michael_t

pretty tough to tell if you ask me...

Wow, I just put gas in my 2015 ST250 and started riding... I figured it was better to ride it for a bit before deciding what it needs, I guess if you already had the ST300 you had a pretty good idea what worked best for you. It will be interesting to hear if the factory improves your results in events. My new bike has made a huge improvement in my riding I might even move up a level this year... might have to consider the factory next year... I see they ended up shipping a few Factory 250s but only to the UK .

It has been my experience that money is seldom the answer everyone thinks it is. Yes it does help but you need more than just money to make things happen... I know lots of really rich people who do very little with the money they have (probably how they are able to stay rich). I'm not sure how much money people think the sport needs but it might be a matter of just talking to the right person. There is a guy visiting us here in Halifax in his motor yacht that apparently just spent $2M on a train set for his house in New York. My guess is $2M would go along way for trials but only if it was done in a very intelligent manner and with a great deal of volunteer support from people who simply love the sport for what it is. I hope your plan involves getting the spectators and sponsors excited enough to pay for the cheer joy of watching trials... The riders are the ones doing all the work they shouldn't be the ones paying the bill... but that is just my opinion . I do find it a little odd that even after getting big name sponsors like red bull supporting trials and having the Smage brothers doing so well on America's Got Talent we just never seem to be able to capitalize on it.

+1 on rolling your bars forward a bit, a few inches can make it feel like a new bike... I'm 6'2" novice and another rider pointed out the bars to me after I had been riding a year or so and I couldn't believe the difference. Ask a more experienced rider to watch you ride and see if they can give you some advice - or post a video here and let the peanut gallery here have a go .

I would also encourage people to share bikes if somebody wants to give the sport a try, offer to share your bike... most often sections end near where they begin so you can return to the start and let somebody else give your bike a go. The more your bike gets used the quicker you will need a new one, that will increase the market of used bikes so more new people can get into the sport for a reasonable price . A big struggle we have here are there are no bikes for sale... it is pretty tough to get somebody to order in a brand new bike if they have never even tried standing on one.

I think the best thing we can do for the sport is get out and enjoy it. People seem to spend way to much time thinking and talking about it and not enough time doing it. If there are not enough events locally roll up your sleeves and put one on. It might not be perfect but it isn't like you have to build a full on MX course. Itm is amazing what you can do with a little scrub land and some tape in a few hours. I started here with 2 or 3 riders nobody was putting on events so despite never riding trials or even seeing an event I put one on... 7 years later we are over 20 riders and doing 5 events this year plus a training day with an expert level rider... keep it small, keep it fun, most important thing - just keep doing it !!! It wouldn't hurt to even travel a little and go to events outside your area... make a trip to a world round, or SSDT - I have to admit I have been bad about this but know my kids are older I think it is a great time to start... RI here I come

If Raga is available could you afford not to hire him... who else would you want to put up against Honda, Sherco, Beta and Vertigo on the world stage? and what would the difference in cost be?

Seems to me TRS would be a great fit... keep riding the GG until TRS has a bike ready seems like a win win situation. If TRS is developing a competitive bike why not invest in having the best man available ride it.

sounds like fun was had by all... http://www.cyclenews.com/672/35114/Racing-Article/US-MotoTrials--Pat-Smage-Takes-Double-Win-In-Nebraska.aspx Some good pictures as well... http://www.dirtrider.com/features/nebraska-mototrials-2015-photo-gallery/

Mine has the Dell'Orto I figured all the 2015 250s did. Not sure what you mean by "fluffy".

Thanks for the kind words I posted the same picture on our local forum and the boys here were quick to point out I was "sucking it in" hopefully a few months of riding every day and I won't have to be sucking it in as much and oh yeah my good friends over at the trailer park... my son is a fan

Yeah I live in a similar neighbourhood and try to get in 20 minutes or so around the yard and on the driveway after dinner. I am lucky I have never had anyone complain. There are a 2 very polite older gentlemen that just so happen to ride Harleys on my street, so the sound of a trials bike doesn't even register in comparison. I also find my bike is quiter than the mower, so riding when people are mowing their grass is a great way to make the point that it really isn't that loud. Mind you, when I used to have my (street legal) GG EC200 I would try to go easy on the throttle when leaving for work early morning... when you got that thing "on the pipe" it was legal but not very friendly so I would just lug it along as much as possible . My X-ride is far better noise wise for street riding. I find my new Sherco ST250 slightly louder than my old GG TXT200 but still haven't had any complaints. Some time the neighbourhood kids will come along and cheer me on, pretty hard to give guy a hard time if he is putting on a good free show .

Big thanks to my sponsor Sherco Canada for the cool threads

Can't you setup a few obstacles in your driveway for a few minutes?

Awesome !!! SSDT just moved up a few notches on my bucket list

2009 txt 250 is a great all around bike. If it is going for a reasonable price I can't see why you wouldn't go for it. There is no indication that there will not be parts available for many years to come and there really isn't a lot of parts needed to keep them going anyways.

Good to keep your sense of humor...

A couple of pictures from the weekend

Rode my first event last weekend. I had never ridden so well the new bike was awesome!!! I only scored one 5 and it was my bad as I didn't pay enough attention walking the section and the first corner was tighter than I had expected I ended up cleaning that section on the final lap. There was only one section I didn't manage to clean at least once in the 3 laps and I'm pretty sure I could have if I had more sleep the night before or if it hadn't been 30C or... long list of excuses -LOL. This was by far my best result ever. At one point the bike stopped just before going into a section and I couldn't get it started - turns out you should fill the tank before starting a day of trials riding A few people borrowed the bike to give it a try and everyone was smiling when they brought it back

Full report can be found here: http://trialscanada.com/smf/index.php?topic=20.0

Ryan says keep your foot an inch or 2 from the frame... Why would you want to pull your heels in wouldn't it place your toe away from the rear brake?

My 2015 250 has a small toggle switch on the frame with S and H on it but no mention in the manual what the difference is. I am guessing S is for soft... would that be typically used in wetter conditions?

Just arrived and I am loving it No comparison for fun exercise... Was a little concerned that it just stopped but then realized I just had to find the worlds smallest fuel switch Left Right I guess I won't be blue plating this one Looks good coming and going Happy Happy Happy

Not allowed in Canada even if it is dry at the time. Up to $1M fine and 3 years in jail but people still do.

I noticed "Yamaha" besides some of the riders names in the results and wondered about that... thanks for the clarification. It sure would be nice if Yamaha did throw some weight back into the sport the way that Honda is taking a more active role.