ianj

Hi, First "met" Eric when he gave a young trials photographer a hand up a rock. Camera's in both hands and no steady hand it was very kind of him to stop me from dropping the lot down the section. Since then over the years I've studied Eric's approach to the observers and riders whilst also watching where he positions himself to get the best photos. Along with Mario.C I've learned a lot from them both. As for the photos's, yup gotta agree Eric's got te art nailed.......and it really would be great to see a book or website with his work down the years. Ian.

Hi, I thought all the purpose built anchors were too expensive.......so made my own. Stainless steel eye-bolt welded to stainless steel plate then use rawl bolts attached to concrete floor. Rawl bolt heads then welded to the plate so they can't be shifted. Pic before fitted to floor:-

Hi, Been keeping my eye on this website but nothing......except a wee Sherco PR. http://www.intermot-muenchen.de/id/12236/ Ian.

Hi, Here's an app you can use to capture the video....even on a slow dial-up. http://www.flash-screen.com/flashsaver/ You will then need to know the location of the video file, as follows, http://www.honda.co.jp/HDTV/HRC/WCT-race20.../HDTVplayer.swf Haven't tried it but it should work. Ian.

Hi all, Hawkstone is good.....been there every time......but Kinloch will be great I'm sure. Just as long as it's on mainland Britain somewhere then I really don't care. Can't wait! Ian.

Hi, It came from me!.......I just tried the clutch at Addingham and thought it felt heavy. I like a real light clucth you see. Ian.

Hi, Ok, so let me get this straight, are you saying it is possible to make the clutch lighter through two methods, 1. A cupped plated of different sprung strength. 2. Replace the flat steel plates with different thickness to change the overall witdth of the 'pack'. I assume a thinner pack is lighter clutch? I was wondering, is the clutch on the smaller engine's Pro's lighter, and which method have they used to make it lighter? Ian.

Ahhhh, so the bendit-&-bodgit answer is to cut a couple of opposing fingers off then......... Ian.

Hi all, Talking about clutches, my old '93 gasgas has a heavy clutch, but I got slightly weaker springs made and it was lighter and 'just' at the point of slipping under heavy load (road work). I tried the clutch on the '05 at Addingham and found it heavy.......so has anyone done a clutch spring mod like I did on my '93 ? Ian.

Hi all, I noticed:- -

Guilty m'lud......I've seen myself using it as a 2nd throttle quite a bit too much! I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. I must not use the clutch as a throttle. There! Ian.

The music at Addingham was far, far from being too loud in my opinion. I think some people might be confusing "too loud" with "could be heard at other side of field". This might have given some folks the impression that if it can be heard clear as day at t'other side of park then it must be blaring closer in. I moved around quite a bit and it was fine by me (although, may I re-direct you all AWAY from the fact I'm soundman for a 14-piece band with a 10k PA rig!)...... I thought it added and extra dimension to the occasion............ Ian.

I took a good few pics and have sent to Andy for him to use if he wants. Meanwhile, I like these two! PS. I liked the music!!!!

Hi, Most of the camera manufacturers skimp on their AF mechanisms, unless of course you buy the top end SLR's. Cheap AF means that in order to get consistently good results you need to know how to help it along. When you aim the camera, make sure the centre portion of your viewfinder has the object you want to focus on in it. Duh!, he says, but more importantly, make sure that the object you are focusing on has some contrasty vertical patterns in it. Horizontal patterns aren't as effective. Example: if you were taking a photo of a bird cage then aim the centre of the viewfinder right smack on a vertical bar. Sometimes though the photo you want to take doesn't have any contrasty vertical patterns at it's centre. The answer then is to aim the camera off to one side of the object where there are some lines and half-press the shutter, wait for it to lock and centre your object and then press the button the rest of the way. Even with this knowledge then we all still get duff photos......reason is that you gotta watch out that your camera didn't focus on something in the background. Take the birdcage again, using the bars to set focus is sometimes not an ideal, it's best if your contrast patterns are in the same plane, not one half being your object and the other being the blue sky in the background. Your pic looks like the AF (auto-focus) didn't lock at all. It doesn't even look as if it locked on anything in the background. Some digicams won't let you take the pic if the focus hasn't locked! If it were me taking a pic of your Beta then I'd have half-pressed at just above the swing-arm bolt somewhere.then composed the bike in the shot. PS. On a really bright sunny day the vertical lines thing isn't so important, it's just that the less light there is the more you need good lines. For 'action' trials photography then focusing on a rock where the bike "will" be and holding the shutter half-pressed until the bike comes along is the way to go. Although, it can chew the batteries a lot faster. Ian.

Hi, At Addingham on Sunday I took a good look at the '05 GasGas bikes. I've just sold my Mont and in a few months will probably be buying a new bike, however, one thing that struck me not having looked in any detail at any of the "Pro" bikes these past few years is the exhaust. Certainly on the '05 bikes the front pipe seems VERY exposed. Is the '04 the same? I might consider a 2nd hand '04 instead. This is a show-stopper for me if you compare it to the Sherco there is just no comparison. PS. GasGas clutch seems heavy? Ian.

Sold ma bike......new one end of year/next year though. Ian.

We just got back.....helluva drive but worth it. Well done Grimbo! Cam = Canon G3

I'm Scottish remember..........so what does "buying" mean? Honestly, I just wondered what others think about the past 8 years...... Ian.

Hi all, Just interested to know other people's opinions regarding the progress of trials bikes in the past 4 years in comparison to the 4 years previous. Is the difference between the 1996 model bikes and the 2000 model bikes the same as the 2000 to 2004 ? Is progress slowing down, speeding up, the same ? Ian.

The pick-up in the background reg plate is NG04......that's Newcastle. Nice bike! Ian.

I traced this guys email address to an ISP.......complained and got a result...... ---------------------------------------- Hello This is to inform you that action has been taken against the user referenced in your complaint, in accordance with our zero tolerance Acceptable Use Policy, which can be found at this URL - http://www.outblaze.com/antispam/index.html Outblaze is one of the largest providers of webmail services in the world. As a responsible ISP, we hate spam, and we do not allow our network to be abused by spammers. Thank you for reporting this incident. Please feel free to report further incidents of abuse originating from our users to us at abuse@outblaze.com We encourage you to use http://www.spamcop.net to send out automated spam complaints, if you face difficulties complaining manually to each spam you receive. Thank You Outblaze Abuse Desk -----Original Message----- From: pj smith [mailto:pjsmith@marchmail.com] Sent: 18 June 2004 09:50 To: Ian Johnston Subject: RE: 1999 Montesa 315R

I got a reply from one of the scumbags..... THANKS FOR YOUR PROMPT REPLY AND PICTURES. I FEEL MORE INTERESTED IN IT. IAN, I HOPE YOU WOULDNT MIND IF YOUR BIKE IS BEEN SHIPPED OUTSIDE THE UK? I WOULD ARRANGE FOR THE PICK UP MYSELF BUT I WOULDNT BE COMING FOR THE TEST DRIVE OF IT DUE TO MY ABSENT FROM THE UK. I AM PRESENTLY IN BERMUDA ISLAND, PLEASE DO ADVISE BY SENDING YOUR CONTACT ADDRESS AND PHONE# WITH THE NAME REQUIRED ON THE PAYMENT SO I CAN HAVE PAYMENT MAILED OVER TO YOU WHICH IS TO BE DRAWN FROM A UK BANK. AWAIT SOONEST REPLY.

Exactly!....that's why I'm quite confident both are scams and I don't mind posting the emails here. I did reply to one of them just to see what happens but heard nothing yet. Ian.

-------------------------------------------------------- No.1 Hi Seller, I am interested in buying this item from you(1999 Montesa 315R) and i want to know the present condition of the it and also i want to know the actaul price for it.i want you to be inform that my method of payment would be through certified cashier check soi want to hear from you? Thanks.. -------------------------------------------------------- No.2 Hello Ian Johnston, I came accros your ad and i am really intreted in geting it.So i will want you to pls email me if it is still available.And also tell me its present condition.Also send me the pics if it is available and give me your last price.Also i will want you to know that my mode of payment is with a certified chasiers check which i believe is the best way of payment. If you are ok with that you can get back to me so that we can conclude on payment. Regard.. --------------------------------------------------------