cleanorbust

Mark Holland? (who I believe made a low profile comeback to trials 2 or 3 years ago).

"One careful owner" is always a good one. It may even be true but says nothing of the half dozen slackers whose hands it's been through, whose "maintenance" comprises of power-washing the grease from the bearings and parking it up to rust at the back of the garage.

Think that could be Rob Fitton (1960s GP road racer) on the Dalesman. It's certainly his helmet design.

Alan Trophy Trial, 1979 for the Rathmell pic.

Brian Hutchinson in dark helmet looking back towards start of section. ? Pete Cartwright sitting on banking nearest camera.

Some clubs do use a self observing system, where groups of four or so ride round observing each other. Not over-popular in my experience, can give rise to some questionable scores. Also wouldn't suit me too well as I like to spend longer inspecting a section than most riders. Other clubs pay observers (a tenner in the case I am thinking of) and never seem to be short of manpower.

Sounds like a good result, and you know you'll get any help you need with tech assistance on this forum. Fancy posting a picture or two for us all to see?

Wow, that untethered front brake cable is a tad on the long side isn't it? Just waiting to snag itself on a passing branch. My first bike was a new 1972 Dalesman, with the six speed Puch motor. On delivery the front spindle was an incorrect fit in the forks. It took ages for the factory to sort this out as nobody there recognised which forks were fitted to the bike! Happy days. I changed to an older Bultaco after a few months which was of course a much easier ride with superior suspension and motor but it would be interesting to try the Dalesman again now to see how (in)capable it really was. I recall that Peter Gaunt rode a development version of the bike for a short while, being fitted with a front disc brake (first trials bike to do so?).

Sorry, misunderstood the type of stand you meant. Mine is a triangulated prop stand.

Mine came with a new TY250 mono: Y = 29 cm Z = 36cm overall height = 49cm as there is a vertical leg extending up from the top corner of the triangle, which is bent inwards to locate in hole in frame.

I wouldn't let the fact it's a 290 put you off too much. A slow action twistgrip and retarding the ignition a bit should take the edge off the power delivery.

Hi, Thanks - I hadn't interpreted your post as being sarcastic, I really should have thought about it before posting as V-twins were obviously common in those days. Nice photo there, I wondered if it was Blackford Hill in Edinburgh, which was of course used as the finishing point of the Scottish right up to the 1970s - the path alongside the stone wall suggests this to me, also the size of the crowd perhaps indicates the scene is Edinburgh rather than in the highlands. Looking forward to many more of your posts - they're providing a wonderful nostalgic kick and I note many of the photos aren't ones which appeared in the press at the time.

Hmmm, best bet is going to be taking as thorough assessment as possible of each bike, including a ride to test all gears, clutch, brakes, check for smoky exhaust, lack of damping in the suspension, leaking forks, buckled wheels and making a judgement on how mechanically noisy the engine is. If it sounds akin to a food mixer best leave it alone. A bit of a lottery but if someone has taken the time and expense to do a rebuild (best check on what exactly that entailed if possible) on the Sherco then chances are it may be better than average for its age.

Thanks for posting. I may be swiftly corrected, but could this be the only V-twin to have done the Scottish?

The Sherco could be a good bet given that it's had a rebuild - that could save you quite a wad of cash if you're looking to keep the bike more than a short time, and £995 seems a reasonable starting point for negotiation for an '04.. In my view the Sherco is also more of a modern bike than a 15 year old Gas Gas. Yes, Gassers are popular now but the present bike is quite a long way from what a 1998 model represents. Much really depends on the overall condition of each bike. It should be easy to see signs of neglect or poor maintenance, eg corrosion on vulnerable points such as exhaust, spokes/nipples and bolts/allen screws around the bike. If either bike has loads of dents or scratches (though any trials bike will have some signs of use) it's probably had quite a hard life which doesn't usually coincide with conscientious maintenance. Try asking the owners how often they change the oil or clean the air fiter - a blank look can tell a lot. Good luck.

Yeah, sure. Mind you, being adult doesn't seem to put off locals round my way from taking to local rough land every Sunday despite copious signs advising them of the illegality of doing so. Tread warily, keep to the law. Our sport depends on it.

Yes, penalties for walking or pushing a motor vehicle on the road without the required tax, insurance, licence etc can be pretty severe. As can those for trespass on private land unless correct permission is obtained to ride there. Presumably your mates are in the clear on that front?

Interesting to read the complaint about queue jumpers in the Bradford Club trials results posted this week. While queue jumping may be annoying, it's certainly nothing new. It brings to mind an interview with Mart and Rastus when they were near the top of their game some 40 years ago in one of the monthly bike mags (at the time they were running a coal delivery firm together). They freely admitted to parking their bikes at the front of a queue ready to slot straight in at the front after inspecting the section. As they put it "most people think it's because we can't be bothered waiting" but actually it was deliberate so that after they had prepared the section as well as possible with some careful bootwork, making sure the rocks were placed as advantageously as possible, they didn't want their gardening work messed up by twenty people ploughing through in front of them after they got back to their bikes. Certainly when I was riding nationals in the 70s/80s it was commonplace for the works riders to wedge their bikes in by the start cards ready to ride the section straight after looking at it. This never bothered me as I was happy to finish the trial and wouldn't be held up by an expert going through in front of me, and as most people understood, their income depended on them getting the best result possible. Mine didn't. This isn't to condone rude behaviour, just an observation that some things never change.

Top level athletes use a technique known as "staying in the now", ie keeping the brain focussed on what is happening this second, not on a mistake you just made or what is approaching that you might be fearful of. This applies very well to riding a section, where it's important to "flow", keeping to the line you have planned. Missing markers is a classic example of not focussing on the present. It's also important to be able to switch your brain to 100% concentration on the challenge. If you watch a top rider keying himself up to enter a section he will probably go through a series of actions such as pumping the forks up and down and repeatedly prodding the gear lever while the observer waits for him to make his attempt. This isn't because he thinks his bike needs checking over, what's happening is that he is focussing his brain onto the section, mentally rehearsing how he will ride it. He goes when he has shut out all distractions and when his brain is fully tuned in, and not a second before. You have to be able to switch off from all distractions to make your best attempt. A classic situation is when a rider is at the front of the queue and his mate who is returning to his bike after looking at the section asks him "second gear for this?" or "are you going to the right of that rock?" . The rider then needs to re-tune his mind from this distraction onto exactly what he is about to do. You can use a technique of using one particular action to help you shut off from distractions before setting off into the section, for example giving the bike a rev. As the engine settles down, imagine your brain also calming down to it best operating mode, where you can start to use the "stay in the now" technique as you let the clutch out. Fascinating stuff...

A well known problem on the 320 I believe. Advice has been to kick it over gently rather than using a strong swing on the kickstarter, use zero throttle when kicking it over (do not even touch the grip to avoid any instinct to twist it). Lowering float height may help. I think there was a hot starting kit done for them at the time. Malcolm Rathmell Sport may be able to advise on this via their website. Or just go back to a 2T.

Was it really that bad?

Anyone know if the rationale for belt drive is anything more than weight saving?

Not so much the weight of modern bikes, but their design that makes feet-down grip difficult to find. T'old twinshocks had a seat height which meant you could plant your bum on the bike to increase grip and paddle through for a three. Sitting on a modern bike doesn't increase grip in that way or allow the same leverage to push forward,

To ride a trials bike you need four working limbs (though I've seen it done with three, but that's another story), a sense of balance, some mind-body coordination and on occasion a good spadeful of bravery. Two points to note: - the age of these components doesn't matter as long as you have them - 51 isn't that old anyway There are plenty of people riding well who have 10 years or more on you. If you are unhappy with your performance practice, rather than youth, is most likely to improve it.

Go ahead and get it turned. Does the fitter have an interest in selling you a new one, perchance?