michael_t

Thanks Dave, I wasn't aware of any demos on this coast in the last 10 years or so... sounds like we have some catching up to do . Paul Yvan and his family put on one heck of a show - Got lots of people talking (and hopefully a few new riders) I was glad to hear they made it back to Quebec in one piece despite the snow storm. Cheers, Michael T.

Well hopefully this isn't a case of if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all... but haven't heard anything negative about them so I plan to buy the X-Ride this week . Unfortunately given the snow / ice and freezing cold it will probably be a while before I actually get any decent seat time on it.

Just wanted to note that this year we are having Trials demonstrations right across this big country of ours. By working with the Canadian Motorcycle Show the sport of Trials has been given some great visibility. Last year Jordon Szokes had done a few shows out West and in Toronto. This year I jumped on the band wagon and tried to organize a show for the East Coast. In my efforts to organize it I found out that Stephen Fotheringham with ATAQ was already planning a Demo for Quebec city and Montreal. The Moncton show was the week in between the 2 shows so the show organizer was able to transport all the staging between the three shows and the Belanger family was nice enough to ride all three shows ! I should note that Jonathan English had also offered to fly I and ride the Moncton Show but it ended up being simpler to have Paul-Yvan and his children do all 3 shows. It is simply awesome to see the sport pulling together and getting out into the mainstream. The most common thing I hear at shows is "I didn't know people rode trials in Canada" doing shows like this makes a big difference IMO. The Moncton show is on this weekend and Montreal is next week... I should note that the Montreal fire Marshall would not allow a gas bike indoors so they will be riding the new EM electric trials bike - very cool ! Here are some pictures from the Quebec City Demo... http://www.ataq.qc.ca/galerie/index.php?folder=/Evenements/20140208-2014-Salon-de-la-moto-%28QC%29/ I am also on schedule for putting together my first indoor event here in NS March 7,8,9. as part of the Halifax Outdoor Show. The past 2 years we have done a demo but this year I figured an "event' would be a good way to really show what the sport was about and how it is scored. It will have advanced and novice classes but have only heard from 3 (advanced) riders so far... I am really hoping to be able to talk a few of the novice riders into it, as I feel people would be interested in seeing a variety of skills and it would encourage more people to give it a try... plus I wouldn't be the only novice hard to believe but after all this time I am still the worse trials rider in the Maritimes. Cheers, Michael T.

I posted this under the Bultaco area to answer a persons question about the rules... unfortunately he was riding non stop so it didn't really apply but figures I would post it here just in case... Canada hasn't reverted back to non stop yet... I suppose our world standings at FIM events may reflect that

I did wonder if you were talking no stop or not... certainly does make a difference

I am thinking 2 if the double foot happened with no roll back and you had not dabbed before that... check out the 6 minute mark...

there is a 3 part video that may help... http://youtu.be/hjoj7n74G0s

I had a similar issue with my 2002 and upgraded the clutch to the newer version... As I understand it you need to measure the plates to see if they are in spec if not you have to replace them... I did find that having a properly working clutch made a world of difference . edit - just noticed a video where the fellow just sanded the plates down instead of replacing them... I guess they tend to swell a bit over time, mind you mine have been fine since I replaced them 4 years ago.

Well I drove by the dealer on Christmas and noticed the X-Ride was sitting in the window fully kitted with blinkers and lights. Seems Santa couldn't fit it down my chimney . I would love to hear from anyone who has any experience with this bike .

I enjoy mine for farting around on... but not really a trials bike. I only ride it a few times a year and really should sell it (kind of hoped my wife or kids would take an interest in it but that didn't happen). It typically starts up second kick and you really can't kill it. It runs great and pretty hard to stall even at really low speed. I am a little over 6ft so it isn't great for sitting on, I would strongly suggest you see how it fits you before buying one. There is a website that you can get all sorts of farkles for it http://www.bjracing.com/tlr200.html but mine is pretty much stock and runs fine. If you are really interested in doing some trials I would suggest getting a modern trials bike. If you are just looking for cheap transportation that is really good fun to ride the TLR is a good choice. I should note that I have been taking a keen look at the OSSA explorer and Sherco X-ride as a modern day replacement for the TLR .

I guess I just see it differently in my view... we are too big a country and too small of a sport... to turn away help and enthusiasm from any organization or individual... at the end of the day I just hope we can pry the tv remote and game controllers from our youth and get them outside as they are really the ones that need this sport in their lives and could care less how that happens.

Given the very limited number of riders in the Province it was great to see enough that are willing to join in putting on a show... By the way for people who are not aware of Survey Monkey it is a great (free) tool for finding out what people are interested in doing... most exciting for me was the fact that 6 people offered to host their own events next year !!! Of the 39 people I sent the survey to 30 responded (2 in email the other 28 in the survey). 5 years ago I was only aware of 4 riders so it is great to see the interest growing here in Atlantic Canada.

Exciting times for sure... I certainly hope all Canadian riders will be able to pull together to grow the sport from youth programs all the way to world class athletes. I think there is a real need to support both the recreational competitions and the elite sport competitions in the country maybe having 2 strong organizations working together might be the best way to accomplish this... it will be interesting to see how it all plays out but it is just great to see Canadian Trials in the news !!!

Well I sent out a survey to the local riders and it seems there is enough interest to have a Novice and Intermediate class. I really like the obstacles in this video... and I can easily see how they could be arranged to have 2 lines for "easy" and "not so easy" sections.

I should note that if I am hitting the highway I usually tie the rear fender to the back tire... as the zip ties I use to hold the fender on the bike are not great against 150 km/h cross wind .

I use the type that just hooks to the foot pegs... got a knock off on ebay cheap but here is the real deal... http://www.ultimatemxhauler.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=9

Yes we do have a fork lift which is really handy. And yes we did drive over the lumber jacks last year which was good fun Anybody have pictures / layouts of novice friendly indoor sections?

Any news on the X-Ride? We just got a local dealer and he is bringing one in. I'm pretty sure I can get it on the road as I have my GG EC200 enduro on the road today . My sense is it would be tamer than the EC and more exciting than my old TLR200 so I could trade the 2 of them in for the X-Ride and free up some space in the shed. Would still keep the GG TXT200 for "real" trials.

Well I thought I might try something new... but wanted to check if anybody has done anything similar... or people with more experience than I might be able to give some advice. For the last 2 years I have worked with a local outdoor sport and RV show to put on a trials demo. The first year I had about 5 local riders and I brought in an old car and some junk I found in the parking lot and we demonstrated different trials techniques. Last year we had a much higher level rider from Quebec travel down with his Son (also an awesome rider) and daughter (novice rider) and we had a few local riders join them. They showed what a trials bike can really do by riding over much larger obstacles. more details here: http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/44665-trials-demo-in-nova-scotia/ This year I am thinking it would be better to actually have a competition. The issue I have is that we need to put on a show Fri, Sat, and Sunday... and at least 2 shows a day. We share the space with a local dog group that have dogs running through obstacles, and a lumber jack show with guys log rolling in a pool of water and throwing axes... etc. The bottom line is we have to move our obstacles between our time slots. The show organizer enjoys us riding around when the show opens so we have an hour or so to setup and warm up. Then we have about an hour to put on a bit of a show and tear down. Later in the day we would have an hour or so to setup do a show and tear down. I would like to show that trials is a sport for a wide range of capabilities and have sections with both a hard and an easy line... My thinking is to setup 2 different sections (with 2 lines each) for each "show" then score the riders as they ride the 2 sections 3 times. The scores would be on a big score board and as the weekend progressed the scores would be recorded. So by the end of the weekend the riders would have ridden 12 different sections 3 times. Or maybe I would repeat sections and just have 6 that we use twice... A ride off might be fun as well with 2 riders going head to head like they do at the pro indoor events. We usually let kids try balancing on the bikes while we tear down and there would still be time to do a bit of hot dogging... We really only have novice and advanced riders locally (no pro riders) but I might be able to talk a few into making the trip . It is in March so it is nice having a free spot to ride inside even it is only for 3 days (and in front of a crowd). The space is roughly 80ft by 30ft. stop, no-stop ??? Any thoughts or ideas on this sort of event would be appreciated... including indoor obstacle ideas that are novice friendly... and need to be cheap to build . Cheers, Michael T. PS. - yes I know I am crazy...

Hi All, I have moved the June 1st event to June 16th to accommodate some of the riders (away for USGP Trial). I have a new job which is great news for my family but not so good for my Trials time. I would still like to try and do the event at the farm June 16th but to pull it off I will need help on the weekend before and on the 15th. My hope is to use the same area as the event last fall (on the slope to the river) but build at least 3 new sections that are easier (or at least possible). Cheers, Michael T.

Thanks to the Jonathan English training weekend (and the great generousity of Jonathan) the MTR was able to raise $500.00 to support our Canadian TdN team. We challenge any club to the West of Nova Scotia to match or beat it... . The weekend itself was absolutly awesome!!! I just received a note from the mother of a 15yr old that put it well... "I just wanted to let you know that Mack told me that this weekend was ‘the best weekend of my life’. I think he liked it " We saw huge improvements in the new riders and the olders riders just had a really fun day of riding. Special thanks to the friendly fellow who loaned his brand new (1hr old) 280GG so Jonathan could demo some of our smaller obstacles ... http://youtu.be/deZC1smRqSA 

I have a 2002 200 TXT, I replaced the clutch but like the rest just the way it is Sorry I can't be more help.

Trials Training at Miller Meadow with 2011 Canadian Champion and 5 times Trials Des Nations rider Jonathan English! I realize that all the events I have done so far have been free but I can't cover the expense of this one on my own so there will be a $50 fee for the 2 day course. There is a $25 discount for anyone who helped out at the outdoor show. There is a 20 rider limit on this event so we can really focus on the training. Saturday will be formal training starting with the basics and helping people get their bikes setup (if needed) we will then move into turns, hopping, small obstacles, reading sections, riding sections, and then a bit of the extreme stuff - just being able to see this stuff in person can be a big help (and great entertainment) Sunday will be a less formal day, practicing setting up sections and riding them ... plus covering anything people want help on after the Saturday session. There will be a $15 donation to the Canadian TdN team required for any non riders who would like to come out and just observe the training. - First 20 riders to respond $50 - Open number of observers $15 Cheers, Michael

Here are some pictures from the show as well, best seen as a slide show... http://dualsport.smu...37080&k=7XLZFDR