collyolly

348 was a Montesa before Honda were involved, later 349's were when Honda got involved if I remember correctly. Get some more information or a photo of the parts for a better idea as to its age.

Why run the pressure so low ? IRC tires have very soft side walls, although I suppose if it's going to come off a pound or two won't make any difference.

I browse on an iPad and it is not that obvious how it is posted it is just 'New Bike' in the left hand column of the front page, and my eyesight is not what it was and I am a computor fobe !

Right, just seen how the post has been listed, so it's the TRS range. I tried both the standard 300 and the 250 at a test session and both were fabulous, I would say very close in feel to my Gasgas 300 in terms of ride. The power of the 250 was plenty enough but the 300 was similar in smoothness to the gasgas. If they make a 125 that feels as good I think it would sell well.

Is it just me or is it a secret what make of bike your all talking about ? I think Montesa, TRS and possibly Gasgas have an R in their lineup but only the gasgas has a 125. Yours confused

I would suggest these sections are only on for current expert riders on their mono bikes, videos always compress / simplify the terrain, these sections are far harder than they look and you are watching the equivalent of current world class riders ! Not a single finger on a clutch lever and proper no stop riding, none of this ' I only went back an inch ' malarkey ! Good to see but probably never to be repeated.

Mine was made back in the 80's by Jim Susans.

Why not ask Oset ?

I have got an Avery products tank and it works fine. Considering all these bikes are different the things to consider are how are you going to mount it, this needs some adjustability, I have a moveable stud which clamps to the top frame tube and allows movement back and forth, I have foam padding that sits over the top tube to adjust the height over the engine. Looking from above, one side is longer than the other and it is obviously hand made but it is a period 'Trials bike' and only I look that closely Considering I put a nasty dent into it at a Kia round when it was only about 6 months on the bike, I think I made the right choice going with the cheaper product, I would rate it 100% better than the previous fibre glass Sammy Miller tank as that fell apart after an impact and was probably affected by fuel.

For the novice rider needing to learn clutch and throttle control this bike is all you need, as has been said above stick a better set of tires on it once you feel the existing ones are holding you back. The performance of the GasGas is not going to be streached by someone new to trials, you need to get the basics of machine control and line selection through a section right before you start worrying about fully adjustable suspension We have seen plenty of new riders join the sport over the years with top spec bikes only to become disappointed when they get thrashed on the easy route by the pensioners, don't forget the pensioners have probably been riding for decades and that is what cannot be short cut. I would go for the 2T option over the 4RT, around my part of the world ( muddy south east England) not many are ridden above novice level, they may be low on maintainance but in general the vast majority of harder course riders are on 2T !

I think we also have to consider how a clutch is used today, back in the Bultaco era it was used to engage drive at the beginning of the section and then not used again until you needed to stop ! Just look at any photo taken in the seventies of any of the professional riders and you probably will not see a finger on the clutch lever, today of course the exact opposite is the case so the clutch has become an important part. I run a modern NEB speedway clutch with reduced springs in my pre 65 bike and it is as light as any modern one just because the sections are so tight these days you have to ride 'modern style' !

I wish I had entered, I looked up the Normandy website on Monday evening to try and get squeezed in only to find the event cancelled. I don't know how many entries you got but rather than cancel you could have posted on here about the shortage of riders and extended the close date by a couple of days, that may have got a positive response. Regarding entering in advance, I have to agree with the club, it is a lot of work setting a trial, I ran a charity weekend event last year without advance entries and only half a dozen riders turned up on the Saturday, I would rather have been at home with my family and I won't be doing it again ! how do you run a proper observed trial without pre entry ? As for the venue, I think it is fabulous, some proper hill climbs if used and the grip appears amazing even in the wet. But after discussing it with some of my normal riding mates it would appear just too far to go, but with the loss of the MOD land we may have to get used to travelling a bit further down here in South East England, you get used to only going an hour to an event.

Why not try bump starting ? Make sure the throttle is shutting, check your kill switch works then select 4th gear and get a mate to push like mad, dump the clutch and you may find the engine spinning over fast enough to start. also spray a bit of 'easy start' into the air box (need to remove the seat/rear mudguard ) but looks like you already know that. good luck

Thanks for showing the Jordi clip, just goes to prove you do not need the latest bit of technology just bucket loads of ability and of course endless practice.

I do not understand this fixation with classes, just ride it on the course that you feel comfortable with as a modern bike. I can't see an expert or intermediate trying to ride it on the hard routes, but it would be perfect for a novice or clubman, very light and nimble and in my eyes would not 'overbike' the rider as many bigger bikes do. In our centre we seem to have had a dramatic reduction in school person riders, is this due to the ACU ruling regarding engine size ? I started age 12 on a Montesa 250 they are not allowed this anymore, perhaps we need more entry level bikes at a sensible price, if these engines can be purchased for £180 then surely a budget bike in kit form could be built. See the Otter web site for another angle on it and yes to comply it would have to be 125cc !

The bottom of the frame has possibly been modified to replicate the later model, perhaps you could try and get the frame and engine numbers dated.

Be interested to know when you last rode a bike in a trial, they are set out so tight these days that the modern way of riding the clutch gives the best result. 24 or 26 to 1 rings a bell for the 1st gear ratio ( crank to rear wheel rotation ratio) a starting point for your guidance anyway, I have progressively geared mine up as the use of the clutch permits control in turns and still gives a long gear for the rest of the section. I also have the Mick Ash gear set and my top gear is perfect for the road, maybe a little high for 'through the woods'

2 of my bikes are on 33" (standard) and one has bars cut down to 32" so 34 3/4" sounds a bit mad, as has been said are they trials bars or cow horns !

Where can we find the results from last weekends Sheffield trial ?

Just read the mention in the Sheffield report of Dibs coming in third, looks like he made a good move back to GasGas . Good luck to him for the rest of the year, this must have been a real confidence booster.

Any news for the classic rider for 2017 ? It's a shame that if you look on the ACU website for the seasons results for the Sammy Miller series it is still to be finalised ! So much for series support and enthusiasm created by our organising body ! ( or am I looking in the wrong place. New year resolution - Ride more.

You were lucky they gave you a file, to get to within a thousandth of an inch I had to use shoe leather.

Just looked at the entry list for the first championship round for the S.E. centre to be held in Jan, we have 3 Elite Experts and 6 Experts the rest of the entry which amounts to near on 120 riders have opted for either the blue inter route or the red novice route. This must say something about the severity that most riders want to ride and enjoy, there are plenty of competitors who have over recent years dropped down to the inter route and now ride as over 40's to still ride against their peers but at an enjoyable level. The same applies to guys dropping down from blue to red and ride as over 50's, not as novices but in a competition against their mates at a level they feel comfortable with. Hard sections are what kill the enjoyment of a trial especially in short multi lap trials, 4 laps of 10 with 2 stoppers gives your average rider 40 marks before he has had any enjoyment !

6 micron accuracy in the machining of a bearing 3m in diameter ! I believe everything I see on the telly and in the news as well. Just to clarify, a Micron is one millionth of a metre or one thousandth of a mm, more usually used to describe a surface finish than a dimensional machining tolerance.

Exactly ! If you want a light riding bike look at the TRS if you prefer the tractor feel, look for the more 'metal approach' to bike design.