john b

Hi I know a few topics on here but thought I would ask for thae latest thoughts..... My son's Whitehawk 80 fibreglass tank has a few blisters developed under the paint (and after every ride I drain the tank). What's the best option to seal ? Thanks in anticipation cheers John

There will be a conducted small wheels trial at the Castleside Trial this Sunday 17th at Lambshields (see events calendar for location details). There will be hard and easy courses so we can cater for everything from Osets through to Big wheel 80 (or 125 beginners !) Nothing difficult, we will probably be running a morning trial, then a different route of the afternoon (results added together for overall). Bring the kids along - note start time - 9.30am ! This is due to the main trial being a long lap so early start. Hope to see you sall there Sunday Any questions please ask on here and I'll do my best to answer cheers John

Beta 80 (most popular) has a KTM MX engine, however suprisingly isnt that peaky considering. Obviously its not the torquiest engine in the world but OK. Size of a Big Wheel is nigh on the same as a 125 (very slightly smaller but you wouldnt notice Problem is supply and demand - not much supply + lots of demand = high prices ! My advice is 125 - there are no bad bikes out there (despite what some might say) - buy on condition not year and you should do OK Like I said - No bad bikes but my preference (and only mine !) is the Scorpa 125 4T. Reasonable prices now, you will lose little or no money and a great bike to learn on. After that I would plum for a Beta, late Rev 3 (pre 08) were good bikes. But........many will advise different !......like I said, buy on condition not year cheers John

There will be a kids 'TY or small wheels; route at the South Shields trial at Oxen Law this Sunday (See events liting for details). Courses will set to ability, complete beginners are more than welcome ! The trial will be run on really good land (woods, banksides etc), really close to the parking area. More than likely there will be a morning then afternoon trial, with plenty of bike time. Sections will be marked out to take marks but nothing dangerous at all. Bring the kids along, like I said, even if they have never rode a trial - as long as they can start, ride and stop a bike there will be a course set out for them. Any questions - please ask on here and I will do my best to answer.....! cheers John

Regarding repairs, I would recommend Off Road Only at the top of Westgate Road (Alan Haney). Engine is basically a Honda motor which he will know inside out. Other option is Alan Winter (Al the Spanner) who used to be White Brothers and Gas Gas mechanic. Alan now works for himself (Alspan motorcycles). What Al the spanner doesnt know about trials engines isnt worth knowing. The power of google should turn up both phone numbers. cheers John

Mine I managed to find off Ebay from a caravan breakers who used excess parts (wheels/axles/hitch etc) to make a 'new' trailer. Paid the pricely sum of £200! Fit out was zero, just odds and ends lying around in the garage - now only a spare wheel to source..! cheers John

Hi I've just started to use one which is 6ft x 4ft, 5ft high. Front wheels at an angle at the front corners, the back wheels fit just inside the doors in the corner (hope this makes sense !) Ideal to keep everything out of the car, as once the bikes are in, theres loads of storage space. Couple of fold up garden chairs to use once the bikes are out and its ideal. Well worth it cheers John

Hi It's on the events calender on Trials Central which has a link to Google maps Hope this helps cheers John

This Sunday we will be putting on a Small Wheel trial at the Castleside Club trial at Rogerly Quarry, running alongside the main trial. For the Small Wheels we will use the centre 'bowl' at Rogerly, which is excellent for kids. Big enough to run a 'proper' trial, but close enough for parents to be near. We will run two routes if there is enough demand:- Easy Route for Oset / beginners etc Hard Route for those a little more advanced. Suffice to say neither route will be anything dangerous, but hopefully challenging enough to take marks. There will be a full day, depending upon numbers of riders and observers (helpful parents !) of trial and practice time and I'm sure the kids will enjoy it. So....bring the kids along. We expect to see the 'usual suspects' getting their new bikes dirty, and for anyone new, please come along. Even if your youngster has never competed they will have a ride around, get the feel of a trial and join in with a good group of kids. Any questions at all ask on here - hope to see you all Sunday cheers John

One of the earlier front muduards is in black as well (I think one of the last Technos ?) - fitted one to a 2006 that I had. Came complete with 'Doug Lampkin replica' decals as well !! cheers John

Hi Callum Hows it going ? Depends where the main trial goes but yes, the plan is we will get to the river, probably at the tip end. We will try a few places, set some sections up , do some practicing then move on, but we need to keep everyone in the same area to be safe. See you Sunday Regarding payment, you still need to sign in etc as per normal trial for insurance etc cheers John

Great Chris, see you there. Sounds like he will be ideal for our purple route which we introduced in the last few months to step the kids up to the main course (and means you also get to ride!). This week it's only practice as most have shiny new bikes ! But we will set some sections out and he can have a look and try them to see the standard . We intend to continue torun something for the kids at every Consett/Stanley trial in 2013, be it the purple route or the more traditional conducted to suit the very beginners or electric bikes. In summary for anyone, if your youngster rides and wants to have a go at a trial, we will always have something to suit them. Cheers John

No problem Chris - bring him along ! You can sort membership for 2013 then. My son is 10 (nearly 11) will be there and there is a good group of kids who are there regularly. Come along on Sunday and you can get an idea of the sections and format. We run conducted and have just started a 'purple' route, which is a 'kids' version of the main trial. It's all about getting them involved and competing early on, but making it fun for them. Hope to see you Sunday cheers John

This Sunday (30th) Consett Club will be putting a 'practice day' for the kids, running at Butsfield along with the main trial. Most of the kids have new shiny bikes off Santa , so we have decided to let them get used to them with a practice day rather than a trial. Any kids, any abilities are welcome, and if your youngster is new to trials, bring them along for a practice and have a chat about bringing them along next year. We will set a few sections out that they can have a go at, with no pressure or competition - just lots of fun . Look forward to seeing you all on Sunday - get the kids involved - we have a good bunch of kids who will welcome anyone new. cheers John

My son learned on a TY and still loves his, despite moving up to a Beta 80 (we still have the TY80 and a TY80 Whitehawk as well!) ...great bikes. The only other thing I would advise is a carb rebuild kit, as the carbs are tempremental at the best of times. I'm sure I bought mine from 'Yambits' - off Ebay. Keep an eye on electrics as well - points, condernser etc are cheap enough and worth replacing of you arent sure. And I always carry a plug and plug spanner. Often its just a fouled plug if they dont start. Persevere - well worth it ! cheers John

This Sunday 23rd December there will be no TY or Purple route for the kids at the Stanley Trial at Butsfield. The following week (30th) we will be back to nornal with kids routes on. Wishing you a very merry Christmas from Consett and Stanley Trials clubs Hope to see you all in the New Year - Bring the kids along with their new bikes to get into trialling. We will cater for all levels and always put something on for whoever turns up, be it a purple route around the main course, or a separate TY route cheers John

Im not sure where this 'weight' issue is going - but it always amazes me...... 68kg 69kg .....world class 72kg...73kg...74kg........oh no, we need to shed some weight to be competitive..... Drill holes, titanium everything, shave every ounce with engineering and money Simple way to save 5kg ...stick a no entry sign on the fridge door and lock the biscuit tin ! (and you will find your bike lasts a lot longer) cheers John

My opinion...(for what its worth !) I did motocross for a good few years in the 80's/90's - just when Motocross went the 'production bike only' rule - and it was a detriment. We wanted to see Dave Thorpe etc riding the factory bikes - that fair enough no-one could buy, but the reality was that the 'production bikes' then became as much out of reach (but didn't look half as good !) I say let the top 0.00001 % of riders (the world championship boys) ride factory lightweight etc etc - and we can be in awe of them. The reality is that for the vast majority we know that no-matter what we buy we will never be as good as them. We all know our limitations and almost all of us (bar the real dreamers) know that no bike will get us to that level (or anywhere near !) I think we need a good easy route to get people involved in the sport - that is competing. I started trials about 13 years ago after many years of motocross, and I found even the easy route a struggle at first, but persevered and now would never pack in. I'm currently helping with the kids in the North East and we have had a go at a real easy (purple route) primarily based at the kids progressing from the TY80 route to the 'big course'. It is bringing them on great - but I think we are missing a trick as we cant seem to attract genuine 'beginners' to do their first few trials on this route to get the hang of it. Maybe its the stigma of it being a 'kids' route rather than beginners ?? We all know once we are hooked its there for life and we will continue - it's getting that first few 'finishes' under your belt then progressing. Although I don't think trials is anywhere near as bad as motocross in terms of needing the latest bikes, I do wonder where all of the 5 year old plus bikes are going and why they arent at a trial. I ride a 2008 Scorpa SY200 - more than competitive for me and I think any Y2K+ bike is more than capable of competing and getting people hooked. So for me... let the factory boys ride factory bikes and be in awe Concentrate on attracting beginners into organised trials (there must be hundreds 'practicing' on a weekend) - an actual trial is much more fun As well as bringing the kids through (my son is 10 and now lives for trials cos he competes), bring in the 'beginners' class - we all wait for the results on Trials Central on a Monday/Tues to see how well we have done ! cheers John

The boy obviously has talent bred into him then ! how old is he ?

Great video ! looks an excellent trial - would love to get the TL125 round there. Who is the young lad on the TY175 ? Good little rider !! cheers John

Absolutely agree. My son started at 8 - was ideal to learn on. He is now 10 and has a Clipic (big wheel) and a Whitehawk (big wheel). The TY was great to learn on as yes, they are heavy but you need to learn proporly with balance and throttle / clutch control. We still have the TY80 and he went out in the garden the other day, and after now being on bigger (and more modern) bikes for 6 months its amazing what he can do on it ! wheelies, stoppies, bounce the front end etc ! Go and get one....you cant go wrong cheers John

My son started on a ty80 at 8 and I would definitely recommend. I put a lightened clutch lever and he really learned well on it. He won a few trials and really liked it. For the next step I got him a big wheeled Whitehawk, and also by chance came upon a 2009 clipic. Got to say, an excellent bike -I would even say better than the Beta in a lot of respects. He now rides the clipic at 10 (and does well) and the Whitehawk now and again. So....8 year old I would say TY80 every time........

Please see the posts on the trials reviews/coming up forum for details of a new beginners / kids route at the Consett Trial tomorrow, suitable for anyone (kids or adults !) cheers John

At the Consett trial this Saturday (29th) at Butsfield we will be running a route for beginners or kids moving from conducted route. Known as the "purple route" (yes we have run out of colours !) it will be an eased version of the easy route. For those that know the Richmond club easy clubman trials which run a beginners route it will be run along the same principles. Hopefully we will get both kids and adults, we will split the results into the two classes. It is the ideal opportunity to give trials ago if you weren't sure if you could manage, and the ideal step up for those kids who are a bit too good for the conducted route and feel ready for 'the big course'! (to be honest we have 5 kids in the club ready for this step, hence the route) So.....please come along, irrespective of age. Details of the trial are on the events page, and any questions please ask on here and I will do my best to answer. See you all Saturday Cheers John

At the Consett trial this Saturday (29th) at Butsfield we will be running a route for beginners or kids moving from conducted route. Known as the "purple route" (yes we have run out of colours !) it will be an eased version of the easy route. For those that know the Richmond club easy clubman trials which run a beginners route it will be run along the same principles. Hopefully we will get both kids and adults, we will split the results into the two classes. It is the ideal opportunity to give trials ago if you weren't sure if you could manage, and the ideal step up for those kids who are a bit too good for the conducted route and feel ready for 'the big course'! (to be honest we have 5 kids in the club ready for this step, hence the route) So.....please come along, irrespective of age. Details of the trial are on the events page, and any questions please ask on here and I will do my best to answer. See you all Saturday Cheers John