dman

Jeez, that TR34 is a beast of a mono shock. Reminds me of a soviet tank almost... What does it feel like to ride?

GGers are realiable. Just the fit and finish kinda sucks. (spent 20 min putting my air filter and cover back on, yeesh, bad screws, design, and plastic ) Well, I personally don't care. I want them to stay with 2ts cause I just love mine. But we all have preferances and odds are, we'll all be on 4ts sooner than later cause of FIM. Doesn't help that I'm from the USA so UK stuff doesn't mean much. I'll wait for the "press release"... I'm also concerned about the noise the 4ts make. Our riding area is rather "sensitive" with horses, hikers, bicycles, and us trials ppl. My GG is pretty quiet and is hard to hear if kept below half throttle. Now the Monts that have started riding there... you hear this loud deep roar after they rev their engines that can be heard a long ways away, almost as bad as a Harley. I mean, its so loud.

Its kinda funny that we opted to and got out of the A class a few years back, and now we are ready to move back up. Good job all the same.

That engine looks pretty compact except for how tall it is. That's my only real niggle with the mont, the engine is a monster in size. But I really don't think GG will go 4t unless FIM forces them too. Properly done exhausts can clean a 2 stroke up to 4t levels. What about beta, they seem to be in the same boat as GG, sort of but not really going for a 4t. I would like it if GG stayed with a 2t model for as long as possible cause I absolutely love the design and expert clutching can produce the same result as a four stroke engine in the wet. But who knows...the FIM does what it wants. I've heard that since the introduction of 4Ts to the WTC that certain undercuts had to taken out of events. This being because the 4Ts can't climb up them or get the power to the rear end quick enough to get up undercuts. Dunno if its true, I've just heard that.

Speed is good, but I'd have to disagree with you spud. An enduro time test is kind of not what trials is about is it? Balance and precision... Plus the fact that trials bikes are scary unstable at speed. Ever done a tank slapper down a dirt road in 5th? Not fun. Ride offs are intense. We had one years ago between two intermediate riders and it was one heck of a show. Had them doing some hard stuff.

They are all really good in my opinion. The dunlop 803s are really soft though. They wore out much faster than my old 801s. And I didn't notice much in increased grip. I think I'll try to get some 801s... But Michelins are fine, about average in all areas. Though be careful when you are breaking them in. I have punctured one before by doing some big stuff right off the bat. The tire was only an hour old. Sigh. But I'vehad michelins on all my GGs and they seem fine, except for that one tire. Never tried IRCs.

Ahh, that naughty rattle when the clutch is out. I hate that on mine, but if you say it is painful to listen too, I'd say have a mechanically GG mech see it or listen before opening it up. Or pop the cover and look around/investigate to see if anything obvious has gone wrong and go from there. That's what I'd do, but I'm no mech. And I'm sure someone else has a better answer than I, but its my 2 cents.

Are you sure its gearbox oil? And why don't you try to track it, coming out a breather pipe doesn't sound right. Lean it over again and it might be a gasket or something. The only certain piece of advice from me is to never ride or drive any vehicle with low oil. Otherwise you risk letting the parts rub together without lube. Then the engine seizes.

It is the normal wear and tear of the internal parts. Now imagine if the oil didn't carry it away. Ouch, all that not so nice friction and the parts start to burn and disintergrate. I always find a nice amount of small pieces of metal on my magnet, I'd assume its normal and keep going.

Its a TXT... Not sure, but I'm pretty sure those clutches are different.

I'm a toe and midfoot shifter. My gear lever is at 9 oclock so its pretty flat. I find that using my toes when standing works best and downshifting is done by sort of tapping/stomping on it with the balls of my feet or midfoot. Whenever I use my heel it always feels like a "bad" shift, like it didnt click the right way or it didn't feel like I got and feedback pressure from the tranny. So I never feel okay unless I'm loop riding or not in sections. But its whatever works for you.

Probably the best thing I did for my 05 280 is to buy some sheets of clear adhesive "stuff" made by 3M or some company. You can find it in most bike shops and I think its used on MX bikes for the number plates or something. But its a clear adhesive rubbery stuff. Anyways, take about 2-3 hours and use some cardboard to model the "important" parts of your bike. So use the cardboard and a pair of scissors to copy the general shape of what you're covering with the adhesive stuff and then cut the adhesive according to the rough layout of the cardboard.Then stick your adhesive piece on the certain part of your bike and then trim away and rough spots or overhanging bits. I used this to cover my shiny frame(Gasgas words part), seat decals (often worn to hell by boots), lower fork legs(looks ugly cause of the taper, but hey, it protects them so ), and on the part of the swingarm where your boots wear through the stickers (at the heels). I find this to be an excellent way to protect a bike and leave it looking as it is. I will need to redo my swingarm areas since I wore off the adhesive stuff, but I'll be smiling when I sell it for big $$ cause of the "new" condition of it. Except the fender, scratched that so now the decals are messed up, but I'll fix that when I sell it. Remember to go over it with a hairdryer or comparable thing after your done and push down on it whilest putting heat on it to make it stick. Then later, use heat to pull it off. I think that's all....

There is no perfect pressure. Usually no matter what I keep 4 to 4.5 lbs. in the front as that seems to grip well and not bang the rim. For the back... Well I usually get low enough that it squats when on a rock edge meaing the block treads are squeezing the landscape tight. Usually for dry days its around 4.5 to 5. Then on wet days 3 to 4.

I heard that the Trials training center might be hosting it or Duluth again. Not sure which, but I have a feeling the TTC will do it.

Well I'm maxed out at about 110 right now from a stop. But as I see it, the technique is to squat yourself and suspension down then pop the clutch and jump up at the same time. Now to spin you need to turn your upper body and your hips violently to the side you want to spin towards. Also it works like a bunny hop, you need to jump forward whilest doing this and twist the bars forward to get the rear in the air and make sure to grip the bike tightly with your legs/boots. So, really, you're doing a bunny hop from a stop except twisting with your body to spin. I learned it from trials bicycles. I found you do learn stuff from them and its not all clawed and cut shins.

Braced bars, I dunno. Plus if its expensive and from the UK.... Being from the USA, it might kill me to pay exchange rates plus I need money for other things. I'll probably wait until something breaks to fix. My 03 took that creaking for a long time. And I've only had my pro for 4 monthes.

How about I pretend it doesn't exist like I did for my 03? Then it might go away right? Lol, maybe I should look into those heavy duty clamps.

Oh true. Well this year was my last year of the youth nationals. I'm actually glad they're over. Now when we go for my sister to compete, I can just lay back and have fun. As for some upcoming riders, Dean looked good when he was riding down there. IT also cracked me up seeing him on the huge unicycle. Wish I could get up on that...

I've got the stock bars. Figured it was them. I've not heard many good things about their survivability. The wing nut is just hard to screw in. After having filter oil all over your fingers and the nut itself, its a chore to put the air filter back on as the wing bolt won't thread in very easily. Thick adhesive rubber... I'll have to look for some even if its not that pretty. @airbox: Well, I was just commenting on the plastic, but I'll have a look next time to see if that clip is inverted. It probably is. But no worries now as the hole for the allen bolt is larger now and it goes in like a charm. @spring: Yea I figure to keep checking it. I did put lock tight on there this time, but it was scary for awhile cause I thought I had a bent sprocket, something banging around the bottom end of the engine, messed up kick stand.... I was very glad it was just the spring. Thanks for your replies.

I think he's got quite a few more in him. Its weird, but I watched him in New York on the manmade section. His splatter was so, so "whatever, I've done this a million times, easiest thing in the world, whoop i made it" that it was just cool. He makes it look so easy, like childsplay. Then I watch everyone else, "I gotta make it, gotta do it! GO!!!" and well, Geoff might not win them all, but I think he's a step above everyone else and could ride till he's nearing 40. Congratz Geoff!

I've got an 05 pro 280 and I cannot say anything bad about, I just love it too much, till 06 comes around... Anyways, issues that I'm wondering about on mine.... 1.) recently had lots of noise coming from the rear end when I did a nose wheelie or hop with the rear wheel. Sounded horrible, nasty clanking sound. Turns out the giant nuts that are on top of the rear spring were sickeningly loose and 3 inches higher than they were supposed to be. Loose from the factory? Yeesh. Screwed them down and tightened, now the shock doesn't bounce around and the rear won't sag so much. Not to mention actual rear suspension now.... I was wondering if this was common or just one of those weird instances.... Edit: This happened over 2 nationals and 3 events. I'm totally sure it was tight when I got it. Just over time it worked itself loose. Well, heck I rode it while it was messed up so I don't know... 2.) My airbox bolts are a serious pain in the a*** to put in and out. ESPECIALLY the wing bolt that holds the air filter on. Any suggestions on that wing bolt? Its very annoying. And the allen bolt that holds the cover on was also very hard to screw in. The plastic would push out of its threads everytime no matter how hard you pushed on the cover itself. Did anyone have this problem where the seat plastic was not big enough for the bolt to go in properly? I solved this by using a standard drill bit to pull pieces of the offending plastic off and there fore, make the hole bigger. Now the bolt goes in like nothing. No more throwin the tools. 3.) My poor downtubes are getting ravaged by the damn triple tree. I have some small bits of 2 sided tape on there now, but that gets pulled off before long and I'm looking to minimize the damage. (what poor design) Ideas or suggestions on this? 4.) Suddenly noticed my top front end (triple trees, handlebar clamps, forks...) are creaking a lot. And I don't know why. I've checked all the bolts and they are all tight. I noticed this on my 03 as well. That squeak is bloody annoying what is it? Answers to my questions greatly appreciated. Dman

Stevie Darrow? Or are we concentrating on sherco riders?

Why don't you try a bike that has them on there already to see how they feel? My thoughts: My 03 gasser had the braced bars and they felt fine, thought a bit stiff in the rough stuff. Then my 05 came with fat bars standard and I love them. I'm sure they flex a bit more, which is nice, and they have a different feel. I also love the wide open feeling in front of you, it just feels right though I'm wary of those crappy clamps because I'm riding expert in New England and sometimes I think, boom snap, and yikes! Only bad thing about them is they are a b!tch to use tie downs on.