My bike is fitted with Rickman hubs and I am sure they go up in jumps of 2, so if you need an even number front sprocket to get the right option changing the rear by one tooth is not an option.
Changing the front by 1 to get your odd/even affect would then be too much of a jump, so rideability has to take preference over perceived chain wear.
Gasgas may not be around at the moment but neither are Fantic and that does not stop people buying them, spares will not be a problem.
As for price, if it's only been used for 10 hours and is not knocked about buy it but don't take the pxxx with your mate, give him a fair price or he may decide to keep the best bike in the paddock ! Ihave a 300 Racing, 2014 and I do not know how it could be better but apparently the Factory is.
No, nothing has to be changed, I really think you have missed my point, Dougie is still our best world class rider and the Scottish took marks off him.
It is not about the riders it is all about the C of C and helpers, it is their responsibility to ensure the event is rideable by the majority.
Another idea would be to pick a BTC event, (they need the riders) but some of these took more marks off our domestic riders than world rounds, again down to the C of C not who was riding.
How about WTC riders using bikes ' out of the box' bikes supplied by the local importer, that way you see your bike being ridden by the best in the world rather than some factory special and at the end of the event the bikes can be sold locally. This would again reduce the costs of the WTC
Love your posted picture on the twinshock thread, if you can build something similar for less than a ty175 then you just need to productionise it and hey presto the schoolboy market will be re born.
How many parents want to spend £3500 on a Beta ? Back in the day (1970's ) you had to put your name down to join Surrey schoolboys trials club it was so large they could not cope with the entries.
Rather than a World Championship made up of tiny 15 rider trials why not have every country that is allocated a round choose a major trial from their existing calendar to give a true reflection of that countries particular sport.
I suppose in G.B. we could choose the Scott or the Scottish, although I realise not a true reflection of our sport because of the speed or endurance aspects, but hey it's a world championship so these guys should handle it !
So each chosen trial would only see an increase of 15 to 20 riders unless of course the WTC suddenly became more popular and heavens forbid your own national runners decided to start entering events in other countries ( Yes it used to happen, remember Butser in the 80's massive entry and an awesome event)
The WTC must be changed,it is currently a one or maybe two man show and if you look at video of the rounds not a lot of people go to watch so where is the contribution to the sport.
That's a lot of hard earned cash to spend if you'r not sure !
It is far more important to get some time on a bike (any recent bike will do) and move up from practicing to going to proper trials.
You will soon see what is being achieved by other novice riders and you can assess how and what they ride.
Everyone has their own personal opinions on bike selection but in my opinion you would be hard pushed to beat a 250 GasGas, there are plenty of them around to choose from, err that's because they are very popular and you will pick up a clean bike a couple of years old for £2500
As a novice, this bike ( or similar offerings from Beta, Sherco ect ) will be able to do more than you are capable of and won't break the bank whilst you are getting experience.
But I think that for some, is the attraction of owning an old bike.
Yes they are often hard to get to run right and spares are often like hens teeth but that is all part of the classic bike scene.
Build a special by all means I think they are fantastic, but ride your creation against the modern bikes to show you are as good as today's factories not against an early seventies Bultaco but with modern experience.
The sport has moved on so much since the twin shock days, even in fact since early mono days and by building a special you no doubt build in advantages which will seem unfair.
Spares must be worth a bit, but not hundreds of thousands of pounds surely ? If the spares market was big someone with Chinese connections would be tooling up now.
Their Enduro bikes do not seem to have figured in the conversation so are they any good ?
You have not really described your riding experience, if you are a first time off road rider I would suggest you get yourself some time on the bike away from others. No I don't mean go into the woods and fall off where no one is around to help but you don't want to be falling off in front of 5 people in a queue at a trial that is too hard for you.
It is a fantastic sport but much much harder than it looks, do not be surprised if as a first timer you have difficulty just getting between the sections let alone ride through them.
I would suggest you go to a couple of beginers / practice events to build some experience before going to a proper trial
Lastly all the other posts are spot on if you are ready for your first event, good luck and I hope you ride for years to come.
I would suggest the twin shock class is for "original" bikes with drum brakes built prior to 1985 ( end date will be disputed no doubt but that will give you the idea)
Anything else will be seen as a special and classified accordingly.
The pre65 scene has it's own set (lots of sets and depends where you are in the world) and lots can be found by trawling the net for sites of clubs that specialise in that class.
Why would you want to build a bike and class it as a twin shock other than to gain an advantage ? There are plenty of good original bikes around just search fleabay
How about as a manufacturer looking to get market exposure you bin the World Championship and concentrate on your customers.
You could supply bikes at massive discount to every top National championship contender and let their results speak for you, I am sure most people would relate to Dan Thorpes record of winning nationals which we can all aspire to rather than some 8' rock step in a World round that only Toni gets up !
I just do not understand the point of the World Series, it does not have anything to do with what all of us ride at the weekend.
Yamaha TY's were ridden as 'the' clubmen bike by masses of riders for a decade and they did not really figure in the WTC at all, I bet all of the factories would like their sales figures now.
Yes you are most probably right but even then how do they make it pay ?
In round numbers, if a factory gets 500 Euro profit for reinvestment for each unit sold and they have a 25% market share of an 8000 annual total market, over 3 years they will have 3M Euro to play with.
I am sure there are some more informed / educated comments to follow but how does this all work ? Is the market so much larger than some have suggested ?
Once they have invested their 13 Billion Euros over three years, ----------------------time to let that sink in ---------------------- how many bikes do they expect to sell to cover that ?
If some clever economist can make it all work then new 2016 Gassers are now a reality
I think you may find L.H. has won his third title, but I also am not sure how the multi billion pound F1 business has anything to do with this discussion here.
We can all find examples to further an argument one way or another I would just stick to something proven , let someone else take the plunge and the hit in a years time when it turned out to be a pup, I am sure we can all remember those as well ( who spent money on a JCM ? )
Lots of differing opinions as to what Gasgas actually did in their factory, if everything was bought in and only assembly took place, then it is now just an empty shed !
In buying GasGas the new owner has tens of thousands of existing bikes to supply 'genuine' spares for as well as an existing brand loyal customer base probably keen to buy a 2016 Gasser with its pedigree (however you see that,but there is no denying it is a top brand ) rather than taking a risk on the first years production of the new players. Remember the first Ossas ?
Very nice looking bike, if you are going to ride trials with it you may find it steers better with the bars pushed further forward, take a look at how others have their bars positioned.
If I was the distributor of these bikes I would put out a rental bike as a demonstrator, charge £100 for a weekends use and try to stimulate some awareness through rider experience.
As everyone has noted they are expensive and a big change from a petrol bike.
I have tried one for 1/2 hour and to be honest I could see no reason to change from my Gasgas.
The power delivery and sensation of power is different, I would say you will take a good few trials/practices to familiarise yourself to the bike and to what end ?
There will always be concerns over the battery, they have not been out enough in volume to confirm what the battery will be like in 18 months time so who will buy it off you and take the risk ? I have heard stories of £ lots for replacement power units.
As for power, yes it is instant but since they fit the smallest size chain it can't be that great.
Lastly the steering lock was more like an early Sherco, nowhere near as tight a turning circle as the Gasgas or Beta so unless you can trick ride the back round forget sections harder than novice level !
As I say push for a rent before you buy, if the sellers are confident they should oblige.
Hello again wakka, so does that 10500 include the 15 % ?
You are right you do live in a wonderful place my wife and I toured both islands a couple of years ago in a camper best holiday we have ever had, we are stuck in the U.K. due to family otherwise we would love to move over. Have you been to a place called Geraldine ? that is heaven compared to South London !
Bantam Gearing
in Pre-65 Bikes
Posted
My bike is fitted with Rickman hubs and I am sure they go up in jumps of 2, so if you need an even number front sprocket to get the right option changing the rear by one tooth is not an option.
Changing the front by 1 to get your odd/even affect would then be too much of a jump, so rideability has to take preference over perceived chain wear.