alan bechard

http://www.natctrials.org/results.htm By the way Atom, I did not do it right, but you do realize that the words under "pulling your chain" in my post are yours right?

OK, had to figure out how to use the search feature sometime I guess...... http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/index....el+tank+leaking I think we ran through it pretty well there. Let me know if you have any additional questions.

Well, I strongly suggest not following the above advice. I would bet you would find that it is the plug leaking where it mates into the socket in the tank. If you search on here a bit you should find the older threads where we went through the various options of repairing these. No idea on where to get a new or used tank where you are at, but I would certainly be looking at repairing the one I had.

PLEASE... Do yourself a favor and Stop. Right now.... Put down the drill..... Back away from the Wheel...... Get someone experienced at doing this to do it for you. Remove the wheel and the disc and bring it to a good machine shop. (I think you call them engineering shops) It will be cheap / easy / quick / painless until you start messing about with it. Tell dad, he should understand that you were doing the right thing. It is far better to check those then to have them back out and destroy stuff. Ask nicely if you could please watch as someone experienced removes the bolt and ask them to explain what they are doing and why, and what the other alternatives would be.

Usually the largest event of the STRA season. Voted best trials in the STRA I believe last year. (I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong ) Great event, hope to see you there Sam. I will be at the Bechard Vacation retreat,,,,, otherwise known as Cabin 5...

Yes. Most states, 15 is a learners permit to operate with a licensed adult 16 is an operators license. More and more states are going to a "graduated" program with more restrictions and more time spent "learning".

You got it K. It was the running joke for a while that all my family's bikes came with Auto Start, they would just walk towards their bikes, and I would automaticly go start them.

How mechanical are you? Have any of you guys having to deal with those BS rules looked at sleeving down the GG? I would bet a Sherco would be the closest to what he is used too. You could get the 125 then the 80 top end. Not that I would advocate cheating but Have not seen a tear down rule or protest rule in trials (but one will be coming now that folks seem to want to use engine displacment as a discriminator) but the earlier Sherco 80's were closer to 100's....... Of course I live in the land of Nascar where if you aint cheating, you aint trying. If I was in your position, and had a GG and liked it and the service / support you get, I would be looking hard at sleeving porting etc. I would bet a good specialty shop could do it. If you were here I would say Bob at B&J first if he would slip it in as his knowledge of trials motors is incredible, then I would go to someone like LA sleeve or such with just a wide range of stuff available. Send them an engine and spend a lot of time on the phone explaining what you need and what you want. Good luck, at least you are ahead of the curve, I bet there will be some parents that show up with the 125 and find they are not allowed to let their kids compete. Now that would SUCK.

The family and I had the distinct pleasure of competing in the Dixie Cup this past weekend. After weeks of on again, off again trying to decide if we were going or not it was finally decided that Friday morning for the wife, son and myself to go, and my daughter decided Friday night about 9:30 that she would come along as well. The Dixie cup is a premier event here in the Central US and this years event was no exception. Excellent facilities coupled with well thought out sections and thankfully beautifull weather made this one great time. We started our weekend hitting the road about 5:30am to make the 12 start time on Saturday. Rolled in without hassle, got parked and went through the signup. Wishing I had a bit more foresight and better planning and I could have signed us all up online. This is a wonderful system that TI uses, and we tried to implement in the STRA and it just never really took hold. We all got changed and bikes ready and went out for a great day. It was different riding with my wife, you get the normal first ride jitters, but I was concentrating more on her, and her having a good time and not getting hurt so it distracted me even more then normal. Just ask Dan, it is usually the running joke that I have to ask were I go next in the middle of the sections even when I am riding alone It was damp and muddy at the start of the day with a threat of rain the entire day, it reminds me of what a great job Gary, Brad and the rest of the Saddleback crew do that they had the sections set to grab points, but there was nothing I saw that struck me as dangerous or hazardous, even if the rain had come. And believe me, there are plenty of places out there that can get ugly. Hanna my wife struggled a lot starting out, she has just begun riding, but did real well in my opinion. She would paddle through the difficult or scary parts and then get up and ride where she felt confident. I was exceptionally pleased to see her progress throughout the weekend. She had one get off on the trail, it was a flat and slimy trail along the creek bed and she could see where riders would "shoot the edge" of mud holes and the like, I had meant to warn her to just go through, or to get well up on the flat, because you cannot apply power while your rear wheel is on the slope or it will pass you....... Well, she got the up close and personal lesson on that and somehow twisted her knee in the process. It was definetely quick..... She then had to use the auto start feature on her Sherco 125 for a while but she kept riding which I thought was great. I must say, the encouragement of the other riders and spectators and observers sure is what makes trials such a great and family freindly sport. The Youngs, especially, as well as so many others that just make the days spent with our trials Family great. The guy on Section three singing German folk songs when she came through, A big thanks to Jimmy Z for catching her as she rolled backwards down a hill, then coaching her through it, Jim W who was so banged up from RI that I probably would have been home laying in bed, yet he was out there both days observing and cheering folks on. The ladies that took their time and had hot food out there for us, man, I just cannot say enough how that all combined together to make for some great times. Other wandering highlights. Sat, I was doing great Loop 2, clean loop, Loop 3 I think a 1 pointer, section 1, loop 4 go in and got just a bit off line, a small sapling I did not notice hooks my front brake on a downhill...... Can you say, BODYSLAM.....Bike lands on my legs, thank god I am not hurt,,,,,,,,, Then realize I am really, really stuck. A big thanks to Big Dean for coming over and getting the bike off me, I get up, apparently still not quite with it,,,,,, Tell Big Dean I have the bike, let it roll forward just a bit, take a step back into a big hole and fall over again with the bike on me........ Little Dean (mine) links up and rides with Ryan and Blaine on Sunday..... Now there is trouble in the making...... Christina (daughter) who decides to check Sunday and spend some time with her freinds, looks up in her section and there are all three of them MX'ing through the section at the same time..... Memories and experiences like that will stay with Dean a lifetime I think. Dean gets to the last section of the day Sunday.... has 1 point for the day so far. (39 sections) Hanna and I are there and Dean goes big, pulls a big stoppie into the section (copying his hero Ryan) gets in too low on a different line and ends up dropping 3. We all thought it would end up a 5, but he sat there and hopped the front to the side and got it back on line....... Hung the front wheel on a tree as he was pivoting...... He is getting better as he gets bigger. Big Bicycle Trials on Saturday..... Dean just wore himself out, fell asleep in the truck on the way to get Pizza, that was one bushed kid, but wanted to go back for another round in the morning. Christina rode real well and in control. She has not had the interest she has had in the past, I think Teenageitis is catching up with her, but she did really great all in all and rode well. Helped her mom through some of the tight spots and was right there too coach etc. Long drive back Sunday night, and a Labor day spent Washing everything, but great memories that will last a lifetime. A heartfelt thanks to the TI croud.... (that was for Lane)

I like the Sherco's myself. Not understanding the comment about the suspension though, for a smaller rider, I would say the suspension is better, more suited. I would say with all of them though, that there will be things that you will want to do to tailor it more to your and your childs tastes. Go for what you are comfortable with, and who's shortcoming's you are the most comfortable dealing with.

Pulling your chain a bit Atom,,, Would it therefore be possible to just let the kids who want to ride 125's compete in the same class as kids riding bigger bikes riding the same route. Going by the results we are seeing, its clearly no major advantage being on a bigger bike it seems when you have the skill and talent that these lads have? I say you put him on the 125 and let him go. It will accurately benchmark things no matter how it works out, and no loss to Ross as he would not be in the "series" anyway, kind of like a very formal practice session for him no matter how you toss it.

WOW! Very impressive results for Patrick and the Smage organisation. That is some fantastic riding!

Thank you Andy, for all of it.

This must be where I add in how much better it will make your riders because they are on smaller bikes.... I am sure it will help your sport grow and that is why you guys are doing it. Nothing to do with insurance or anything like that..... OK, so maybe just a bit Sarcastic. Scorpa 3, FWIW, I sure do not envy your position one bit. The, "It's been talked about 4 or 5 years" is not going to go over so well when looking at a teary eyed ten year old and an upset father that you just told his son cannot ride that bike. Funny though, to hear the UK guys talk on the US boards, the 125 (and I consider this a follow on too it) rules are the best things since sliced bread. Oh, and Nigel, I don't think Chris was joking about any of it. At least I do not take it that way.

So I am not very computer literate, but the back button does not work anymore for me on TC, started yesterday. Works on other websites on this computer. Also does not work on my home computer. Any thoughts?

Just run the wheel the way it is and you will be ahead. Retension the spokes to pick up the slack, call it a "FEATURE" and keep riding. ( this is assuming that the bead is still holding in place.) Almost assuredly when you try and straighten it, it will work harden and crack. (don't ask how I know) but if you do decide that you want to straighten it, dismount your tire, duct tape the edge, and use a large adjustable wrench and slowly taking lots of little bites over the entire area bring it back into shape. Whatever alloy they use in those things does not like welding much. I am probably going to weld one of mine, but have been cautioned by my freind that is a very experienced motorsports welder that the odds of true success are slim. But most of his are MX repairs, I am hoping that Trials bike, and put it on my daughters or wifes bike and I will not have that problem. They will run fine cracked for a long time with no problems,,, Then again, you do seem rather tough on them lately. Good luck with whichever way you go.

Makes many, scratch that, ALL, of the "Problems" I have pale in comparison. Sure gives something to think about.

I think Mark was referring to this post. http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9688

There is a lot of info on the MX mini sites about setting up the clutches, although very little reference to the 2 shoe clutches, many of the principals are the same. Lighter flywheel? You change it? Glad it is running right.

I do not know what it would take for us. I know this past year it would just take more Vacation then I had. As it was I had to come sit at my desk for 2 days and depend on the graciousness of my Trials friends who stepped up and looked after my kids. As it was I had to take P time for 2 days I think and upper management was not the least happy about that. Fortunately for me this year I just vested again, and now get 4 weeks a year instead of 3 I know that with Gas prices soaring through the roof, it makes it harder and harder to justify. Thoughts I found interesting, Clarksville TN is 500 miles or less from 75% of the US population. I do not have a place to point you to that statistic so I cannot back it up, but the man that told me pays attention to that sort of thing. I think that is ONE of the reasons that LL is so popular. I think Dan has hit the nail on the head though. If it had a different flavor or reason to go, it may be more likely to succede. Dean and I are hoping to get out there this fall for a weekend or something, I would have tried to put it together for the left coast nationals, but it was prior to vesting my vacation. I might just be full of gloom and doom today, but as I watch the gas prices continue to climb, my pay stay about the same, and hauling a load we get poor mileage, long distance events will get less and less for us.

All in all Dan I think it looks great. I think class letters / numbers whatever as you said, looks like the best compromise. It should help to have something current to point clubs too and say, Here is the pattern, modify for your particular scenario, but here is a base to work from. Definetely a big step in the right direction.

How many coils on the old one and how many wire's? Just curious now as I can probably offer no help, but would be interested to know the outcome or see pictures. If needed I can get my BIL to look at his. He has an 04 and to the best of my knowledge they did not change. I know he does not have the stuff to pull the flywheel though so it may not be much help. Good luck, got to think it is something straight forward when it get's sorted out. flywheel key? I think I would peer at the top end if it was mine to see if it was hot enough to damage something, or if there are any clumps of stuff hanging about that could hold heat and act like a glow plug.... Probably the electrode tip though I would imagine, but do not really know. Did it idle at the period without the plug connected?

I am missing something in the equation here, I actually came on to ask if it sorted it, but you must have been out trying it. Next time you go to kill one, take that same rag and plug the exhuast, that should bring it too it's knees quite quickly. Sometimes just choking them does the trick as well. I cannot imagine getting my hand in there to pull the plug cap. Did you have the plug cap well away from the plug? And it still ran? Idled? Have never seen a "runaway" that was not screaming, and that is a handfull on a centrifigul clutch bike. I have seen them run away without ignition but they were always real hot and then they were running like an old model airplane with a "glow Plug" in the head. Some "hot spot" that continued to provide ignition for the motor. If it was mine, I would be curious enough to pull the head and look. The one's I have seen were also usually running "tapped" like a stuck throttle cable or slide or whatnot and getting plenty of fuel. As to being 180 out I would want to sit and stare and think at that one quite a bit. I may be missing something but would that not cause it to fire on the bottom of the stroke?????? I keep coming back to different winding's or wires or something. I feel certain there is some portion of this equation I am missing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-stroke_cycle I have never had the stators out, how many winding's and wires are there?

This thread here shows the problem. http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9829 The "line" they are looking at is between the two gate markers of another class. Seems like I am not the only one that misses these things. But how does that go Mark, if I am in Laia's company it is all good!

Yep.... With freinds like you