Firstly this is an American's point of view on MotoTrials in America. (Europe may be different)
Let's face it in this current day and age of SPEED AND BIG SPECTACULAR, Trials is well just boring to the average spectator. Yes our top guys have BIG steps that they do, but it is still boring for the spectator after watching 2 riders ride the same step. The following is what my wonderful wife told me when I had her watching a trials video "I saw him do that already" Me:"No honey that was Dude #1 this is Dude #4, see how the two riders place their front tire in two different spots, 3 inches apart, before trying the step" Her:"Nope, all looks the same"
If we go to NO-Stop and introduce speed and big steps then spectators are going to wonder why is there only 1 rider in there at a time, make it interesting and put in 10-15. Oh never mind, I will just go watch Endurocross or Extreme Enduro or MX. Regular trials is just not "Extreme" enough to get the attention of the majority of younger riders. And most of the spectators don't want to wander around the woods all day to watch it. Where do most spectators watch motorcycle events? TV for outdoors stuff and stadiums for indoor stuff. Where they can sit and be entertained.
For participation: No-Stop or Stop allowed makes no difference in trying to convert anyone. Most riders of other motorcycle sports look at Pro trials riders and say "Wow that was cool but I will not be able to ride that big of a step, and the lower classes look so easy by comparison that what would be the point? Besides that I am over 21 and don't want to have my ass handed to me by a 9 year old kid in the Novice class. I am gonna go ride some off- road trails, MX or Enduro." Is there $$$$ paid out to the top 3 in other motorcycle sports at the club/amateur level? That will influence many to stay with that sport also. Also our bikes look funny and basically can only be used for 1 thing. A club level/amateur that is riding for fun on an MX bike even set up for MX can be run effectively in the trails with your buddies on Sat. and Raced on Sun. Or you can take your MX bike and run it in a midweek MX then on Sat. do a Hare and Hound and on Sun run an Endurocross. (I know each race has different suspension needs if you want to place in top 3 consistently but I am talking about Joe Average that wants to dabble in as much riding as he can because he likes to ride. (Basically what the majority of club level trials riders would be that we need to increase our participation)
Trials always was and always will be 1 rider, 1 bike against the terrain. There is a certain mentality of individual that understands trials as being about control and is just "off" enough to enjoy the sport. We need to reach more of them.
I think some of the push for No-Stop is because some of the aging riders still want to be in a class with a cool name for the upper skill levels like they rode "in the good old days" Ya know Champ, Expert, Advanced, whatever your clubs top 2 classes are called, and they don't like being called Intermediate or Novice etc.... You can ride whichever style you want No-Stop, or stop-hop. I try to ride using both styles when that part of the section calls for it. (Albeit not really great at it) I agree with chuckindenver (I am starting to get worried now) that stop with penalty is a good compromise between the two. As I understand Stop with Penalty is: Stop and balance=0, Stop with foot down = 5. This will allow the balancers to do so and set up, but will also force the balancers to get better at controlling the bike or risk a 5, It will also encourage other riders to not stop when they know they will be putting a foot down and thus be similar to No-Stop.
Just my Opinions,
On Edit: OH Crap that was rather long winded, if you made it this far I thank you for being interested enough in what I had to say to read it to the end. If you just skipped to the bottom to read this, then to you I say
Hi all, Sammy Miller here, boy its cold over in Canada, wish I had the old Ariel here, would be just what I needed to keep my hands warm on that hot exhaust, oh, and by the way, I am resurrecting Bultaco andhope to have a new model out by Easter......say tuned!
Be careful you may get sued by Sherco....................they tried resurrecting Bultaco first
That would be a scary few seconds coming back down. It still can be done "No Stop"..........just would need an aircraft runway length of run up to get ready for it.
On a different rule: "crossing your own path". So if you launch over your path it is not "crossing your path"? at least that is what the video appears he is doing
never used a torque wrench in 30 years of working on bikes. Still waiting for the first problem....
There are those "Old Boys" that seem to have a torque wrench fitted inside their wrist. and can actually get the torque within a couple ft/lbs of what it needs to be.
Does anyone want 41/2 litres of stale 2 stroke fuel? Maybe I'll keep it for cleaning the Cub chain.
Brucey.
I pour old fuel into my truck, it gets mixed into 20 gals of good stuff and it don't know the difference........................ come to think of it the fuel mileage of my truck is so low it sits in the driveway more than anything else.........Probably have a tank full of stale fuel now. HMMMMM maybe I should go start the truck, if I do that I may as well load the Gas Gas into the bed and go for a ride!!! OOOHH I like that. Thanks Brucey for the idea of going for a ride! Now I have to convince the that I "need" to go for a ride.
I'll try and find someone with an impact gun, thanks. And I just don't see the point in paying £80 quid for a tool that I will only use once.
Impact gun takes the nut off sweet as can be.
Clutch holding tool makes torquing the nut back down much easier and less nerve racking.
It's a Sherco you will use it more than once. I bought the "proper" clutch holding tool from RYP here in the States. Don't remember how much, but I agree it was a crazy amount. But if I would have just bought the tool to begin with my first clutch removal would have been much cheaper. Ended up buying Tool, Basket assembly and pressure plate.......It was a bad day But I have used the tool countless times over the 7 or so years I owned my Sherco.
If I'm worried about the weight, I just have fewer donuts in the morning......
Jon
What is this craziness you speak of "FEWER DONUTS" !!!! It be cold here so I need my insulation.............(read that as "too damn lazy to exercise excuse)
But the radoner will be just a step above an OLD TL125... Gutless for a beginner... Purely a non compete wife/mom/girlfriend bike.
Yep but she will be strutting around telling you that she can ride just as good as you. Then it will be just like at home when she tells you how to do everything. "you can't put your foot there" "why don't you just unweight more?"
That's it, I am not buying one of these bikes. I go ride to get away from that
(Da Missus is not looking so I can post this in hopes she never sees it.......... )
I like the part where he states that the observers have volunteered to be there without pay and that the rules that they judge the riders by should be simple and easy for them to make a determination of the score.
Personal opinion, Stop and balance = control and is ok Stop with foot down = human kickstand and is a 5 (Hell, your bike can do this without you)
I like the no backing up idea, just because it gives some continuity to the section and eliminates the possibility of attempting the same obstacle multiple times. If you fail to get over the obstacle once, you should not be able to fail it 5 more times because you already failed it. At a club level no backing up also reduces the time spent in a section if the club does not have a time limit.
I had two problems when riding. Wrist pain and "arm pump"
Arm Pump for me would be when my hands, wrists, and forearms would feel "thick" and would lose strength. I would not be able to pull in levers and my fingers would lock around the grips. Many riders eat bananas while riding or take a bunch of potassium supplement pills. I finally decided to just take a single potassium supplement pill every day and keep the level "up" at a certain level at all times, this seems to have taken care of the arm pump.
Wrist Pain: My handlebars were too wide. Not very much too wide though. I trimmed my bars down so that when I am on the bike there is a straight line from my forearm through my wrist into my hands. When the bars were too wide my wrist would point to the outside of the bars and my hand would point to the inside of the bars. If the bars are too narrow the wrist would point to the inside of the bars and the hands would point to the outside of the bars. Try laying your hands on the bars and move them in and out on the bars while keeping your hands in a position to hold the bars and see what your wrist does.
If none of these are the problem then maybe you just need to Keep Riding and your endurance will get better.
From my limited experience and talking with other local Gas Gas owners, the Aluminum Mid-muffler has a tendency to break and is only about 1 pound lighter than the steel one. If the steel one breaks it is easier to weld or get welded than aluminum.
But it sounds like if you want an aluminum one it will fit.
Thanks guys!!! the truth is, if I could do a fraction of that now, I would be a happy man
All the best
Jason Finn
Don't tell me getting older hinders the flexibility of the human body!!!!
As I age (40 Yrs) I am beginning to understand some things. We mentally remember what the skills are and how to do the techniques and such for riding, but our bodies no longer want to cooperate and let's face it, getting hurt sucks and takes longer to heal. So aging in motorsport is bittersweet, on the one hand we can say "I have done that before" and on the other hand we also say "I am not quite able to do that anymore".
I think I finally have figured out the meaning of the phrase, "Those that can, do. and those that can't, teach." In my younger days I thought of this as being a derogatory remark directed at those individuals that thought they were "The Greatest" but really were just below average, but talked a good game. But now I realize what that phrase really means. It is about the individual that was part of something for a long time (I.E. Trials) and had done well in that sport. This individual is now past their prime but still loves the sport and wants to give back to others and get others as excited about the sport as they are. These individuals are a wealth of knowledge and confidence builders. They may not be able to pull off the 7 ft splatter anymore but they damn sure know how it is to be done and can teach you how to do it.
Basically I am trying to say, "Much respect to all those Old Farts out there that are trying to pass on the skills of the sports they love."
I now return you to our normally scheduled idiocy.
Very good riding, good recording angles and right up to the action.
But are there others like me that like to hear the motor on the bike? Gives a bit more idea of what the bike is going to do, raise the excitement so to speak. When you hear the bike rev to the moon, you start thinking "OH here we GO!"
Heal quickly, but not too quickly. You have probably already been told this but let it heal totally before gettng back on the bike and thrashing the hell out of it. Enough advice that you already know. Good ya found tbe problem and probably will get bored out of your mind while recovering and will get it back together before you are able to ride it, just to have something to do.
Seriously Ben, keep going and find that debris even if it means straining the oil you removed.
Dom
Yep wanna make sure all the bits are out. A good size chunk may have become little bits, and left with the oil but you did not see them inside the oil.
OOOHH I like that. Thanks Brucey for the idea of going for a ride! Now I have to convince the 
that I "need" to go for a ride.
I bought the "proper" clutch holding tool from RYP here in the States. Don't remember how much, but I agree it was a crazy amount. But if I would have just bought the tool to begin with my first clutch removal would have been much cheaper. Ended up buying Tool, Basket assembly and pressure plate.......It was a bad day 
)
)
No Stop Rule
in USA Trials
Posted · Edited by zippy
Firstly this is an American's point of view on MotoTrials in America. (Europe may be different)
Let's face it in this current day and age of SPEED AND BIG SPECTACULAR, Trials is well just boring to the average spectator. Yes our top guys have BIG steps that they do, but it is still boring for the spectator after watching 2 riders ride the same step. The following is what my wonderful wife told me when I had her watching a trials video "I saw him do that already" Me:"No honey that was Dude #1 this is Dude #4, see how the two riders place their front tire in two different spots, 3 inches apart, before trying the step" Her:"Nope, all looks the same"
If we go to NO-Stop and introduce speed and big steps then spectators are going to wonder why is there only 1 rider in there at a time, make it interesting and put in 10-15. Oh never mind, I will just go watch Endurocross or Extreme Enduro or MX. Regular trials is just not "Extreme" enough to get the attention of the majority of younger riders. And most of the spectators don't want to wander around the woods all day to watch it. Where do most spectators watch motorcycle events? TV for outdoors stuff and stadiums for indoor stuff. Where they can sit and be entertained.
For participation: No-Stop or Stop allowed makes no difference in trying to convert anyone. Most riders of other motorcycle sports look at Pro trials riders and say "Wow that was cool but I will not be able to ride that big of a step, and the lower classes look so easy by comparison that what would be the point? Besides that I am over 21 and don't want to have my ass handed to me by a 9 year old kid in the Novice class. I am gonna go ride some off- road trails, MX or Enduro." Is there $$$$ paid out to the top 3 in other motorcycle sports at the club/amateur level? That will influence many to stay with that sport also. Also our bikes look funny and basically can only be used for 1 thing. A club level/amateur that is riding for fun on an MX bike even set up for MX can be run effectively in the trails with your buddies on Sat. and Raced on Sun. Or you can take your MX bike and run it in a midweek MX then on Sat. do a Hare and Hound and on Sun run an Endurocross. (I know each race has different suspension needs if you want to place in top 3 consistently but I am talking about Joe Average that wants to dabble in as much riding as he can because he likes to ride. (Basically what the majority of club level trials riders would be that we need to increase our participation)
Trials always was and always will be 1 rider, 1 bike against the terrain. There is a certain mentality of individual that understands trials as being about control and is just "off" enough to enjoy the sport. We need to reach more of them.
I think some of the push for No-Stop is because some of the aging riders still want to be in a class with a cool name for the upper skill levels like they rode "in the good old days" Ya know Champ, Expert, Advanced, whatever your clubs top 2 classes are called, and they don't like being called Intermediate or Novice etc.... You can ride whichever style you want No-Stop, or stop-hop. I try to ride using both styles when that part of the section calls for it. (Albeit not really great at it) I agree with chuckindenver (I am starting to get worried now) that stop with penalty is a good compromise between the two. As I understand Stop with Penalty is: Stop and balance=0, Stop with foot down = 5. This will allow the balancers to do so and set up, but will also force the balancers to get better at controlling the bike or risk a 5, It will also encourage other riders to not stop when they know they will be putting a foot down and thus be similar to No-Stop.
Just my Opinions,
On Edit: OH Crap that was rather long winded, if you made it this far I thank you for being interested enough in what I had to say to read it to the end. If you just skipped to the bottom to read this, then to you I say