jonty

Contact Haven Trialsport 01469-532600. They can arrange powder coating for your rims and hubs if nec.

There's a paragraph in todays TMX Trials Torque saying that the Mansfield Maun club is opening Bracken Rocks (Derbyshire) for a days practicing for

Assuming the rear tyre is ok and the sidewalls are'nt knackered then just stick some new wheel bearings in. They're cheap and easy enough to replace.

Thanks for the responses everybody. My lad's been looking at a Citroen Saxo 1.0-most basic model available and the best quote I can get on it third party only is

Some of you parents out there will have teenage children who can drive or are learning to drive and I'm posting to see if anyone knows of insurance companies who specialise in young drivers. I've recently added my 17 year old son to my own car policy as a learner (taken my

I think that, in a club situation, you should put all the boards out for each section. As the riders reach each unmanned section then someone (usually the older and more experienced members) will pick it it up and mark for riders coming through and hand the board on to subsequent riders. During the course of the event there will generally be some spectators- friends or relatives of riders who will pick a board up and stay for the duration. Having attended club trials over the last 6 or 7 years with my son I can only remember one alleged incident of cheating. In a club situation people generally know who can do what and who can't. I think this is infinitely better than reducing the number of sections or laps etc. The pressure should be brought to bear on riders who don't know the rules. I have picked up many observers boards in the last few years which indicated that a particular rider has scored a 4! Ignorance of the rules is no excuse.

Moving Target, Unfortunately patience is what you you need most right now as it's down to a process of elimination!

Moving Target, unless I've missed it somewhere you don't seem to have mentioned which make and model of spark plug you're using. This information could help identify the problem. Regarding the cooling fan situation Betas definitely seem to take longer for the fan to cut in than other makes and this is'nt necassarily a problem.

I very much doubt that you will need to buy a new carb as leaking fuel is a Beta speciality! Talk to John or Gary at John Lampkin Imports on 01535 655970. They're very helpful and should be able to sort your problem out quickly and cheaply.

Thanks for the comments. My lad bought the bike anyway and is currently attemting to destroy it. Fact is I've seen just about all the popular makes with broken frames so I guess it's more about what you do with it.

Anyone heard of or know anything about Woodman trials bikes? There's one for sale locally which looks quite nice but no-one I know has come across them. Any info gratefully received. Thanks.

Even though the thermostat's working have you checked if the fan is actually cutting in? If not the engine will boil up and cause the knocking you describe.

If your son is of average build and height for his age then I would try and find an TY80 Whitehawk for a first bike. They're well built, very forgiving and easily maintained and repaired. Also the power is much less agressive than the average modern 125 bike and will ease him into the sport gently. If he shows an aptitude for riding a trials motorbike then he'll soon want to move on and you'll have to dig deeper into the wallet! You don't give your location but in the UK a decent 80cc Whitehawk will set you back around

RPM Motorcycles were offering 0% finance on Betas earlier in the year. Could it be them? Worth a call on 01909 567125.

Spot on Telecat!My point basically was that in the many trials at club, centre and national level that I have attended with my son over the last five years I can't remember a young rider complaining about the event.It always seems to be the parents who have some grievance.As I said the lads just get on with it.

I agree with Adsy. I don't think the current youth national system is very far wrong at all. The fact is the better riders will always rise to the top despite others riding out of class or not being as competitive.Riders of the quality of Lee Sampson, Sam Haslam, Matt Jones, Wiggy, Ross Danby etc are good despite the national youth scene not because of it.Interesting to note that the large proportion of comments on this topic and the one under Otter Vale come from adults (presumably parents).The lads themselves just get on their bikes and do the business. If you want see really competetive parents then pop down to your local Under 11's football match on a saturday morning. Let's not sink to that level please.

In my opinion you should'nt use the words "Gas Gas" and reliability" in the same sentence. It does'nt compute.

Put an inner tube in it.

Just had entry for Cheadle A&B round on March 5th returned with letter saying the event is cancelled due to lack of entries. With 10 days to go before the advertised entry closure this seems a bit premature surely.

I think the Horsforth club was a victim of it's own success on sunday at Home Farm. Their Novice and Beginners series is vey popular-generally they get the sections spot-on for both classes and are always well organised.I think that had they put out the marker boards on the unmanned sections then someone would have picked up at some point and stayed there. I know that some riders were disgruntled but the various posts on this specific event seem like an over reaction to a problem that all clubs encounter at some point. Hopefully this was a one-off for Horsforth but I don't think the comments under the heading "pathetic" on their website do anything to help the situation.

Air in the system tends to make the brake lever or pedal feel soft and spongy not hard. If your brake is'nt very good then check the state of the pads and that the pistons are'nt sticking in the caliper.Sometimes the residue from bike cleaning detergents can cause a problem.Ride round with the brake on and really warm up the disc then pour cold water all over the assembly. Worth a try.

I have a brother-in-law who used to work for the Neval importers in Yorkshire.I'll see if he remembers anything about them.Looks a bit like the RTX model, I wonder if there's any connection.

I don't think we should write off Dougie, Fuji, Cabestany etc for a while. Their experience at this level is immense and any of them is capable of still winning world rounds (indoor and outdoor) and even championships. I wonder about the psychology involved at this level of sport.For instance from where we were sitting we could clearly see part of the practice area behind the podium.There was a circle of rocks which included one big, awkwardly shaped stone or tree trunk which all the riders attempted from various angles. Some nailed it first time but it took Doug three goes to get over it cleanly.Was he genuinely struggling or playing some kind of mind game with the others? Adam Raga's nerve under pressure has been questioned before and I do believe that last night, when he approached the waterfall at the end of the final, he genuinely thought he had already won the trial.His anger and shock at getting a five rattled him as he never expected to have to do more to win.He subsequently lost the race on a very sloppy turn at end of the barrels. Dougie has proved many times that he can hold his nerve under pressure and I think that had he been in Raga's position last night he would have been more in control.(Hawkestone)! Losing one round of a championship series is not the end for any of the top riders but it's going to be one hell of a season to watch!

A brilliant nights trials entertainment with Bou the deserved winner.His lap in the heat included some astonishing riding. I don't remember seeing him stop to take a drink for the whole 10 minutes and his fitness level looked a good way above the rest of the field. Also much credit for the success of the evening must go to Martin Lampkin and his team for designing and building a set of sections which proved severely testing for the best riders in the world.

Stuart, David's phone number is on the business cards he gave me and my friends some time ago when we were at Home Farm practicing. The number is also written large on the sign outside the entrance to Home Farm. I don't think it's a secret that trials bikes are allowed in to to practice.