Making Our Sport More Popular?

[jj65]

http://www.colinappleyard.com/motorcycles/new/off-road/trials-bikes/gas-gas-tx-randonne-2012

If these were selling by the truckload, then all the manufacturers would be making one, but there not, because 99% of trials riders want/buy a one purpose lightweight modern trials bike. Watched a few at the Downland NBMCC trial whilst observiving today, looks like a good all purpose bike and the riders seem to like them.

[rallymadsam]

All of the trials manufacturers are making these long distance type bikes now aren't they? Have certainly seen Beta, Gas Gas, Sherco, Scorpa, Ossa

[dadof2]

"price elasticity of demand" (look it up in an economics textbook) is the key but it needs to cover all aspects of the sport and be rigidly governed by rules. It is no good Yamaha say bringing out a good simple bike for £2500 only to have Beta bring out one that is marginally more competitive for £2600.

Cheers

[markmoyer]

It's like I said in previous posts its up to the FIM to introduce a minimum seat height. Manufacturers would benefit from three markets, one being trials and the others being commuter and trail riders. It's a win-win for the sport as the price of bikes will come down and more people will get involved.

[nigel dabster]

I dont know where you live but my guess is here in the commuter belt leass than a handful are used locally and most of those are automatics with leg shields and windscreens bearing more than a passing resemblance to a scooter.

times change and blokes on bikes is a thing odf the past trials needs another angle an easy in.

[shyted]

As with others here ,have read this with interest and the majority is relavent .Several things here .If your into bikes in the uk ,your under the carpet ,unpublisized ,unwanted and hassled from most angles .Unless there's a back hander in there for prominant profile person(out side of motor cycling) forget it .Land is on the whole unavailable because of people who are uncompromising on both sides . If you had horses ,you'd have a shot because horses attract money ,that equals revenue ,(and vehicles that cause more damage than a hundred trials bikes,but that does't matter).Some out there object to paying £10 to £15 for a property to ride like Back Cowm for a day.

You can have all the R and D you like PROVIDING SOMEONE WANTS TO PAY FOR IT! THATS YOU BUYING THE BIKE AND AS YOU STATE BIKES ARE ALREADY EXPENSIVE . You any idea how much it cost Honda to develop and abandon fuel injection on Mick Doohans 500 GP bike at the time when bikes enjoyed a ready sale.Casey Stoners gear box £257000 .That cost had to be recovered .Judjing by the bikes i've bought second hand this year ,alot of you wont even buy a new lockwasher for repairs you've carried out and finish a job correctly .

Sorry to put it like that but it's true and some of you ,like me , will have had the brunt of peoples ommissions ! Disposable income dissappearing fast. As for trials push bikes excellent , place to ride ,free ! land set asside ,NOT NECASSARY, hassle from cops ,no problem , tv profile excellent ,doesn't exclude any one,and it's "urban" and it's green ! Sorry was nearly sick then ! Yep the kids don't need any parental input ,dad can go the pub mum can view Jeremy kyle . If you want to attract the young get rid of the old , but you can't here ,because the young ain't got any cash ! We are the minority here and circumstances now make it hard to attract the young.I'm paying through the nose for my son to have a good ,safe reliable bike and to be honest he's a crap rider , he wont be worrying Mr Dabster lets put it like that ,BUT HE'S GOING TO BE THERE and he's 19 and if we can bring in one each thats where i feel we need to start, that one act would double the entry card .Accomodate them .That my friends is a task in it's self . Be Safe .

.Just out of curiosity as anyone ran outdoor cycle /motor cycle trials events ?

Edited December 21, 2012 by shyted

[basil b]

Hello,

As other contributers have already identified 2 of the main problems facing trials riding are the lack of any public profile and a fundamental lack of land. I have been obsessed and frustrated with riding dirt bikes for 35 years and even I have finally given up now.

Speaking from a Scottish point of view unless you own your own land your pretty well stuffed. Anyone from an urban address is double stuffed. Understand that although we (Scotland) have tons of space and can walk anywhere, we certainly can't drive vehicles on it as all the land is well stitched up legally. Landowners (if you can find them) are not open to motorcycles being driven on their land as they see them as chainsaws with wheels (m-xers) that are going to rip the ground up and scare the livestock (Livestock that isn't there!).

This brings us back to the lack of any profile the sport has/has not. The wider public are totally unaware of what trials riding is. This is surely where the governing bodies need to earn their keep and issue a plan of how they are going to support & promote the sport and show that motorcycles can be used responsibly. There is a willing audience out there, just look at the bicycle trials scene and the level of skill on display. Bicycles are so much more accessable and this is where we are losing people to.

The situation as it is, and will continue to be, is that the only people that can realistically participate and dominate in the sport are those lucky enough with access to private land. the profile of the sport must be raised to foster a more understanding view from the public. Get it on Telly!

Cheaper machines are irrelevant if you have nowhere to ride them.

Edited January 2, 2013 by basil b

[shyted]

Bang on , and though i dislike to say this as far as moto cross bikes go ,they do off road riding no good as far as private land for your own use is concearned .Before any one with MX bikes starts off , i am not anti mx bike or against mx as a sport ,i like it . An example ,any one know Roy from RAS sport ,well heres a tail i got from him .For 20 or more years he's used a quarry to ride in with no trouble from the cops or anyone else . Moto cross bikes appear on the quarry and next thing every one is stopped from going there . Unfortunatly as well as being faced with other problems noise from bikes is another . Couldn,t unfortunatly agree more with Basil bs view .

[telecat]

Bang on , and though i dislike to say this as far as moto cross bikes go ,they do off road riding no good as far as private land for your own use is concearned .Before any one with MX bikes starts off , i am not anti mx bike or against mx as a sport ,i like it . An example ,any one know Roy from RAS sport ,well heres a tail i got from him .For 20 or more years he's used a quarry to ride in with no trouble from the cops or anyone else . Moto cross bikes appear on the quarry and next thing every one is stopped from going there . Unfortunatly as well as being faced with other problems noise from bikes is another . Couldn,t unfortunatly agree more with Basil bs view .

If it's the Quarry I know about it's even worse than that!! ROAD LEGAL Enduro Bikes turned up to watch the Trial's bikes practising. They didn't actually use the Quarry. They LEGALLY went up and down the Local road. A local Complained about the Noise and the Police now move on Users despite it being Private land and the Noise being made by Legal road bikes. In this case the Police find it easier to act against the innocent as the WORK involved in trying to prosecute the Enduro riders would be pointless.

[shyted]

Cop's and bikes ,mmm got one thing to say about that ,years of persicution as a legal road rider on the road with a legal bike obaying the speed limits . Cops show up all nicey nicey at Caton long layby ,a regular bike meet on Sundays.They then start to measure (with a tape) number plates they think are dodgey and start laying the IT'S NOT REGULATION DIMENTIONS rule down .I'm stopping there as i have no time for the bike mounted traffic cops ,say what you will on the positve of this but sorry i feel there motives are not that of ,dare i say it ,friendship towards motor cyclists .The law suit's where they want it to fit .

[linkpin]

So to sum up the last few posts, there isn't space at the moment for the sport to become more popular. Sounds fair to me.

Do we really want it to be more popular? There are positives, yes, such as bigger national competitions, more future-proofing against the march of the green politician and possibly bikes and maybe even events becoming cheaper for riders.

But there are also negatives, such as events becoming more effort to organise (more people will want to come in and ride than help organise, right?), the possibility of big promoters changing the sport beyond recognition (having raced in rallycross for years I have seen this happen) and the increased PR difficulties of having more, and larger, events for the sport.

Not to say that it can't grow, and certainly not to say that it can't progress, but it surely has to be sustainable and well thought through.

[shyted]

Hello linkpin . Very true what your saying also . My opinion is that double the entry card ,generate cash . Secure the private land by cash and so it goes . Who's going to marshal ? My self i will give my time to mashal and i have done in the past at several event's from Stacksteads quarry to the post in between the bottom of Brey Hill and Ago's leap at the I.O.M with my mentor the late Eddie Crooks ,for several years . The Moto Cross lads go by (or used to ) who had helped to build the track and marshal .Those who hadn't were expected to do so in their turn,and it was brought up at club nights if they didn't .You can't press people but if you put a pre requisit on it then folk know where they stand . I do agree with what you say ,things can turn into Frankenstiens monster very quick . If managed propper it can be good .Don't forget though ,the young need an example to follow and if the rules are simple ,every one mucks in ,then they have a future ride ,and we have a ride now .

Still don't like traffic cop's though !

Be safe ,Shy.