bikespace

A few of us will be there. Not seen an entry list yet. Bike still in too many bits to think about. Just back from a days work in sunny Leeds, so a few hours kip and time to build the bike, before tonight. Hangover tomorrow, all ready for the trial on the 2nd. All sorted.

I agree - don't let him discover women. He's got enough money to attract them when he's old and ugly Julian has got his head sewn on straight. I think his sentiment after Simon made an early departure was that money's no good to you when you're gone. He's giving Alexz the best chance he can to be as good as he possibly can, and there's nowt wrong with that. From what I've seen, Alexz is no brat. I've only once seen a little cockiness, and Julian took him to one side and gave him a short sharp roasting, then back to business. The boy's spot on in my book.

The most meritorious performance in all Motorcycling Sport in England and Wales by a competitor under 21 years of age" OK so a lot of us could only name those who have excelled in trials, but who do we reckon would be in the running for this?

Quote: Now in its 52nd year the prestigious Pinhard Trophy which has been won by more Champion motorcyclists in their teenage years than any other trophy is up for grabs yet again. The huge Pinhard Cup [2.8 gallons!] is awarded annually by the Sunbeam Motorcycling Club Ltd to the most meritorious performance in all Motorcycling Sport in England and Wales by a competitor under 21 years of age on October 31st 2002. With the boom in motorcycling and massive growth in all branches of the sport, the winner could come from any one of at least twenty activity disciplines. 1] Road Racing 2] Super Moto 3] Trials 4] Grass Track 5] Speedway 6] Scrambling 7] Moto Cross 8] Rally

I don't think it's anything to do with the ACU, although I could be wrong. In fact a web search shows it to be hosted by the Sunbeam club. Winners are nominated (by anybody), so maybe Alexz just didn't get nominated? I do think that there are some old folk trying to catch up with the sexual equality thing that for most people started decades ago, and this sometimes turns to positive discrimination, (although I've no idea if this was the case). This doesn't always do the girls any good, and I would think sometimes they'd rather it were "fairer" themselves. The discussions over the difference between "sex equality" and "gender fairness" could cause a right row To be honest, we should be happy that a trials rider has had it for the last two years, above the other sports that probably also have deserving nominations. I say well done to Donna for even being in the running for it, and congratulations for winning it.

No it's not competitive, it's rubbish, horrible, sell it to me cheap If I have a go at twinshock it's exactly the bike I'd like to do it on. Unfortunately I'm about 4 stone heavier than I was when I actually rode one about 21 years ago so I'd probably need at least the 250. I never had the proper tank either, my old man wasn't in to cosmetics In my view, leave it with the original forks on, but I'm no expert on the current twinshock scene. I love the look of it though. It reminds me of when I wasn't sh*t P.S. You're just showing off having the TLR as well. Edit: I seem to remember putting on a different front mudguard bracket which made the front end more stable (shorter front to back, but more substantial)...some of the twinshock guru's may have some pointers.

It's good that someone is considering competition machines in particular. Having said that, I'm not sure how much take up there will be, it's not cheap. And without too much take up it may not last. Even with Datatag the price to insure a new bike for fire and theft only will be around

The pop up police will be visiting you Brian. Thought I'd have a glance at your finished logo....attacked by popups Didn't notice your logo

I can't say I agree Boofont. I know how much it costs to get things like training notes put in to print. The more you make, the less it costs per copy. It makes it so much simpler to have one book that all the disciplines use. I'd prefer to see a professionally produced booklet like we've got now, rather than an amateur looking paper pamphlet. When you compare the cost even to mass produced books it doesn't seem too over the top. For the same price you could probably get half a T-shirt printed, or 40 photocopy A4 pages from your local newsagent. I don't think it will be long before the paper copy could be almost entirely replaced by other media (CD/Web download) which should be cheaper, and at that point a damned site easier to just provide you with the bits that are relevant to your license. But there are still an unbelievable amount of people without regular web access. Half of my family is from Scotland, so I understand where your pain is coming from P.S. I know you're not from Scotland, but you're learning their ways

One simple way. Look at the right hand side casing. If it has en eye hole where you can see the oil level, it is a pro, otherwise it's the TXT.

Don't worry, they're worrying looking at them as a has-been wannabe rider as well.

GasGas TXT too heavy? Come off it, not unless you're looking at the World Rounds, or at least the British. I sort of wish I'd bought a TXT instead of the Pro, would have saved me a fortune (like the Sherco has) My vote would be GasGas TXT, but what about a Mont, solid as a rock. Also agree with Beta. What about waiting a bit, finding another

Yep - Clean as a whistle

I've used cling film over my airbox. Should keep all the water out at the weekend eh? Can't wait to see how it goes.

I may have goofed this one, but as far as I know, the only wildcard rider not to come last in the last two years was Marc Colomer in Spain in 2003. Anyone think of any others?

Oy! I'm fatter than him

Wohhhhhh boy! Who is it, and... Did he make it???

If I were you I'd lay it on something hard and give it a damned good bashing with a big hammer??? Not the disc you fool......the bike!!! Couldn't resist Mark...where were you today you big lardy? Are there no other discs the same? Another question for the masses I suppose, just thought it may widen your options.

I'm not much of a 'Statto' I'm afraid (ignoramus), so tell me - has a wildcard rider won any of the events so far? That would be my concern if I was an organiser. If for example Blazusiak wins the first round, then I would think it makes a bit of a mockery of the Championship as the Championship leader won't be at round 2. Hopefully I've missed something in my limited understanding, otherwise that could be a very good reason why Bou is not going to Sheffield. I don't want to take anything away from Blazusiak but he's not expected to win. And while we're at it, fill another hole in my limited knowledge. Why did Kenichi Kuroyama take such little part in last years? Was he injured? Presumably he qualified by position in 2003 outdoor. Exciting to watch, what I've seen of him.

The world rankings from the previous outdoor championship sets the entry and the hosting body are allowed to choose the wild card riders. Ah right - seems fair (almost), although I think most people would agree that indoor is totally different to outdoor. Can't complain with that though I suppose, wouldn't be financially viable to run qualifiers. Not sure how Blazusiak will get on with it. It does seem unfair that there will be a fair few more deserving riders who won't be able to ride. Isn't the qualifying status for the European's that you're not in the top 12 or 15 in the world? Although I'd be willing to admit I may be wrong, I've only seen him ride once at Hawkstone. Is it going to be a case of "Great rider but not in the same class as the rest of 'em"? If we were to pick one wildcard from Britain, you would think that Jarvis or Colley would be fighting for it. I think they could have got away with either of them without being accused of blatant favouritism. As good as it is to see the likes of Shaun Morris there for the "Experience" if we're quite honest and cruel, he didn't come close last year, and I think if a rider is just short of the standard it makes a big difference indoor (stooge almost). What's the real idea of the wildcard? Entertainment/experience/other.

Who decides who can ride? It seems it's not a real World Championship if it's not open to allcomers. I know you can only have a few riders, and if I were the organisers investing the money, I'd want to make sure I could choose which riders were in it. For instance, you wouldn't want to leave out the crowd pleasers like Mr Showtime - oops! I'm not suggesting we can change this. In most sports, to enter the World Championships a competitor would have to rely on sponsorship and outside backing. Maybe if this were the case, then even one of the top riders might be left out. If the organiser's are paying their way, then they should be able to choose I suppose. How does it get sorted out?

Option 2: Run trials much closer to the houses of those who are likely to complain??? Option 3: Attach a small Gazoo to the back of the Monty silencer. This will obviously increase the frequency and therfore increase potential attenuation. If you can glue enough gazoo's together you could possibly create the worlds first stealth bike, or at least get these whingers complaining about juvenile jazz bands instead of trials. Not sure how it will stand up to scientific scrutiny, but on the way back from the pub it seems fair.

Nowt at all ! Mines Bang on I know that a lot of them have not had any problems at all. I also know that a disproportionate amount did have problems. Several things were immediately updated for the 2003 model, most of which caused problems on mine and many others - clutch, gearbox, cooling system, more oil capacity to name but a few. All I'm saying is that if you can afford the extra bit to go for a 2003 it would be a lot safer bet. The 2002 pro was a big step forward, the 2003 and 2004 ironed out the almost inevitable problems.

A few people just voting for their own bike I think? Not sure who voted GasGas, but which site are you looking at? Very nice and flashy, but not updated enough: "The new TXT Pro is now in its second year of production (2003) and has just won the World Indoor Trials Championship with Adam Raga" My favourite - Montesa, just ahead of Beta probably, but Sherco very close behind.