I Am Sick Of This Bias Towards Trials Motorcycles!

[mags]

Ok... up on my soapbox now!

There is a complete bias towards off road motorcycles here in Australia and especially trials bikes because they cant be registered for road use.

I dont mean I want to ride one on the road but if you have a trail bike or enduro bike you can trailer your bike to any state forest and ride your trail bike so long as you have your on-road motorcycle licence. Hell! You dont even need a permit!

The only place you can ride a trials bike is private land and anytime you say any word with motorcycle in it the land owner says "Sorry mate, not on my land you might freak the animals", or you'll tear up the land and make noise.

The nearest land I can ride my trials bike is a 3 hour round trip, some areas are 4-5 hrs round trip. Yet there is suitable land not 30 mins from my front door. We do ride round and round the house but its only a suburban land block which gets really small really quick.

Australia is the size of the continental United States with only 22 million people not 300 million like the USA yet.... you cant ride that trials bike mate, you might kill an ant or upset a rare spider or make a bird sit in a tree too long.

Even with "user pays" the land we ride gets expensive. Our favourite spot costs $50 a day for two bikes, which is fantastic! We ride there 2-3 Sundays a month.

The next option which is a motorcycle park for everyone to use and was set up using land given by Government is dust bowl, costs $90 a day for 2 bikes. Its 4 hours round trip.

Another we plan to go to next Easter for 4 days is 10 hour round trip and $100 a day for 2 bikes thats $400 just for the bikes. We wanted to take 4 bikes and ride trials and some trail riding on the enduros but thats $800 for the 4 bikes so we'll cull to two.

Because of the low profile of trials I dont things things will change. Land is so expensive because of greedy developers and the Government is not interested unless a buck can be made... $90 a day to ride a bike on donated land is just absurd and I won't do it.

The trials competitions here in my city or more correctly surrounding land areas are held on private land by the goodness of the people who own it... and a standing ovation with applause to you! We would not be having comps anywhere without your dedication to trials riders.

Gap Creek motorcycle park where we ride for $25 a day per bike holds trials comps there (twice a year) and drops the price to $15 per bike to enter the property if you compete in a trial. Kudos to them and their assistance to trials riders.

So what about you people in Europe and the USA (and anywhere else) are you strangled with places to ride trials motorcycles???

Mags

Edited October 24, 2014 by mags

[ourian]

Oh how lucky we are in the UK

Trials bike can be registered for on the road use, there are plenty of what we call green lanes which are official roads but without tarmac, dirt tracks basically.

My local club is 40 mins away, £50 a year membership allows me to use the trials ground for practice at any time I wish.

There's another club about an hour away £25 membership and use of a practice ground for a £30 key deposit

Most trials clubs in the UK hold a trial each month, entry fees are £12-15, I could easily ride in a trial every week if I wished, all within an hours drive.

There are a few private 'user pays' practice areas usually £10 per day per bike.

You favourite spot doesn't sound too bad @ £27 for two bikes for the day, not much different in price to one of our trials events which usually only last for 3 hours

The main problem you seem to have is the distance you have to travel to get to places you can ride.

[slicktop]

I have the opposite problem. I could blow up my mountainside and no one would come runnin.

A trials event is a minimum of 4hrs away, and any more would be 6+.

I'm not complaining. Just came to the conclusion that I have to make my own show.

[michael_t]

I have arranged land use agreements with 5 local land owners (3 of which ride trials and 2 have MX tracks) and we put on all the Trials events and practices for free. I do charge when we bring in a top ranked rider for a day of instruction... I use the money from putting on an indoor trials demo (after paying the riders) to fund things like tape etc. We can run trials events under the local dirt bike associations insurance including $5M liability coverage for the landowners. Given they are not timed events (races) there is no additional insurance charge for a trials event.

Despite all that we only have about 12 riders who come out to events and 1 or 2 make it out for practice nights... We do get a good turn out for the training day. Maybe people feel they get what they pay for and if it is free it isn't worth anything. I really don't think anyone realizes just how good we have it here in Nova Scotia .

[breagh]

We're spoliled here,our club run about 20 events a year most a 15 minute drive away from me .

£8,yes 8 miserable quid to join and a £10 adults a £5 kids to ride a trial with free food thrown in.

Most weekends there is a trial within an hours drive and one of our club members has land he lets us on for a £5

All in part of Scotland with the lowest rainfall litle crime and no traffic problems.

Don't tell anyone!

[atomant]

How do electric trials bikes fair in this argument with the landowner about noise and pollution?

[zippy]

In my neck of the woods in the States:

We ride trials bikes mostly on private land, for public/State land takes spark arrestor and Off Road Vehicle sticker at minimum.

My current Club/practice ground is 30 mins away. Land owner is a motorcyclist and all around cool guy.

costs $0 to join the club, just have to work 2 trials events / season.

MOTA holds 12 -14 events/ year

All the events (except the 2 I work) are a minimum of 1.5 hours drive one way (3 hr round) most average 2 hr drive (4 hr round)

and one is 4.5 hr drive (9 hr round, but is a 2 day event)

AND WE ARE THE LUCKY ONES! from what I understand the rest of the country has average travel times of 3.5 -4 hrs one way (7 -8 hr round)

So similar to Australia. Just more people to hear complain about motorcycles.

Edited October 25, 2014 by zippy

[pat_56]

Well, I should not complain! In Eastern Canada I have to license and insure my Honda XL200 to ride off road only because it is a street legal bike, but then I can ride anyplace off road that does not have a sign telling me not to - and I would rarely see another rider.

For an off road bike only, (at this time) I only require proof of ownership - no license or insurance although they recommend it. I can let my 14 year old ride any off road only bike anywhere off road that does not have a sign telling me not to, even if it was a 500cc motocross because there are no restrictions for riding a competition bike and for all they know My Son is practicing for a competition.

What I cannot do is let my son ride any street legal bike over 50cc. Even if he wants to try my old XL200 because it is street legal - unless it is on my own property if the bike is uninsured because my insurance company will not insure a bike ridden by an unlicensed rider.

On the plus side, my Honda only costs me $87 per year to for me to insure plus $40 to license.

In 40 years of riding off road including snowmobiles I have been stopped one time by veritable squadron of police on snowmobiles, I was covered but the fellow I was following was not - we were simply politely told to take the other trail home because we were on a club trail. Good Break, he was breaking all 3 laws, no license, no insurance, no trail pass.

I literally leave my driveway, ride about 300 meters up the side of the road and on to the trail. Not exactly legal for my Son but I am certain all of the people waving from their yards are ok with it, and I would be surprised if any police would say a lot, it is a dead end street (ending in a trail).

Now if we just had an active Trials Community. Hardly anyone here has any idea what a Trials bike is, they just think my Son is riding a cool old "Dirt Bike". That's one reason why it would be so cool to have a contemporary Trials bike, people would be very curious about such a strange looking bike.

Edited October 25, 2014 by pat_56

[micm]

"How do electric trials bikes fair in this argument with the landowner about noise and pollution?"

They don't. Not for grown ups anyway.

There are considerably more Unicorns here in Hampshire (UK) than electric TBs.

​There is a mathematical formula for calculating the number electric bikes in any given location.

Gas Gas TXT Electric @ £8500 or EM @ £6250 = None

[biffsgasgas]

Move to detroit... If your not shooting someone, doing drugs or exploiting the place no one questions you.

Zippy im thinking about rouge park again.

--Biff

[hrmad]

I've got permission from two local farmers and can also ask a club member to use his land. It's pretty good, I feel like there is more of a bias again motorcross/ enduro bikes down here, especially where green laning/ trail riding is involved.

Plenty of competitions about within a couple of hours driving, which is nice.

When I can afford it I'll get her on the road and out on the lanes, will be interesting to see reactions to a bike with no seat!

Can you afford to move Mags? Or buy some land local to you? Your situation is pretty difficult, being able to practice 2 or 3 times a week makes a big difference to learning.

[zippy]

Can you afford to move Mags? Or buy some land local to you? Your situation is pretty difficult, being able to practice 2 or 3 times a week makes a big difference to learning.

sometimes land availability has no bearing on whether or not one can practice...................pesky things called responsibilities, and wife and children and the biggest pain in the a***....work.

[mags]

Looks like we are not as bad as some places and probably the norm when it comes to off-road motorcycles.

Speaking of buying a piece of land! My wife is so addicted to her trials bike she suggested buying 10-20 acres for investment and so we can ride our own place! I was shocked!

I replied "Not real good investing in something that does not generate income, cost heaps to maintain and you pay interest on!!! Also... to get a parcel that big we would be travelling for an hour or more to bring the price down.

So $25 per bike, 1.5 hrs away is very cheap trials land... I would never buy our own land at that price!

In semi-retirement and shifting home to acerage... that may be a different story!

I'm going to find suitable local properties and ask permission to ride for the trials bikes only.... the $25 per bike and signing off on "their liability" might persuade them?

Mags

Edited October 26, 2014 by mags

[slicktop]

After watching the documentary called Road Warrior, it looks like you can do what ever you feel.

[sammyd173]

To the OP... Your answer is Google Earth. I live in San Diego, and with the help if this app I have found countless (illegal) places to ride. I've never been caught because I go out of my way not to run into anyone.