michael_t

Are any of the Trials companies publicly traded (besides Honda)? Or are they all privately owned companies at this point?

http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/57597-how-does-this-hop-work/

Any chance you could post a video of what you are doing?

With day light saving time it is now getting dark around 5:00 in the evening. I am just wondering how other riders find riding after dark? This is the first year that I have had trials bike with a bit of a headlight. It seems to be better riding with out it on as I find my night vision is better with it off. With the light on I can see what the light is pointed at (often the tree tops) but not always where I want to be going. Just curious if others have the same issue.

I wear body armor riding trials I bought it to ride enduro but it has saved me enough times that I will most often toss it on and gives me a little bit of extra confidence. Being an old guy I have no issues with taking a 5 on a section if "I'm not feeling it". I find that some days I am braver than others and if I am at all nervous about something I just don't do it. Luckily I ride with a great group of guys that are great at encouraging me to give things a try but don't give me a hard time if I say - "maybe tomorrow". There is always a bit of fear it is one of the thrills of the sport but it is a matter of keeping it at a reasonable level as you progress that keeps it fun.

I have a Sherco X-Ride and think it is great fun. I was able to get a street plate for it here in Nova Scotia but they really are not made for any serious road driving. I have rode it in trials competitions and when we had a top Canadian rider come down and put on a training day it was impressive what the bike is capable of in the right hands... but it is doesn't hold a candle to my ST250 as far a true trials bike goes. It is really just a super light and fun Trail bike. The Montesa has the added bonus of being a 4 stroke with EFI so may have a much better chance of being street legal in North America if they decide to import it.

2016 arrived today at the dealer... nice looking bike but I will be sticking with my 2015. I did notice they have moved to a Keihlin carb on the 250 this year.

I guess seeing it done from a wheelie really illustrates the point as the front wheel is already at the desired height so you don't see the typical bounce to get the front wheel up as part of the Zap. The video makes it look effortless for such a "violent" maneuver.

I guess if you look closely the rear fender is almost hitting the back tire... it may have been the way it switched to slo mo right at the point of impact that made it hard to pickup.

Even in slow motion it seems like such a small impact hard to believe it creates enough energy to lift the bike... but video doesn't lie... I don't think I will try to prove it for myself just yet - LOL!

I watched this over and over but can't really figure out how Albert launches his bike... it doesn't appear that he is flexing his knees to compress the rear shock before lift off there is no bounce before the take off... I am pretty sure if I rode a wheelie like that then hit the gas I wouldn't end up where I wanted to.

I see somebody posted a video of the white lap in the video section of the forum... was that your line? Looked like good fun.

They might not be a well known name outside of Spain but it appears they must have some pretty deep pockets to be able to have that amount of money to dish out for what is left of GasGas. Maybe the owner of Tarrot is just a very wealthy individual nuts about riding trials (specifically GasGas) bikes.

http://www.joomag.com/magazine/trials-enduro-news-november-2015-volume-50-issue-11/0193249001445977824?short

Hey have a blast at the Stafford Auto Club. When I started there were no clubs or events here in Nova Scotia so I built my own sections and put on my own event without really having a clue... had 5 or 6 riders show up and I was nervous as heck but man it was a ton of fun and I have been having a great time doing events ever since !!! Lots of great advice here can't wait to hear how you made out - take a picture or 2 for us poor old guys who's season is already over for this year.

Yep can't argue with that. We seem to be getting more and more TY's coming out of the woodwork here and riding our clubman level sections just as well as the guys riding new bikes. Maybe it would be a better investment to spend more money getting demo bikes into the hands of the masses than to build a one off special bike to compete against Toni when everyone knows that isn't the bike you can buy at the local shop.

Interesting guess but "a hell of a lot" is all relative. The bigger question might be does it pay for itself? All of the manufacturers have at least one rider. Are there any riders who are not associated with a manufacturers team? Probably not that many others investing in a world champion team except for sponsors who are helping to support the manufacturers teams. So as a manufacturer what is the value of having a rider in the world championship. Given the lack of awareness of the sport in the world what better way would there be to get your name out there. Could you afford not to have a team if you wanted to sell a competition motorcycle?

Our local dealer has ordered a 2016 but it has not arrived yet.

You might find this helpful http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/52122-trials-techniques-applied-to-dirt-bikes-enduro-bikes/ One thing I have been noticing is that there are some dirt bikers who get trials to improve their skills but then ride the trials bike like a big heavy enduro bike and wonder why there Enduro bike skills aren't improving... which really isn't the point (imho). Just something to keep in mind.

Hey Steve, End of the day, there is no reason to be rude to people in real life or in person. I can't see how you can consider your comments towards Bob to be anything other than insulting why would you do that ? Would you really say something like that to his face if you ran into him at a trials event? If that happened here in the Maritimes people would be asked to leave the event. Maybe things really are different on that coast... but I find it hard to believe. I do not dislike either of the national sanctioning bodies. I certainly don't dislike any of the members of the TAC and I would hope if you asked them at your next meeting they might all tell you how much they like me (the exception being Christy but that is just because we have never had the opportunity to meet). Unfortunately there has been a past history of the CMA charging people in the Atlantic region but not giving them much in return. That doesn't mean I don't like them I just want an explanation as to where the money is going to go before I pay any fees... I don't need to ask the WTC where they spend my money as they are not expecting me to pay for anything. I'm getting the feeling that after 2 years of operations the TAC may not have solid financial plan in place with goals and associated budgets... Maybe it truly is a "blank canvas". It is possible that as part of a for profit corporation (the CMA) they would rather keep any financial information confidential. That is certainly their right and I don't dislike them for that, I am just not in the habit of sending money to people that can't identify how the money will be spent. Hopefully you don't dislike people for asking (as I plan to continue to ask). Cheers, Michael

Hey Steve, It is language like this "I also find it curious what interest someone like you at this point in your life when you don't ride or even contribute to any club, other than the website" ... That is really rude and un called for and it flys in the face of your later comment that says "Everyone has strengths," You consistently belittle people on these forums (you may not even realize you are doing it) it really hurts and it is not what this sport is about. If you have any hopes of ever raising funds from true sponsors (actually anyone other than a few of your riding buddies) I would strongly suggest a large apology is in order.

As far as the riders being the only ones to pay to grow the sport... I had posted the following on the "how do we grow the sport" thread a little while ago (26th of June): If people think they need money to make the thing grow I strongly suggest not going after the riders. Very few independent people have the funds that large corporations have. If you squeeze the rider to hard they will just stay at home. It is typically just about as fun improving your riding at home as it is riding where there are people to tease you when you fall (especially if there is only a beer on the line). I strongly suggest you work very closely with your local clubs and volunteer base so you don't just come in and p*** people off. Do a lot of research before doing anything else and if you are going to do it GO BIG - what ever you think you need multiply it by 4. Everything costs more than you think it does. As an example I decided one year that I would test the waters as far as getting funding for trail development, I put a proposal together asking the local Government for $5k to clear some trail with mostly volunteer effort and that any remaining funds would go to the local dirt bike organization. I was shot down and told I didn't know what I was doing. The next year I became president of the local dirt bike organization and submitted proposals to multiple sponsors and agencies totalling over $200k for trail building and additional funds for supporting the organization itself. We were successful in receiving all the funding and in building 4 riding parks across the Province. I am no longer president but the local organization continues to grow and the riding areas continue to receive funding every year for on-going maintenance. The local dirt bike organization has also continued to grow and currently has over 700 members. Moral of the story is - If you can figure out who the right players are and where the money is (and if you are a little lucky) just about anything is possible. First step is figuring out EXACTLY what it is you want to do and then figure out how to fund it. If you need $2M you need to have a much different approach than if you need $2K... unless you can clearly articulate exactly how much you need and exactly what you plan to do with it (it doesn't matter how much you are looking for it) will be near impossible to get it. Very few people will pay any significant amount of money into an organization if they do not clearly understand how the funds are going to provide a benefit (or healthy return) for their investment. Just my 2 cents. As a side note it is easy enough to get the red bull girls to show up with the big archway and free drinks (even here in Nova Scotia)... but they seem to get bored easily so watch what you ask for

Will the CMA be providing any funding for enthusiast who would like to be part of the summit? I have attended other such national summits for Paddling, Biathlon, and Off Road Motorcycling and would like to be a part of this one as well if possible. Will the Agenda be published for all and will the meeting be open for people to be able to call into (I do realize that depending on the agenda it may not be feasible)? As you know the TAC was announced in Nov of 2013 so saying it is a blank Canvas right now might confuse some. I realize that wording things can be hard for everyone especially in emails and even worse in this sort of international forum. I will take it as meaning the TAC is preparing to take a new line to get more traction for tackling the difficult task of building our sport. I like all that are on the TAC I just see it as heavily slanted towards the elite high performance competition side of the sport. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that, it just depends where you want to take it. A great test would be to look at your budget for 2016 and see what sort of activities you are funding? Can the TAC fully appreciate riders that have no interest in anybody who is riding outside of their province? There are some that do not even know who any of the World round riders are (outside Bou and Raga). Do you really need/want to be spending your time and energy on them? It is no problem if you don't but it is worth thinking about it before trying to undermine organizations that may be slightly more focused on them. Might be a great topic for the summit.

I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt so... lets forget the $75. Just tell me exactly what the great opportunity is? what's the plan? what are we working together on? What is it you would like me to do? I'm a great worker, I have a great job as a Sr Project Manager and am happy to bring my expertise to bear, I am ready to roll up my sleeves and help in anyway I can as an eager trials volunteer. What is the first task on the Agenda? Cheers, Michael

Does anyone know how much a FIM affiliation costs?... it seems the FIM might be to blame for all this upset at the grass roots.