dan williams

KTM doesn't need to buy the GasGas name for brand recognition. They will probably sell more bikes to KTM enduro and MX riders as cross trainers than GasGas sold to pure trials riders. This has the potential to be great for the sport.

True, we know how to use an apostrophe. Well some of us do. OK, I do. Dabster, You must have gone to the Jeremy Clarkson school of " 'murican " hating.

Used to be the same way with the sound check. Stuff steel wool into the pipe, ride gingerly to tech, ride back at full throttle to blow out steel wool.

When you think about it it is really ironic. The whole logic for weight rules were to prevent the factories from buiding one of a kind machines with exotic materials that provided an advantage over the production bikes. Now the production bikes from "most" manufacturers are below the weight limits and will stay that way because that is what the customers will buy. All except for Honda. When a rule is put in place to protect the interests of one rider or manufacturer it's a bad rule.

Yeah it is a silly rule but one Honda can live with. The other way to control hyper trick factory bikes is with a claiming rule and the factories are a lot less happy with that idea.

Yeah so in summary, welcome to the sport.

I couldn't find FIM tech procedures for trials but the AMA/FIM Motocross procedures say fuel must be drained.

Odds are good your bike is OK as is unless it's loaded with titanium widgets. Weigh it and see. Data from the factories is notoriously optimistic.

I don't know about the ACU license but trials people are friendly as a rule and will take the time needed for a newby to get acclimated. You could go to a local event and just spectate just to get a feel for what's involved and what the social dynamic is. It really is low pressure compared to other competitions. Once you're in the section it's just you and the bike and the rocks so hyper focus might be a bonus. It's good exercise mentally and physically.

Good find. "Beat it to fit. Paint it to match."

No one ever seems to point out the obvious. A country's economy is based on two things, raw resources and value added through manufacturing or services like Switzerland, er...."servicing" the financial industry. Most of the industrialized economy's in the west have offshored so much of their manufacturing to the far east they have now lost a significant portion of the wealth generating capability. Cheaper manufacturing means cheaper goods which seems like a boon until you burn through the residual money you had and then realize you can't afford even the cheaper goods. I was listening to the radio tonight and someone was saying, "What they have to do is give people jobs." Seems like a pretty oblivious statement. You don't just give people jobs unless you have the demand for what they will produce. With governments propping up social systems and giving money away this is a golden opportunity to rebuild infrastructure. If a large percentage of your population is on the dole why are the roads and bridges falling apart? There's a large untapped work force that you're already paying. That is what was done in the 1920s to get the US out of the great depression. Unfortunately much of the current infrastructure still dates back to that time and it is failing at an alarming rate. As Renton says in Train Spotting, "It's a ***** state of affairs Tommy and all the fresh air in the world isn't going to make a bit of difference." As far as the whole wealth redistribution idea it is flawed. Money less of a thing and more of a concept. People who have a lot of it don't have it stuffed in a mattress. They invest it looking for a return. The key is getting them to invest it in your little part of the world. Tell them you are going to take it away from them and they'll just move it somewhere else.

I may be a long time Beta guy but damn those Shercos are good looking bikes.

Despite what I said before I'm still giving serious consideration to buying one. The motor development seems to be right on and batteries are much better now than just a few years ago. I'd just like to see a few more manufacturers get into the game.

It is a fallacy that there are no emissions. The power has to come from somewhere. That's why I'm so entertained by the electric car fanboys who don't realize that when the majority of cars are pure electric the grid won't be able to handle it and require major upgrades. The same way diesel fuel was cheap until there was enough demand from diesel cars to drive the price up. As far as noise goes I firmly believe it won't have the major effect on land access it is touted to have. On the occasion I've had to deal with those opposed to ORV use noise is always the trump card but when you drill down through the layers you find it is about control. Around here the state forests are ringed with commercial stables. Since they've banned motorbikes from every forest they've moved on to mountain bikes because they cause erosion and scare the horses.

Oh yeah, WELCOME!

Trials suspensions are super soft so it's common for newbys to think they are sacked out. Having said that they are also usually setup for little skinny guys. You can adjust up the preload of the front forks and rear shock. There is an Allen head socket on the top of one fork cap that adjusts preload and a couple of toothed rings on the shock body for adjusting shock preload. The flat blade screw on the other fork is the rebound damping adjuster and the shock has a 7 or 8mm (I don't remember) acorn nut kinda thing on the side of the shock body for damping. Do not back either of these all the way out. Adjust by turning fully clockwise counting the clicks until it stops and backing out no more than 31 if I remember correctly. Clockwise is more damping. If you are like most you'll fiddle with these for a while then set them back to 15 clicks and never look at them again. Steve Saunders sells heavier springs for front and rear. I have a set on my EVO but then I'm a lard ass.

His website needs a lot of work. When you bring it up on an iPhone it looks blank until you scroll down. Also doesn't seem to have contact information. Common mistakes when you don't check the formatting on multiple platforms.

There is a TINY hole in the bottom of the bore in line with the needle jet that sometimes gets plugged by water. Usually twice a year I disassemble my carb, including the stack in the float bowl that is held on with T20 security screws, and blow out all the passages. I agree it sounds like your jet assembly is put together a bit wrong. I think the main jet holder is supposed to hold the needle jet in place from the bottom. The PWK Keihin is quite a good carb but like any of them, get one bit a little out of place and the bike will run but run lousy.

Did you clean it out with compressed air. The Keihin has a tendency to get a water bubble in the tiny bleed hole in the throttle body. The only way to clear it is with compressed air. The vent tube is at an angle which makes putting the float bowl on a pain. The technique is to slide it on while holding the carb upside down. By needle seat do you mean the needle jet?

Great. It makes a load of difference at novice level. You can now feather the clutch and work throttle and clutch against back brake for really fine control. That's where the lower preload on the springs pays off in less fatigue at the end of the day. It may slip a little in sixth but nobody is scoring you when you're in sixth.

I feel like I just watched a documentary on the Canadian Civil War. Sorry but it is rather entertaining. Apology for being rude. Rudeness. Apology for upcoming insult. Mild insult. Apology for angry tone. Have a nice day. Canadians are so nice.

There are probably some ATAQ guys who would know what was happening and who to talk to in Montreal and possibly Ottawa. I'm not sure if Hugo Piche is still running the website but he's probably one to talk to. http://www.ataq.qc.ca/forum/portal.php Real good guys up there in Quebec. They're fond of nasty slippery events.

Hi Al, I've got a couple spare fibers in the garage I could send you one. Are you in the states?

Well we don't really need stands in New England since the trees are 6" apart. Throwing a bike on the ground intentionally is against my nature.

You lucky *******!