tricky dicky

Having ridden the SSDT this year and every other year for the last 10 years we were sent up to somewhere near where a few of the sections are going to be and I had a quick look when I rode past and the terrain is fantastic. So what thats its in Scotland? Do you think they all moan in the USA or say even France when they have rounds at opposite ends of the country each year? Doubt it very much. Theres a small football tournament due to start tomorrow and I wouldnt like to guess how many England fans have paid hard earned money to go all the way to South Africa to watch us get defeated as usual. At least with the trial its something we all share as a passion and maybe just maybe Doug can achieve that illusive 100th win. I for one am going up to support the British lads and watch the unbelievable skills of Toni and co. If Doug did manage to sneak that illusive win at least I could say I was there and I saw it whereas all the armchair critics will no doubt make their excuses.

Yeah it fits straight on. Apparently they have altered the new batch of TI pipes but only to make them a bit stronger. Mine is fine though.

Good luck trying to get it running right. I spent hours and hours trying to get it running right and gave up and just put the standard one back on and it runs perfect. You can try contacting Splatshop about it or MRS but the carbs supplied by MRS are modified by Paxau and nobody knows what has been done to them. In the SSDT the bikes with the red carbs were having major carburation problems and that included Cabestany's bike so good luck!

Depends if you like changing your grips every 6 weeks. If you do then go for the S3 grips but if not either Renthal mediums or Domino. Domino are the best by far in my opinion.

I would rather have an ex SSDT bike than an over 40 or schoolboy bike anyday. They get fully prepared before the six day and any worn bits are changed so there is no problem. A lot of over 40 bikes never get revved and need a good clean out and on the opposite hand the schoolboy bikes get some hammer cos they are flat out most of the time! I know where I would be spending my money.

In the end Cabes said he enjoyed it and i'm sure now he knows whats involved he will come back and know what to expect and be pushing for the win. He said he couldnt grasp the distance in between sections that makes the SSDT what it is. It was nice to see a rider of his calibre losing marks on sections a club rider could clean though!

Graham Jarvis won the Scott in 2008, Doug's bike gave up before he got to Underbanks. There is no way that the WTC will ever return to how it was years ago and there is no way the SSDT or Scott would ever be a round because the foreigners would boycott it. I rode round with Cabes all week in Scotland and he said that it was not possible to ride the sections properly because he was knackered when he got to them due to the fact that they train to ride for 1 minute very intensely as per WTC rules. I watched Doug ride a few sections and if the SSDT and Scott were part of the WTC he would still be world champ without any doubt. His clean on WD's on Friday was nothing short of stunning.

The GasGas is different to any other bike to start. You need to feel that the kickstart is engaging as high up as possible and kick with a nice smooth movement. Its no good kicking it from half way down. Dont jump on it as previously mentioned as it can break the kickstart gear. As mentioned aswell it is far easier to engage neutral when the engine isn't running. Once you get your balance a bit better you will be able to balance and kick it up without a problem.

My Dad has a habit of picking up antlers he finds as hes going round. They do look good hung up in the house though! I found a dog turd tool laying there completely in the middle of nowhere but thats about as exciting as it gets. Poor bugger who lost it would have been in for a surprise when they got a puncture!

Looking on the Met Office website, the weather doesnt look too bad. Looks like a rainy Friday in the Pre65 then sunny through the weekend and the odd shower through the week. I can live with that. It can't be as bad as last year!!!!

I best watch out if theres some old bugger behind me with vaseline, that doesnt sound like a fun week!!!!!

Dabster, I am not disputing the fact that the rounds are on natural sections, its how they are layed out thats the problem. I agree with what you say about the 30% rule with the sections and I think that should apply to every trial that is run anywhere in the world as far down as club evening trials. I like the idea of laying the trial out for say Raga, Fuji etc but in reality that wont happen, it doesnt in the BTC so it definitely wont in the WTC. In regard to the comparison with Formula 1 then correct me if i'm wrong but this year they have completely changed the rules to make it a more level playing field for the lesser lights. I watched some of the footage on youtube last night from Baiona and I really cant see why they dont just change the rules back to stop for a 1 and be done with it. How some of the sections were layed out was stupid by putting a corner in a few yards into the section and then the riders having to rush to get through the rest of the section and the sections looked pretty dodgy in places. What seems to be forgotten is that when its no stop or stop for a 1 then the sections can still be technical, they just need a bit more thought when they are layed out.

Obviously Bou is a major headache for the organisers but surely if the trials were layed out differently so they weren't effectively an indoor outdoors then it may close the gap. As I mentioned before they are allegedly set out for spectators but the world rounds in the 90's and even a bit later when it was stop for a 1 were attracting larger numbers and larger entries. Unfortunately due to the way the FIM has pushed trials it has fallen right into the hands of Toni Bou and its not his fault he's a lot better than anybody else. Surely if it returned to stop for a 1 and the observers policed it properly like they did when it first came out in 1998 then the sections could be made more rideable and it would attract the riders in the calibre of Oliveras etc and it would bring the results closer as if the riders were off line they could stop and just take a 1 instead of a 5. Whats wrong with having a world round in the southern mud in autumn/winter time with some big climbs?! That would be far more of a spectacle than the circus that it is and we could all relate a bit better to that.

I know we cant turn back the clock with the world rounds but I have been watching some world round videos from the 80's and early 90's and for some reason the sections now are all so technical its become a minority sport. Whats wrong with having a nice hillclimb every now and again that everybody could at least have a go at? The way the trials are layed out now is an indoor trial held outside and they allegedly are for spectators but hardly get any. Surely if there were sections that people could relate to rather than the stuff they have now then it would get more people interested or am I missing the point? I just hope that the round in Scotland is layed out more to display some good old fashioned riding rather than the circus sport it appears to be now! I know trials has evolved but its funny that in the SSDT nobody has ever gone clean and we ride the same sections now that were ridden 20 years ago. I would have gladly had a go at a world round 10 years ago but I couldnt as I was too young but now, not a chance.

Send me a PM and I can probably assist you.

At a guess you don't pay and travel to all these events so you can only form a biased opinion from the Scarborough event. Why should I say who I am? What difference is that going to make? I always give the organisers of every trial I ride any constructive criticism as if people don't do that then how will they know for future if they have got it wrong. I showed my mate who only potters round club trials the scores from Scarborough and he said it looked ridiculous and that is the general opinion. If a club cant just stand up and admit they got it too hard then there are problems. I dont have any chip on my shoulder at all, I have been riding a long time and I have seen trials deteriorate due to trials being layed out for the minority. A good example of this was the Scottish in the early 90's. It was layed out daft to cater for the top riders and the entries soon dropped and the organising committee soon realised there was a problem and changed things to suit and low and behold the trial is now oversubscribed every year even in the current financial climate. Shame all the clubs cant take this on board and unfortunately the British and world championships are on a decline due to this. Try taking into account how many would ride if there are no support classes in both championships and that might open your eyes.

Not as far as I know. The old Raga bend used to be a fair bit different to Renthal fatbars.

I am not disclosing who I am but I was slightly unlucky in Scarborough due to drawing out a crap starting number but for the winner on my route to drop 110 that to me suggests that it is too hard. I never once said that there was anything wrong with the organisation at any point. You probably at a guess haven't been involved long enough to remember who I am but if you figure it out then ask some of the Scarborough officials and no doubt they will fill you in that I used to be quite good and I would still hope that I still am. I know the land very well at Harwood Dale and it was far too hard. Asuggestion to prove it was that make the BTC one route and as hard as it was and see how many people would turn up. I am guessing that maybe even some on the championship route would think again. Taking 80 off Dabill is suicide the same as taking 50 off Bou in the world rounds. I would like you to estimate for me how many people would pay

I really do think this is interesting. This is mainly a question for Sectiononecleaner. So Scarborough's BTC round was fantastic and Browny dropped over 100 yet he fives everything in a world round for whatever reason and its ok????? I think its a contradiction in terms that you think this. I rode at Scarborough and at Kinlochleven and I have been holding out a little bit with my criticism so far but here goes. The Scarborough trial would have been too hard even if it was held in August. The changes made after the practise lap were not sufficient and I know for a fact that it put people off riding anymore rounds this year. There were too many hard sections. We all know that its the premier event for the club of the year but to just blame it on the weather is ridiculous. At the beginning of the year the weather was awful for all of January and most of February aswell so I cannot accept that as a valid excuse. In Kinlochleven the weather was superb and was good conditions for the trial and after the practise lap it was noted that Arthur Macdonald was actually asking riders what we thought and the sections were suitably tightened up for the trial. After the Scarborough trial practise lap everybody said it was far too hard yet hardly anything was eased at all. Sorry to slightly hijack the thread but it is exactly the same for the world rounds. If the riders think its too hard it will get changed. I am only guessing that Browny had some sort of problem and asked for fives to end up with a maximum total. Its a shame after the effort the lads put in to get there.

With 11/41 gearing on a 280 I doubt you will ever go out of 1st gear on the sections apart from maybe the bottom section at Pipeline. I think you will find it miles too fast in the sections. Surely you are better making it nice in the sections and It will only take you maybe a few minutes longer if that to do a long stretch of road. Good luck riding with 11/41, I bet that after the first day you are wanting to lower the gearing!

I cant see the not walking the section lasting long this season as it would put a lot more emphasis on the minder yet this is what they are trying to cut down on so its a contradiction in terms. I never knew trials was a race and thats the way its going. I see that they are wanting to make it more "dynamic" but trials has never been "dynamic" and is never going to be spectator friendly like other sports. There is a flaw with going back to non-stop if thats what they are pushing. I rode 2 novogars over easter which are non stop. I was quite bemused when I was told on numerous occasions that we were allowed to stop on this section. Am I being stupid or thick or both but how can a brtish championship run 2 sets of rules in the same trial?????? Non stop will only work if the riders and officials want it to work. I see the advantages of the stop permitted rule as it is a damn sight easier to observe. Surely 90 seconds is a short enough time limit! Its short when your riding I know that for sure from my experience in the BTC's! In my opinion the only way a possible return to non stop or as the foreigners call it "dynamic trials" then it has to be the old FIM system when a stop was 1 mark but it needs to be policed by the observers and stop the sidewards movement when stationary. I am interested what will happen in Spain on Sunday at the world round and see how it all pans out. All I know is that at the british round it might be slippery at the front for Mr Bou if it rides anything like the 6 days! Just my two penneth

I have no qualms that people decide where they want to ride but you speak from a minority and ride in your own little bubble. You say that the other clubs dont cater for old bikes, I beg to differ with you. The Sutton Falcons proposal is nothing to do with me but I understand why it was proposed in the first place. Sheffield and Hallamshire end up with the dates we do as some of the clubs get all the good dates before anybody else even gets a look in and that is for other reasons. It would be interesting if 2 or 3 clubs in the centre decide to put in for 10 or 12 dates each next year and then we will see if something got changed. I think you are missing the point slightly that there are too many trials on within a close area and it spoils the entries so that they all get approx 25 riders each whereas if some negotiation took place everybody would benefit and trials got 50+ entries due to them not clashing. This makes things a lot more viable to sustain a future for all the clubs. The problem is that you are quite happy that you have your clubs running for old bikes that haven't been running for that long so you dont care as at the moment you are getting good entries. Some of the clubs in the EMC have been running a long time and need support.It isnt a case of anybody having a god given right for entries, its a case of looking at the future of our sport.

It has no relevance what clubs I have an involvement in. I have been an active member in Sheffield AND Hallamshire motor club for the last 15 years and I lay trials out regularly and help with the organisation. I have never seen you at any of our trials, Sutton Falcons or any other club trials other than your own club. I support the centre with all the clubs and always give feedback to the organisers on the events so I think my point is a lot more valid than yours as I ride at other events other than my home club, you appear not to. Of late our club trial entries have been good and this last event is just a bad clash but the point is that something needs to be done to work as a benefit to everybody not with clubs just sticking dates in and not thinking of the consequences of other trials running nearby.

Gearing it down does not soften it, it just makes it go slower so you have more time. The easiest way to soften it is a slow action throttle and a flywheel weight, leave the gearing alone unless its too quick.

I dont think its a case of giving the riders what they want and they will turn up. Its a fact that if there is achoice then some riders will stay local and ride more for convenience than anything else. I think trials especially in the East Midalnd centre is similar to how a lot of the pubs are going. There will be clubs folding left, right and centre and its not through lack of effort its due to there being too many trials held within a small area on the same day. I have never been to the dates meeting but my Dad has and I have an understanding what happens. The problem is the shape of the centre. I rode the Bemrose yesterday and we rode in at least 3 different counties and we only did a 40mile loop. An example this weekend is that there is another trial at Eadons fields,albeit a different club but I have never known the venue get so much use as it has in the last year. It is the first centre championship round and is literally 5 minutes away from my house but I am not riding, I am going to Man 17 which is 40mins away. This to me is a bad clash and I am sure the centre round will suffer as it is also the Cleveland national and there is an A+B champ round. I know the Fisher trial has been re-scheduled due to the bad weather of late but I think there should be a little negotiation between clubs especially when they are running in the 25mile radius like they do. It is impossible to please everybody everytime but surely something can be resolved. I dont really think that Old trials fanatic has much strength in his argument as the trials he rides are for old bikes and old bikes ONLY.