trapezeartist

Perhaps nothing. On my Fantic 200 I flit between one-finger and two-fingers. I don't think there's any significant difference. But then, that's just me, and my riding is hardly a recommendation to anyone.

I'm a pretty raw beginner so I think I know where you're coming from. Of course you'll make a fool of yourself (if you think of it that way) but no-one's going to look down on you for it. It's just a part of the learning experience, and you'll find everyone is friendly and willing to offer advice. What do you need to practice? Basic skills; and all you need for that is a bit of field or a gravel car park. Go super-slow, full lock turns, figures-of-8. Get a feel for moving your weight around and understanding what that does. Put down a small log and practice going over it and then immediately turning sharp left or right. Keep practising until all the basic stuff is second nature and requires no thought (I'm trying but not there yet by quite a long way). Perhaps the only basic skill that needs a proper practice area is going up and down banks, understanding how much throttle you need on the way up and how much braking on the way down. Don't wait too long before you go and enter an event. It's a different world from practising, but remember if you come up against something you don't like, you can just ask for a 5 and move on to the next section. Go for it! It's the most fun you can have with your trousers on.

Maybe I didn't express myself well enough. I didn't mean to suggest that beginners buy an over-250 as an exercise in willy-waving. On the contrary, they probably are just grabbing what is available and maybe think an extra 30/40/50cc won't make any difference. It's the new-bike buyers who seem to feel a compulsion to buy the big-engined bikes even though they are optimised for the likes of Bou and Raga, and most buyers are nothing like Bou and Raga.

If you only intend to use the bike on the road for getting to practice areas, you could put on a totally legal to-the-letter number plate and attach the bracket with a butterfly nut. Then just take it off while you're practising, just to make sure it doesn't castrate you if things get a bit out of hand.

I bought a Beta 300 4 stroke (which is allegedly a much more gentle power delivery than 2 strokes of similar capacity) and I found it a handful. I very quickly switched to a Fantic 200, only partly due to the friendlier power-unit but mostly because I realised I wanted a twinshock rather than a modern. Based on my vast six months of experience () I would say that anything over 250 is just willy-waving unless you are an expert. Some people think a 125 is too peaky and others think it is fine. Everyone in the know seems to agree that a 200 is ideal for a novice. If I was in your position I would go for a 250 but hope that a 200 might come along while I was looking.

A trials experience day is a great idea to test the water.

I was chatting with someone at the weekend who has an EM. Two criticisms appeared. 1. Lack of a gearbox. Running at "high" speed takes a lot of battery power. He thought a second higher gear for link sections would improve battery life. 2. Lack of torque control. The throttle on a petrol bike controls torque. The "throttle" on an e-bike controls speed. So if you ask for more speed than you currently have (via the twistgrip) the motor will provide full torque in order to get up to that speed. Obviously that's not what may be required of a trials bike.

Interesting. A couple of points spring to mind: 1. Why have a rule controlling engine position (presumably to indirectly control F/R weight distribution) and then allow what looks like a humungous lump of ballast in the spare wheel (pic 3)? 2. Why is there a conventional mid-mounted gearbox (pic 4) if the car has a transaxle?

I think the manual says to leave the throttle closed for starting in all conditions. I found quarter to half throttle was much better.

I had a similar experience on a trial somewhere on the edge of Dartmoor about 1970. The organisers had put down a strip of grit on the ice, but obviously had run out part way down. This was just about on the steepest bit so I did the inevitable and fell off. Couldn't stand up, never mind lift the bike, so had to shuffle self and bike across to the hedge while kneeling/lying in the road.

Very smart. And aluminium mudguards too! My only gripe would be that it looks a little over-polished. And of course to be really authentic there should be some big wrinkles in the rear mudguard just behind the frame loop, but after a few practice days you should be able to add that feature .

Isn't it ironic for a sport that is based on overcoming difficult obstacles and conditions, that as soon as it snows all events are cancelled. (Yes, I do know the reasons why, but I can't help the feeling that it wouldn't have happened in the "good old days" when most of us would have got there somehow, despite the lack of traction control, ABS and hour-by-hour weather forecasts.)

As far as I know, Gaernes are the only boots that claim to be waterproof. Which seems to be a pretty important factor given that we go paddling around in streams. I bought Gaernes as my first pair of trials boots on that basis. I have nothing to compare with, but I'm pretty happy with them, and my toes have stayed dry so far.

Remember that little saying: "If it looks too good to be true, ............"

Blimey! That beats my 47 years between trials.

Ouch! That's one sad motorbike. I'm glad you rescued her, but I think I would have left it to the scrappy.

It's not just the distance from fulcrum to pulling point that influences the "lightening". It's the ratio of fulcrum-to-in-cable to fulcrum-to-out-cable. And moving the fulcrum to the right in the photo will make that ratio larger.

He says he has the fulcrum pin in the "easiest" setting, but actually that's the "hardest".

On the website it says "This website will be updated on a regular basis". Presumably "regular" means once per decade.

Looking good, Andy. Well done.

Which is why I'm not going to connect the door handle to the mains.

Your keyword was "safely". However you secure your bike (frenchy3's description sounds pretty good to me) you must have some redundancy in the system.If one strap (any strap) fails, the bike must not fall off the trailer. This is something that's not necessary with a van, as the worst-case scenario is the bike falls over inside the van.

Don't tell me: Your wife's just left you and you have no idea why!

I've just looked at the BT on a supplier website. It doesn't specifically say the remote operates by radio. It does claim it has a 50m range, but through a metal door? It's a shame I can't find one with the receiver for the remote separate from the main unit, so it could be mounted in a discrete position outside. I know how annoying false alarms on burglar alarms are. That's why I'm looking for something that I can be sure I won't set off accidentally myself but will be quick-acting in response to a thief. Then I'll tell the neighbours I have the alarm and they will know that if it goes off it's a genuine break-in.