wheelieman14

Pirelli MT43 "trials tire" sidewall is too stiff for use on a trials bike. Vee Rubber 4.00x18 has a softer sidewall than the Vee Rubber 4.25x18 trials tire. I liked the Michelin X-Light tires, but are too expensive for my budget. I tried Dunlop D803GP front and rear to replace the Michelins and I'm pretty happy with their traction running at 6.5 psi Front & 5 psi Rear when practicing. If it gets slippery, or I'm competing, I like to run 5 Front & 3.5 to 4 Rear. In the USA, we can only buy Michelin X-Light, though I see the new bikes are still being shipped with Michelin X11 (probably the best tire, if you can find it)

2500 USD for a '13 125 seems like a very good price. where are you located? It is great to have someone to ride with and keep you interest on improving your skills.

Gaerne Oil Balance boots are great for walking around sections, but as some others have mentioned, they don't really have much of an arch or arch support. Wider footpegs should help, or else get a set with better arch support. MX Boots are clumsy for both riding and walking sections and offer great protection for ripping in the woods but seem too cumbersome for Trials.

Back when I was road racing 2T GP race bikes, we not only had the ability of changing final gearing, but also could change internal gearing with cassette type transmissions (RS125 & TZ250). On my GG TXT 280, I've tried the 11/42, 10/42 & 10/41 gearing, but like the 10/42 for now and might consider trying 11/43, since both the 11/42 & 10/41 seemed a bit tall. Bummer for your buds getting hurt. Lots of people want to try MotoTrials and quite often they lose interest because there aren't enough others to ride with, or end up getting hurt. Lots of fun, but still need to respect the natural terrain for what it is...

I have some information to share, regarding how hard our most recent NETA event was for dropping points for 4 Loops of 8 Sections, by the Lines (Gates) ridden. Here are the Expert Section riders' scores: http://www.newenglandtrials.com/files/MMC_5-15-16_NETA_2_Expert_YouthSectionResults.pdf Here are the Novice Section riders' scores: http://www.newenglandtrials.com/files/MMC_5-15-16_NETA_2_NoviceSectionResults.pdf I gathered all the Loop Punch cards after this event and considered tallying how many points were dropped in each section to rate Sections 1 through 8 by order of difficulty, for each class riding it. I still might do this and post the results online at www.newenglandtrials.com Typically, we want the riders to be challenged, but not discouraged. After the event, we noticed that there were quite a few riders in some of the classes that even had penalty points for arriving up to 30 minutes after the 4 hour soft time limit - so I listed their penalty points (1/2 point per minute late & total score reflects time penalty)

For some reason, the Jitsie Idle Screw knurled adjuster is impossible to turn by hand, so I went back to stock idle screw and I really never need to mess with it. The Air Screw is a great improvement and I have no problem fine-tuning as needed; currently running at 1-3/4 turns out with 122 MJ and 42 Pilot. Probably going to drop down to 120 MJ and 40 Pilot, once the temp rises for the summer months. This is for '12 GG TXT 280

That is a really cool Can-Am 240 Trials bike! I still have my 1980 Can-Am 125 MX-6 and would love to try and turn it into a vintage class trials bike. Probably not as well suited as your 240, but those Rotax Rotary valve motors are pretty tune-able. Dibs, if you ever decide you want to sell it :-)

Yamaha is one of my last hopes of a Japanese Manufacturer making a good 2T Trials bike. The release of the YZ250X "Hare Scramble / GNCC" 2T helps keep more people riding 2-strokes in the Woods, among the sea of Orange in New England Enduros and Hare Scrambles. A modern TY250, TY280 or TY300 2-stroke Trials bike from Yamaha would certainly help get this sport to grow in the USA!

2016 NETA Rulebook is available for download: http://www.newenglandtrials.com/Rules.html Most classes now ride 4 loops (Women & Rookie ride 3 loops). Minimum "Senior class" age bumped up from 40 to 50 years old.

I'm about 2 hours from Wrentham, MA & about 1.5 hours from Exeter, RI. I ride at Meriden Motorcycle Club grounds in Central CT, with anywhere from 4 to 6 other Trials riders on Sunday mornings from 9 AM to Noon. I just started out in Senior C last August & will be riding in Senior B with you this year. Miller Ranch Trials in Corning, NY is having a "Moreland Gate Trials" on April 17th, that is the weekend before the RITC Trials School that Gary Bourque is hosting on April 24th. I have some contacts in NY that might also be interested in MRT event, where you pick which gates you want to ride in any section, and if you dab, you lose all that section's points. Here is a link to their website: http://millerranchtrials.com/ -Bob Poetzsch NETA VP-Scorekeeper (contact info on newenglandtrials.com website)

Thanks for posting Dan! 2016 Rulebook should be posted this week on www.newenglandtrials.com In a somewhat related topic, we are trying to figure out how to continue the "Trials Cross-Training Clinics" that worked so well over the past few years at some of the event dates posted above. Typically, there are NETA Members that loan Trials bikes for participants to use for a couple hour morning "Intro to Moto-Trials" hands-on session. The cost is to help Check a Section as an Observer for the Competition event that runs between 11 AM and 3:30 PM. Bob Poetzsch (NETA Vice President / Score Keeper)

If compression check is good, then check reeds to see if the ends of the petals are frayed.

I have Gas Gas TXT 280 Racing model and I added the Jitsie Flywheel weight, after I got a "5" for the motor stalling in a section without it. You really should get the flywheel remover tool to pop off the flywheel, since the retaining cap nuts are located inside and countersunk screws are attached from the outside to hold weight in place. I carefully took a file and removed some material on my shift lever to help make better clearance from stator cover. Sounds like GG shift lever is a bolt-on replacement for your Ossa lever. I also dropped down to smaller front sprocket with 10/42 gearing from 11/42 shortly after I installed FWW and the bike runs very well at slow speeds through tight sections, hardly even need to use clutch. Not only does FWW help prevent motor from stalling, it also helps shoot up hills with increased flywheel mass.

I recently got a Pirelli MT43 Tubeless rear trials tire studded with car studs. I expect to be able to use as a tubeless tire, but have the option of installing a tube, if needed. I was told the front Trials tire doesn't have tall enough knobs to put studs in, so I had a IRC VE35 knobby studded with short rally studs. I'm a bit skeptical on trying these tires on a Trials bike, since the car studs don't really grip on rocks and are better suited for frozen ground or getting over logs.

lockie28, once you get your Keihin carb jetting (and float level) sorted out, you will be glad you have a PWK28 carb. I had a Mikuni TMX carb on my 2001 Honda CR250R and tried many Nozzles, Main Jets & Pilot jets and it was pretty finicky to get right. I switched over to a Keihin PWK Air Stryker Carb and it is much easier to tune and jet correctly. Have you pulled your Reed cage and checked the condition of your Reeds? Normally, damaged reeds will make it hard to start & not cause the rich condition you are chasing.

0.6mm (0.024") spark plug gap should be fine (though your gap seems too small in that pic), but that spark plug looks like it is running very rich - either too much fuel, or not enough air. Are you running a clean air filter without too much oil on the element? Check your Main Jet & Pilot Jet and Needle clip position. Maybe you are just running too rich? Also, since these engines run at relatively low RPMs, you can get proper lubrication running your Pre-Mix Fuel with 98 Octane gas and Oil mixed at 80:1 (helps prevent spark plug fouling and gives better burn inside combustion chamber). This also assumes that your Ignition Timing is set properly. My bike also only needs the Choke, when engine is cold and I can shut Choke off within a few seconds of starting it up.

Floats set too high (less clearance to top of carb) are likely to leak fuel out the overflow hose. Too low (more clearance from top of carb) will not allow sufficient fuel to be carried in the float bowl and tends to run lean from fuel starvation at extended high rpm runs (not sure you will actually see this on a Trial bike)

I was at my 2nd Trials event and an experienced rider told me to move my bars forward (right in line with fork tubes like you ended up with) to help get more "cockpit space" to allow for tight turns without hitting the bars against my body. Apparently, it is very common for people that ride in the woods to pull the position of their bars back some and use speed to get over obstacles. With a Trials bike, I'm often told to go slower and not try to rush getting through a section. BTW Dan, I worked the MMC NETA event (Section 4) on 10/25 and should've remembered your name, so I could've introduced myself :-) I'm bumping from Senior C to Senior B next year, so I really need to pick it up a bit to be competitive in that class.