mr neutron

I look forward to each & every one of these when I get a notice that you've done a new one. Thanks for your work on these, Sherconoob. I appreciate them very much!!!! Jimmie

I get what you're saying, Guy! One thing I really like about the Gaernes is the fact that they are very, very comfortable. They're good for walking sections, reasonably waterproof, and they offer what I would say is a really nice "feel" for the controls & pegs. They allow your ankles to bend fairly easily, something necessary to ride Trials. I hope I've found a deal that will work with the boots, and still help my ankle somewhat. My Dr. gave me an ankle brace that seems just tailor-made for someone like myself that wants to (try to) ride Trials. It should fit easily inside my Gaernes; will see how it works in a few weeks or so, after the ankle mends some more...... Dandabs hit on something about the Gaernes that I had forgotten about; they do take very little-to-no break in time at all. A very nice feature..... I hope your new boots keep working well for you, Dandabs! Jimmie In EDIT: I fixed a spelling error. Left out the letter "k" in the word walking......

Guys, I'm curious..... Why???? I was actually considering trying a set of Alpinestars. I have a set that is around 1.5 years old. As far as comfort & fit, I agree completely with the video. These things absolutely ROCK my world in that department. And again, as far as the abilty to allow some "feel" for Trials riding, I think they're wonderful again. I like these boots a lot, but...... I've had to have the soles "re-sewn" back on, after only around 6-8 months of use, if I recall correctly. The stitching came loose at both the toes & heels, on both boots. The sorta yellowish colored lower sole separated from the black mid-sole after the stitching came loose. Chose to have them repaired locally. It happened again a short while after I had them repaired! This time I stuffed a bunch of a flexible rubber cement/glue called Shoe Goo in between the lower & mid-soles, and it's held up beautifully. The boots are still as flexible & waterproof as ever, and no more "floppy/drooping" soles at the front/toe parts of the boots. Same for the heels as well; the Shoe Goo works really well. But to me, after what I paid for these boots, and after what I further invested in a repair, I really don't feel that this should ever have to be done. Please don't misinterpret this as "blasting" Gaerne's product. Like I said above, I really like certain things about these boots. And to be fair to Gaerne, I am a Novice/Intermediate level rider that has poor technique, and is probably harder on equipment than some better skilled riders may be; I dunno. I also had them repaired locally because I badly wanted to ride an event with them at that time, and chose not to send them back to Gaerne, thinking I probably wouldn't get the boots back in time to ride with. That turned out to be a bust, as, like I said above, I still "fixed" them with Shoe Goo..... As I sit here now, I just got the news today that I've broken the Talus bone in my ankle. Did it while practicing Floater turns, and dabbed fairly hard, causing the bone fracture. I was wondering if there may be a more "protective" brand of boots out there??? Again, I'm not blaming the Gaernes, or expecting them to cover for my lack of good riding technique. But again, I do wonder if maybe there may be better boots for a floundering squid like myself..... Jimmie On the "broken talus bone in ankle: Turned out to not be broken. Have Rheumatoid Arthritis instead.....

I'm afraid that I can't be of much help to you, other than the "Misery loves company" aspect of it...... I'm riding with a broken one myself on my 2010 280 Pro, and a friend of mine in our Trials club tells me that it's a very common problem. When I checked into simply buying an adjuster, I was told that I needed to purchase the entire cartridge to get one! I can't recall the price on that, but it was spendy! FWIW, mine had enough of the adjuster left that I managed to take a very narrow file, and file a slot in the brass the a small bladed screwdriver can get into (after I'd "broken" the thing loose). Did this while doing an oil change of the forks. And honestly, I have to go to the very "extreme" ends of the adjustment to feel any difference, most of the time. I wish I had a lathe at home. I run a CNC Lathe for a living, but the company I work for doesn't allow us to do any "home projects" like this. It would seem to be a fairly simple part for someone to make. If I recall correctly, the adjuster is swaged onto a small diameter aluminum rod that it moves up & down to restrict the oil flow inside the damping rod?? Jimmie

The alum. adapter mentioned is made by V-Mar Racing, in CA. As far as I can recall, they're only made for the Dellorto carbs. I have one, bought on recommendation from Zippy. It works great! Jimmie

Added in EDIT: I'm pretty certain they do lock up when hot, especially if you don't have enough free play at the pedal. If you have enough play at your brake pedal, the caliper is alright, and you manage to get all the air out of the system, I'm wondering if you somehow haven't accidentally gotten something (brake fluid, whatever detergent you use to wash the bike with last, chain oil, or whatever) on the pads? If so, then new pads might be best, but I've gotten lucky with the "Ride around while dragging the rear brake, get it hot, and then quickly hose it down with water" trick. This worked for me....... Hope ya get it beat! Jimmie

Today, for the second time since I've owned my bike, I replaced a chipped kickstart idler gear. The crowfoot-shaped gear on the kickstart shaft got replaced as well. And then I had a blast getting to ride it again! Hadn't ridden it since the early part of March at the last club trial. While at that particular trial, I wore some new rain gear, including some nice over-the-boot riding pants (trousers). Only thing I don't like about the trousers is that my kickstart lever kept going up inside the leg of these pants. Twice, I put my foot down to get off the bike & walk sections, with the engine still running, and engaged the kickstarter with the motor already spinning as I put my leg down. By the end of the trial, I had the familiar clattering noise associated with chipped idler gear teeth. I am very grateful to this website for the help in fixing that particular problem! Again, I'm grateful to those who responded in this older thread I started awhile back..... http://www.trialscentral.com/forums/topic/44037-pro-clutch-removal-problem/?hl=%2Bidler+%2Bgear#entry321174 I love riding this bike! But, Gas Gas's quality on certain items sure seems to be somewhat lacking. The new k/s gear had a lot of burrs on it from the machining, as did the idler gear. A friend of mine says that sort of thing is a big reason for all the "hair" one finds on their magnets of the fill & drain plugs. At any rate, I tend to really like this bike, so I suppose I'll continue to tolerate it's few shortcomings, I'm too broke to afford anything else, anyways...... Jimmie

That looked like a tough (for the Expert-level riders) but fun trial, Guy! Is that a more or less "normal" trial for you folks? Jimmie

Nice Job. Dylan!!! Way to go!!! Jimmie

One bit of advice I can give you, if you go with an "over-the-boot" type of trouser: Make sure there is something around the very end of the leg that can "adjust", or tighten up tight against your boots. With the brand I have (ARC, from Rocky Mtn. ATV/Cycle, here in the States), I didn't tighten the cuff enough on my starting side leg. After starting the bike (twice I did this.....), the leg of the pants slipped over the kickstarter lever as I put my foot on the peg. I rode to a section, and was going to get off my bike to walk the section, Instead, when I went to put my rt. leg down, I engaged the kickstarter, with the engine running. That happened 2 times during my last trial. I have a new Idler Gear & Kickstarter Gear on order right now....... Jimmie

I *think* , but am not 100% certain, that the reason for not having a rear brake on the left hand handlebar is that Mr. Schless believes he may be able to fix a clutch up to the electric motor. One of my friends mentioned this to me when we were discussing the bike a few weeks after the trial i mentioned above. One of the "Champ Level" riders (one that rides the US Nationals) in our club rode the bike. One thing that kept this National level rider from trying some of the tougher obstacles was not having a clutch. But as far as being able to lift the front wheel, and go hopping along on the rear wheel, he could do that...... He mentioned needing a clutch to do some other stuff that he felt he couldn't/shouldn't try...... Jimmie

You folks have too much fun! Another great video, Sherconoob! Jimmie

I wasn't sure if this has been covered or not. At a local trial here in the Pacific Northwest of the States, a man pitted next to me with two very interesting bikes, Naturally, I forgot to bring a camera that day, and further forgot my new "smart" phone is also a camera. I wish I'd taken some video or photographs of these bikes that day...... An interesting thing, to me, was that these motorcycles were both hand built. Things like the suspension & brakes were sourced, but the frame, swingarm, plastics, & such were built by the man parked next to me in the pits. He's an engineer/welder/fabricator/designer, and did what I considered a very good job at building his electric trials bikes. One bike was his "prototype", and was ridden by his son in the Novice class. The son actually won the class on that day, beating his father on the more refined version like what you see in the link below. I think that particular trial was the "maiden voyage" for those bikes. The batteries seemed to hold up well, as far as I was able to tell. Between the 2nd & 3rd loops, the son had his bike on a generator powered charger for about 10 minutes, if I recall correctly. http://digitmototrials.com/index.html If you click on the link above, and then find the "Specs" button, click on that. It shows two side views of the bike, and of course, lists the specifications. One thing that really impressed me was the quality with what the builder, Ely Schless, put into his bikes. He makes his own molds for the plastics on the bike, & builds his own frame & swingarm. The craftsmanship on the frame & swingarm looked on par with most other bikes I've seen. At the trial competition I'm writing about, we have what's called "Group Checking", or Group Observing. Riders form small, 2-4 rider groups, normally within their skill level, and observe/score each other in the sections. The son rode the prototype in the group I rode in, a mix of Novices & Intermediates. The bike seemed to perform very well for the son. Not having ridden it, The only negative aspect of the bike that I could observe was the sound the rear tire made when it occasionally got slapped by the rear fender (mudguard). I think there was further trouble with a plastic cover, where a fuel tank would typically be. Again, this was the prototype version; I didn't see, or hear, these problems with the refined version that the father/designer rode. In fairness, he rode with another group of riders, so I didn't see him as often as I saw his son. I wish I had the money to order one of these. The price is definitely higher than gasoline-engine bikes, which is a bit of a drawback, I guess. I'd really like to ride one sometime. The build quality looked very good, and might possibly justify the price. The weight is definitely light, a plus for those of us that need to pick our bikes up more frequently than others...... My Gas Gas doesn't bother my neighbors when I ride it on my property, but it would be nice to be able to ride a bike like this one on my land. No one would ever know I was out practicing, unless they could see me...... Also, having had a total knee replacement on one leg, and needing one on the other soon, it would eliminate that old starting problem, for certain..... Anyway, like I said, this is an interesting machine. I don't have first hand riding experience with it, and being relatively new to Trials, wouldn't be very good to evaluate it anyway. But having ridden with a young man on one, I was impressed by the bike.I work for a large commercial aviation company here in the Northwest, which shouldn't be too hard to figure out who that might be. So I see very high quality engineering, machining, designs, assemblies, and such on a daily basis. I'm thinking Ely Schless's work on that bike is at least up at that level..... Jimmie

Maybe riders could simply use heavier oil in their forks?

Now That is destined to be a Trials Video Classic!!!! It contained EVERYTHONG.... Errr, EVERYTHING, I mean.... Elements of suspense, drama, conflict (man versus walking), wonderful cinematography & narration, outstanding acting, and (I think I can speak for Zippy here, as well as Mokwepa & myself), point-of-view cam footage of a guy rocking a pair of shorts while riding! Seriously, these are great, informative, & fun to watch, Sherconoob! You folks Down Under really rock it! Ohh, yeah.... One other thing I find really cool is the number of young folks, girls and guys, you have riding in your club, and how good those riders are. To me, that would seem a healthy sign....... Jimmie

I dunno..... I used to splice cable TV in Portland. A lot of the utility poles were in those alleys. The grass was seldom maintained by the city then, & tended to hide all the dog s#!t the adjacent property owners could throw back in those alleys. It was nearly impossible to walk through there without stepping on the dog bombs. I'm certain the riders leaving on later minutes will learn this..... Jimmie And you're most definitely correct, Biff! Portland is extremely weird, & revels in that. I personally am much happier living near Boring, Oregon, a sister city to Dull, Scotland.

Ya know, here in the States, I seem to recall weight minimums being put on mx bikes, when, around 1975 or so? This was in response to how the light & expensive factory bikes were dominating mx back then. It was meant to make it easier for privateers to compete, and a "claiming Rule" was even introduced to supposedly aid the non-factory riders...... So, the AMA made a weight minimum. People would still pay whatever price they needed to back then for YZs & other light bikes, the sport was enjoying enourmous growth, but the AMA still stepped in with a weigh minimum. The factories simply then switched their development dollars into suspension, water cooling, engine improvemnts, and other areas. And the bikes didn't get one single nickel cheaper. Racing didn't get cheaper. This is essentially "Deja Vu" all over again...... It won't make Trials bikes any cheaper, or more competitive for most riders. It won't grow the sport. Develoment on lightness might stop, but the factories will simply turn their development money (what little there is....) towards some other area to gain an edge on the other brands. Electronic traction control, suspendion, and/or other gimmicks, that will no doubt increase the cost of bikes, and drive down sales & participation. Jimmie

Nicely Done, Dylan!!! Way to go! Heck, man, you'll be movin' up a class before long! Jimmie

Dylan, I was really hoping you'd take my post in jest. If I offended, I'm truly sorry. Wasn't my intention at all.... FWIW, in the trial I rode yesterday, one of the guys in my class commented on the winner & his bike. He looked as if he'd stopped at car wash & cleaned his bike at the end of the trial, while the rest of us knew we were looking forward to some quality time with the wash bucket. His clean bike was no indicator of how wet/muddy/tough the trial actually was. And I've ridden enough to know that mud/lack-of-traction can be a sort of "relevant thing". There are holes on this planet, in seemingly perfectly dry areas, that are capable of swallowing up a motorcycle. And somehow, we dirt bikers seem to seek these out to ride...... And I dunno. We rode in a couple "rocky mud hill" areas this weekend. Small, loose rocks on the sides of steep hills, barely anchored to the hill by mud. The sections tended to meander, or zig & zag up through the rocks & up the hills. A lesson I took away was the need to keep up momentum while going around a turn. Slowing down too much, which I thought would help keep me in control in the corner, would always cause wheelspin as you came out of the turn and pointed headed back uphill. Making me out of control on the actual hill/loose rocks combo. So I resorted to A LOT of dog paddling, sitting, rolling backwards at times, pushing, and fives on the scorecard. I learned I need to get in better shape if I plan on pushing my bike up hill like that! There's something to be learrned everytime we go out, I feel..... Actually, I'd bet most of the Brits here would have the best advice on mud; they seem to be having a lot of rain lately....... Jimmie

Not exactly "Trials Training", but mud is mud, and traction is traction, no matter the bike.... A scrambles race on New Year's Day callled "The Hangover Scrambles" (2009 vintage). Melting snow, rain, & mud. I'm the guy in middle bent over the orange KTM. This is also where our club has it's next trials at this Sunday...... We get to ride in this, or not ride at all, at certain times of year...... No offense, Dylan, but you & your bike weren't even dirty, bud......

Any dealers there that sell this book internationally? Or any dealers in the States that might carry this book? Jimmie

This time of year, in the Pacific Northwest of the US, pretty much every day...... We get about 80 inches of rain a year here in Sandy where I live...... If there's a good thing about this, it's that sometimes I don't have to wash my bike; the weather does that for me..... Jimmie

Riding Trials will help you to ride better in other diciplines (enduro, mx, & such). But if you're the type of person that enjoys challenges & achieving realistic goals in riding, Trials is very addicting in and of itself. It's both very fun, yet can be hard enough to really be a great challenge. And it typically doesn't beat you up very much, after a certain level of proficiency is attained, or if you have other riding experiences to draw from...... I think most Trials folks that I've met are genuinely GREAT people, which always helps. And Glenn above here makes a great point: a lot of past & current champions of enduro, mx, & such, have been very good trials riders. Jimmie

I probably ride only 10-12 events a year. Two of them are traditionally "Observed", while the rest are Group Checks. I much prefer the "Observed" type, but defintely understand why we're pretty much forced to do the Group Check deal. I've seen one example of some cheating, and I think it was dealt with tactfully. But I'm certain most scoring "discrepancies" are typically the type where a rider exits the section, stops his bike, talks with other riders for a minute or two, and then forgets what score he earned in the section he completed only minutes ago. Most of us are older, and probably forget to zip our pants up half the time....... I've gotten way over the "competitive" mentality a good while back. I no longer ride for score or placing high; I just try to have the most fun I can..... Jimmie

Ahhh, that brings back some of my fondest childhood memories...... Fresh cowpies, and people to throw them at........ Yeah, Blackdog, I did let Gary ride my bike when I was signing up. I was hoping he'd get more riding on it later, but it just didn't work out..... It would be nice to see both of y'all up at Washougal in a couple of weeks. But that will probably be a wet & slick one! Practice your turns, and bring some traction! Jimmie