alan bechard

11 October 2004 Last weekend we had the fortunate opportunity to be able to go to Saddle Camp held at Saddle Back East. It is a great event sponsored by this club where they bring in all the kids and have excellent stuff for them to do, relax and have a good time, and while it is a riding club, and the riding is there and many kids and parents are out riding, it is really the social interaction and the fun and games that make Saddle Camp so special. This year they had a big inflatable jumper thing, and they also had a big inflatable slide thing. There was the BB gun shoot, the Carburetor toss, the fishing casting contest, yard dart kind of game, and Frisbee tossing. There was also face painting with all sorts of things and I saw more than one kid come out with a motorcycle on his cheek. There was also balloon animal and other figure tying and it was wrapped up with a grand giveaway of a boatload of prizes, the highlight of which was a new Schwinn Stingray bicycle. There were also numerous scooters, sleeping bags, Barbie

Would you be inclined to add some more specifics? Experience, size, weight, timid, aggressive it can really make a difference. What type of bike you have plays a role, and what type of dealer support you will receive plays a roll. Cost is usually a factor. But in the end, the best I can suggest is to get the one your child wants and feels comfortable on. Get them on a variety of bikes and let them tell you what they like and dislike, I know from personal experience that what they look at is different from my views. I have owned a Beta 50 auto, three Sherco 50's, a GG 80, 2 TY 80's and we are currently on a Sherco 80 and Sherco 125. I was also the STRA youth director for a bit so have had some exposure to most the bikes there for the Youth Market. My son is possibly in the category that Charlie is referring too where he is somewhat too small for the bike, he is 8 and weighs 68.5 lbs. When he goes down, someone usually has to help him pick it back up, and he has the Auto start feature where someone walks over and automaticly starts his bike for him. But this is getting better, he was starting it himself today with someone holding him. Could you fill in some of the blanks in your childs information, and maybe your location and we can link you with someone in your area?

Hmmmm, the problem with only writing half of what you think (me) A club should, would, could still have those other classes that fit them.. Beginer, Youth, Youth A, Youth B, Open, Womens, Vintage, Senior, Senior Advanced, Exhibition, heck, whatever floats their boat. These classes (except youth), generally ride one of the other lines already. But I would like to see the "core" classes all called the same things in the same order of severity. Some folks Intermediate will be harder than others, sometimes we just flat out miss as trialsmasters in setting the sections. but the important point is that Novice is the starting point, then Intermediate is harder, etc. it could really be 1-6 with 1 being the easiest and class 6 the hardest, or vice versa. The point being, that if we could standardize, then it would assist in cross club promotions. Very few clubs have true "pros" I believe there are only what 10 to 15 in the US? But we should have a class, that reflects the NATC leadership in determining the naming of the top class. We may or may not use it, but it should be the top class that an orginisation attempts to run. Using your example Matt, Youth run their own class / trials Beginner Novice Novice Intermediate Intermediate Sportsman Sportsman Advanced Advanced Expert Expert Pro Senior would still be a "club" class, and would ride whatever line you guys or probably the seniors felt was appropriate. Your top guys would be called "Pro" and not experts, but they would still be the top end of your group, and the Trialsmasters would set the sections to their level I think we are saying pretty much the same thing. Anyway, putting it out there as an idea that I hope some clubs will adopt. I do not see a downside in it, and I believe that it will aid in promoting interclub competition. Thanks for taking the time to consider it.

7 October 04 Well, it has been a while since I have sat down and taken the time to write anything out. Many things have happened in the last couple of weeks that are significant events for the Bechard family in Trials. We went and rode the Stoney Lonesome trials event in Columbus Indiana, we went to the Saddle Camp at Saddleback East and had a great time, I went out and moved the bridge into place, Deans bike lost a top end rod bearing which implanted most of itself into the piston and head,,, doohhhhhh! And I got mine and Christina

Please post or include me on the e-mail chain how it comes out. Thanks

Judging from the overwhelming response that I see to these messages and the folks I have spoken with, I doubt that it will occur in the 05 season. Backing down a level,,,, Maybe for the 05 season, if we could get all the clubs that would be likely to participate, to at least agree on the common names for classes, then in 06 we could launch a series. I will propose it in a separate post, but we need to get to common classes. I would put forward that the classes should be Novice Intermediate Sportsman Advanced Expert Pro I would put forth that most clubs are already running 6 classes of one sort or another. Most clubs run several of these classes already. Is it something that could happen?

Was thinking about the growth of trials a bit, and was thinking about the arguments about why trials does not grow, and the comparison between MX and Trials, and the recent explosion of the X type or freestyle type riding. Commonly it is said that Trials does not have the thrill of MX with the close finishes and the race to the wire which makes it more of a spectator friendly sport. We do not have that, and will not really. But what if instead of looking at MX, we look at Hare Scrambles or Enduro. At least in my area, they are immensley popular and well attended. They do not have the "finish" nor are they very spectator friendly, matter of fact, they are really more difficult to watch and less exciting normally than the average trials to spectate, at least in my opinion. Why are they so huge??? What are they doing differently than we are in Trials?

And one final one that we had to throw in,,,, Come ON AMY!!!! JUMP!!!!

And the main man to whom the Bechard family owes Many thanks, and yep, he probably is over 20' (or at least to Dwight's) in the air over a rocky ditch hanging from a rotten vine....... Does Cindy read these pages????

Well a bunch to write, but just got back from Saddle Camp and wanted to see if I could get this picture up. And just for Brian, no, this picture is not doctored in any way, and yes, Cody is directly under Christina.

It is often a pain to do. There is a fine article on the front page with the technique that works well. Lately, I have been back bleeding, and cracking the lines as I go. I believe that the techno used a ball under the bleeder to make the seal, you will have to remove it too back bleed. Any method you can use to move larger volumes of fluid, and to get the air moving to the top and not hung up in a loop of hose, is very helpful. I also try and use an old set of pads as I have a habit of soaking the pads with brake fluid while fooling around. It also helps with me to get all small children out of the house because the cussing that is about to occur is only fit for soldiers and sailors.

Much the same, and I really like the $100 analogy, it is so accurate it is funny. I think that is what makes trials so great.

They are set ball by ball, and arrive preset to what pressure you want I believe. It takes a press thingy to get it assembled. A bit of work but very do-able.

Well, I guess that is one of my Points, I am guessing that Pro is on par with National level Pro sections,,,, So, what is a "Master"? We used to have Master class in FTA, and I believe STRA, but they are now called Champ...... Either way, whatever the class, it is probably over my head if they are paying money to the winners

Barry Florin of the FTA forwarded the thought last year, and it has probably been thought of in the past,,,, But here it is again, and now is the time to put it in place for the 05 season. Let's put together an East coast US series. Lets string it together from well established club events that are popular and well attended and have good facilities. Let's work to get some sponsorship in place for it to help it, and those events along. With some cooperation, and a minimum of adjustment on very few folks parts, I believe we could do it readily. The goal would be to assit the folks that are trying to make the transition from club level rider to National level rider a bit easier, while increasing prestige and recognition for our sport. I also believe it will improve the sport for folks that would not normally make the national trips, to ride with groups outside their normal clubs. It would also give clubs that are trying to develop the opportunity in outyears, to host a larger level of event, without the obligation of hosting a National. The thought would be,,, Lets pick several excellent East coast events, These come to my mind, FTA Fun in the Sun STRA 58 K trials at TTC TI Dixie Cup or Stoney Lonesome (or both) Club? The Baraboo event We would need at least one event from the NE area, could someone up there suggest one please? We would need some standardized classes. I would think that Pro, Expert and Advanced would be what I would shoot for, but I am sure there will be differences of opinion on that subject. We would need someone to track the scores etc. I think I know someone that would be willing to do that. We would need awards or prizes to make it something to shoot for other than the title, we need to look outside the Trials Community and not deplete stretched resources to accomplish this. We would need to publisize it so that folks know what is going on. Craig? This has always been a weak point in the trials community. So????? Another silly idea? Or something that may help to push our sport forward? Your opinions appreciated and respected.

Hello folks, it is time for many of us to start thinking about what will come up at the year end meetings, and laying the groundwork for what will come in the 05 season. While many of us have different views, most of us have a common bond in trials that is seldom seen in other sports or activities. And while we recognize that part of that bond comes from the exclusivity of trials, most of us wish that our sport would grow and prosper a bit, probably not to the point of the x-games and MX, but at least to the point where folks recognized the bikes and the name of the sport associated with them. Here are a couple of thoughts, that I feel should be presented to folks for consideration to help trials expand. We should call classes the same thing across the US. It really does not matter what we call them, heck, lets quit calling them names, we might hurt their feelings, lets call them class 1,2,3,4,and 5 or maybe 6. But lets try and adopt some form of standard across the country. Now I think we should go ahead and continue to call them names, but lets pick the same name and associate it with the same class. Ie, line 1 is novice, line 2 is intermediate, line 3 is advanced, line 4 is Expert and line 5 is Pro. Let's fall in line with the NATC as to what we call our top competitive class, let's call it Pro, and work to develop riders who would be competitive at the National level competing in that class. What if all the clubs across the US, fell in step with the NATC on the scoring rules, after all, it is us clubs that are the NATC, lets stand behind them and support them, while at the same time sending a clear message forward with the reps to quit jacking around with the scoring rules, they seem to be working pretty well right now, everyone is learning them, lets lock them in. Lets try and develop another level of series, for the serious club rider to contend. While true that Spain has a national series and so does Germany, England etc. Woop out that globe and look at the size of them and the drive times and logistics involved. It is a tremendous jump for US riders to go from riding "local" events, to riding National events which can very likely be three days drive away. Lets work together to develop an in between series of events utilizing well established and succsessful local level events to have further series. I will post in a seperate topic, but as Barry Florin suggested last year, lets push forward to make an Eastern US series. Also, as a final aside, to the folks that contact me and say, "well, we would love to ride, but nobody else here does, or there are no events in my area" That should be the drive for you to get something started and going. And if you are not the person that can make that happen, maybe you can assist someone else and your combined efforts can make it a reality.

Yep. When the powder coating is free (well, my wife mows his property and he powdercoats my parts) you get all sorts of silly ideas. Just have not felt like unspoking one yet!

MMMMM,,,,, and thinking one step further, you could cross pin the stud into place with small roll pin,????? I would probably go the solder route. I just hope I do not need too! Good luck Zippy, let us know how it all turns out. The lower fork legs for mine and my daughters are in the powdercoat shop at the moment becoming yellow.

I do not see how you could do that Mr. Dabster? I would think just a 6mm stud of the appropriate length, threaded all the way, and put in place with JB weld, Alderite, liquid metal or whatever you care to call it, would be a great fix. It really does not hold much load anyway, then the repeated use would be on the steel threads of the stud, not the soft aluminum. Thinking about it you could probably also put it in place with low temp silver solder and that would be about rock solid.

That is a great idea.

I had mine and Christina's fork legs in my hands last night, and pulled out those bolts. It would be fairly trick to get the helicoil in there and started, you would have too use one of the cheap "key" type inserters, and oversize the "pinch" hole some. I would definetely try the 1/4" X 20 trick first if it was mine, then you could always step up to the Helicoil. Try the thread making stuff in between. My 2 cents.

This is what Brian was referring too. They are pressure adjustable. They have also done some one off's and testing on the Sherco 80 and 50. http://www.tireballs.com/company.htm

Brian, sounds too me like there is a little bugger or misfit on the spline. I would lap the two together by hand with valve grinding compound. You should be able to run that thing without the key if you wanted too, it is more a positioner, than a holder. (As UC said)

Saw this on my Desktop. Just thought I would share it, this is Doug a couple of years ago playing around. Ben is hot on his tail though, I do not think it will be too many years and we will see a couple of the kids doing this!

12 September 2004 Well, it has been a while since I have taken the time to write. Two weeks ago we were fortunate enough to be able to ride a fun trial at Bob Ginder