zippy

Looks like you're starting to get it. As silly as it sounds and as silly as you will feel doing it, try this. Over exaggerate your motions. When you bend at the knees bend a little farther, when you "spring" back up really bring your knees up. Sometimes we don't give enough motion because it feels "wierd" to do so. and maybe a hair bit more throttle on the second blip to go with it. Keep your finger covering the clutch. Clutch is fastest way to keep the motor from powering the rear wheel. So if you happen to give it just a bit too much throttle and the bike goes a bit more than you want you can instantly pull in the clutch and forward motion stops. Don't worry about crashing.......................if you're not crashing then you're not learning.

Alpinestars. As comfortable as a hiking boot. (I had an old pair of Gearnes and they was not very comfortable. insole was like a flat piece of wood, but not sure if that was how they came originally or if that was because of age/use)

On Break at the time of writing this of course!

OUCH! I saw that tree jump right in front of him!!! Watching the other people try to walk up to see if Raga needed any help really helps to show how steep/difficult that hillside is.

yep like Neutron says (I will paraphrase) most of it is in the legs and timing. being "loose" and comfortable on the bike makes things much better.

Actually I am quite good at math. (Senior year High school took Analysis and Math V at the same time. The two courses combined were the equivalent of a college pre-calculus class. Slept during both at different times during the week and finished with an A in each class. But enough bragging about something I have never used in 22 yes. Since graduating and have forgotten most of it. Anyways point is I try not to think too much when I ride. It usually makes me worry about the obstacle too much or I concentrate on one thing too Much and screw it up. Blip throttle, front tire comes up. Something that size is immaterial if it tire hits face or sits on top. The key is push down on pegs to compress rear suspension then as you give the second blip "jump" up and the rear will "bounce" on top of log. May not be pretty or smooth or "greatest" technique but gets the job done.

Oh great, advanced math now

Did he actually stop? If he stopped then yes a 5 under current rules, but if he was still moving forward and restarted the bike while still moving forward than he satisfied the no stop portion of the rule. So far I do not know of a "No Stall" rule.......................yet. Yep he was a bit "upset"

possibly you could loosen the banjo bolt and rotate the brake hose down a tad bit so it follows the same angle as the bars. Giving a little more downward swing for the master cylinder? Or take a chance and bend the metal part of the line a little bit away from the bars?

If we could get some actual Brick and Mortar dealerships with bikes on hand that may help with exposure. Think of Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, etc.. There is a dealership relatively close to just about anybody. Or it is "well known" enough that people would travel to it. You can buy one of the bikes that are right there in stock. right now if you want a trials bike, it gets ordered, and we wait for it to be imported and wait and wait and wait and wait............. GasGas and Beta are making good Enduro bikes as well as the trials machines. Have seen both around. Most trials manufacturers do have a range of other bikes available. So if some of these established dealers would pick up a new brand or two that would help and then have a trials bike parked alongside the enduro machines etc....... but which one of the established dealers wants to be the first to take the risk?

Oh great, Now I have to do math while I ride..........I have a hard enough time remembering to breath when riding

And as we all know at our level of the sport it's all about how you look when you ride. Although quite a few of us go for the "goofier" side of the looks option.

Because if they make a "genuine attempt" that means they may also have a "bobble" for a moment that will be scored the same as all the others that have a "bobble". Which brings the score to footing being the deciding factor. I have heard other riders had a more "flowing style" but herky jerky style that does not stop is also no stop. The more pretty flowing style matters not if you put your feet down more often then the sporatic style. (Notice I said both styles do not stop. Herky jerky = motion forward quickly then real slow, then quick, then rel slow etc...) Again just my opinion and the FIM won't listen to me anyway.

It works for our Government. At least if the observer observes every rider "Consistently Wrong" then all riders are judged on the same criteria and have a fair sporting chance at the win. Now of course what would be best is if every observer at the trial observed consistently with all the other observers to what the written rules are. I.E. stop = 5 then every observer sees a stop of forward motion scores a 5 no matter who the rider is or length of time of the stop. (by the way I hate No Stop rules, but if that is the rule then it should be scored as such and scored consistently) I cannot comment on any specific section or specific scoring practices at a World Round as because I was not actually there. And majority of the videos are too far away/grainy for me to be able to really make a final determination (and my computer lags sometimes causing it to appear they stopped, when it is just my puter buffering) My comments are more of a "general" nature on the rules themselves.

Looks like a fun time!!!

LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE LIKE OK enough trying to annoy Andy

Consistency is the most important. Problem is getting all Observers to have the same consistency. AAAHH arguement for a different day.

WHEW!!! for a second there I thought it was a total loss!!!! OK enough smart a*** comments from me. Hope ya get it sorted quickly, and good thing you found the problem.

I usually remove the master cylinder cover when doing this to allow the fluid to go back into the master cylinder easier. Not exactly sure if it is necessary or helpful...........just something I do.

AWESOME PICS really wish I could have made it there. First 2 pics of Raga and Bou, I imagine the conversation as this Raga: Hey Toni, How ya doing today? Bou: Oh not bad, really enjoying the US weather. You? Raga: Oh yea the weather is great, you try any of the local food? Bou: yep I tried some Chili, it was named incorrectly. that stuff was HOT and spicy. TTTHHHHHHPPPPPPPPPPPTTT! Raga: (sniff) I think I will go over here and get a look at the section from a different angle....... see ya around. #1 and #5 green vest are syncronized......... Other pics have some really nice action shots, and some really good shots of riders faces. Love seeing the look of concentration on some and the look of enjoyment on others.

Welcome to the wonderful weird world of trials. You will have a great time with it!

Well, I don't really have much personal experience with the "newer" bikes. My "new" bike is 10 yrs old. So if you are going from an 09 to a 13 or 14 that is WAY out of my experience level. So anything I would have to say on the subject would be basic propoganda/ BS or brand loyalty. GO GASGAS!!!! Good luck on your search, hope you can get some actually useful information.

I prefer the FREE and COLD variety!

You may be honestly trying to get some helpful info on bikes. But over the past few years there have been many "which bike is best" threads. And these generally just devolve into "The bike I ride is best, all others are crap". So my advice, get to ride as many different new bikes as you can, and go for the one that suits you best.

My steering stem snapped off right at the base of the threads at the top bearing. It broke at the exact spot where the threads started on the shaft. I think when I landed that day the top part of the triple clamp kept moving forward as the bottom stayed in place. and SNAP at the top.