tomsdad

It's a while since my lads were 6 years old, but I do remember buying an MX helmet at the Dirt Bike Show. The mouth guard could be removed, thus transforming it into an open face helmet. About

As stated, you will need an ACU licence which is straightforward and simple to get. Many trials are not just aimed at youth riders, so don't limit yourself to just youth events. Most club trials will have several routes through each section, you can pick the degree of difficulty you feel suits your abilities. Providing there is no road work the secretary will welcome your entry. As you are about to be 13 you will be in youth B class, you'll be in this class for 2009 & 2010. The ACU limit you to a 125 until you are out of youth trials, which will not be until 2013, so plenty of time to hone your skills. The obsticals you ride through/over are no different in youth events to adult ones. Many of the youth competitors put the adults to shame, it's not about age, it's about ability. If you're good enough, you're old enough. Start on the easy route and go from there. Have fun. P.S. What area are you in ?

125, or as I understand it he will not be insured at any ACU event. No 125, no ride.

Got to be the Beta 80 for my money. We've had two over the last 3 years, an 05 and then an 07. Nice and light, suspension fine for the average 5 - 8 stone youth rider, plenty of go from right off the bottom to screaming for mercy at the top and virtualy unbreakable. Put some decent bars on it and cut them to size. Remove all the bolts from the plastics and replace with cable ties. Locktite a few bolts that like to come loose. Stick an IRC on the back. Fill with petrol and watch him enjoy himself. Good luck. Mike.

Front wheel about 5 - 6 psi. However when my lad had a Gas Gas Boy the front wheel was very rarely on the ground, so not as critical !!!! Scruteneering varies from club to club. Bigger sprocket on the back and wind the tickover up so you have to use the brakes to stop the bike edging forwrd. Stops the time lag on the auto when the rider goes for the throttle. Brilliant bike to learn on. Mike.

Try and get there nice an early, at least an hour before the event is due to start. Get signed on (easiest route) Then while it's not too busy go and have a look at some of the sections on foot. When the trial starts it can get a bit chaotic in the first few sections with everyone trying to look at them, so a little look in advance while it's still quiet will give both of you the chance see what you've let yourselves in for. When the trial starts he may not want his dad fussing about with him, while all the other young lads are in there on thier own, so a bit of advanced teamwork can help you both. Back to the bike, fill it with fuel and let the back tyre down to between 1 & 2psi. Rucksack on with previously mentioned essentials and go and enjoy. You're off on a fantastic journey, enjoy every minute.

Hi There Welcome to the North West of England There may be a chance to get out on your bike this weekend. The Winsford club are running a practice day at the Alvenley trials ground near Frodsham this Saturday, the 1st of December. I believe the charge will be

Hi there. Gas Gas pretty good. You could also consider the Beta Rev 80. A little lighter, softer suspension and brilliant engine. Plenty of both available on the second hand market. Good luck. Mike.

An excellent venue that gives everyone a good ride round. Three routes through every section and a team of section plotters who seem to judge the level of severity to a tee. Riders from 10 years old to sprightly pensioners. Old TY Yams to the latest '08 kit. The Macc trials always put a smile on my lads faces. 139 RIDERS and the results out before midnight. On sunday all us observers got given a mars bar, next month we better have a torch as well!!

Burycliffe is near Elton in Derbyshire, about 6 miles west of Matlock. Closer to you than Hawks Nest, but not that close. How about Metheringham Quarry ? 10 miles south east of Lincoln. Or Bracken Rocks near Matlock Bath.

Hi There Your eldest lad will be in C class in 2008 & 2009. Your youngest lad will be in D class in 2008 & 2009. The TY80 will be fine in D class no problem. The lads in C class may only be aloud a max of 80 cc, but these bikes are far cry from the TY80. Full size wheels, suspension and brakes as good as your Beta and more power than 3 TY80s strapped together !!!! In this company the TY80 may be slight handicap. However up here a TY80 on the white route would be fine whatever the age of the child. Enjoy it, they grow up fast. Mike.

Just been on the Mansfield Maun web site. 10 entries in A class and 30 in B class. List of riders with start times, first man off at 10 a.m. Says they will take entries on the day due to problems with the post. No mention of number of sections or laps but does say time limit 4 1/2 hours. Let's hope the weather plays ball.

My lads have ridden several Youth nationals run at Lowe North Park over the past 5 years and more than one Youth Two Day Trial. Every one has been a pleasure to attend. The organisation is spot on, the variety of sections is supurb, the level of difficulty is always just right and the kids have a whale of a time. Reading some of the other threads on here it appears that the Youth A & B dates have been an almighty cock up for 2008. With all the other events now in the calender for 2008, it would seem that the A & B Nationals are going to have to be squeezed in as an after thought, rather than taking their correct position in the pecking order. If the Scarborough club becomes an innocent victim of a blunder by the ACU then your frustration is quite justified. Let's hope that you do get the dates you need and we can enjoy another trip to Lowe North Park in 2008. Mike.

Having had 3 fans fail in the first few months of ownership, I gave up, removed the fan and it ran without any cooling problems for the next 2 years. Always carried a bottle of water in the bum bag though !!!! Without the fan to worry about, I only had to pray that the electrics would keep working. Mike.

Hi There I would second Steve's comments above. It depends how big/old your lad is. Whilst the Cadet looks a lovely bike it could be a sideways move for the lad. Give him a try on a Beta80, he'll love it !!! Good luck. Mike.

Hi RockDan Truely impressed that a 10 year old is thinking about maintainance. Just a small point to bear in mind, the ACU says that until you are 12 you are limited to an 80cc in all trials competitions. For practice your 125 is fine but until you get into youth B class (for 2007, born in 1992, 1993 & 1994) you can't compete on a 125. Good luck. Mike

Sympathies extended Alan. We came down to the C & D trial earlier in the year. A good 'social' the night before at the campsite, a well organised event and home by midnight on the Sunday. A cracking weekend. Maybe this time you were a victim of circumstances. Timing, geography and comitment. I would say that perhaps 10 riders in each class (A & will do all the rounds come what may. I wish we could be one of them but other things get in the way. WE do not have the comitment. Many of your potential riders were at the Inter Centre the previous weekend in Devon. So if you live north of Manchester, two long drives on consecutive weekends might be a big ask. Unfortunate timing. If the last 2 rounds in the Championship get ten of top 15 in each class and then all the lads/lasses living within 100 miles who think they might score a Championship point enter, there will be an entry of well over 80 riders. Purely geographical. I understand that every time you enter a trial you overcome all of the above. I'm sure you're doing nothing 'wrong' but your location, other peoples comitment and iffy timing are not helping you. Keep going. Mike.

My two lads rode in the Scarborough Youth Two Day Trial recently. (Brilliant event). The club used the F.I.M. rules (stop aloud). I observerved on the first day and these rules made my job much easier than the normal one mark for a stop system. It removed the "was that a stop or not situation". The riders knew the score and a lot of pressure was removed by the use of these rules. Most weekends I observe where my lads are riding and we all have our own interpretation of how to mark a riders effort. The F.I.M. rules may not be everyones cup of tea, but at least they remove ONE variable from the scenario. I appreciate NO STOP could have the same effect, but it would still be down to the judgement of the observer. Good topic lads. Mike.

Just got the tape measure out. My lad is 4ft 7ins and 33kg & 12 years old in November. The suspension on the Rev80 is spot on for his size and with the bars cut down the bike fits a treat. His Gas Gas Boy was good but the Beta is better. Good luck. Mike.

I believe young Thomas Minta has been on a Beta 50 for several months. Certainly in the Nationals. My lad went from the Gas Gas 50 Boy to the Beta Rev80. He is 11 now and has been riding the 80 for over 2 years. Depends on the childs size I think. The Rev80 is a brilliant bike that will embaress many adult riders with the right pilot on board. Our problem is the thought of going to the 125 at the end of this year. Youth B class on an 80 doesn't sound good but the 125s seem sooooo heavy. Any thoughts ? Mike.

Historicly, during the last 20 years we have had two dominant riders, Jordi Tarras & Dougie Lampkin. They both started their reigns in their early twenties. If Bou is to continue this trend, then his challenger will be 13 or 14 years old right now and unknown to most of us. Several brilliant riders were just born at the wrong time. Colomer, Fuji, Jarvis. Without the above 2 riders these three would surely have had more success. Lets hope for our young riders, (Brown, Dibs, Wiggy, Haslam, Danby etc.........) history does not repeat itself.

Hi there. I believe the Adult Novice ride the Youth C class sections. At the last YMSA trial Benny Ayres rode this route and dropped 40 odd marks and he looks bl**dy good to me !! The 3 day is a great event, supurbly organised with 3 top venues. Give it a go. Mike

Great feedback lads and a good mixture of opinions, allthough probably leaning towards, move the rock. To finish the story.............. Most riders had done two laps of a 4 lap trial. I was the unfortunate observer AND my lad was riding the yellow route. (And I thought I was going to have a relaxed Sunday, after the previous days Youth C & D British Championship) And just for good measure it had now started to pi** with rain. I had a dilemma. My instant reaction along with an expert rider and the father of another expert rider was to shift the rock clear of the section. Common sense rather than the rule book was the FIRST thing that came to our minds. Three of us had shifted the rock to a safe place when the COC brought to our attention the rule that Big John quite rightly quotes. Upon being TOLD the error of our ways, said rock was retuned to where it had fallen. I had been trumped to use a card playing analogy. The threat of exclusion for our lads by the COC was not really an issue, it being a "relaxed" club trial. The trial continued. The rock was not dangerous, just difficult. , Duing the next 2 laps several of the riders on the yelow route asked for 5s and most either got a five or had to paddle their way through for a 3. The good ones, lifted the front wheel onto the rock (having just negociated their way round a tree), blipped the throttle so the sump would clear the rock, got round the following tight turn and still cleaned the section. God I wish I was that good . I still don't know what we should have done, the COC has the final word and while 90% of the yellow route may well of disagreed with him, he was correct to the letter of the law. I think Bikespace summed it up perfectly and I wish I had his eloquence. Me? Oberseve again. Not bl**dy likely. I'll stick to the Nationals, they're a lot less bother. Mike

Here's one for all you experts (rules) out there. In a recent multi route trial, at one section the yellow (novice) route crossed the red/blue (expert) route at right angles. Half way through the trial a red/blue route rider, rides the section and dislodges a rock the size of a wide screen old style T.V. right into and across the yellow route, but not on the experts line. Whilst some of the novices will be able to hop over the rock the vast majority will come to grinding halt. Question. Do you leave it where it is or move it clear of the section ? Leave it because that's the luck of the draw. Move it because it's a bit harsh on the yellow route boys. I await your verdict gentelmen. Mike.

Hi There I would agree that the Cadet is a cracking looking little bike. Wish it had been around 3/4 years ago when my lad was in D class. In the end I think it comes down to size and ability. My 11 year old is 140 cm tall and handles his Beta Rev80 quite nicely, although he's been riding one for nearly 3 years. Less than 140 cms and just learning I'd go for the Gas Gas. Otherwise it has to be the Beta. Good luck. Mike