tomsdad

I've got the LWB Vivaro double cab Sportive Got it 18 months ago after 8 years with a LWB Sprinter 30,000 miles later I'm glad I downsized We get two bikes in no problem (nine pushbikes on holiday last year!!) Mine is 100% factory standard Not sure about 3 bikes without resorting to removing wheels Hope this helps Mike

That's how I read it. Does that mean a lad just off an 80cc bike, fresh out of C class, (who would in the past have spent the next 3 years riding B class sections) now jumps straight to A class sections if he wants to be 'in the Championship'? Break out the bandages !!!

Your lady may find a 125 just right. My 14 year old is 5' 2" and 6.5 stone. He has no problems riding or starting his 2010 Gas Gas. The bike feels very light and the throttle response at low revs is quite docile, however, wind it up and it flys !!! I would say the same about all the Gas Gas 125's we've had since 2004. This latest version is the best so far though. Good luck.

I remember my two lads doing a Richmond C & D National in 2003. It was a boiling hot day and a Yorkshire sized lap !!! The start/van/petrol/spares/punchcard swapover was at the top of a massive hill, which, by the fourth lap was of Everest like proportions. I remember being so knackered, I couldn't drive home, so I called in on my cousin near Hawes and crashed out for the night. I think my youngest was 3rd but I never made it to the presentation, as I was flaked out in the van! Happy days.

Bought a pair of Diadora Stone 3's for my son (17) 14 months ago from Kelcoat in Leek. Been worn nearly every weekend since and still look great. Leather very tough, hardly marked. Soles worn, but to me that just shows how good the uppers are. He says they're very comfy as well. Highly recommended. Mike.

Back to the origional suggestion. I know this will get shot down but what the heck. How about a team of 3 entering under one riding number, three bikes or one it makes no difference they all have the same number. Each person rides for two days, minds/pit crews/acts as goffer for two days and observers for two days. For those that like a bit of action/rest/involvement in their weeks holiday it might be quite appealing. Needs refining, but it's a start. Fire away !!!!

Wanted to wait and see where the rounds are next year before contributing to the thread. On first glance I thought the venues seemed fairly well spread, but being rather sad and having a spare few minutes, I decided to use my friend Google and do a mileage check. I used a parent/rider living between York and Lancaster (The North) and a parent/rider living between Bristol and London (The South). I appreciate these places are not on the extremities of the UK, but they are generally accepted as a reasonable North/South divide. Over the 7 rounds, our parent from the North will clock up 2470 miles, whereas our friend from the South will do 2888 miles. Interestingly if you ignore the last round in Scotland they would both do exactly the same mileage over the previous 6 rounds. OK the Southerners come off worst, but 500 miles is a tank of fuel in my Sprinter/

At that age and with the value of hindsight, I'd go for the Beta 80. Full size wheels/tyres means plenty grip and tyre choice, but smaller frame cycle parts means easy control and lightweight. Suspension will suit the smaller riders, while the 125 is fine if you're 9st plus. Bulletproof engine will take a huge thrashing and return for more of the same. They have been on the market since 2003 so there should be a good few in the classifieds. My lad is 13 now, still only 5 stone (suspension issues) and quite small but has moved onto a 125 Gas Gas. He had two Beta 80's during 2005 - 2007 and loved them both. The small bikes are good if he is particulaly little and lacks confidence, but I believe at that age they learn very quickly and with the Beta 80 he will still be looking for it's limits 3 years from now. Good luck.

What a BRILLIANT event! The atmosphere as riders left the start area was quite special, apprehension, excitement and anticipation of what lay ahead. All the riders I saw gave it 100% from begining to end. They were ALL fantastic. My eldest lad was disappointed that an observer had missed him on the first lap, however he's already looking forward to entering the Scott next year. The first words my 13 year old uttered to me when I found him at the finish were, "we ARE doing this trial again next year". Thanks, to the Richmond Club. A proper good do!!

We currently have an 07 beta 125 and an 07 Gas Gas 125. The Beta is the heavier of the two but as the rider is 5ft 10 and 10 stone it makes little difference to him and he likes it. Whilst the Gas Gas feels much lighter, which suits my smaller son it has proved to be just as reliable as the Beta and my 13 year old would rather walk than ride his brothers bike !!!!!!!!! Having had two Beta 80's, which I thought were brilliant bikes, either of the above will feel much much heavier and bigger but big smiles with the extra power. Try them all is the best advice. As we've never had a Sherco I can't comment on them. Good luck. Mike.

Hi There. How old is he and what size (height & weight) is he ? Mike

My cousin had the same dilema with his daughter a couple of years ago, she had never been on a motorbike but had seen my boys and her Dad enjoying themselves and fancied a bike. My youngest (then 11) had a Beta 80 at the time which I thought would be an ideal starter bike. Very light, bombproof engine, not too much power, slow action throttle, extra flywheel weight and featherweight clutch. Whilst she did ride it round the field a few times you could see she was scared of it and found standing up not at all natural. Shortly after this he got her a Yamaha PW80, which she loves. Gears, 2 or 3 but no clutch and a big comfy seat. Have you got a bike ? If so I would let her have go on that, if she seems happy and confident with the controls then a 125 would be ideal. Gas Gas would be my choice but condition is probably more important than make. Good luck. Mike

Think the Youth 2 day in August runs all 4 classes (ABCD) over both days. It is probably one of the best Youth trials of the year. Brilliant venue, huge camping area, great social and organisers who know exactly what is needed. There are 4 routes, so each class is catered for. The British Championship Youth National in September (at the same venue) is usually run, C & D Saturday and A & B Sunday. A great opportunity for the young ones to compete on the Saturday, stay over, and watch the bigger lads on the Sunday. Two chances to enjoy the Harwood Dale hospitality !!! Mike.

We did the South Shrops round a couple of years ago. Seem to remember it was a very good trial. The COC was in touch with the abilities of the riders and set a varied and fair test. Don't know which venue they will use this time, but then it was quite a hike round. Probably made worse by the copious amounts of wine drank the night before !!!! You will need to enter in advance (see TMX for regs) with 2 SAE's. About a week before the event you will recieve a programme which will detail the days timings. Each rider has a set start time and an overall time limit for the event, say 5 1/2 hours. The day will fly by, so take what you think you may need in a rucksack as walking a mile back to the van for a spare lever is as frustrating as it is knackering. Rules are fairly obvious, one difference to a club trial is the only people allowed in the sections are supposed to be the riders, so don't be surprised if an observer tells you to get out of the section. You are allowed to assist once a 5 has been given. Enjoy yourselves. Mike.

Back to the origional question. As far as I know there are only two routes. C Class and D Class. Severity wise it's hard to say. How long is a piece of string ? At that young age size and ability seem to vary by an enormous amount. The Cadet looks a brilliant bike, my two had to put up with a TY80 and a Gas Gas Boy, they coped ok and had a great time. So there's only one thing to do, get that entry in the post, book the accommodation and go !!!! It's the only way to find out. Good luck. Mike.

As a section setter and observer I have often wondered about the reality of this rule. Whilst marking out I try to put myself into the position of the sneakyest rider and place the flags accordingly. As an observer, once I get to the section I walk each route to try and spot any possible areas for rule bending. I try to imagine what the course plotters had intended. As the riders arrive on thier first lap I find there is always some good natured banter. I let them know where the boundries of the section are BEFORE they ask !!!! Providing you are not asking them to do the impossible and mearly go where the COC intended then they can't really argue. It usually works quite well.

One for the panel. As an observer, I sholud like to have the opinions of others on the scenario below. Rider (often the better ones) gets well off line in a section and puts a foot down. Said rider then spends several moments hauling the bike through 90 degrees and lifting the machine to their favoured position whilst trying to keep their foot in contact with the ground. By the time they set off again their foot has moved through 120 dgrees and is a good 6 - 12 inches from where it origionaly touched the ground. I'm sure the rider will feel he has lost one mark, (new rules) but is that right. I find this applies more to the better riders as they are more likely to go on and clean the rest of the section. Where as the less able will cotinue to foot their way out of the section, thus getting a 3 and the question doesn't raise it's head. I try to mark as I see but sometimes what you see isn't that straightforward. Any comments ?

Beta 80, no contest. Brilliant bikes and perfect for a lad of his size. We've had two of them and despite my sons best efforts, when I sold them they still had plenty of life left in them. For trials run under the ACU rules, youth riders can not ride a 125 untill they are 11/12 years old. For youth C class 2009 (born 1997, 1998, 1999) 80cc is the max they can ride. The Gas Gas 125 is a great bike (we have one now) but not for an 8 year old. Good luck.

As an observer, I prefer the new rules. I know people champion the no stop rule, but having observed at several NO STOP trials last year, I still found that there was some flexability expected by the riders in the interpretation of what a stop was. However, having observed at 3 trials under the new rules I can see problems arrising. Where the entry is made up of 90% no hop riders, I'm not sure queuing/tighter sections will be an issue and no problems arose. However, at something like an A & B Youth National or an adult National I can see tempers fraying as riders/parents try and push their way to front of a lenghthening queue. Even last weekend I felt that the riders who cleaned my section non stop deserved a better mark than those who made a mistake, stopped, corrected it and then carried on to 'clean' the section. Which ever system, I'll be out again this weekend, watching the various attempts at my section and enjoying the banter with the competitors. How about a -1 mark for a no stop clean ?

Should be easier for us observers. No more, did he stop or didn't he, or how long are you allowed to stop before you lose a mark. Good in theory. On the down side, I could run out of hands. One for the observers board, one for the pen, one for the brolly and now one for the stop watch !!!!!!!!!! Which leaves no hands for the mug of tea and the Mars bar. I don't want to think about time limits and who's responsible for telling the rider when the're about to run out. If the're in the section that long I'll charge them rent!!!!!!!!

Long time ago, during the late seventies, I was taking my bike test on a Honda TL 125. Part of the test then, involved riding alongside the examiner whilst he walked slowly along the pavement. As a poorly prepared youth, my Honda was not realy very suitable for road riding, both the front levers were very awkward to reach whilst sitting down and steering wasn't a strong point. I asked the examiner if I could stand up for this part of the test. Rather taken aback, he grunted his approval and I crawled along the road next to him in perfect control !!!! As I duly passed the test, I can only assume that at the time this was not seen as "against the rules". Dozens of bikes later, I wish I still had that old Honda. God knows why, it wasn't much good at anything but it provided hours of harmless entertainment in our local woods. Happy days.

Looking at the Scottish ACU fixtures last week, there was a Youth National penciled in for May 3rd near Fort William, (Glen Nevis). It would seem to have been deleated from the fixtures this week. Shame, it would have been a good exscuse to go up for a couple of days spectating at the SSDT. Any other dates/venues ?

Hi there I had this problem with my sons '07 bike about 12 months ago. Tried all the obvious stuff. Turned out to be the head gasket. Got one from Lampkins, fitted it and it's been good as gold ever since. Worth a look. Good luck. Mike.

Hi There and welcome. Unless you are about to do an Adult British Championship event you will find a newish 125 has plenty of power. If in doubt, go to a youth A & B round to see what they can do if the pilot is good enough !! Bearing in mind your buget you will be looking at a pretty tidy '07 bike from any of the main manufacturers. They're all good but different, so try them all and take your pick. Good luck.

Try them all and then decide. My 16 year old (10 stone) has an '07 Beta 125 and loves it. Plush, planted and 100%reliable. My 12 year old (5 stone) has an '07 Gas Gas 125 and loves it. Bicycle like weight, revs to the moon and also 100% reliable. Both prefere their own bikes and whilst they have tried the Shercos they have never wanted one. They're all good, so get the one you fancy.