sherconoob

few more vids. http://youtu.be/YLg2vj81UaA

i'm sure he won't (unless he read our past few posts here) hehe!

guys, this stuff is gold! can you be my script writers?! we have a few seriously stupid videos planned and this would be brilliant in at least one of them.

damn, there's definitely going to be a video now! dressing to the left for left hand turns... i wonder what the equivalent is for all the girls in the club... a bra readjustment?

yep. until we get a rich fellow trials rider to fund a voice over specialist, or a girlfriend to do a sexy voice, everyone is stuck with me droning on.

thanks ben, i'll pass that on to the guys at the club too who i film quite a bit. absolutely no offence to the professionals, but at times on their videos they'll do some double back flip zappy thing with a twist of lemon up a rock face and they say "see? easy!".so we thought we'd do this series with average joes riding instead, imperfect though the techniques might be... re: forgetting it all once on the bike, same here! as jimmie says, just start with tight turns and balance and slowly work up from there but most importantly just have fun. we are thinking of a training video on tongue positioning during tricky techniques, which we suspect might be the most important step of all. :-)

turbo, i can see your point. but i'm a convert of this sort of PR.... our club runs show days where the guys deliberately pick up the speed and do (or try to do) all the flashy tricks. and afterwards all these dirt riders are saying how cool it was, and they have thought about getting into trials over the years but now they'll start looking for a bike etc. i kept thinking these guys would be disappointed when they saw what trials was really about. but without exception these new members love it and ditch any misconceptions they might have had about doing huge jumps and tricks and are learning the art of balance and full lock turns with gusto. in any case, what we think of as traditional trials was probably looked down on by old timers who thought the scottish way was the only way. the sport will evolve but i think the old ways will always be around too.

i'm sure you'll be paired up with someone who will be very happy to show you the ropes for the day. this is very standard so if it doesn't happen they are probably just busy and forgot... in which case i'd just ask them if you could be paired up with another rider. believe me you won't be putting anyone out. trials riders LOVE giving advice and they'll probably be queuing up to have a captive audience for a whole day to throw advice at, whether it's balancing, cornering, cooking, card games, hehe! re: the clutch, i had exactly the same issue... mechanical empathy i call it. :-) experienced riders are forever slipping their clutches but they still last for ages. i the early stages though it's up to you. it might just be better to stay in first gear and not worry about the clutch too much so you can focus on balance and turning. as mentioned the main thing is have fun and enjoy yourself! i'm guilty of often trying to learn too many things at once and getting frustrated instead of enjoying my addiction.

just chill and enjoy! balance, full lock turns and clutch slipping are the three basics but you can just pass on any sections you don't feel up to tackling. we've got a few check lists and preparing for a competition articles on our website here. put some tools together if you have the time but everyone will be very supportive for the new guy and will help out if you hit any snags. you'll have a great time!

we've got quite a few new members joining the club so thought i'd whip up a quick guide for the club's website. posted here in case it's useful to others, but also would appreciate any feedback and suggestions as i'm still only one year into trials myself - thanks in advance. it's just meant to be for newcomers and avoids getting into specific brands.... New to trials? There's no rush to buy expensive trials gear and it's common to see new club members using the same protective gear they use for dirt, adventure or even road riding until they get an idea of what they'll need to buy. We will just cover the basics without getting into specific brands of gear. Until the 1970s even the world's top trials riders weren't wearing helmets as trials riding is the safest form of motorbike sport, but the risks are still there and changes to the rules have reflected this. What you wear will be based on: - a compromise between protection and comfort / ease of movement - how rough and potentially dangerous the terrain is - how old you are and if you have existing issues (e.g. dicky knees) - the weather and temperature - how much money you are prepared to spend on bling! WHAT THE RULES SAY FOR CLUB DAYS & COMPETITION The rules are very basic. Generally at a club level all you will need is: - a helmet that is road legal or approved specifically for trials riding - boots and trousers. Technically there are more requirements than that - the official FIM requirements here also request gloves and a long sleeved shirt with trousers or one-piece suit but it's not commonly requested at a basic club event so check with your club if in doubt. The higher the grade and bigger the event, the more the rules will apply. BOOTS In the old days a pair of gum boots were common, and you'll still see older riders wearing these if their club isn't sticking religiously to FIM rules about abrasion-resistance and non-melting materials! A proper pair of trials boots strike a nice balance between protection and ease of movement, as well as soft soles so you can "feel" the foot pegs. But there's nothing wrong with any pair of sturdy boots when starting out, although it is good to have fairly high boots for shin protection - those foot pegs can take a chunk out of your leg if your shins hit them hard enough. HELMET As mentioned, the helmet just needs to be road legal or approved for trials use. The main advantage of a trials helmet is very light weight, well ventilated, a quick release strap for all that constant stopping, and a high cut at the back so you can look up easily in steep terrain. Some riders are concerned about injury to the face with the open face style and opt for bicycle-style full face helmets which are very light and well ventilated but are NOT approved for use in club days. There is always the danger of landing face first so by all means wear a full face helmet if wanted - there is a small but growing number of trials riders doing this already. KNEE PROTECTION Not many riders bother with knee protection, although it tends to become issue for older riders. Some of the trials-specific pants have a bit of padding in them. The next step up would be basic knee guards as used by dirt riders - some of these are long enough to slip down the front of your boots so provide excellent shin protection. If you have an existing knee injury, or are old enough to be worried about your knees, it may be worth looking at further protection. At a very basic level, there are basic knee supports that are just fabric socks or a velcro support. After that you are looking at a proper set of knee braces. Any proper set will cost over $500 - there are cheaper ones that claim to be knee braces but in reality don't offer much support at all. Be aware that if you want to wear those tight fitting trials pants then knee braces (and possibly even knee guards) won't fit underneath them! TRIALS PANTS Speaking of pants, the main advantage of those sleek trials-specific pants is they are cool, light and less likely to catch on objects. If you are coming into trials then feel free to wear your motocross pants as many do, or just any pair of jeans or trousers you have lying around. If it is wet, textile pants will dry out faster. SHIRT As mentioned, technically it needs to be long-sleeved but many clubs will ignore this and allow t-shirts which is great for hot weather. There are trials-specific tops that are light and designed to lessen the chances of catching on things. They also "wick" well - the sweat dries out quickly. Trials is very physical and you will often be dripping with sweat in no time, so any shirt that wicks well is a plus in all but the coldest weather. If it is likely to be raining, consider some form of wet weather gear especially if it's cold as well. EYE PROTECTION It's not very common to see specific eyewear protection being worn. When setting sections, any offending shrubbery or branches are normally cleared but it certainly pays to have a set of clear glasses (or your dirt bike goggles?) handy in case there is a danger of eye injury in a particular section. ELBOW GUARDS It's not very common to see these, but when they are so cheap it may be worth having a pair of these in case you are tackling a very rocky section where you think there's a fair chance of falling off. BODY ARMOUR Full body armour, often called a pressure suit, is becoming very common on the dirt bike scene although rarely seen in trials. However, as with the elbow guards above there's nothing wrong with a lot of protective gear if you think the terrain warrants it. A pressure suit usually has armour for your back, shoulders, elbows, forearms and chest. They do restrict air flow a lot and can be very hot to wear. Quite a few riders wear body armour if they are freestyle riding e.g. going for a dirt ride on their dirt bikes. The extra protection is quite handy if you will be riding in the upper gears a fair bit and therefore riding faster than usual. GLOVES As mentioned, although a technical requirement a lot of clubs don't mind if you prefer bare flesh on those hand grips. Any pair of motocross-style gloves work fine and often have extra protection for knuckles and fingers if you like to argue with trees. There are trials-specific gloves that are very light, no padding, soft and designed to provide extra grip to lessen the chances of your hands slipping off the bars. Some riders opt for the cycling or mountain bike style gloves that are often very similar and a lot cheaper. AVOIDING DEHYDRATION AND SUNBURN It makes sense to slap on some sunblock cream, especially as your face, arms and neck are often more exposed than in other types of motorbike riding. Staying hydrated is important. A lot of riders will wear a one or two litre water pack on their backs which are usually light enough to not even bother to remove when riding the sections.

frame against the boot? look in the full lock turns vid on the link i put in above and you'll see how the guys are positioning their inside foot on the footpeg to avoid that.

lol. the level of detail in this thread is somehow amusing but slightly disturbing at the same time...

yeah get into a club! you would be fine in the intro class and probably wouldn't need much more practice to move up from there. balance exercises can be a tad boring but will fast track your improvement... plus learning to slip the clutch to avoid jerkiness. when doing those turns it can help to be slipping the clutch all the time. you've probably seen them but our club has a pile of trials techniques vids here: http://www.wdtc.org.au/how-to-ride-trials.htm

hey flint by the sounds of it you got your first trials bike recently? welcome to the asylum! most forums nowadays save bandwidth by not allowing attachment of pics, i assume it's the same here. you can use hosting services to put your pics up then just cut and paste the link in. i'm using photobucket but there are heaps around to choose from.

are the ossa gearbox issues resolved? i met a guy who worked as a mechanic in a trials shop and the first models apparently had a fairly high failure rate... it was meant to be fixed in the 2013 model but he reckons time would tell if it was sorted or not. at least easily fixed with the cartridge style gearbox just lifting out. not bagging the bike, the one i rode was a pleasure to ride!

magz i want to see you do a backflip after using that rock wall to the left as a kicker. and can you add your credit card details to the list above? :-)

jimmie it was very tempting to mention beer in that last vid...some of the older guys in the club were talking about years ago how well they rode if they had just had one or two beers before hand before this sort of deplorable and semi criminal behavior was abolished. for some, the small amounts increased confidence more than it affected coordination obviously! zippy, thanks for letting me know, no issues if its non commercial use. it does get me thinking i should probably pop a small copyright and url on stuff just in case someone does try to cash in on something though. great site btw.... i was just thinking i might have to borrow your sig line for a video?.... To be a MotoTrials rider it takes focus and OH LOOK A SQUIRREL!

nice one zippy, i'll be a fair way off doing that sort of caper.... and probably will need to do some power dressing too.

hey mags, can't agree more on sections need to be noob-friendly! the intro sections are always very easy and the biggest "log" would normally be four inches perhaps? on the clubman lines, there aren't many obstacles that are more than bashplate high but there will always be one or two just to add challenge for those who want it... some will opt to pass of course. that big log in the vid is lower on the other side but we were doing the blue arrows for anyone wanting a challenge which puts you on the higher part of the log. a practice day will come down to when our only level one coach can get a weekend off and he'll supervise me so i can get a level 1 accreditation too. there will be quite a few practice days once that happens!

nice work mags, excellent balance! i'm not sure if this is a valid technique but works for me... i tend to just use the rear brake mostly for full lock turns, it's way less grabby and less likely to throw me off balance. be good to hear if this is a good thing or not from the more experienced....? hey if you get along to one of our club days i'll film you heaps with your own camera just following you around if you like. it's great for analysis paralysis of your riding after the event, hehe!

you'll get to meet the lover of bulls (now THAT sounds weird!) above if you come to one of the meetings. he spends countless hours planning fiendish ways to make riders dab or stall in the sections he sets... strangely he seems to fall victim to his own sections fairly often hehe! actually i should point out in that vid we were following the blue arrows too. these are put in for clubman riders who want more of a challenge and they are optional. it's very handy actually, as it provides a neat stepping stone between clubman and C grade. this video shows a lot of the typical clubman lines... they are probably set a tad harder than other clubs but there's always an emphasis on safety so steep nasty terrain is avoided: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn84gvf8C-s

+1 look at james, our big dude of trials riding at 55 secs into the vid below. i thought he was just stuffing around but i've seen him lean like this on nasty uphill off camber corners and it works a treat... he keeps full traction while i'm sliding back down the hill into the creek.

love the hill climber pic, mags. bit different to trials and i'd never give it a shot, but have plenty of hill climbing vids in the collection... great atmosphere at club meets hey? something tells me it would be a bit more dog-eat-dog at a motocross event. a mate had the day off yesterday so we had a quick morning ride. he rode my trials bike for a few hours the other week and was hooked immediately and is looking for his first bike, he was keen to try some of the trials basics on his ktm 300exc.