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Also Southern Centre 31 December 2012. Waltham Chase Dick Hoyle's Charity Trial at Hut Hill Nr Southampton. 1 January 2013. Alton & DMC Club Trial at East Tisted Hants land adjoining the A32.

When I walk through my local suburban shopping centre in the evenings I often see small groups of riders on trials bikes, push bikes of course. This over the last few years. The hazards are seats, walls, ornamental, rocks etc etc. The riding ability is often of a high standard and frankly looks pretty cool and exciting. The bikes are trick and some are probably pretty expensive. If this is repeated around the UK and elsewhere there must be many many trials riders obviously mostly younger people and all on push bikes. So if anything it seems that the problem is self powered trials bikes versus pedal powered ones and the pedal ones are winning hands down. Maybe just wait till they get to old to pedal! To this end I wish the new Gas Gas E wasn't so incredibly expensive (£9500 I was quoted by the factory last November) as I feel the powered bike market, and hence all the manufacturers, could do with a bridge vehicle. A good electric bike in proper trial style could be ridden and played with in many locations forbidden to its petrol powered brothers and sisters. It could be an instrument to lead younger grown up riders (like the ones in my local centre) and others too, towards the real thing if you like. I realise the limitations of electric bikes but if you tried them and liked them, a real 300 gasser, a few litres of fuel and some serious climbs might be very tempting prospect. As for stop vs no stop I think Stop has created a situation akin to Reductio ad absurdum in the sense there is only ever wriggle-squat-rev-go and nothing else to it, no matter how cool that looks. I wish there was some famous person who could be persuaded to take up the sport and wow they discovered it actually is cool, that's all it would need. Maybe a bike mad prince (we have two) with a charity tie-in somehow to start them off. Perhaps involving a popular MBE ennobled trials gentleman assisted by ideally a leading lady rider or two and plenty of kids willing to try a bike. Which make would be 'By Appointment!'

In November 2011 the TXT- E was said by Gas Gas in Spain to retail at around £9500 Stirling.

There are now two different (informal) accessory 'bolt on' systems being used. One fires the injector (hear the buzz) and the latest one even simpler just nudges the electronics (no possibility of flooding).

Or just buy a Mac and export from iPhoto as required.

Use the kickstart to prod the engine round so as to get the maximum effective stroke before you kick. Engage the kickstart with your foot, don't kick at it. One swift and even kick all the way down should do it. It's a knack. Feel the compression under your foot before starting to kick. It is easier if you are up on the footrests. Try to learn to climb up on them balancing and then kick. The Ossa kick start feels very similar to me and I think the same guy designed both engines. Shercos and Betas seem to me to have a different slightly more direct type of engine/kickstart engagement but someone here will know the technical details if that's the case.

The supplied batteries from Spain are Ni Cd and do recharge themselves when the engine is running. Montesas seem to start ok, but as you say Cope, they run with highish revs whereas the Ossas seem to tick over more slowly and thus feel more 'normal.' On another front I wonder what Kokusan reckon on all this, I understand that it is their 'battery less' electronic systems that Ossa use and advertise on the bike and the works riders outfits.

"not shouting from the rooftops"... They hardly need to with the internet and T Central. Surely most 280i owners and mates must have read this topic more than once. It's had enough hits. Is this mod on 2013 model? I'll have to go for a yes. It fixed our bike 100%, now its back to pilot error!

From the Ossa site...'Gas Gas, Rieju y Ossa se alían para fabricar motores.' So there is a third partner Rieju Motors.

Our fan works normally with the battery and no capacitor. It comes on and goes off like any other modern bike and spins at what seems like a normal speed judging by the noise it makes. The batteries have been our bike for 3 months without any problem. Perhaps if you left the bike untouched for a long time you would need to recharge them but a suitable charger costs around £2 (UK) and I am told wiring in a plug etc would not be too difficult. Our pack which looks even more basic than the photoed one was sent from Spain and the information with it, though adequate, was minimal. I got a friend who is a trials mechanic to fit it and then it was checked by an electronics engineer who said by the way the bike wiring was 'very simple.' We were not told anything else at all but, 'here is a battery pack put it on your bike and it will solve the problem.' It did. If anyone wants details of the 'battery' bike call Ian at Jam Sport on 01252 718606 it is available to buy.

Same as mine. We mounted ours in adhesive fabric backed foam rubber and used a basic slotted small galvanised strap about 10 mm wide bent to fit round the pack that screws into the 2 holes that held the capacitor. It works ok but not very high tech.

Not Deon replying, but the dreaded battery pack has totally cured my starting problems. Rode it last weekend and with pack it just goes every time even having been dropped heavily and ending up upside down etc! Sorry bike. Two riders who had never been near an Ossa before started it second kick. One when it was cold. Re the post from jhadams. My batteries are re chargeable and they are left on all through the event. Never touched the condenser but took off the capacitor and replaced it with batteries.

My pack is about 9 rechargeable batteries I guess around 1.2v each, it was shrink wrapped so I cannot see the contact arrangement ie if in series or parallel. The switch is just that a simple metal switch. We made a cover ourselves to protect the batteries and swapped it for what we think is the capacitor on the front headstock. I can imagine that it could be a hassle to get a proper component made unless it is going to be a standard item on future bikes. That is something tough and light to hold the batteries and suitable fixing to go on the bike, plus a nifty switch fitted somewhere a bit like a Gasser mode switch that is located under the tank. However although what I have is basic and not waterproof really, it still does the trick. Also I am told by an Ossa rider that all the 280is entered in the recent Scottish Six Day Trial started normally all week, no batteries!! Muy confusing.

My part we fitted is Spanish and is a prototype. For public sales the time and cost I guess will be in making a solid waterproof housing for the battery and the necessary alterations to the wiring system (with a waterproof switch) so the whole thing fits tidily onto an existing bike. The battery and switch are themselves very straightforward. I believe it may replace the capacitor but don't quote me. This early model 2011 280i it is fitted to starts like any other bike of the same displacement (around the 300 mark), maybe a bit easier in practice. With this pack ( I have not heard anyone call it an LSS) you switch on the system, the fuel pump (I think) whirrs for a second or two. One good kick and she goes. No pre priming kicks are needed or desirable. Obviously it is high compression like the other bigger bikes, there is no getting round that. But it does not matter if it is Hot or Cold it will start and usually on the first kick. It is not temperamental, if you drop the bike (and I do) it still goes easily when you pick it up. As far as I am concerned it totally solves the problem and I say that as an average rider. You simply forget about the issue. However a Beta 200 would be a lot easier to kick over.

I will bring the Ossa fitted with the battery pack to the Bognor Club Trial this coming Sunday 27 May at South Harting West Sussex. If anyone is coming to the trial please ask me for a test ride and try starting it as well. I also agree with Deon, in the original state some 280is are harder to start than any other recent bikes and that includes new 300 Gasser Pro's and 290 Cabestany style Shercos. Sorry South Harting is a bit of a run from Oz.

I think some of the alledged 'modifications' on this list look quite sensible. I hope at least some of the changes do come to fruition somehow. For example a couple of hours ago I was examining a 2011 Ossa (on the market) with a rear wheel that was juddering and slightly loose due to a worn out bush and I remembered on this 'upgrade' list there is a proper bearing proposed in the back wheel hub. The graphics of the spec are pretty good too I thought. Very clear and well presented - Muy bueno.

I have fitted a battery pack and switch to an early 2011 280i. It transforms the starting for the less skilled rider (ie me). You switch it on at the beginning of the trial and off at the finish. It usually starts first kick, even from cold. Ok maybe second now and again. It is still the same highish compression engine of course so you need to get up on the pegs ideally. You do not need to slow kick to prime it, just switch it on, one decent full kick, and bang off you go. The battery system is pretty simple and reasonably low tech. It transformed a wonderful but tricky to start bike into something quite different. You can even tell if you have run out of gas as it makes a different pump priming noise.

The whole point of a 290 Sherco is that they are big and bad!

Looks good to me, probably not much use for on long trails or big distances but great for my suburban back garden etc. They claim 80% recharge in an hour. Maybe you can swop batteries quickly as well. I wonder how much they might cost?

The older 200 Shercos were actually only 162 cc, they revved out nicely but they were a bit gutless being only 37 cc's bigger than a 125. A full blown 200 would would be much better.

Where can I buy one.

To the experienced rider there is probably a big difference between the two bikes. To the newcomer probably not much. You should beg a ride on both of them to see if you prefer one or the other. You could win (or not) on either.

Marzocchi ?

Its not that long ago, maybe 3 years that Gordon rode in a couple of Bognor MCC events on I think a Beta. The weather was so bloody awful at one event with pouring rain on mega steep Sussex hillsides at South Harting that I think he reconsidered! He made a pretty good attempt though on a modern bike, so credit to him. He has often observed with his wife at Bognor trials.

As the last post says don't touch the throttle and try and set the engine by nudging the kickstart so that you can get the maximum leverage against the engine compression. There is a bit of a knack in the kick too I think it should be hard enough to turn the engine but not so hard that the engine does not spin because of some slippage in the mechanism. In this respect it seems to me similar to some Gassers. Finally I suggest standing up on the footrests while kicking it over. Sounds like you can lean it against the bridal bed! They are lovely when they go and the injection is so smooth off the bottom I nearly fell off it the first time as I expected the usual torque shove from the engine you get with a big Sherco or Gasser.