Trials Training And Technique

Hello everybody, I am a beginner trials rider from Hong Kong, and I am wondering what is the proper way to perform hops on both wheels. I can do locked-steer balancing for over 5 mins easily, but I still not mastered straight-steer balancing yet. Is it mandatory to master the striaght-steer balancing before practicing the hops on both wheels? Some local rider tells me to compress the fork like how to perform the hops on front wheel with forward body movement and arms , while the legs are additionally responsible to compress the rear suspension to make both bike hopping. But some other local riders tells me to only use the legs to compress both the fork and the rear susp…

I have a Sherco 125. In one particular section today, just a slight initial slope, soaking wet, in thick, slippery clay/mud, I could not get any traction at all - to even get near the tricky bits. I have Michelin x11 on the front and an X lite on the rear. Front was 6 pounds and the rear was 3 pounds. I am around 15 stone. What pressures might help?

I had 4 dogturds together in a big split (too big a needle for the original dogturds). A gentle ride and they blew out followed by all the slime. Do you think I can get a big patch welded to the inside or is it time for a new tyre?

Just been out for a quick pootle about in my woods...very lucky in the that respect. Been practicing very slow/stopping/start tight turns and when (it's never 'if' with me ) we go off balance, its always the inside foot that goes down. I've even tried to force myself to over balance on outside foot but my head just can't do it. ....I know the bike wants to fall 'into' the inside due to the physics, but then I should be allowing for this with my balance, but, I never over balance to the outside.

hey folks, Im not sure if anyone is gunna be able to explain in text but... Im trying to master turning in tight space by lifting up the rear wheel and turning the back of the bike left or right, There was a guy up killkenny where i practice who did show me but i still cant do it, He says about compressing the rear shock using clutch front brake etc, then lifting bike moving hips etc etc, but i can only swing it about 10 inch and i always loose balance and dab my foot down! If you can explain how you do it then it would be a great help!

Hi All I am a 58 years old average trials rider...been riding off and on since 17. Now I generally ride once or twice a month on a Beta Rev 3. But about a year ago in a trial suddenly suffered from severe cramp in the right hand/wrist when exiting a section, instant full throttle action!! Thankfully I use a lanyard cut out so no great drama's. Although surprised a few spectators and especially me! Completed the trial but had to rest the wrist/hand before each section..although a couple of 3's resulted from complete lack of confidence. I think it is partly psychological now but seems to be getting much worse, because of that I am gripping tighter,…

The bike that is :-) Due to my hands not being that big I find it much easier to hold the clutch and brake levers with 2 fingers. However a friend who has been riding for years said I will get better control if I just use one finger. Do I need to try and train myself or doesn't it matter? Thanks Pete

Hi. I bought my first 4 stroke about 3 weeks ago; it is a clean 2006/07 Repsol 4RT. I am in my early 50's and have been competing for about 3 years on the easy and 50:50 routes. My previous bike until 3 weeks ago was a 290 Evo 2 stroke, all of my previous bikes have been 2 strokes and I had progressed to riding reasonably competitively in my ability and age classes. I REALLY enjoy riding the 4RT for all the usual reasons but accept that the transition to 4 stroke from 2 stroke is a learning curve as the engine characteristics are so different. The first thing I noticed riding the 4rt is the engine braking which I think I like. The second thing I noticed is that the eng…

Hello, I was recently cruising thru the training forum and I notice there is no advice for training with the engine switched off. When I first purchased my new montesa it was the first of February and I was weather locked in the garage with single digit temps and two feet of snow in the yard. So I first focused on static balancing in a stationary position finding the correct vector for the front wheel so I could learn how to balance the motorcycle with my feet on the pegs not going anywhere. At first it was very difficult and I was only able to get 10 to 15 seconds on the pegs before putting my foot down, as the weeks went by with continued practice in the garage my…

I know this subject has probably been discussed many times before, however i would like to put forward my observations on technique. Through forums etc i have been instructed to drop the knees forward to compress the front forks, and then to gently pull on the bars while transferring the weight over the back of the bike by straightening the knees. While gently pulling on the bars i find myself pulling myself forwards which is exactly the opposite to what i am trying to acheive. If however, i PUSH against the bars while straightening the knees my weight will automatically be transferred to the back of the bike.

Yesterday, I took my first ever ride on a trials bike. I had known that there was a substantial amount of skill required to do this correctly, but boy, was I ever unprepared for what trials was all about. I had watched the Ryan Young and other Trials related how to videos on line. I knew that trying to climb a six foot sheer rock face was lunacy for a guy my age, but the examples of correct riding positions and techniques were pretty much counter intuitive to what I knew from riding a dirt bike. Luckily for me, no sooner than having pulled up to my parking area, a guy on a trials bike rode by. I flagged him down and explained my rather clueless situation with trials ridin…

Hi there - thought for a long time about asking this at the risk of being told

Looks like our next trial will be in the snow, as a 1st year rider what are the major tips for traction uphill, slow turns, and descents? Deep snow probably allows a lot of grip, but what about compacted snow, then icy stuff after a few riders have been through?

Hi all I am really struggling to progress the biggest problem I have is just having nowhere to practice and No one to practice with When I am at a trial I find some sections very easy and clean all the time and some reall hard like lucky to get a 3 but then I cant practice so every trial is the same and No progress is being made I find it very hard to ride in the rocky burns and over any sort of obstacle I just cant get any rear wheel lift to get over and just clatter into then I need to practice getting back wheel up I watch videos on YouTube all the time I know what I should be doing but just nowhere to practice it any thoughts on what I could do

I'm pretty much still a wobbler, but learning fast(ish) but I'm struggling with cambers followed by an uphill turn. A riding friend says lean the bike away from the slope and bend your knee and elbow into the slope, thereby making the tyre flat to the surface.... Schreibers excellent book suggests leaning the bike into the slope..... What's the correct technique for the camber and what am I doing wrong when it comes to turning to go up? Each time my front just pushes or slips down and across the slope as I'm turning.

What length levers do people recommend using? Also what brand of levers do you like? For the short time I have had the trials bike I have found I am comfortable using mainly just one or two finger on the controls depending on what I'm doing.

This year I want to attempt a 10 mile wheelie on my Pro 300 but I have some concerns... I have done a 3.6mile wheelie before which ended when I ran out of road but even at this point I was starting to get pain in my hands but I think this can be sorted with a pair of proper road gloves and some pre-wheelie hand-care. The main worry is the engine, with bigger bikes (usually 4-strokes) the engine can be damaged due to being starved of oil because all the oil rushes to the back of the gearbox, would this be the case with a trials bike on such a long wheelie? Im not worried about the rev's as Ill be doing it in 5th and 6th gear using fairly low revs. All the best Tom

Take a look at my video of me getting up a rock with my front wheel against it, Ive slowed it down so Its easier to analyze what im doing wrong! Ive been trying to do these for about 3 weeks now and im struggling to get rear wheel height. is this because my front wheel isnt low enough? If I lower it down I struggle to get any forward momentum and I end up just landing on the sump. I Noticed on the video that Im not getting that "spring" that Id get If I hit the rock rolling, Is this because the front wheel is rolling forward when I jump? Please take a look at the video and tell me where Im going wrong! Any advice would be much appreciated =] All the best Tom

Last trip out I ventured down a dry creek bed and did a few dabs until I came to a 2ft6" to 3 ft washed away area that was a straight drop... and it was a two-footed 5 to take stock of the situation. MMMMmmmmm! I felt I might go back over front so chickened out. For me, rightly so... no need for any injury at this stage! I spent 5 mins piling rocks against the face at a 45 degree to enable me to go down the face for now and continue practicing riding rocks with minimal dabs. Remove rocks with more experience. You wouldn't believe it... as I'm moving rocks against drop-off face this voice from above says "Hey Mate!... No altering the section!!!" Thats right! My chee…

I am going to TTC soon and am riding a Crf450x until I get there. Any drills I can be practicing on my bike that will help me? I was figuring stops and starts, balancing, figure eights...? Thanks for any help.