scorpa3

We rode in the Leamington Victory Long Distance Trial starting at Southam Rugby Club today. Following a written route card, the course included around 60 miles of trail riding with 24 observed sections onthe way. Set out for trail bikes, the sections were mostly wide and straight forward so losses were kept to an absolute minimum for the regular LDT riders; however some of the 'first timers' found the going more challenging riding bikes such as Gas Gas EC200's and KTM enduro bikes. I could have sworn some riders were using fourth gear! The wet weather of the last few days made some of the trail riding a muddy affair but added to the appeal of the event. The lunch stop at Ali Haighs Farm was most welcome, although the following part of the route was a little tricky to follow and took us through countless farm gates. Well done to the LV club for staging a brand new LDT, I feel sure that with a little fine tuning, this will be an event to look forward to inthe future.

Welcome to trials and to TC.

Good starting point OTF, however it also depends on how heavy you are. When my lad first started riding, he was only six stone and we ran the rear Michelin on his 80 Gas Gas below 1psi with no problems at all.

My other half is 5'1 and seven stone, she can ride my 250 Scorpa ok but she has no chance of starting it. She tried a SY125 and still could not start that, same for a Gas Gas 200. It takes the fun out of riding together when I have to keep starting the damn thing! She's not tried an 80, but I should think that she could start that fine.

Really, does that work? Having changed all of the things that you mention, it could be the brake line failing. If the integrity of the pipe has gone, then the pressure will be being wasted expanding the pipe and not being applied to the piston.

A riding companion suddenly noticed a grinding noise in first gear on 2004 Raga. I neutral or any other gear there's no noise, but on closer inspection we could see swarf in the gearbox oil level window. Has anyone had any experience of this or a similar problem?

Raced many different types of road racing bikes in the past. On one occasion we swapped an O ring chain for a racing non O ring chain on a CBR600 whilst we were tuning it with a dyno. At sub 7,000 rpm there was no significant difference, however as the revs rose the difference began to show. By 13,000 rpm it was a fraction under 3bhp gain. To put this into perspective, the cost of tuning a Supersport 600 was around

Well spotted Ham. You obvioulsy don't work in a government dept if you're still in at 4.36!

You didn't ride it in the Western Beach race when the tide came in did you?

Forgive me for mentioning it but, a couple of years back there was a lot of trouble with one of our land owners after a trials rider jet washed his bike off at a venue. We came very close to loosing the land. It seems harmless enough but be aware of possible issues.

Well worth buying if it helps sort the problem. Click here

One of our club members has bought a '08 Sherco 4t and he let me have a brief ride on it today a the Stafford Auto Group trial. This bike feels superb to ride, it is well balanced, can be ridden with or without the clutch and on half throttle (or less) is very docile... ideal for the easy section on which I compete. What's more, it started first kick every time I turned it off. Very very impressed! I just need to try a Scorpa 4t before I make up my mind, but the Sherco for me as a club rider, rides just right.

NIce one. Have you tried an SY250F? If so how does it compare to the 2t and the other 4t's?

Thanks for backing me up on this. I said someone would come on and 'say' you can do it with a foot pump! I've yet to see anyone actually do it though!

On the same principle; under TSR22a a stop should count as a one. A stationary dab should be a two. I've almost never seen either of those given, so in a way it's just as bad?

The 'rim tape', if it ain't leaking - don't touch it as they can be a right ******* to fit properly Yes, I disturbed mine and it's never sealed properly again. (See old thread on this very subject)

Pretty plain and simple there then isn't it? Any protests gone in?..... No? There's no point in complaining then. Put it down to a professional foul.

I can just hear the conversation at the 'spying' hearing earlier in the year. "Guilty! Your punishment for spying is- You are out of the constructors championship. But you can stay in the drivers championship because we wouldn't want to spoil the most exciting racing for many years....... but! Your drivers must not win the championship, even if you have to turn their cars off in the race or pull them in for an extra pitstop."

I've tried both Michelin X11 and the IRC on my Scorpa and although I prefer the IRC for the muddy trials we generally have here, there isn't much in it. Which ever you can get cheapest I suppose.

TSR22a was at one point the FIM rules, but then they changed. This is the problem with us adopting FIM rules, they can swap about without notice.

Tom, the easiest way is to call in at your local bikes shop or tyre depot and get them to put the tyres on for you. As they won't need balancing for a trials bike, they'll probably only charge you a few pounds. People will tell you that you can fit a tubless rear with a foot pump, but to stand any real chance you need a compressor as a foot pump provides so little air it is reluctant to get the bead to seat on the rim. Fronts are easier, with patience you can get a front on without tyre levers which can cause punctures in the tube. Remember to tighten the security clamp and check that the brakes work before you ride off. Let us know how you get on.

Welcome to trials Yo Yo, I came from road racing and have the scars to prove that too. The BIG difference betweeen trials and all other forms of motorsport is that it's how you ride not what you ride- and at the end of an event you've been on the bike for three or four hours and still have some money left in the bank! Let us know how you get on.

Limiting bikes in some way 'may' be one solution, but how on earth would you convince everyone to do it? It would have to start withthe FIM, then be approved by every governing body and then adopted in every championship. Not so long back it was going to be an all Four Stroke future and the powers that be couldn't even enforce that. I grant you the FIM could bring in some weight restriction but it would hardly be one which made a significant difference to existing machines.

NO. You reeled me in with this one John... hook line and watsit. Considering the points you make about the British Championship etc we should be looking at one set of rules for all.... FIM. And we all know that isn't going to work for lots of reasons, so we are back to at least two sets or rules. Drat! Non stop is only going to work for all if the FIM adopt it; which leaves our comittee (the imaginary TC one or the real ACU one) in a real pickle.