So it is my turn to open our weekly staff meeting with a fun activity. Quizes seem to be popular and whenever it's my turn I always have something relavent to things I like. So I have done several Harley quizes, and a few snowboarding quizes. With my first trials bike in the garage I would like to do a trials quiz I am thinking something along the lines of.
Which of the following is not a trials technique. A. Splatter B. Double blip C. Holding pressure D. Double down
The purpose is to make it as hard as possible so that the person with the best random guess ability has a chance to win. While anyone who has heard me talking about trials for the last 3 years will have a distinct advantage. Even random motorycyle questions are valid. Anyway if anyone has questions please post them.. even if you think they are stupid.
Thanks.
How far did Paul Lowther travel in the 1998 SSDT before discovering he had not filled his bike with Petrol the previous night ?
How many miles are covered in the SSDT following the course ? and following the Kinell route ?
perhaps more sensible
how much does a trials bike weigh ?
what tyre pressures are recommended for taking part in an event ?
I would nt recommend for the reason HAM2 gave but also if the middle box is aluminium the caustic soda may damage the middle box. I bought some once to decoke a 314 mont exhaust but when I read the instructions they said NOT to mix in an aluminium bucket so left it alone. Get the bike down a fast track for half an hour its a lot more fun and probably a safer way of decoking.....
Just picjing up on the point about getting lost in sections with many different routes.
I have mentioned this before but perhaps now have a solution.
In the North East centre we tend to use red and blue for the middle route, pairs of white flags for the easy course and pairs of yellow for the hard course. I don t think this is very effective as you can interperet the intended route at least two ways on the hard or easy course by passing between pairs of flags that are not intended to be paired. To make this clear in a gulley its obvious which are left and right but start using the bankings and you can go in and out of the wrong pair or in the wrong order. The observer can clarify IF they know but they shouldnt have to, it should be clear to all.
My question is does ACU handbook specify you must use flags ? If not why dont we move to the system used in the world rounds where you pass through colured arrows for your course. Because of the arrows you always go through the right pair, we could go further by numbering the arrows. just a suggestion.
What bike? I like the Gas Gas 280 but I have been told a Scorpa 250 would be better suited to a novice (novice at trials yes but done moto x from age 10 until i was 17 taking the top off my hip on a table top ouch) will this help at all?
Club? Mendipvale looks the best for me local and the riders like a beer or two so im told. (I live in Nailsea nr Bristol)
Kit? I wont look good in tight stuff, so how about moto x bottoms?
Any other hints and tips welcome.
Cheers
Shrub
Gas Gas 280 is a very good bike but is probably too much for a novice even taking into account your motocross experience.
go for 250 if you want a Gas Gas, Scorpa would be a good choice though, easy to ride and very reliable although a bit heavier than the Gas Gas.
Whatever the brand is you go for I'd say the 250 would be enough. Moto X jeans will be fine as long as the weather isnt too hot. Remember you will be on the bike for 3 to 4 hours rather than 2 x 30 mins.
I thought Cobos had quit as he had a very bad knee problem?
he did, they have only signed him as test rider I think from the translation. But who in last years top ten hasnt signed for anyone yet ? Was Bruand top ten ?
With the Euro doing a number against the US $ and sales of trials bikes down, is it time for a rethink of how they are sold?.
In our local club only, one 08 model has been sighted, and nearing the end of February this is definitely way down on prior years,I read this is the case in other parts of the world too.
Instead of many making nothing, wouldn't it be better for a few, to at least make enough profit to keep afloat and still be able to lower cost to the punter?.
My thoughts are! Would it be better for the importer to sell to the public direct cutting out the dealer margin, they could still sell the bike through a dealer and pay a flat commission for bikes that needed to be shipped and set up for the customer, but many times they could also be shipped right to the customers door.
Many people go into a car lot with no $ and come out with a new car a few hours later, would a $500 down and x amount per month done direct through the importer entice more to buy?.
In the US we have many so called dealers who sell two or three trials bikes a year out of their garage, and offering financing to the customer isn't an option, so in order to buy a new machine from one of the small dealers, the customer has to come up with a large amount in cash, the truth is financing may not be an ideal way to buy anything, but it is how most high cost items are sold in today's world.
To be competitive with other back yard dealers, I will often sell the bikes close to cost, I'm not in it to make a living just trying to promote the sport I love, but this also makes it harder for anyone to make it viable and probably Why you don't see many trials bikes for sale in the large motorcycle dealerships? stocking a $7000 to $9000 specialty machine on the off chance a punter will buy it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and when you consider how small the profit margin is I think it doesn't make a lot of sense to the big motorcycle dealer ether.
I think it is time the US importers got together and came up with a way to sell to the public direct, offer financing, which I do believe can be done through a company who will take on the contract and pay the importer the cost of the item sold plus a commission for getting the contract.
As a back yard dealer, I don't want to take the chance and stock a bike that costs $7000 + and at best will make a couple of hundred profit, but is more likely to loose a couple of hundred.
I would rather see the US importers making a bit more money and offering other options to make it easier for the customer to get on a new bike, than see less bikes sold and no one make any profit.
I could be way off, but I don't see many knocking on my front door with check in hand
what do you think would improve sales in a slow economy?
In europe I dont understand why we have importers any more.
Its the european free trade area under the Treaty of Rome (wont bore you with the details) so there is no charge made by a country to pass goods across a border within the European area. The idea is you pay tax where you buy the product but you can buy things tax exempt or duty free on the understanding that above a certain price you need to pay tax in your home country.
So how can somebody import from a country within the EU if its all one trade area ? Clothing and motorcycles need some people removed from the supply chain to make the prices paid more reasonable.
this all sounds great but from a different perspective we need the importers for back up when things go wrong and to support riders.
Just been talking about this tonight, I had a policy through the 90's from 91 to about 98 from Devitt DA which provided cover only when taking part in an ACU organised event and it was less than
great pictures, thanks so much!!! Lots of memories there. Jordi with a full heed of hair.... A shot of our Tone, on the JCM which no one mentioned. Also good shots of both John boy on a 86 301 Fantic and Michaud on the 87 303. Brilliant pictures.....any more!
Thats not Tony Scarlett on the JCM (99) its Patrick Fereud (I think thats his real name) otherwise known as MAYA, he was Berlatiers minder for a while at Aprillia
The first two pics are definately 87, Saunders was on the Rothmans Honda in 86, my first year. In 87 I was right at the back of the entry list number 290, Les caught me up a few times. Apparently he went down to John boys I think on the tuesday before hand to try the Beta with a view to moving on to it after Scotland. He liked it so much he rode it in Scotland, his Dad thought it was a little rash to change bikes that late.
Dougie is on a 1995 Techno so guess that will be 95, his second win.
Anyone seen or heard anything about Brian Hutchinson (Stokesley) - He was a big hero of mine throughout the 70's and 80's, riding Montesa's and laterly Bultaco 175's. If anyone has any pics, please post, so we can see the farming genious in action. Cheers,
Brian Hutchinson
I doubt anyone has photos of him doing any farm work !!
He was riding at the Richmond Club Boxing day trial and there were some photos on here but not sure if they had a photo of the long snorted legend ( well he does call me baldy)
to be fair john boy was excellent in that every rider was given a kit to change the stator if it failed out on the moors.
BUT it is now 2008 and despite John saying the later 2003 stators had been modified and would not fail clearly this is not the case.
Its ridiculous that a modern bike has had a known problem for 5 years, sorry betabonkers but saying the last failure you had was 2004 isnt good enough. The electrics are rubbish and need sorting out.
Now what happened to that xispa bike, current quality but cheaper !
I think this depends where you live, some bikes are better in mud some are better on rocks.
BUT if you want quality then its a BETA, SCORPA or MONT choice.
In terms of performance for the trials I ride there is only a gasser or a sherco to choose from. My sherco has been far more reliable than the Gas Gas Pros I had previously but I accept that the build quality on a beta, scorpa or mont is better.
Frankly its my cash and i couldnt care less what wins at wtc level. The riders are much better than me and it doesnt matter how much cash I have I can t buy the bike they ride, so why take any notice ?
Whats the worst number the winner of the SSDT has had then John ?
it was some ride by Martin to win with number 58, he must have been about 10th away on the tuesday. Suppose it depends how good a number the other top boys had ?
.. 
( well he does call me baldy)
Trials Quiz
in Anything goes
Posted
How far did Paul Lowther travel in the 1998 SSDT before discovering he had not filled his bike with Petrol the previous night ?
How many miles are covered in the SSDT following the course ? and following the Kinell route ?
perhaps more sensible
how much does a trials bike weigh ?
what tyre pressures are recommended for taking part in an event ?
is a trials bike rode legal without lights?