to my E5 V-Power the bike runs better with the higher octane rating. Interestingly in the US E85 is used as a very high octane fuel for racing cars. https://aaoil.co.uk/product/sunoco-e85r/

US ethanol is mostly made from Maize (corn) mostly to subsidise and prop up the dreadful US agrigulture industry that is heavily into GM Maize. The farming lobby is powerful in the US and definately looking for government money from any source. Of course the oil lobby groups don't want your car to run on maize but on fossil oil so the two lobby groups fight one another. What the optimum level of ethanol might be for the vehicle and for the planet is not really part of the considerations. Petrol is comlpex stuff with all manner of things in it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gasoline_additives

The super Esso is E5 that is why it says so. I also started to research this as the missus has a Ducati Monster and there was (and still is) a lot of BS on the internet about some bikes - the Monster being one - that don't run on E10. Firstly the Monster runs OK on E10 and has had several tankfuls of it. Second a lot of what one reads on the internet is written by nutters and climate change deniers, conspiracy theorists and so on. That is why a lot of it starts in the US. As best I can see the issue is that ethanol attracts water in a way that mineral based petrol does not. There appears to be actual science behind that and so it is probably true. For some materials, notably fibreglass that can be an issue. Fibreglass is a stupid material to make fuel tanks from and after a short time manufacturers stopped using it. Sadly (for us trials enthusiasts) the old Montesa had a fibre tank and was a good bike in every other respect. I have read plastic can "expand" due to ethanol or the water in it. I am unsure how that happens as plastic does not expand in water nor does it expand when exposed to ethanol. Virtually all modern vehicles have plastic tanks. The Ducati (and my TRS) have plastic tanks. If the claim was true why does the incremental increase from 5% to 10% have the effect? Surely the ethanol would have the same effect at any percentage big enough and 5 percent should be big enough? I have read that ethanol causes "deposits" on some surfaces. It does not as it is a volatile liquid. Or that it "melts" some components. It is easy to disprove these claims by immersing them in ethanol. If there really is a problem it would appear to me that it is the water issue. For us trials bike owners that is probably made worse by storing fuel in cans and in sheds. So it really makes some sense to avoid the issue by using a lower percentage (E5) fuel and this is fortunate that higher octane fuels are E5. Aspen has no ethanol but is 95 octane so too low for most bikes like my TRS. I have no idea where one would buy high octane Aspen (I think it is called "racing"?) Let's be honest no one does bar a few oddballs. So we have to deal with the reality that we will have to use E5. Since the racing world continues and thousands of people ride bikes throughout the world with no problems I feel it is fair to say there is not really an issue unless you have a vintage machine.

At present (as best I see) in the UK the E10 is only normal (95) unleaded. All the higher octane ratings are E5. The whole debate about ethanol is largely nonsense and the idea it is a problem is much over estimated for anyone with a modern (post 1980s) bike. Both the TRS and Beta I have ran badly on the old 95 E5 fuel and certainly the TRS seems much better on 99. So I use Shell V Power and it is still E5. I honestly doubt if the higher octane ratings fuels increase their ethanol it would have any effect on the bikes if I am honest. So I would suggest any issues you have are from the octane rating rather than the formulation of the petrol.