faussy

Steel hard rocks get my vote

Sammy Miller (Ariel 1965-1969: Sammy Miller (Bultaco) 1970–1971: Gordon Farley (Montesa) 1972: Malcolm Rathmell (Bultaco) 1973: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco) 1974: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 1975: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 1976: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 1977: Rob Shepherd (Honda) 1978: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco) 1979: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 1980: Martin Lampkin (SWM) 1981: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) 1982: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 1983–1984: Steve Saunders (Armstrong) 1985–1986: Steve Saunders (Honda) 1987–1989: Steve Saunders (Fantic) 1990–1991: Steve Saunders (Beta) 1992: Steve Saunders (Aprilia) 1993: Steve Colley (Beta) 1994: Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 1995: Steve Colley (Gas Gas) 1996–1999: Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 2000: Dougie Lampkin (Montesa) 2001: No Championship (Foot & Mouth) 2002: Dougie Lampkin (Montesa) 2003: Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 2004: Steve Colley (Gas Gas) 2005–2008: Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 2009–2010: James Dabill (Gas Gas) 2011–2012: James Dabill (Beta) 2013: Michael Brown (Gas Gas) 2014: James Dabill (Beta) 2015–2016: James Dabill (Vertigo) You will have to fill in the last few years yourself. I don't have a clue who it was

Sounds like you picked a stinker as your first trial, but glad to hear you enjoyed it. If you can enjoy it even when its muddy and a struggle, there's definitely potential for a great time on a sunny day with more success in the sections.

Where you getting all these extra observers at club level to hold a stop watch? Unfeasible

Sounds like your low compression head wasn't fitted right.

You are showing a real naivety here. Tarres was an absolute animal on a bike. And arguably the most professional rider ever. There's maybe only one or 2 riders post Tarres with more ability. Put a 90s Tarres on a 2019 bike and he would **** on virtually everyone (bar bou) at a world round!!

Are you serious? It's a simple as injecting the mould with an inferior harder rubber compound. What exactly is impossible about that? Please tell me. If anything it would be more economical for the average punter because the tyres would last longer. That's right, you go around all the manufacturers and tell them next year's bike has to have 2 shocks and see how far you get.

I get what you're saying, but did you see the sections in belgium? Some had 20 yard run ups, that has nothing to do with not enforcing no stop I said changing the tyres is the 'easiest'.

The whole idea is you wouldn't be facing the same decision. It would be either ride up a 10 ft step with a good tyre, or a 6 ft step with a not so good tyre. Same difficulty, different level of danger Lots of sports introduce rules over the years to limit speed and danger, trials hasn't. Im just saying limiting the tyre is the easiest way. How would you suggest to lower the danger?

In regards to the OP, seeing fuji still compete at a high level at 40 must mean Bou could do the same without serious injury and i don't see any of the current generation ever being able to reach his current ability

They have to bring the whole level down a few notches regardless of stop/nostop and the only way to do that is limit the bikes, and the simplest way to do that is to decrease the performance of the tyre. Either back to 4 ply or change the knob pattern. But oh no, you'll have a certain bunch of people who demand that trials should forever increase in difficulty so that they can watch Bou go up steeper and steeper stuff while the entries go lower and lower.

You talk as if trials is some sort of lucrative sport that 100s of new age high tech companies are just busting the gut to enter. Look at the TTzero, its a bunch of universities with their bits and bobs bikes as you call them and the road bike market is a 1000 times larger than trials. You take who wants to enter. How can they attract new companies when the only manufacturer of a reasonably priced expert level trials bike doesn't even want to compete. EM is the world's premier electric trials bike manufacturer and seller, so not having them there really discredits the class. Having 10 expert level riders (or 20 clubmen lol) all on EM type bikes would be more valuable for the class than 2 top level riders on 2 machines that no one can realistically compete with

No, Toni competes in a class that has been established for over forty years and is the pinnacle of the sport. Cabestany is competing in a class that is 2 years old with very limited numbers. Theres 2 ways you can look at it i guess, one being that having a world class rider there adds value to the class and attracts more people, but IMO if you want a class to grow it needs to be reasonably competitive for the people thinking of riding it. Having Cabestany there does not make it competitive for the amateur. The class is only 2 years old and its already beyond most peoples reach

I thought it was a great metaphor! As for the E world champs, its a bit embarrassing. Kinda the same as the TT zero. That Yamaha is sickening. In a bad way. Surely there has to be some sort of homologation or production rules. Having cabestany there totally ruins it too IMO, how are smaller manufacturers supposed to compete against that. You have to gain interest at the start, make it a level playing field, keep budgets low, keep away riders that are capable of a top 5 in the WTC series. Kuroyama and Gubian are the maximum level of rider you want, not better, preferably lower. Realistically their entries will be coming from the lesser level rider, a total privateer on a standard EM or something similar. Putting them in the same class as that yamaha and albert is a joke. The TT zero went the same way, mugen killed the class! Biggest budget by a long way, and then they go and put mcguinness on it. Keep it simple, low level. Then when the numbers have grown, then you can make it ultra competitive. They are killing the class before it even has a chance to live. I could go on a whole other rant about Bous honda and production rules, but that's for another day

Depends if you want to wear knee protection. Out of the wrapper, trials trousers will have more padding than mx trousers, but if you're the kinda guy who wants to wear plastic or any form of knee pads as an extra then you will have to go mx, as there's no real room under trials trousers.

Once on a sherco I fitted bearings and actually knocked them in too hard with the spacer being marginally too long. This meant the spacer was pushing the inners races outwards. If I tried to turn one bearing both turned and they were both tight. This obviously wouldn't have helped their lifespan. I ended up taking a bit off the spacer and refitted. If the spacer isnt exactly the right length, whether it's too long or too short then axially loads are being introduced. Do you clean out the bearing seats to make sure there is no corrosion or dirt holding out the new bearings. Do you check the spacer is tight between the bearings but the bearings aren't pinched? I know a guy who installed bearings without the spacer and they didn't last a day so it has a large effect. When was hub design changed to accomodate bearing spacers?

100%. Most trials riders will go to the ends of the earth to dishonestly convince the observer that it was a clean. Once i rode a trial that they couldn't get enough observers so they left punches at the end cards for riders to mark themselves. There was so many riders on clean at the end it was ridiculous!

Don't worry, parliamentary diplomacy is something we understand this side of the water

This is a world championship! Theres 3 observers within 20 yards. I don't get away with as much in a full season of riding local summer trials!!

But he won't be able to say that he restored it! Too many guys around claiming they restored old bikes when all they did was bolt on things made or painted by other people. Do it yourself is what i say, much more satisfying, and sometimes because you take the extra care, can be better than what some so called professional does because he couldn't care less about your bike.

Its so obviously a 1 nevermind a 5 its painful! Where's the COC or officials or FIM delegate that follows all the good riders around?! Surely they should intervene here and overrule or perhaps tell the observer what he missed. Skip to 15.50 in the vid below to see another pretty obvious 5, but gets away with another clean. Yes its great riding, but he's goes back at least a foot

wow

Loris doesn't seem too happy at being dropped with no warning. Bit unfair seeing he is the reigning world champ and a lot more loyal to GG over the years than cabes ever was

Your logic is definitely flawed here. The factory wants to sell as many bikes as possible. There could be a few reasons the UK has them preferentially before the US. The fact any dealer whether they are in america or is is not able to obtain bikes is most likely due to production limits

They also pulled support from their factory enduro team. Ive thought for few years their enduro exploits must be very expensive, and possibly one of the main causes for their troubles. Development costs are probably higher than trials (with a bike largely unchanged since 2002 lol) yet their market share is a lot less in enduro as what they have in trials