pat_56

I used to have a well modified CR480R (actually about 520 cc big bore kit, reeds, pipe) two stroke, it was much easier to ride than it's contemporary 250's because there were no surprises - instant power any time any gear any RPM. Pick a gear, dial in desired measure of power, point, hang on, smile. The dirty sneaky 250's on the other hand, sucks you in with smooth wonderful serge of power lifts the wheel nicely then dumps everything it's got right in your face. Happily getting off my bigger more powerful bike to swap rides on two occasions with CR250r's and once on a YZ250. All three peeked a midst of what I thought was a "Controlled" wheelie delivering more fun than I had bargained for. I definitely found the higher power easier to ride in those cases. I can't think of any occasion that I have felt something was overpowered - and I would like to set the record absolutely straight that I am by no means a talented driver of anything, comfortable novice at best. Which brings me to a question that has been puzzling me. Checking the specs of trials bikes ranging from 200 to 300cc, I see that the dimensions are virtually identical but for the engine size and maybe an extra pound. Even the price is within a couple hundred bucks. So other than for competition displacement class why would any one not get the biggest offering?

I'm pretty sure that the old guy was a sly-er rider and picks up a little beer money with that trick, short run against a kid that's scared of his own bike. Still got to tip the hat to someone who can make one of those old thrashers run that good down the road 3 times and back without grenading, I mean, that's not a new evolution engine by any means, probably barely cracked 40+ hp stock. (Granted it's probably not stock) but I would have to see the Dyno numbers to believe that the Rat bike has more torque than the CBR1000rr so this doesn't solve the torque issue, a new Sporster makes 70.8 lb/ft of torque and my 900 ninja makes 74.5 (stock), that Honda would have more torque than mine. So torque alone doesn't tell the whole story either.

I ride a 900 Ninja, hardly gets out of it's own way really.

Mags, have you ever spent any time on a Montesa 315R? If so, how would you compare it to the 4 stroke version?

There is a 1997 Montesa Cota 315r some distance away for $2200. Are there any blaring issues with the 1st year for this model?

The closest, and basically only bike within 250 kilometers is a very clean 1994' Montesa 314R but the guy wants $5500 for it, Hmm, they still let me wander the streets on my own so I'm not that insane. I would be interested at $2500. There is a 2000 Montesa 315R in the USA for $2500 but it looks real shabby. If it was close I'd take a look but it's 1200 kilometers round trip. If I want to travel a couple days like I did for our TY175 I can get a 2012 OSSA for $6000, 2007 Sherco 2.9 for $4500 and an assortment of Gas Gas and Beta's from $2800 to $4500. Dependable and easy to ride would definitely be the highest priority on my check list though. If one comes up in a proper price range it may be the choice. Riding season is just coming to a close around here so there is no rush. Since there is no visible trials community around here to speak of there is no opportunity to check a few out and try some on for fit and feel it i appreciate the direction of experience from this site. I might add, I am 6 ft, 210 pounds too if that makes a difference. Thanks for the reply, Pat

Can anyone direct me to a good thread about; The good, the bad and the ugly of various brands. What years are a good find for a budget shopper and so on. Is a 1996 Yamaha a great starter while a 1996 Beta has cooling issues? Is it better to go north of 2000? I see a bit of negative comments on Gas Gas, is that just friendly ribbing of a mates bike? Are their any arguably great starter finds? I would favor a two stroke bike. Thanks, Pat

Well, I should not complain! In Eastern Canada I have to license and insure my Honda XL200 to ride off road only because it is a street legal bike, but then I can ride anyplace off road that does not have a sign telling me not to - and I would rarely see another rider. For an off road bike only, (at this time) I only require proof of ownership - no license or insurance although they recommend it. I can let my 14 year old ride any off road only bike anywhere off road that does not have a sign telling me not to, even if it was a 500cc motocross because there are no restrictions for riding a competition bike and for all they know My Son is practicing for a competition. What I cannot do is let my son ride any street legal bike over 50cc. Even if he wants to try my old XL200 because it is street legal - unless it is on my own property if the bike is uninsured because my insurance company will not insure a bike ridden by an unlicensed rider. On the plus side, my Honda only costs me $87 per year to for me to insure plus $40 to license. In 40 years of riding off road including snowmobiles I have been stopped one time by veritable squadron of police on snowmobiles, I was covered but the fellow I was following was not - we were simply politely told to take the other trail home because we were on a club trail. Good Break, he was breaking all 3 laws, no license, no insurance, no trail pass. I literally leave my driveway, ride about 300 meters up the side of the road and on to the trail. Not exactly legal for my Son but I am certain all of the people waving from their yards are ok with it, and I would be surprised if any police would say a lot, it is a dead end street (ending in a trail). Now if we just had an active Trials Community. Hardly anyone here has any idea what a Trials bike is, they just think my Son is riding a cool old "Dirt Bike". That's one reason why it would be so cool to have a contemporary Trials bike, people would be very curious about such a strange looking bike.

Good advice, I was starting to look for boots locally and all that is available are Motocross. I guess I have to expand my search a little. If I hadn't found this thread I wold have bought Motocross boots.

I bet the cook demanded C-O-D for the meal.

Are Motocross, off road, Trials boots all of the same design purpose? That is, brands aside, is there a distinction between Trials and other off road boots. We are trying to gear up on a budget, to get used to using appropriate kit. We will upgrade later but for now we need one of everything - and my son might as well get the feel learning to ride with proper stiff boots then have to learn all over again with something that feels way different than just a pair of work boots. Is a used pair of Motocross boots an appropriate and safe choice?

Never saw one up close but have seen them in magazines since the 70's. I always assumed it was initials so just spelled it O-S-S-A. As in it never occurred to me to try and pronounce IRS, COD, BMW, TVR, FTW, AMF, TWA, IAC, PCM,....

The part I hate is that the last guy at the pump that used regular leaves a couple of liters in the hose of the regular garbage, and the next guy after me gets a couple liters of my good premium so I get "Some" ethanol and the next guy who don't give a care gets the good stuff.

Well modifications are on hold this weekend, an old friend has called for help on raising roof trusses on his garage. I will let you know how they turn out when I get to do them. Yes it is amazing how fast 30 feels on one of these bikes, I will wind the TY up a little on the street once in a while, being a 2 stroke it definitely makes a difference after it has done a lot of poking around duty and I don't rev it too high. I don't have any idea how fast I go as the speedometer is no longer on it, perhaps 30 or a little bit more. The Honda doesn't really care how it is driven and it is not lively enough to offer any reward for pushing it.

I already have plans for a sprocket change, it will be an all around better off road bike especially to train new riders as a buddy bike. I do have the XL licensed and insured for the street because the law requires it here even to use off road, but I have never used it to go anyplace on the road, I have a street bike for that so twitcheyness will not be an issue unless you consider 30 miles per hour "Higher Speed". The rear suspension has been setting on a hard position, that's an easy fix. I never thought of rework on the forks, I did not realize that sliding them up the clamps would sharpen steering. Sounds like a few adjustments that I can work with. Not sure how I will go on the mirrors, I have come to appreciate them to keep an eye behind to adjust my speed for Spencer to keep up. No, it's not a trials bike, but I will be using it to ride with my son as he gets used to his trials bike until we can save up and score a second trials bike. Best case scenario it will make it better trail bike for the type of slow twisty dirt riding we do and any new adult riders that want to drop by to be introduced to a very un-intimidating easy first ride experience. Thanks for the tips!

The story of my life, I over think things while missing the obvious. I kept seeing posts and photos with the lever perches slid up the bars and thought it would be so much nicer to just put on short levers, their not too expensive. Never got it until this moment, that using original levers slid up the bar gave better leverage by retaining the longer levers while at the same time time providing more grip room for 2 fingers on and 2 fingers off. Sometimes I need a little push to see if I'm awake. Pat

Well I have done some TLC items on our little TY175 and we have had a few good outings. My son is delighted with his TY and loves to make fun of me on my XL200 as I struggle to make slow tight turns over roots and rocks where he is idling around with ease - this is a very good step for him to have that confidence. I chose the TY based on advice I got on this site for the appropriateness of the bike for our purposes and it was spot on, it being in the opinion of most the clear choice for price, availability and ease of just about every thing from maintenance to learning and confidence building. Plus having a seat and pretty good size fuel tank gives it great versatility. Now I am planing my next acquisition for next years season. We will both share and take turns using both bikes. Speaking of more contemporary bikes larger than 200cc and probably newer than year 2000 is there any such clear choice for novice riding? I would like a 2cycle. I plan to make a small practice course in a currently uncultivated area of our back yard. Are there any models or years that would be best avoided? From time to time Yamaha TY250Z's come up really cheep, there is a 1994 available for $1200 that claims to be ride away condition and is really clean in the photo's, yes I know this contradicts my earlier criteria of newer than 2000, but perhaps there are a few older choices that I should not overlook that may have commendable attributes for my application of working on the basics. Any thoughts?

Great tech feetupfun. I knew that a magnet would stick to it but it didn't seem to stick that firmly and I have noted that some grades of stainless would stick to a magnet too although somewhat weakly so I was somewhat confused, it would be because the magnet I used was wide and not real strong. I have regular and stainless wire for my MIG so I am going to look for some ebay parts as a back up and for experimentation. Thank You!

So are the stock kick start levers made out of stainless steel?

Hmm, I think I know why this guy rides alone.

Good point on the Paul Hogan payback thing, took my best shot at that on a skit once at a local community / family function, perhaps we all stick to our own unique vernacular, nothing like an original. Good fun though. I have been emailing a fellow who lives in New Zealand off and on for over 15 years. I would love to hear his voice, it would be very interesting. I didn't do so well with the shrimp on the barby though, they kept falling through the grill. Had the same problem when I tried to bbq french fries! I'm from eastern Canada, eh? Here's one of my youtube clips where I challenged others to demonstrate the strength of a plastic weld on motorcycle ABS plastic. I repaired my Ninja with a plastic welder ~6 years ago and all repairs have held out. I have some more clips posted under rheniformer, even a real oldie of me on stage with an airplane hat telling a joke, audio quality is very poor on that one. I'ts not the Paul Hogan one though, that little "gem" was not captured that I know of. I think someone tried but the camera rejected it.

Can the kick start levers on the TY175 be properly and durably welded?

Actually for the low key trail riding we are doing for now the brakes are quite adequate. I haven't gotten around to much fine tuning yet, a little at a time. I have short levers on my XL200 which is also drum brakes, and my 900 ninja and I really like them. I was considering ordering a set for the TY175 also. Are their any compelling reasons that these might not be a proper choice for trials?

Whatever the formula, the filming and editing are very nice and the advise is interestingly presented. Except for the vulgar American accent, although it was interesting to hear what another Continent's impression of an American accent sounds like we've already got that here just south of our border. Besides, it seems to unsettle my cat.

I must say, I have had a lot of motorcycles, but I think that little TY is a sharp stylish looking little bike. I also like the look of that large 55 tooth rear sprocket and the super low gearing it makes with the 12 tooth front. After our ride he washed both bikes. Today while I was at work, he got the Yamaha out of the Garage and practiced in the driveway trying to stand on it without putting his feet down. It was the first time ever that he has taken a machine out of the garage himself. So far this little bike has been quite a good choice. Now I will be looking for a current style bike. We will share and exchange them both between us while my XL maintains stand by and Buddy Bike status.