overthehill

FBDs idea of top 10 in championship seems a good starting point. being honest you'd be lucky to have 10 riders in Scotland who deserve it! note that our SACU steward is very quiet on this one

not really the point - i was speaking to a rider that was made up to expert last year and instantly downgraded himself - he was riding the B route on Sunday ! (the easiest trial i think i have ever been to) its the system that needs changed - it shouldnt be up to riders to downgrade themselves as soon as they are made up; as i said before - makes a joke of the system.

same thing happened with my daughter on a ty80.- never been on a bike since the big mistake we all do is tell them how to make it go - the trick is to tell them how to make it stop!

good point FBD - believe it or not I am graded as an expert - when you watch me you'll wonder why - and for the likes of Gavin to be graded the same as me makes a joke of the whole system - I'm with FBD on this.

tore my anterior Cl (meant to be worse) about 20 yrs ago and still riding - one tip - keep the muscles built up - your physio will give you exercises - you will have to do them for the rest of your biking days, CLs dont repair themselves, if its a bad tear surgery does repair it but involves drilling holes in your knee joints and grafting tendons from your thigh - (too much detail?) but it can be done if needed, but you will have to push to get it.

I'll be there - you'll recognise me by having 10 marks on my card before the first section. (its easier than faffing about with sticky back plastic )

thats just my point bigjohn - how do organisers know that the number displayed IS the licence number? and secondly - if a rider accepts 10 marks a trial is it ok for him to ride without any number? - some guys are only out there to have a day out and they dont care what they loose - they will know themselves what they dropped and thats all that matters. if this rule is so important just make it that they cannot start without a number.

lets see some of your best trials photos. while i dig some of mine out here's an Eric Kitchen SSDT photo to set the standard. (please respect copyright)

any number??????

reading these posts with interest, and my first question is what is this all about - as a rider i have not been told about this rule change? Or will clubs have to include it in suplementary regs? FBD has a point about checking numbers on bikes against licences, Our club has enough trouble finding observers, signing riders on, checking the course and all of the other duties in getting the event going (there are only about 5 of us)and after we have done all this work we usually end up observing!!! I cant see how we can check everyones number against their licence as well - we have nearly 100 riders at our trial. - or will the SACU Steward do it for us?

excellent summary Ishy - makes me feel i'm there already see also beginners guide

i havent laughed so much for ages seriously WB you sound like you have several problems - what oil ratio do you use ? have you repacked your back box recently? have you checked that there are no splits in the rubbers either side of the carb? - this would make it hunt, or run-on, when on tickover. it shouldnt smoke if you have the correct ratio and your backbox is freshly packed - have you had a good blast down a track recently to clean it out and burn off any oil - easier on the road but you wont be able to ride on the road legally and dont say I told you to!!! what year is it? you'll need it to rev out if you are goint get up those waterfalls on the hill at Annat good luck

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to find world rankings? - or european come to that?

kinell - just for you i have been up checking new sections for May - well thanks to the nice lochaber folk they took me to see some cracking waterfall sections - like 3 witches burns in a row - glad i'm not riding this year

http://www.scottishtrials.com/tiendas/entrada.html but it is more of a trail type of seat - i wouldnt ride the sections with it - (it would be brilliant for the road though) see above link - and it costs e170 ! - It is well made though I just want to thank Scottishtrial for supplying the seat to the Six-Days trial; they are one of our sponsors and have been very good to us - another plug http://www.scottishtrial.com

A few years back (2000 i think) we did a page in the ssdt programme "Things you didn't know about rider number * it was a great talking point but finding the snippets was not easy. If you can provide a good/amusing snippet about any of this years riders it will be printed (we will check, so dont make anything up). Also we are looking for a short "rider profile" on the top riders - if there's anyone out there willing to put something together on the top 6 riders let me know - you could see your work in print and we'll post you a free programme (big spenders eh!) come to think of it who would you rate as the top 6 entered? get posting

depends on the weather / dust etc - too much is better than not enough. At the scottish do it every day- take two and swap them every morning, then you can clean the dirty one overnight.

can you just tape up the vent holes in the seat or are they requires for air intake? - i have fine mesh on them but it just gets clogged up with muck, figured i'd be just as well blocking them off and protecting the intake from crud a bit

if you just want a pair of good light gloves try Snap-On mechanics gloves - there the only gloves i've had which have done two scottishs' - not waterproof but very well made and only

same with a rucsac on the road - put it on backwards also keeps you snug from the driving sleet and snow Never forget your goggles

good idea Ishy - I made a small seat for riding the scottish a couple of years ago - it was great for the roadwork - one that you can stash tools in would be better. Fixing is vital - straps that can get caught up in your boots or a bag that can slip round would be a pain in the *** but if secure looks a good idea. Ive just got a seat for a montesa from www.scottishtrial.com (a plug for one of our sponsors) to use for marking out - it brings the seat height up to the same as your fantic - ok for rough and carrying flags but a bit high for sections. but the fixing is clever - i will take a photo of it and post it. I also used to tape my spare tube behnd the front numberplate between the forklegs - there is just enough room if careful and it saves a lot of weight for other tips for ssdt-virgins see http://www.ssdt.org/html/beginners.htm

had to get the bloody ears in didn't you (always do sober.................)

better get used to riding with a hangover - the worst day is your early one (07.30 start!) - hardly worth going to bed in fact.

if you dont finish kinell youll never be able to show your face on TC - get to the gym

i used to think that guards were more bother than they were worth - (except for neoprene fork gaiters) but recently fell against a rock with the mont and hit the waterpump - it didnt crack but it pushed in and knocked some of the fins off the impeller - made a hell of a noise - i thought the mains had gone - simple job to fix and cheaper than i thought but it could put you out of the scottish - may be worth a guard of some sort