ACU Discussion

It has been bought up in another thread that some of the observing at the recent Stratford-Upon-Avon clubs Colmore cup was questionable. Comments have been made following a short video clip taken at the last section of the day where a rider, may have stopped briefly but was still only given a one for dabbing. With the benefit of video footage to watch over and over again, it does appear to be a pause but should it have been a five? Here's another to take a look at. Looking at the video carefully, does Sam stop at section one? The clubmans series went to non stop TSR22b last year and as an organiser I prefer it. For comparison, here's a clip taken in 2009 when s…

Given the New weight limit in the WTC and the 290cc limit on 2 strokes presumably to make Honda's, (I am not going to refer to them as Montesa's any more), more competitive what is the situation in the UK? Like many My Son has bought a 300CC bike with the idea of entering a few Nationals. Is it now Persona non grata or do we assume that any bike sold in the UK is OK for the BTC?

Just picking up on the story about the Skelder Bank round of the Maxxis British MX Champs, where a number of officials made an error of judgement concerning a protest and were later suspended and fined (plus costs) for their error. I appreciate that we all agree to abide by the rules of the ACU and the National Sporting code lays out a structure of penalties including fines, so we can't complain if we make a mistake and end up getting fined..... But, is it a bit harsh to fine people who are unpaid volunteers?

The ACU are looking into making licence (registration) applications easier and putting them online. The one real stumbling block is how club membership secretaries sign the form prior to submitting it to the ACU. One option is to 'do-away' with this need and simply ask riders which club they have joined. We only charge

Hi All, I've just returned to trials after 12 years away and brought a couple of shiney newbies with me. I think we need to look at the steps newbies have to go through and ask if there's a better way. The three of us have recently acquired bikes around November time. 2 of us are Cambs area, one is Gosport on the south coast. I had ridden many trials in the early-mid 90s and so had a fair clue as to what to do. My newbies were relying on me. In particular, Nicks_TR34 not only had no real clue what to do, but had no 'feel' for what was going on in his area. What we decided to do is to join Cambridge Matchless for 2009 and also Thames MCC. The cambs duo will do most of …

Is there any data showing rider statistics in the UK? I assume that the ACU / SACU have numbers based on licence holders. Is this data available? Then there are quite a few who don't have this and still ride plus other organisations like the AMCA. I want to build a picture of the size of the UK trials market for some 'research' Cheers in advance Ian

I have just received an e mail from the local ACU East Midlands Secretary and i just had to respond. I have included my reply but i would be very interrested in others reactions? I have removed the e mail addresses by the way. Peter i will probably not be able to attend the AGM due to prior work commitments however i feel i must protest the proposals as i feel they are probably some of the daftist ones i have heard for a long time, believe me i have heard some daft ones in my time. 1. The reason some clubs are "suffering financial hardship caused by falling entries" is simply because the clubs concerned are putting on events that riders do not want to ride in. It's as s…

Just a couple of questions regarding this years solo championship, maybe John Collins or someone else at the ACU could answer. I make no excuse for asking these questions, my son wishes to ride in Expert A but has been given a very low priority in Expert B. 1) Why is there a need to split the classes? 2) Why have such a limited entry for Expert A? 3) Why did the entry rules change at the end of the season? 4) How did the ACU T&E Committee prioritise Expert B? 5) Isn't this going to stifle the development of our younger riders moving into the adult class? ps. I've read and understood the entry 'qualifications' for Expert A - I just don't understand the relevance …

I've recently heard, from two seperate sources, that the definition of a section boundary is no longer what it was. For ease of example I'll take a single route section, marked with blue on the left, red on the right markers. In the good old days, the blue designated the left hand boundary of the section and the red the right hand boundary. By definition, this meant that the boundary was the invisible straight line between each blue marker on the left, and each red marker on the right. Or in other words, they were the pavement on either side of the road, you ride up the road, you don't go on the pavement. If you went out of the section on the left between two blue marker…

Hi. I've recently taken up trials along with my 15 year old son. He fancies a beginner competition - I'm not so sure. We are memebers of a club so - can we just turn up, sign and pay? Or do we need an ACU licence? Any help would be great Chris

Did anybody else receive an email from Emma Connop at the ACU today? If you did, I've now got your email address and you've got mine along with the other 500 addresses that were publicised for all to see/use/abuse in the CC: field! Muppets

Please see the information below. Last years forum was cancelled due to lack of interest, here is our chance to put our thoughts or concerns to the ACU direct. Lets not miss the chance by being complacent this year. To: ACU Centres, National Trials Organisers, TMX, Trials Central, ACU Website, Riders & all interested parties From: Trials & Enduro Department Date: 21st June 2008 Ref: OPEN TRIALS FORUMS As previously publicized, an Open Trials Forum will be held at ACU House on 21st June 2008 starting at 10.30am prompt. Issues relating to the British Solo Trials Championship will be discussed at a separate forum at a later date. You are cordially invited…

just wont to see if anybody else thinks the same as me about the ACU is it time for them to move over and get new blood into look at the trials seen.Is it full of old blokes that wont let go(it worked 40 years ago so it should work now)i have worked with guy that is putting a lot in to motox and trying new things that no one else has done thinking out side the box and it is working does trials need this.i think it does for sure.

Mid way through last year, the ACU invited all clubs to send their representatives to a trials forum at Rugby. Sadly the event was cancelled due to lack of interest. I had my name down to go and amongst the items that the Stratford-Upon-Avon club wished to raise was the idea of a common set of colours for all trials. Our proposal was put forward in writing anyway. As we know, most events have two routes, many have three and some have more. Confusing and less than ideal I agree, but this is how it is. So why not have a common laid down set of rules so that we all know which colour to set out our trials. You don't need to be a genius to think up a common system. Red arr…

I recently rode a 'Stopping Allowed' trial, and was a bit peeved by having to wait whilst the previous riders juggled their bikes back and fro in the section. Each of these riders had to my idea of the rules gone backwards several times, but were conning the observer into thinking they were still moving. If the Observer had a Whistle, then the rider would know when to give up and leave the section. There were so many riders still attempting the section, after what I saw as their back wheel having gone backwards. Clubs should issue Whistles to all Observers at Stopping Allowed trials, so that there is no fudging of the rules.

Well the Bill got through it's first stage yesterday and is now to go to committee. It's on it's way. So John what EXACTLY is the ACU doing / going to be doing to represent the interests of it's license holders? This bill will have an effect on just about every branch of two wheel sport of which the ACU is supposed to be the governing body. strangely enough this also includes mini moto competitions. So is the ACU going to adopt the "Ostritch stance"? or is it going to use some of our hard earned contributions to actively lobby parliament to preserve our right to follow and practice our sport unhindered and free from victimisation from those in parliament who want to ge…

TSR8 stipulates that prior to the start of each trial all machines will be examined to ensure that they comply with ACU regulations. In NSR appendix B states; 11 Brakes. All motorcycles..... must be equiped with efficient systems. 14 Throttle. ..... must be self closing 15 Clutch and brake levers. must in principle be 'ball ended' 16 Chain Guards. ... must be fitted with a guard I am having difficulty in finding an examiner to check the above points. We were picked up on our lack of inspection a few years ago by the Steward and put in place an inspection the following year. One of our club members is a qualified MOT inspector for cars and he volunteered to carry…

Now apart from the Pre65 elegibility issue which i have voiced before, which incidentally the ACU apparently have no position on?????, one issue that is affecting all of us whether you ride modern or like me "Classic Pre65" trials is the lack of observers. Almost all the events i have ridden in this year, my first year back at trials since 1985, have had a shortage of observers with usually 50% of the sections unmanned. Last Sunday there were only 3 yes 3 observers. Now to me this ruins the event. I DO NOT blame the organisers, who put a hell of a lot of effort into the event, I DO NOT blame the ACU or anybody else for that matter. I was just wondering if the ACU had a st…

The ACU are having an open trials forum to allow riders or clubs to discuss any issues which they might have. Excluding British Solo and Youth Championships, (which have their own seperate forum), any topic can be put forward. Personally I am interested in the whole issue of Risk Assessments, but I'm sure that there are many more points that could be covered at this forum. Any suggestions? Pete

Having recently moved from england to scotland I was just wondering why there is such a big difference between the ACU/SACU trials registration? Is it due to numbers?? as there is obviously more clubs/riders to spread the cost south of the border or is it land policy? or something else? I must add I don't mind in the slightest paying the fee as it works out at less than a meesley £1 a week. Also how do the enduro guys manage to charge £40 for an event when us trials guys manage it for £10???? again I really appreciate all the work everyone puts in to all these events im just curious (not in a gay way). Cheers Spike