scorpa3

Just because other people, clubs etc do not observe rememberance Sunday is no excuse for us to start organising events. The ACU will not issue a permit, so any clubs who do compete are doing so with the permission of an alternative permit issuing authority. I personally believe that it would be wrong to start competing. We are asked to show so little respect for people now, (elderly, teachers, even parents)I think it is appropriate just once a year to remember all those who have given their lives by giving up our fun hobby. Irrespective of wearing poppies or 1 min silences, doing this one small thing goes some way towards showing some respect. This is only my personal thought; please keep rememberance day as it is. It's such a small price to pay compared with what so many gave for us. Sorry if this hurts some people, it's just how I feel.

Yes I agree, I too am sick of paperwork at work. However, to enjoy ones self on a Sunday morning someone has to put in a lot of time and effort setting out and organising an event. It now looks as if the same people who do the organising, as unpaid volunteers, are now facing the prospect of being held liable in a court of law for their actions. Quite rightly too I suppose? The increasing requirement for paperwork, although a "load of ****" is being introduced to ultimately help these unpaid volunteers from facing such a scenario. In the light of this, I am questioning my motivation to continue as a Clerk of the Course, but what I do know is that if we are going to keep on riding in organised events, then everything possible should be done to help the organisers to protect themselves from litigation. So on this fact I agree with the ACU. It's just how, who and to what level is my worry.

Imagine the number of risk assessments required for one of our National road trials where there are 10 groups of sections and many spectators. Support teams refuel around the route. Riders use bikes on the road with no lights etc, many don't wear gloves. Trials have always been like this and long may they continue. But do I want to be the Clerk of the Course at these events and responsible for the paperwork? As a volunteer? I am begining to think not.

Forgive me for being scynical here, but I feel as if the unpaid volunteers have been shouldered with the problem for the time being. In the event of a court case, the permit issuing authority might just say "it's the CofC's job to fill out the Risk assessment, we just supply one form for them to photocopy and use as many as required." Then the official will be left in the dock trying to explain why they knew that assessments had to be done but didn't do it properly. I really do feel quite concerned about all this. I know the ammount of paperwork an accident generates at work. And the subsiquent follow up actions/questions that have to be answered. And at my work we have a full time trained H&S manager overseeing and auditing the paperwork, even then things go wrong. What chance has a club trial organiser got?

Thanks for the excellent replies. So far this corresponds precisely with my thoughts. At the moment, the ACU are issuing just one risk assessment form with each set of regs. They are saying that a generic assessment for the event will be enough to cover the minimum requirement for H&S. I am sceptical of this approach. If assessments are to be done, then I think we need to do it to the best of our ability rather than to the very minimum. I too am concerned about the many ancillary things which pose a hazzard at an event, rather than the rider hurting themselves in the marked sections. eg Refueling; Surely if risk assessments are required, then this merits one on its own? Once identified in this way, what other actions or paperwork are required? Should we not have a clearly available safe system of work for refueling? What about COSHH regulations? I am involved with risk assessment in an engineering environment, but would be most reluctant to have a go at assessing refueling. I may be wrong, but I am deeply concerned that by doing a little badly, we are creating more problems than doing nothing. In a court I can just hear the judge saying ".... and you clearly identified the risk, you should have eliminated or reduced that risk. You are liable." I have spoken to the ACU (at a very high level) and they genuinely don't know what they need us to do right at this moment. Apart from asking us to fill in this one form and calling it a risk assessment. Feeling a little bewildered right now. Any thoughts appreciated, this will affect every ACU CofC from now on at every event.

At the moment, it is the individual Clerk of the Courses job to be responsible for writing Risk Assessments for each trial. The ACU seem to think that the Risk Assessment for an event can be put on just one form and that will be enough to show that we have considered the risks if something happens. I just have a feeling that if push comes to shove, this will prove to be lacking, perhaps worse than actually doing nothing? Any thoughts appreciated. Cheers

I'm interested to find out if anyone has had any experience completing the ACU risk assessments for trials events? How many different areas need to be assessed? In what depth do we need to go? What are the implications of getting a risk assessment wrong in the event of an incident? Any thoughts on the matter would be most welcome as I am faced with this task and I personally feel that the ACU's interpretation of what is required is a little..... lets say vague. Thanks

Check out this 4t Gas Gas Pampera.

I find it's best to remove the caliper from the bike and wedge the pistons in the correct position with a piece of wood or some other suitable spacer which can be removed after bleeding. (If I fit the caliper to the bike I always seem to get fluid on the disc or the wheel or the paint work, which is not good.) I also try to use a pair of old pads in case the fluid spills on them. Then find a piece of clear pipe, fuel pipe is a good one. This way you can see the air bubbles as they emerge. Fit this to the nipple, remove the reservoir cap and fill to the top with fresh fluid. (Turn the bars so that it is level with the floor.) Now slacken the nipple and slowly pump the lever until fluid appears in the pipe. When the fluid begins to emerge but then gets sucked back into the caliper, this is the time to pump the lever in, hold it in and tighten the nipple before releasing the lever. Check the fluid level, release the nipple again, lever in, hold, tighten and release. Keep doing this until there is no signs of air bubbles in the clear pipe. Tighten the nipple, check the fluid level is correct (not too full!, refit the cover, wipe off any spilt fluid immediately and fit your new pads and refit the caliper to the bike. Before riding the bike, check that there are no leaks and that the brake works correctly. You will need to bed in the new pads, do not overheat the new pads when bedding them in. Do it gently to prevent glazing. Hope this helps. Regards Scorpa3

Fickle! Never loyal to any brand of bike! Owned a 03 SY250 - nice bike but nothing to go wow about. Me 05 Gas Gas 300 Raga now that bikes got the wow factor. The 'X' factor, triple X, big hairy balls - you need a big set of Balls to ride a Raga Never mind 'X' factor and all that, which bike looses one the least marks? I know for a fact that an old fogey like me would loose more marks on a Raga than on the nice comfy soft SY. And probably cost the NHS more in the process!

The only cheating I was aware of, was one young man who had the Scorpa 250 when it was my pals turn, he bought it back when the hooter sounded, when my friend confronted him about taking his turn, the lad said "tough" and walked away. I managed to get a good number of rides by taking the bike with the least wait and as soon as I got back going straight back in to get another ticket for the next. I found this was the best way last year after I had waited 2 1/2 hours for a go on a 4rt when I could have been riding other bikes. Here's another of Jarvis.

We got there early and stayed there all day, really wanted to try as many bikes as possible. Managed to go on Scorpa125-250-250Jap. Beta 200-270. Sherco 290 Gas Gas 250-300 & Montesa 4rt (Not in that order) The picture here is the Scorpa Jap, felt too powerful for me but the rear suspension seemed better than my '05. Typical isn't it, I tried all those machines and the only one I dropped was the baby Scorpa 125 and the footrest gouged a big chunk out of my shin. A really good day out (apart from the blood) thanks again to BVM for running the day.

The brass inserts are indeed M5, I damaged the threads on mine and drilled them out and re tapped them to M6. The insert is very near to breaking through to the air box, when I drilled mine I drilled a little too far and swarf dropped through into the box. This presented no real problem other than having to remove the box to clean the swarf out properly. The new M6 screws obviously filled the hole. I would advise against trying to make the hole big enough for cable ties as the tie would not fill the hole. Hope this helps

Sorry the pictures are so small but I had the camera set on high res. Here's another of Graham going up the cliff.

BVM test day was brilliant, 300 Gas Gas scared me almost as much as the cliff Grimbo was riding up. And down! Thanks to BVM for putting on such a good day, I checked out the photos and I could find a picture of me on nine different bikes. I have to admit the bike which impressed me the most was the 270 Rev3, it seemed like the throttle was connected directly to the rear tyre.

Lets just hope we see lots of trials bikes then. That'll do for me.

Is it in the same place as last year do you know?

The Beamish I've just bought has a registration document but the bike has a "Q" plate. Usually, Q plates are issued for kit cars when the original body has been changed. In the case of a Beamish Suzuki, I have a feeling that the Q plate would have been issued because the frame (like a body on a kit car) had been changed from the original Suzuki one. This would mean that any type approval or certificates of newness (or what ever was used in the early 80's) would not apply to the Beamish frame, so a Q plate would have been issued. I guess that DVLA would have a record of the Q number and I should think it is likely that it would still apply. There is therefore no reason why the bike shouldn't get a daytime MOT and be used on the road. In my experience with kit cars, the only problem you may find is getting insurance on a Q plate, but this can be done. Hope this helps. Pete

"he said it was an absolute b***ard to start. could not get it going (After it was producing a spark) and ended up having to pour petrol down the plughole" Did the dealer really say that?

I have no idea what regulations govern the registration of older machines, however to register a new trials bike (or enduro bikes) for the road, the trials bike must have a minimum ground clearance and a maximum seat height. (Enduro bikes must have a minimum seat height of 900mm, I can't remember the max height for trials, sorry) If your bike qualifies as a trials bike, it does not need a certificate of conformity or sva test (same thing but done on an individual machine) this way you will not have to have things such as road legal tyres, lights etc to ge registered. All you need is proof of its age (certificate of newness) insurance, proof of id and a cheque for

I have a Scorpa SY250, just as a matter of interest I tried a Long-Ride last year, although it has a bigger tank which is useful, the seat (for me) was a waste of time, it just wasn't big enough to sit on but unlike the standard SY, it pushed me forward into the tank. Worse than sitting on the bike without the seat. If a seat option is offered it should atleast be a proper solo seat. Problem is; if it has a bigger (read thicker) seat, it takes the seat height over the maximum required to register the bike with DVLA as a trials bike, so therefore needs type approval (or SVA)and all the things that requires like indicators etc. Now take a look at the new fourstroke T-Ride and now your talking, I love the look of that but one of those would certainly be at least some handicap in a trial. Comfort or competitive? mmmm

Where did you get the video/dvd from? I can't find it anywhere around here.

Similar, but different engine, different frame and upside down forks with different bodywork. The picture in TMX makes it look the business. I'll have one please.

What a fantastic looking bike for Long Distance Trails. It's even got an electric start according to TMX. I want one of these!

Sorry if I've missed the blindingly obvious here, but was it not scheduled for all machines to be fourstroke in 2006? Is this still on the cards or has it been delayed?