dabmeister

Well said Hughsey, I think all of us who have replaced stators / cdi's / gearbox parts / fork oil seals monthly etc. etc. on less than year old bikes feel we are doing the development work. Whats worse though is that the new stators / cdi's / gearbox parts / fork oil seals are just as bad as the originals. You'd think these parts would be upgraded but like mugs we just accept them as being expendable. Imagine if the same happened with road bikes, there would be an uproar. Considering the average trials bike is probably only used 4 hours a week!

Scorpa problems - centre exhaust box splitting open (at least 6 of) leading to a loss of power and much noise and a few cases of overheating, probably due to not cleaning rad cover coming off moor onto roads then roasting the engine. TYZ motors rule!

8 or so entered, including Andreu Codina and Pons, 1 finished. That's worse than GG. Once again the Monts win the 'Most Reliable Bike' prize (excepting Chris Myers' 1987 TY of course). 'Nuff said.

As Sandifords have gone to the bother of having the 4RT's pass the ACU noise test with all the restrictors in (recent TMX story), and disclaiming at the end of the piece anyone who takes them out, I expect they will be leading by example at the Scottish and Wayne, Amos, Sunt, Bobble et al will be riding with them all in. Won't they?.....

Any of you guys who ride the Scottish, what do you consider to be a "stop"? Theoretically, the 5 should be given the instant that forward motion ceases, but in reality I have seen some observers allow a couple of seconds to avoid having to 5 two thirds of the entry on a tough section. Would the riders find it dispiriting if they were being 5'd for the briefest of stops, thereby getting maybe 15 or so 5's a day for the lower end of the entry?. Or would you be glad if the observers were marking "to the rules", so long as they are consistent?

"On top of that he has 8000 screaming "feet up freaks" who would consecrate the very ground his wheels turn on expecting, hanging on every roll of the Michelins to see him to the top of the podium........" Spot on there Slapshot!.

Fuji didn't cheat, as a professional sportsman he made a percentage judgement which turned out to be the right one. Not good for the fans, I agree, but within the rules of the sport. What will happen to Sheffield once 'The Master' has retired?. Will we bother turning up in droves to watch probably 6 Spanish riders and one British wild card?. Jim Dabill's our best hope at present I suspect, he just needs consistency, the talent is there. He's only a young 'un, maybe we shouldn't put our weight of expectation on his shoulders just yet.

If I don't use Super Unleaded in mine, it sounds like there's a bag of ball bearings loose in the top end under load.

I agree with Kinell, Raga's drop-off from the pallets was the most skilled riding of the night. Considering the pressure he was under, it was awesome. Runner-up for class ride has to be Alberts first lap ride on the rollercoaster section (5?), when he used the front end rebound to pitch him back about a foot, hovered with the front wheel in the air for a second or 2 then rode up the step before the exit ramp. Everyone else hopped back onto the platform and had to do a 45degree pivot to get up the step. PA was great where I was, Crossers commentary was excellent. I agree Cabestany is at least a match for Raga on talent, just not consistent enough. Doug didn't really look like his heart was in it to be honest, he just didn't look comfortable on the bike from the off. Fujis non-ride of the 2 sections - disappointing, but that's professional sport. Beta really need to find themselves a top class rider, sharpish.

What's the feeling so far on the fuel range?. Should Nevissport in Fort William start stocking up on Sigg bottles now?.

When does Scottish fever officially start, is it with the first version of the entry list?. It was well under way this time last year!.

Boyd is right, it's 99% the rider. People are always saying the Scorpa 4T is gutless and doesn't have enough power. Maybe they didn't see Crosser at the '03 Scottish going up the step at Trotters from a virtual standstill, hopping up the last 4 feet on the back wheel. As Ishy said some time ago, the difference between the Clubmen and the Pro's is the Clubbies are on the bike more at a trial than practice, the Pro's are practicing more than trialling

They pull the old 'I've got a cane through my ribcage' joke ...

Check out these galleries, all sorts in there http://www.ataq.qc.ca/galerie/index.php?folder=/Mus%E9e/

A topic brought up on the Lakes 2 day thread was that some of the Clubman routes up greasy bankings etc. were harder than the waterfalls, steps etc that they are routed to avoid, but the flags are set so that the routes are totally seperate. I've noticed that trials in the North of England are the same. At the Reeth 3 day 2 years ago I watched about 40 clubmen 3 or 5 a section ( Tank Trap? ) with a grassy camber avoiding a couple of rock steps which I'm sure some of them could have cleaned had the flags been set so they could go either way. At quite a number of Scottish club and national events, the flags are set so that the left and right markers are at the extremities and the hard route cards are within these, so giving the clubmen the chance to ride either way. What is the general consensus ?

Purple wheeled Yam TYZ's stick to the ground like s*** to an army blanket !

Once again Chris Myers shows up the moderns by claiming a top 15 clubman place on his air cooled '87 Yam TY. Well done to all the finishers.

Its at Milnathort. Youre too late, the entries closed Tuesday 27th July, its been advertised in TMX for a couple of weeks.

Since there have been various asides about the top lads gardening in the sections, who do you think you saw move more rock than RMC ?

Yes I did mean what do you think the most unreliable, what with the Beta stators and gearboxes overpressurising (presumably boiling the oil), Gassers overheating and gearboxes losing selection, Sherco clutch drum cush drives and gearchange springs breaking and going through the gearbox. All week didn't hear one rider have a Mont let him down, Sunt is right they just go. Brilliant first ride round Scotland JR, if it hadn't been for the injury I reckon you would have won best newcomer. Hope to see you up here again.

Sorry to bring this up, but there are a hell of a lot af disappointed riders rueing the day they traded in their TY's for modern bikes to ride the Scottish. The only bikes which seemed to be reliable were the 3 TYZ's and the Cotas. Whats your vote for the most unreliable of the week??

Name Paul Garrett from Norfolk area. Unfortunately his bike expired on Friday.

I've found that waterproof socks are the biz, although I haven't done the SSDT. Not cheap at

I'm no Dougie, Sparky. Usually in the last few on the B route. We rode the Bassenthwaite DMC one at Threlkeld Quarry a year or so ago which was very good, hard enough for us anyway. Any others of a similar standard in the North Lakes area you could recommend?.

Anyone ridden the CCMCC tial at Aughertree?. Are the sections a good mix of becks etc, is it a decent length of lap?. Thinking about coming down from Edinburgh but don't want to do 250mile round trip to ride a quagmire in a small field. Any info most welcome.