totalshell

Well having arrived in Kinlochleven at 3am on friday we've just got back! Two great days of trials half decent weather with rain ( drizzle mostly ) and a fair degree of sunshine. Paul Heys seemed absolutely determined to win , his concentration was a step above most others, Tony Calvert is a very cool customer and he always looked in control. the frist day started with the observers on the first two sections standing on the wrong two sections! ( they were in fact on saturdays sections, ) an impasse looked inevitable until a resolute we've started so this is were we'll observe decsion was made. and so the riders made thier attempts. Mick Grant took a 5 for a tumble as his front wheel slid to the wrong side of a rock and Gaunty used plenty of his and the bikes mass to move rocks as he passed over them where lesser lights had taken a steadying dab. in the sections beside the glencoe road the water was deep and the rocks and roots slippy with decent riders dropping marks untill the worst of the slime and loose rocks were removed. after a quick brwak as we waited for the even numbers we climbed Porlock Hill , rarely damp and only once seen with water in recent years the challenge is the steep slope and twists of the loose rock surface and this was a section that 'came and went' for some it proved a winnable skirmich ( derek brookes rode imperious ly clean without even looking during one sweet spell) yet when at its worst Len Hutty fought like a gladiator to escape for only two day two and a brsik stroll to the top of pipeline where we only saw cleans by nothing smaller than a 350 then on to two new to the p65 sections beside the loch on the fort william road ( although old hands confirmed that they had been used in the proper p65 way back when, here we saw gaunty find a new but tight line having watched saunders ride a fantastic clean over a rock step the trial was slickly organised with very little in fact zero murmering about this or that mod to bikes and the people of the village and to be honest the bobbies welcome the trial with open arms and hopefully make a buck from the foriengers.. the evening 'do' was a decent affar with eric adcock taking questions fron colin drommet and then presenting the awards. the observers have a loooong daty and recive little recognition in the awards ceremnony it was said they were out for 5 hrs a day but i think you'd have to add a couple more to that to be realistic, howver the only area for review in my eye was the observing.. its clear that a number of the observers were either reguler riders with thier friends or spouses etc but i felt that a number were not reguler observers, i saw sections where the observers let a dozen or more bikes through without realising the ends werent in the stream, sections where observers let riders into the section with bikes queing to get out of them, observers having the scoring explained to them and most obviously standing / sitting in positions where they could see little or in one case nothing of most of the section i saw one rider given a one when he had put both feet down and rolled the bike back to get it out of the rocks.. a course opening bike would also have prevented the 'discussions' at the first sections on friday

big thanks to a TC advertiser,, moto merlin had the bits in and delivered next day...

just setting off now from rochdale, hope to pick up brother in kendal circa 8 pm ish then on to Kinlochleven for the p65 then the ssdt till wednesday..

many thanks gentlemen .. hopefully it'll sail through the MOT and this seasons trials with ease!!

pulled the Pamp out for its MOT this pm ( first time out of the garage for 8 months) started second kick and looked ready to go until i took the oily rag out and sussed that he offside fork seal is leaking big time.. new seals on the way but how much and what weight oil does it need? many thanks Mark

proof of ownership is a reciept.. A V5 is a record of the vehicles details and its keeper. possesion of the engine and frame no will not get you a v5 you need the registration number

great product has NEVER let me down in five or so years.. hot cold laid up it starts and runs spot on , definately fit and forget.. fitting is one of two issues, you will need the crankcase in bits and some machining done ( i've heard it can be done in situ with a drememl but not seen it done) the second issue is making sure ie from a very reputable source that it is a trials specific PVL and not some other designed for another use, other than that great piece of kit worth the money ( and that from a true Yorkshire man, born on Ilkley Moor) PS where in Lancashire is Australia? I say Lancashire as isnt Australia where they used to send convicts for punishment?

agreed the home cooked cakes were spot on last year, i'd have it on my 'to see list' oops it is on the list i'll see you there!!

65 entries the week before the p65 scottish at a classic venue with streams muddy slots and hill climbs http://s887.photobucket.com/albums/ac74/to...l/25%2004%2010/

confirmed as VERY simples.. nice and staeady think twice before you do it and hey presto you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

trials going the same way at the top as rallying did 10 - 15 years ago. when i was rallying ( slowly not competatively what i called participating) anyone could enter the top events given the qualifying regs meant all you had to do was complete a dozen or so lower std rallies to be able to drive in a world championship round. the point been i drove the same route as Tony Pond , hannu Mikkola, Ari vatenan etc etc and the rallies were FULL 180- 200 each year. then it went all PRO and now only 20 - 30 people qualify to drive fewer people spectate everybody manufacturers etc fans etc all lose out world and national level trials were equally open to most and had decent numbers riding on long ish rtoad based multi group trials people turned out 100 rode everybody won, now we have 18 lads and the best in gb are maxing every section.. is that progress?? no make trials easier get mr bou to drop 1 or go clean and more folk will ride more will watch and you have a vibrqant sport again.. why cant events like the ssdt be a world round? there would be a winner at the end of the week and lads from all over would ride just to ride the same route as the stars.. or have the stars / manufacturers/ FIM not got the bottle.. Tony Bou winning the SSdt would garner Honda/ montesa 00 times more publicity than losing 48 at a spansish seaside resort that no ones ever heard of..

the 3 seats is the deal killer as it moves choice from car based vehicles to panel type and therefore costs runnunig and purchase rise.

i clearly remember when dougie was strutting his stuff and martin saying the trials should be harder as a stray dab could cost a trial in low scoring competitions.

and on the door it says FULL, seriuosly hit the phones Now and you might get something within 10 miles..

it depends on what you mean by vicinity.... with it been a bank holiday weekend the town is FULL so look further afield on the way into and the far side of fort bill ( as far as spean bridge and glencoe!)

the day i bought my first trials bike was the first time i ever started a bike or rode a bike only 5 years later did i buy a road bike and passed my test. now i just have trials and trail bikes.

the easy route is the easy route.. it asks nothing of the rider just that its easy . the beginners route is for beginners and those who dont want to ride the novice etc routes. personally i've been riding for 15 years i rride the easy / beginners route i drop less than 10. if i had to ride a harder route i wouldnt ride at all. if you dont finish last on only your second trial your doing okay you'll get better and if youth and skill are on your side in a year you couldnt care less what happens on the easy route

Excellent.. you made your bike the same colour as your garage door.

i've not done it but have seen it done. the leg of the modern fork is reduced on the lathe to fit inside the original p65 outer. i'd strongly reccomend someone to do it for you the modern fork is taken to a very very thin state and it must be a nice tight fit in the old leg so too much and its scrap too little and the p65 legs cracks as the two are eased together an engineering bottle test was how it was described to me.. and with roadholders very rare and thus expensive and mazzochis 150 a pair i wouldnt test my owm bottle.

http://mavt.homestead.com/AJS.html

Its clear that some clubs and events have clear and freely available rules and others less so. the real issue is whay are the rules not enforced. For the answer you probably have to go back to p65 origins when old brit trials irons (4T) were dragged from sheds across britain. the emphasis was on oily old bikes that the fun was in riding by blokes who rode them back in the day. in the intervening years. many of those same blokes retired and now draw attactive pensions with little else to spend it on. skilled enginneers found them selves retired with time on thier hands and older former 'works' and ' former' national standard riders found themselves spending time with thier old buddies who lavished time and money making the bike better. 15/20 years on the baton is now being carried by much younger men ( brought up on a diet of twinshocks) who are demanding twinshock standard sections and 'P65@ bikes capable of tackling them. of course a sprinkling of excellent enginners and riders from the old guard remain and theyhave not stood still in thier bike development. so why arent rules 'enforced'? well clubs are run by and for thier members and they must like what direction the sport is moving and so things move forward. The club i am a member of has robust rules but bikes in the spirit of are not turned away although many riders have been the subject of ' a quiet word in the ear'

carried my royal enfield on the back of a punto and a polo so as above you probably wont know its there on the back of an audi

clearly the number of people volunteering without been asked is insuffcient so some incentive is required. Hilary pointed out some time ago the money that was been 'made' by clubs and this surely should be spent to ensure a days sport takes place. Hilary spoke of boxes of biscuits from M&S ( other biscuits are available) in posts above i see

digging furtehr into the archive i have come across a copy of the motorcycle dated 7 january 1965 it includes reports of the vic brittan trail and three others. in all the reports and lists of results the word bultaco is mentioned twice once under a photo of sam ''on the little bultaco'' and once beside his name in the results. no one else rode a bultaco in any of the trials reprted that week. in the same issue in the classified ads Comerfords have two entries. the first under 'Bultaco' Come to comerfords for the fantastic bultaco trials, ditributors for london and the SE. Orders accepted now for delivery early january. then under 'trials and scrambles' Come to Comerfords, new 1965 models in stock. greeves tfs

i believe that 'Gauntys' villiers carb was heavily modified, much further than just jets etc. I think mick Grant runs a villiers lawnmower carb on his Ariel, but i wouldnt pop down B + Q and get one.