G'day mate, there is a fair bit of discussion on this subject on trials.com.au. it's mainly about putting gold valves, springs & oil etc in TY's & TLR's with 35mm forks.
I have the gold valves with different springs & 5wt oil in 1 of my TLR 250 forks.
Thanks very much for your reply.
Just had a quick look on the forum and found a company in Spain that offers a kit.
Your 250 forks are different and supposedly better than the 200 forks, not quite sure how anything wouldn't be better....
Hamish, we went to the Cagouille Rageuse trial recently and were surprised at the low numbers despite it being a 'two day' event and the penultimate round of the championships.
From the outside it seems there are many problems facing trials here. The clubs seem to run too few trials, Lourdes run one modern trial a year, despite having the ability to stage a world championship round. So if you ride a modern bike you have 6 trials to ride a year! (Although twinshocks get 7!) Do the clubs have to pay a lot of fees to run a trial? I appreciate that if the demand for a ride isn't there why put on more trials, but if you don't build it......
As I have found you also have to factor in the costs in registering and insuring a bike. Which seems crazy when the bikes hardly, if ever, touch a public road. Also at every trial I've seen where they do, the road is closed or the crossing is manned. So why the need? I know 'It's France', but....
Obviously increasing the numbers riding is the answer, but when the costs involved are so high, who's going to invest a lot of money to give trials a go?
No one seems (in this area at least) to be encouraging kids into the sport either. There's several mountain bike clubs around me that run Wednesday afternoon and Saturday rides, why not trials?
I have no idea how it all works with clubs and their grounds, but if you can drive a short distance to somewhere where you can ride and no one is checking registration, insurance, licences etc., then is there really any wonder that competitions are under subscribed?
If so whilst I haven't ever tried it, I've read that someone can get two enduros in one with the bulkhead removed, which would suggest that two trials bikes should fit even with the bulkhead in place.
I'm thinking of buying one at the moment and looked at an L2 at a dealers today. The bulkhead is actually curved in at the bottom which might help and the sales guy, who actually knew what a Sherco trials bike was, reckoned two would fit. The bulkhead looks to be easily removed if necessary and the seats could also be removed as there's only eight bolts holding them in place. Although they're pretty heavy by all accounts.
Having attended the French world round at Lourdes for two consecutive years, the first (pre Sport 7) year was much better from a spectating point of view. Sport 7 seemed totally geared to filming for Facebook rather than having any regard for actual spectators at the event. As it was a new concept, we arrived on Saturday afternoon to watch the qualification. There were no signs as to where the actual section was and so we, along with a lot of others, waited at the last section. As no one showed up we walked back to the car to find what looked like a practice section being used as the qualifying section! As there was only a tiny grandstand and no other vantage points we watched the top of a few rider's heads and then left.
On Sunday the trial seemed to follow the same formula as the previous years, but I heard more than a few moans from the French officials about the British officials and vice versa. The previous year's event had been relaxed, well organised and totally geared to the spectators and providing them with good views. I did hear a lot of complaints about the interzones from the riders mechanics however. Not sure if this changed with Sport 7, or not.
Last year's round in Spain was another example of awful organisation. Saturday qualification was positioned on the side of a hill with appalling access and so once all the competitors had positioned themselves inside the taped off areas, there wasn't much to see. Giving up on seeing any action, we watched as each rider arrived at the end of the section. Those that beat the best time were directed to an interview, although as the guy directing them apparently couldn't speak any other language, there was a lot of confusion as to what was happening. The actual 'pole position' interviews were amazing, as the young Sport 7 girl 'interviewing' didn't even know how to say hello in French/Spanish/Italian etc.... We had to translate for 15 year old French lad Hugo Dufrese, as he couldn't understand a word the girl was saying to him. All very professional.
On Sunday the maps of where the sections were positioned were totally wrong! If you were lucky enough to find a section, it was so hard to spectate, it wasn't true, as most sections were totally inaccessible. The buses up to the trial site from the village weren't publicised anywhere and when they delivered you to the middle of nowhere, there were no signs guiding you to the sections. We finally had enough when it started pouring with rain, only to have our buses back to the village constantly delayed by Sport 7 guys blocking the access road with their hire cars....
I don't know who was responsible for the organisation of each event and perhaps Sport 7 were fed up with poor organising clubs and the cock ups they made. Having witnessed a pre Sport 7 event, I suspect it wasn't entirely down to the clubs however. Perhaps when they took over they had good intentions, a desire to professionalise the sport and make it accessible to more people. To me it looked like they were out of their depth, unprofessional and didn't give a stuff about spectators who might have travelled a long way to watch.
Entries are open for this trial which has some spectacular interzone.. done the interzone with a friend never done the trial going this year, entries are here
It looks a great bit of ground and do have a great time and in the vid they seem a cheery mob, but it looks 'advanced.'
Isn't there a technical difficulty in riding in a modern mono trial in France as Brit or Yank or whatever?
Things like medical certificates or similar technical compliances being quite onerous?
I may have got it all wrong but with twin shockers I understood that it was a different (easier) sporting code? Hence the bigger Uk etc entries.
Or maybe like everything else in France, a decent lunch with the right official sorts it!
As Chewy says, you can enter these multi day trials as an 'international' rider, with the docs that Chewy lists.
They are very accommodating over here, we went to suss one out last year and was amazed at how well run, how friendly and how enjoyable the whole thing was. Add in spectacular scenery, plenty of food and wine and what's not to like!?
I'm probably one step up from riding the easy route in the UK and the easiest class would've been a bit of a challenge, so if you're a clubman or inter rider there should be a route for you at most of these trials.
But if you're thinking of doing one, go for it, I am sure you would enjoy it.
I've contacted my local Beta dealers and he reckons it's possible to reregister my bike as it was registered in the UK, so I've sent my UK logbook back for a change of address to my brother and made sure the name matches perfectly any French documents I might need.
Once I get it back I'll start the process and see where it gets me.
I can confirm that numbers an EU Historic trials licence in D is 200€ a year, for international modern 319€ a year,
at least approved by the FIM and written in three languages ... for any rider over 50 years you have to ad the costs of a medical fitness test with ECG and all the trimmings thus you have to add another 100 - 200€!
An ACU international licence is £30..... Not that I have ever moaned about it, but we really don't know just how lucky we are...
Even for these amical trials bikes need to be insured. That's the easy bit a company called ABELA will do it on a special deal for trial bikes for around 60/80 euros a year. They will insure the bike on the frame number as well so whether you actually need to re register your bike is a little bit of a grey area. In Spain several of the classic trials I have ridden the organisers have not looked or bothered with insurance. lights or number plates, even the police directing traffic at the rounderbouts between sections have been less than interested. This goes against an Enduro riding chum of mine that rides in Spain and tells me that the police are all over him and his mates like a rash, and any infrindgment is dealt with a fine.. My bikes are all French registered and insured with lights not all working , but to the untrained eye.. Good luck its only just begun...
Thanks for that, I've found ABELA online and will contact them nearer the time. So if I turn up with bike and insurance, I should get a ride?
No problem lebowski.
An EU licence means a licence from any EU country. ACU for example is valid for some clubs here in Spain. Sometimes they will ask you for a starting permit (repatriation insurrance) which in the ACU is quite cheap and easy to obtain.
Here in Spain ACU is the federation model that everyone would like to have!!!!
Trials competitions in Spain are allways 100% off road, so no registration or insurrance needed. Entries include an insurrance.
No central listing of clubs unfortunately, our Federation is very occupied helping our very many top riders that have not time enough for the really important things...
Thanks again
I think a plan is forming (hopefully)! We aren't the best riders in the world, I'm a novice and my other have is almost a complete beginner, so we will try to find practice areas, either in France or Spain. With insurance we can ride the Amicale trials locally and with an ACU international licence I could ride multi day trials in France or wherever.
We have to choose; pay the 290€ or 350€ licences and ride trials or nothing.
If you are foreigner holding an EU licence you can ride here in some events that accept EU licences. Not all of them do, just counted events. If you want to ride a trial in particular that is not EU you can pay for a one event licence; 60€ for a one day event and 100€ for a two days trial.
Best is to contact the orgazirers and see if they accept your licence. Some do.
An EU licence? As in an ACU licence, or a road licence? Do the bikes have to be insured and/or road registered?
Is there a central listing of the different clubs?
Mettise has the measure of it.....The FFM have just about milked trials dry in France I heard the other day that there are just 1300 trials riders licenced for 2016. i registered a trials bike here had a uk reg but needed a COC also. You will find administration in france mind booggling,frustrating and you will need to find reserves of patience and humility to get through it. When we are in france we ride three times a week ...amical.
I tried getting a COC for my Evo.... Ended up speaking to Mr Lampkin himself, who explain that there isn't a COC available in the UK and so he advised speaking to my local Beta dealers in France. So far I've got to sell my van as I can't get a CoC for that and it's also modified (Shock, horror in France), and my Honda Blackbird, as despite the EU saying you must allow reregistration of EU owned motorcycles over 100bhp, the French authorities have decided it must also have ABS fitted as standard.... My 98 DR350 also won't have a CoC, but it's pretty standard so I'm happy to go through the process with that.....
290€ in Spain for a licence for standard trials and 350€ if you want to ride Spanish championships either classics or modern. Each starting pemit for EU trials more than 200€ per trial to add to the licence.
1,300 riders in France? That´s heaven for their clubs and organizers; less than 500 licenced trials riders in all Spain...
So what do folk do in Spain? We're near to the border and was thinking about going over there to ride....
These amical trialing days, without classification are with out doubt the way trials are heading. We are trying to organize one near me in the Dordogne for May, and even for this the hoops we have to jump through is amazing, Meetings with mayors and the equivalent county council, to which we need to submit detailed plans etc etc. To do a trial with classification, would require more hoops still as competition is a dirty word it seems. Police, fireservice have to do a risk assement, sections not too far away from vehicle access , and a doctor or qualified first aid in attendance. Small wonder many clubs are sick and tired of these endless, needless , tiresome never endling list of things to do and the trials calendar is suffering, such a shame when the country is awash with land and hardworking people ready to put the effort in if only it just wasn t so damned difficult.
What documentation would I need to ride an Amical? Road licence? Road Insurance?
I'm now just over 2 months away from moving and yes the bureaucracy is mind blowing! The French authorities just seem to love making things hard work for people, even themselves! What one town's government office might say no to, another will say yes, it really is no wonder the country struggles.
Still, if it was like here I wouldn't be moving there!
Thank you all very much for all that information, very helpful.
With the cost of the licence and the lack of trials, I think I might hold fire and do some investigation when we move. My other half is very new to trials and I'm barely clubman standard, so to lay out 400 euros would be daft. From the sound of it riding an 'amical trial' would probably suit us perfectly however, so that may be the way to go.
I've also come across UFOLEP in my research and they appear to run trials in our neighbouring departments at least.
We looked at buying a 125 (for SWMBO) in France, but the dealer we spoke to told us they were quite rare(?).
When a bike is registered in France is DVLA notified?
Hopefully moving to France permanently next year, can anyone please tell me what the process and cost of getting a french trials licence is?
Whilst I'm asking, my bike is UK registered, but SWMBO's 125 isn't (she also doesn't have a full UK bike licence)..... Do I have to reregister them in France to be allowed to ride and does SWMBO have to take her full bike test?
Thank you very much for that, I did suspect that there could be a few local haunts that weren't publicised. We happened upon a trial earlier this year and the standard of riding didn't quite fit with the calendar of events on the club's website.
As you say, a very good way to learn the language. We fully intend to immerse ourselves into whatever France can throw at us, including replacing a fosse septique!
Merci pour votre aide (Google translate sadly, not got to that on Michel Thomas' CD yet!)
We will be almost half way between Auch and Lannemezan, about 10 minutes from Mielan, Mirande, Masseube and Castelnau Magnoac. So further south than the places you mentioned unfortunately. Having done a bit of google research it seems that there are clubs closer to the mountains and further north, in the areas you mention, but not a lot in my area. Mind you, I'll happily travel, it's not as though the roads are packed! I'm also more at the practice rather than compete stage.
Having spoken to lots of estate agents they seem to all say that you can ride push bikes and green laners in most of the public woods and forests around, but would that apply to trials bikes?
I think to compete in any off road event without adequate insurance and licence would be foolhardy.
its ok till something goes wrong then what?
Sorry you've lost me....?
If you're talking about a normal trial in the UK, then by having an ACU licence aren't we complying with everything?
If you're talking about European multi day trials, run on public roads or as Metisse says bridle paths, then I agree....
It's just a shame that someone who has never ridden on the road, but is a damn sight better rider than me with 30 plus years on the road can't ride... But thems the rules, and that's life!
Time to change mates methinks.....
I think the Andorra trial runs on closed roads(?) therefore there might not need to be a requirement for a road bike licence or personal insurance. Perhaps also the organisers may offer some form of public liability insurance with the entry fee. Not being fluent in French or speaking a word of Spanish or Catalan, it's difficult to know!
Repsol 260 stalling it
in Montesa
Posted
If you haven't got one an hour meter/tacho is a worthwhile purchase.