Well, Tim...you know how it is...old trials riders never die...we just smell that way.
#2 son has caught the bug, so it looks like I'm back in it to some extent.
The apparatus needed to hold my knee together gets more complex as I avoid the inevitable inevitable replacement, so most of my "riding" will be following the next generation around, but DAMN there aren't too many places I feel more at home than on a 'sickle!
Welcome back to Trials, hope the youngen continues to have fun with it for years to come.
I am in trouble because I smell like I died and I am not considered "Old Trials Rider"......yet (40)
I also use a knee brace but mine is for Arthritis and holds my knee apart a tad bit so that it doesn't "slam" together. But I have been told by my Orthopedic surgeon that I "will have a knee replacement in my future" I responded with "We will talk when I can't walk without screaming" Here's an odd bit of info on the Arthritic knee, It never hurts while riding trials or riding bicycles. (maybe it is the brace) but I will have pain when walking, cold wet days affect it........ so my theory is I need to ride more often and walk less.
MOTA (Michigan Ontario Trials Association) had a turn out of 55 riders and 65 riders at the last two events. I think that is the largest turn out in a few years. (but I could be wrong) There were a good amount of new riders coming from other disciplines and some "older" riders returning to the sport.
I am very pleased to have new riders and returning riders show up for events. Please keep coming and riding.
Team WGASA will try to continue with the high level of entertainment we provide for all. (Notice I said nothing about riding well, mostly we provide crashes, costumes and general sillyness)
I did the same thing, I had to leave it tight, like you describe before backing off. it broke in fast. if it doesn't not that hard to back off. I backed off the 1st one I did, about 15 hours later it had slop, this time never have had slop. maybe I backed off too far the 2 times I did, I dunno?
I am definetly going to keep an eye on it. I was hoping that because I did not replace bearings that there was nothing to "break in" ???
broken steering stem sucks.
It took quite a bit of time for me to get used to what to really keep an eye on with the Sherco I owned, I am still learning the quirks of my GasGas as far as what items need to be monitored more closely than other items. Overall I am very happy with the bike.
My brother dropped off my lower triple clamp with my new steering stem pressed into it today. (I don't have a press and apparently a large hammer is not reccommended) So of course I HAD to put her back together. Tightened the steering bearings up to where they were a tad "too tight" and felt "grabby" when I turned side to side and then backed the nut off just a little bit until it was smooth back and forth. Hoping that is tight enough so that my stem don't break in the future, but the one that broke was the original from 2003 sooooo....... I guess 10 yrs of abuse is good out of it.
Most safety gear for trials is basically what level of protection do you feel comfortable with.
I have seen trials riders show up to an event if full off road gear, full face MX helmet, pads, chest protector etc....
AAAANNNND then there's me. Shorts and a T-shirt. Open face trials helmet, Alpinestars trials boots, gloves. Knee brace for Arthritis. (amazingly enough I have only burnt my leg on the exhaust 3 times!! Once more and I might think I was daft! )
So if full face makes you feel more secure go for it. There are a few US riders that like them. I like the downhill helmets that ross brown was mentioning, But in the world of trials where you are always "looking up" having the back cut higher will be more comfortable.
But Team WGASA members will be in attendance!!!!!! And I am certain they will tell me all about it.............. really making me wish I could have been there.
So you now have a bike you cannot open the throttle on as well, that thing is MAD if you do, yet docile if you dont.
It was my first time on the bike, after an event and I was already tired and not prepared or ready for how the bike performed. But now I am, and I love the bike........Just wish I would have made sure the steering head bearings were tight.
Also Just because WFO is available does not mean you should use it (unless it is a 125cc, because that is the only way to move 3 inches forward) Yea sure lower cc bikes make you use proper technique all the time and perfect gear choice blah blah blah blah. I do this for fun, I am not a perfect rider, I don't always choose the right gear. I like having a motor that will compensate for my lack of perfection.
In short, I like the bike. Balances great, great power delivery, tons of torque, and a very smooth bike. Apparently Cope is not a fan of the 300 GasGas, but we are all entitled to our own opinions. But I don't have to agree/listen to everyone's opinions.
I started taking Glucosamine Glucosamine Sulphate 2KC1 1000mg for my knees, but have found my tendonitis to be much improved.
When I first got the bike last fall I gave it a "bit of THROTTLE" (unbeknownst how much a 300 Gasser would like to rip arms off) and I think it just gave me a bit of a pulled tendon in the elbow. It has healed up mostly on its own. But on my last bike I had trimmed the bars a bit to better fit me.
I did try the Glucosamine stuff for my arthritic knee and found no change whatsoever after a couple months use. Now I am not saying it doesn't work, it just didn't work for me.
OK on to what I did with my GasGas today
Today during set up for our event tomorrow I found out 2 things:
1. moving the grips inward 3/16 in made it much more comfortable for hands and forarms and elbows to ride. So I will be trimming 1/8 in off each end of the bars, that allows a little for "oopsies"
2. At some previous riding session (the one where I heard the loud CRACK) I broke my steering stem. Ya know that round rod thingy that goes through the triple clamps and the steering head bearings. Apparently it is preffered to keep that as ONE piece and not two. On the bright side my parts dealer will be sending me a new one tomorrow.
It is my club that is putting the event on, so this time around I get to sit in a chair, yell "Rider", hold up a few fingers, punch cards, drink "beverages" and giggle when riders say "That looks easy" and then get through with a million dabs later.
I think today while "working" (playing on my GasGas) on finishing setting up our event I am going to move my handlebar grips in about 1/8 of an inch and see if that helps with the sore tendon in my elbow. (still tweaking the new to me bike) Then if it works, I will trim that bit off the bars.
Zippy , you checked out these levers ? You can pull them in ,out in ,you know how it goes ,quick pull and your done , GREAT!
I was done shortly after looking at the pics of the levers.............no pulling needed! LOL
Looks like there is a great deal of adjustment as far as lever placement for maximum leverage with having the second adjustment bolt. (I really hope that made sense)
should be very useful in a crash that would bend the levers backwards.
Later today I will be taking my GasGas out to our trials property and work on setting up sections for Sunday's event. Of course I will have to ride the sections in to make sure they are acceptable for the event. Also I will need to go tomorrow and "work" some more on sections.
psssssst,,, I have recently changed bikes and my performance has improved greatly. The newer bike "fits" me better in terms of power, geometry etc..
I don't see how a top level rider would not benefit from riding a bike that "fits" them best. And if there is better support, than that is just a bonus.
I don't think Atomant was bashing GasGas, he was just pointing out differences in one rider's performance on a different machine. And mentioning what was good about the Jotagas.
Nice post, you are right for most riders. And most people do not understand where the rules came from.
Clubs should follow the NATC and the NATC should follow the world, but some where along the way everybody became totally lost!! Either the no-stop rules need to be adjusted to work.(Maybe check out ITSA rules http://twinshock.org...module_id=10801) Or the opposite to go with indoor rules outdoor, but with such a strict time limit that it would look like no stop riding. This changing the rules back and cross ways has ruined the sport! It used to be not so hard to understand, have we all been dumbed down so much we have no sense left?
My son and I just volunteered to score at TTC for the world round. So instead of just blowing smoke, I`ll get to reply back on how the `rules` are working! And to Zippy one of our 18 year olds from our club is going to ride!!!!! So it should be exciting!
Also Zippy all it takes is one or two riders to do well in the Nationals to open the flood gates to the rest!
Good luck to the lad that will be riding, I sincerely hope they have a good time and enjoy themselves. And they will be able to say "I rode in a world round"
my original post about 1 or 2 from the USA riding World rounds was meant as 1 or 2 riders that contest the entire World Trials Series I should have been more specific. I have noticed that when there are World rounds in Japan there are quite a few Japanese riders that also take part in the events in Japan...........But no other rounds. Just like The rounds here in the USA that I hope have high number of USA riders taking part in them, but how many will contest the entire series? We do have 2 that plan to do it in 2014 and I wish them the best of luck and I think they will do a fine job of representing the USA.
I copied this next part from the link provided and I agree with it 100% because in my mind it melds the 2 disciplines together and puts the emphasis on control and balance which is what trials is about.
Failure: The following instances during a section attempt will result in a score of five points:
Scorpas are good bikes, have seen a few riders enjoy themselves immensely on them.
I can't tell if yours is fitted with this item or not.
You may want to check into getting a "flat" skid plate for it. Some model years had an angled skid plate that when you sat on the plate on a log it would pitch you to the side. very inconvenient if you desire to keep the feet on the pegs.
Because it is a torquey pig I don't need more than half throttle. That is what I like about it. I prefer to ride in the lower rev range...... but if I need it there is more available!
My opinion on what bike to choose. You have some experience on motorcycles, so you know where the controls are. But you may also understand about how power is delivered to the rear wheel. Bike choice for trials in my opinion depends more on your style of riding than on engine size.
My opinion on "modern" trials machines.
125CC = Rev the HELL out of it and use PROPER technique and you will move forward a few inches.
200CC = Have not had any experience with these I will just "assume" it to be a mid ground of the 125 and 250CC
250CC = A little bit of low end torque, but still need to rev it a bit to do stuff
270CC-280CC = Decent amount of low end torque don't need a whole lot of throttle to get over most beginner/Intermediate obstacles, still need to rev it up to "bigger" stuff
300CC = Tons of low end torque, it will GO over anything beginner/intermediate with minimal throttle input. Just a little more throttle and you will make it over "bigger" stuff. If you really twist the throttle it will RIP your arms off and launch itself in the air.
And each manufacturer's different sized motors react a little bit different in regards to how they rev up, how hard/fast power hits etc.. Also I think the different frame geometry of different manufacturers gives a different "feel" of how the motor reacts.
And like others have said it is relatively easy to tame down the bigger bore bikes.
So Bottom line.......... try as many different sizes and brands you can and buy the one that "fits" you.
(If you can't tell I am a big fan of the 300CC GasGas, but it is a ton of motor that may get away from a noobie real quick)
Why is it plod has no problem giving you a ticket for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, and he can be sat 100 yards away in his car stuffing pies in his face.
)
Trials People!
in General Trials Talk
Posted · Edited by zippy
Welcome back to Trials, hope the youngen continues to have fun with it for years to come.
I am in trouble because I smell like I died and I am not considered "Old Trials Rider"......yet (40)
I also use a knee brace but mine is for Arthritis and holds my knee apart a tad bit so that it doesn't "slam" together. But I have been told by my Orthopedic surgeon that I "will have a knee replacement in my future" I responded with "We will talk when I can't walk without screaming" Here's an odd bit of info on the Arthritic knee, It never hurts while riding trials or riding bicycles. (maybe it is the brace) but I will have pain when walking, cold wet days affect it........ so my theory is I need to ride more often and walk less.