pete_scorpa3

The problem with the acu exemption format is its dancing around a grey area, this will only become black and white when someone is in a big pile of the brown stuff. I totally understand why pete is trying to do it legit, I will be doing the same for the Cleveland. If both trials end up getting cancelled then so be it. I got into trials for the fun of it, started helping out because I realised it was required. Sadly with all the extra paper work and responsibility the fun is diminishing, but would still rather do that than possibly end up in court or watching every rider get fined for being part of a illegal event. What I do ask of the ACU is, if this is the way we have to do things in the future GET IT SIMPLIFIED. christ I fit carpets for a living I just want boxes to tick.

as promised , a few pics of my new beta .....


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Cheers guys , I guess there is a few years difference between the 2 machines , I'm viewing the beta tomorrow night , can a you guys give me a few pointers as to what to look out for ? What ares of the bike are prone to wear etc ? I'm fully aware I might have to spend a few quid freshening things up on a old bike and I'm totally cool with that , but yeah the better example I get , the less ill have to spend ....

i think if the rev 3 is a 250 you will find it a much easier bike to ride than the gasser

Pete is you want to ring our Pete (Peter Burrell on 020 8300 5572 (after 4:00pm) or email pj.burrell@btinternet.com) who has done all this for over 10+ years to talk over any of this.

to my knowledge the only issues are the known local problem lanes, or if there events using the same lane on the same days, etc


as to fighting the MSA, as i understand the issue, the ACU have looked at it, taken advice, looks like the law dates back to the 1960s and we've no leg to stand on trying to fight it because the ship has sailed so long ago. advice from insurers and legal is concerning because it may expose the organiser and the rider to legal issues because of the exclusion clauses in respective policies (ie one would be conducting an illegal event).

You can get a new Bush for them, however it will probably still wobble a bit.
http://trialstribula...roducts_id=1849

when they where designing the new online system they could have done away with the need for a club, the MSA (cars) i think has done so. but we in motorcycling want to maintain the idea that every rider is a member of a club to ride - ie no club membership, no acu licence.

yes this in some ways is archaic, but we are not in a world of professional promoters putting on trials so ...

Without lending any bias towards either set off rules; What will the ACU do now about the rules in the UK for 2013? Many people argue that we should have the same rules as the FIM, so does that mean no-stop across the board? Now that the stop allowed marking system has been made redundant is there any point having 2 BTC series?

Not sure if this will work or not

I just got an OSET 36V for my stepson whos just turned 6. I think the bike is pretty good although it could do with a smoother controller to get it to accelerate softer. its turn and your off - hang on ! I know you can adjust its top speed with the potentiometer but its not enough. But hes loving it

It was inevitable that a Certain Mr Bou was going to be World Champion barring a disater and with number 6 in the bag any many would agree that number 7 will come next year equalling DL and JT's records.

His threat the last 2 rounds have come from Cabby and Fuji (he has got to be thinking about retirement?) both have been World Champions and Raga and Fajardo banging in the odd result, but no other threat.
You look further down the list and knowone can really say ''he will win in the future''?

So how many can he win 7, 8, 9, 10......................

We were all happy when Doug was winning week in week out and total respect from Toni, but waiting for the results on a Satuday or Sunday is more to see who came 2nd or 3rd?

The British round will still be good because the battle for the next 4 places is close.

This weekend the 23^rd & 24^th June will see the Earl Shilton Trials Club run their popular 2-day trial and this year we are supporting British Forces Charities and limbless soldiers who have been selected to go on a tour of Route 66 as pillion riders.

The trial will start at 1530hrs on the Saturday and 1030hrs on the Sunday.

Sam Connor will be running 2 x trials schools on the Saturday there are still places available for anyone that is interested please visit our website for details, Sam will also do a demo prior to the trial on the Saturday.

Camping, toilets and refreshments are available for those who want to camp (the army camp in the rain!) on the Saturday which will also be the start area, this will be signed off Pingle Lane, Stoney Stanton. For anyone who has ridden at this venue before do not enter the ground through the farm or via Mill Lane all vehicles need to be parked in the field.

We have managed to secure some sponsorship and many prizes so if you keep your feet up then the prizes are definitely worth having! Prize giving immediately after the event on Sunday.

So come along and support our event the monies raised will go a long way to support our charity fund raiser and most importantly our injured soldiers who have sacrificed so much.

telecat, on 12 June 2012 - 08:35 AM, said:

I think you will find that I didn't say anything about the rules. I merely stated that the majority of riders who wish to ride it should be consulted and the vote goes with them. But the important thing is simply that the severity of the sections must be significantly dropped so the riders can safely enjoy it

Recently I asked how many trials riders there were in the UK. The general answer was about 8000 (ACU). Of that 8000 there are 4 riders who are competing on the world stage at the top level. That's just 0.05%! So on that basis, it would make sense that the BTC should be aimed at the majority of riders who do not compete on the world stage regardless of the views of the top riders. With some very very good riders scoring in excess of 100 marks this weekend surely its time to significantly drop the severity of the sections and get more people safely enjoying it?

I did say that I was not going to turn a simple post about statistics into one about finance and so on, and I also accept that Shedco did not attempt to so either

However , when I stated that the statement that the ACU is loaded and making large profits etc is a myth, I stand 100% behind that remark. I am not an accountant, and frankly wading through accounts and statistics is about the thing I least enjoy. However, as Vice Chairman and Director of a company, who therefore by definition may be held financially accountable on a personnel note ( as are other Directors) I do have a fairly good idea of the state of play

You can never win on any debate such as this , as statistics and figures can be used out of context and often accounting procedures, time of closing accounts etc all have an influence

What I can tell you , is if you look past selective part of accounts – and move to the bottom line which will show the “ Profit for Financial Year” - the figure for the year ending 2011 states £925. I think I made more than that selling some odd crap on EBay last year!

However, in the same vane as I state that accounts read often as one wants to read them, I would equally say that I am never that convinced about any bottom line in any accounts –

For me – there is a very simple litmus test. If the ACU are making large profits and year on year increasing its bank balance and sitting on large pots of money for sake of it or just to accumulate wealth when it could be doing far better things, this in my opinion would be totally wrong, and I for one would be ready to walk away from the whole shooting match.

I appreciate that everyone will never agree with what I say on any subject ( life would be a very boring place if we all did) BUT – I do not ever intentionally tell lies – it is a rule of mine. I can be wrong, I can be mistaken – but I never intentionally lie on a subject.

The hard fact is, that if the ACU can this year and next, pay its bills, and do exactly what it is doing now – I for one will be over the moon. It is not raking in money, it is struggling to maintain its current position

Perhaps I should look at “ assets” - and while not an expert as I have said , I have been told by those who know that the figure shown is not enough. This apparently has to do with all sorts of things, not least in order to protect our Clubs and Centres. I do not intend to go into huge detail on an open forum – but older readers I think ( certainly Centre Officials) will remember a situation in Matchams MX park – many years ago now

If that situation arose again now, we would worry one hell of a lot about assets in the bank ( or certainly I would)

Let me give a few simpler examples. Insurance. Like on our cars – we have things for want of a better word called excess ( not quite right term in this context) It is often £25k or more. So in a given year, if there were 10 claims to pay out which fell under this part ( obviously not all do) that can add up to ¼ million in a year.

Some claims can be on books for years – for example, a 6 yr old Youth does not need to submit a claim just before his/her 21^st birthday , so realistically there can always be 15 years of claims in the pipeline.
In order to even partly account for this, a reserve needs to be kept. Equally the ACU for last few years has its own Insurance company ( ACUI) dealing with a certain layer of claims – this money has to come out of assets .
This is a forward looking incentive which will probably bear fruit some 10 years hence ( hopefully) and perhaps put our younger riders in a better position than we do know with finding realistic Insurance costs. We also have an incentive called a “Captive” which again can draw on ACU reserves when required. The figures involved are big – very big.

This last point is very very important . The ACU , and probably other Federations pay for Insurance of a sort of total sum principle ie not event by event. Usually, in order to get best deal for our riders and organisers ( and people who like balance sheets need to look at fact that we manage to hold event premiums quite well in difficult times) it is usually a 3 year deal. Now – if all goes to plan, and the amount we are due to pay is collected in – happy days. So if for example the total Insurance payment due was £1.5 million and we collect £1.5 million – great. If we collect £1.6 million even better ( but it just ain’t happening these days) HOWEVER – if we collect only £1millioin in insurance payments , the nice Insurance man still wants his dosh., Result – ACU has to find ½ million perhaps each year for 3 years – this may explain why reserves are needed.

Is it likely to happen? Unfortunately yes if we are unlucky. Remember DEFRA when lots of events were cancelled? Remember Foot & Mouth? Just a few examples of how numbers fall dramatically and hence the collection of insurance monies from events. Certainly the present economic climate will not help to maintain numbers? Mr Insurance will still need his payment each year – hence the need for reserves. Frankly, if they are not there, they are not going to be knocking on your door – but they may on mine.

Any company who does not hold these reserves has Directors who are irresponsible at best, and probably legally deficient as well ( FSA)

As I said – all complicated stuff. It always boils down in end to people who believe there is this huge wealth just lolling about – sorry no

It also boils down to people being easily able to say on a site or in Press – well you should not waste money on this – but you should spend more on that etc etc. This happens in all walks of life, and certainly in our day to day employment ie we believe those at top could spend better etc

There is no real problem with people thinking this – I think I did too if I am honest, BEFORE I got more involved

At end of day – it is very easy in some ways to act upon – A person who has answers on finance matters and has concerns on how ACU monies are collected / spent just stands for an ACU Director. In many cases , it is not as time consuming as standing for a Sport Committee ( they do not deal with ACU finance as such )

Actually, if one looks back as Elections, the record will show that very few people ever do this, and when someone stands down or retires there never seems to be a great queue to replace them ( I certainly had no desire to be an ACU Director until rules changes an Committee Chairman had to)

Finally Finally - I hope this has cleared up a few things – although we all accept this was not intention of post or postees since

I have always said however, that those who are convinced that ACU is this huge rich body just screwing the riders – I would be prepared to sit down with them in Rugby and actually look at it all – we can have 3 Independent people from TC if you like. Everyone travels to Rugby –we spend a day on it. I will spend a day or two preparing papers

If at end of that those concerned then believe the ACU is raking it in and making these huge profits – I will pay £500 out of my own pocket to Cancer Research. All I ask is that anyone instigating this should be prepared to put up £500 from their pocket to the same charity if proved wrong

At end of day – frankly , if we as Trials riders are finding the initial payment of £10 ( see other posts on Forum ) as too onerous for a years sport , I am afraid I just cannot comprehend this is any shape or form – which is where I came in .