trapezeartist

Letter J is said "jota" in Spanish, just like it would be "jay" in English.

If you were looking for an enthusiast's documentary about the SSDT, you were always going to be disappointed. As a programme designed for a Dave audience, I thought it was extremely good. Yes, it would have been nice to see some of the front-runners cleaning sections instead of just Ross falling off, but I think we have to acknowledge the difficulty for the camera crews. There were also a few too many shots of Ross's face from the backward-facing camera on the handlebars. The Parc Ferme running gag was fine as it developed slowly and rose to a crescendo. Master Chef? I'd rather stick needles in my eyes.

A Beta looks like a Gasgas looks like a TRS? To an unpractised eye, that's true. But going back to the old bikes, a Triumph twin looks like a BSA twin looks like a Norton twin. And a Francis-Barnett looks like a James looks like a BSA Bantam. If you're an enthusiast for a particular type of bike, the differences are obvious. If you're not, they're not.

I really can't imagine a serious trials bike with electric start. Weight is critical (for marketing purposes at least, even if not so much so for performance) so why add the weight of starter + battery + solenoid wiring? Also, modern bikes are so tightly packaged. Where would you put it?

Don't dismiss a 4T. My Beta 300 4T has oodles of power, pulls like a train at the bottom end and sounds lovely to boot. When people think of a 4 stroke, they always think of a Montesa, but the Beta gets lots of admiring comments. (And yes, I am a novice on a 300. With the 4T, it works.)

Which part of next-door-to-Gods-own-country are you in, al_orange? I too feel blessed with the number of events close to home. Having started off without a great deal of practice time, I've found the "Gentleman's Routes" are a great starting point. Go through the start and end cards and do what you want in between. With three events under my belt now, I try to do the full easy route but occasionally dodge a bit, either deliberately or inadvertently. I do recommend it. I've done trials run by Golden Valley and Bath Classic but you do need to be over 50 or over 60 to ride a Modern in their events.

I think you may have it there.

Usually, yes. But not in Betaworld.

I was muttering to myself about Beta bolting onto plastic while out in the garage the other night. The plastic shield over the gearbox sprocket is held on with two small bolts into the crankcase which (I think) also hold things together in the crankcase. And one of the two bolts holding the front brake caliper also holds the plastic disc shield in place. That's a biggish bolt (M10?) that's reacting brake torque so you really don't want that one working loose.

I understand the Mini Majesty was a little bit shorter in the wheelbase than the full-size 175, and straight front downtubes. Are there any other differences? How would the Mini perform with an adult rider (75kg approx, 5'9")? Would it be too light on the front on climbs?

I think you're talking about "referred inertia". This is effectively a translation of the inertia (or "moment of inertia") of the rotating components into a value that can be added to the linear inertia of the bike and rider. This is what has to be accelerated when you open the throttle, or decelerated when you brake. I don't see that it has any relevance to hopping a bike, and anyway the rotating inertia of a 250 and a 300 would be so similar that it would be unnoticeable.

My Beta 4T is pretty easy to start. Like all Betas (and a few others) the kick start is quite high. I find that if the bike is on a steep slope down from right to left, it's best to stand on the high side beside the bike and use my left leg. If it gets reluctant, the "hot start" thingie generally helps.

Not on a 4T, they can't.

You and me both then. I'm going to turn up the idle a little bit next time as I find a little bit of a snatch going from no-throttle to cracked open.

The clutch was much improved on the trial today. Now I just have to fix the nut holding the handlebars.

I think he probably is referring to Fry's Bottom, 51.341397, -2.532456.

Attempt No 3. This time I washed the friction plates with petrol and then rubbed them over with P180, just enough to change the colour from black to speckly brown. Then washed again in petrol, reassembled with oil and filled up with 10W40 synthetic. As it happens, it's a bit overfilled because that's the way it came out. Result: The cold stick was still there but not nearly as bad. Very slight drag initially but also much better. Best of all, the feel and progression of the clutch was massively improved. I only had time for a few figures-of-8 but it really did seem much better. I've also switched back to the quick throttle and that was no problem with the newly tweaked clutch. Proof of the pudding: a trial tomorrow. I'm feeling optimistic. In passing, I also measured the clutch throw and checked that there was no leakage past the seals (there wasn't). With the clutch lever hard against the handlebar grip, I was getting 1.1mm at the clutch. That ties in pretty well with the 1.2mm mentioned in other posts on this thread. (Perhaps I have a bit more free play or a different shape of lever.) With the lever pulled in with one finger until it contacted the back of the next finger, the travel at the clutch was 0.6mm.

I think multi-routes have become essential as the improvement in bike and rider performance at the top end has created a huge spread of abilities. Three routes in each section seems to work out quite well in practice, although I do wonder if organisers sometimes have to reject an otherwise suitable section because it doesn't lend itself to the spread of abilities. Personally I'm less keen on 50-50 ("Sportsman +" or whatever you want to call them) classes as it seems a bit of an unnecessary fragmentation. But perhaps it's a way for an improving rider to dip a toe in the water before moving up to a harder route. It would be nice to run novice trials, clubman trials and expert trials where there is only one route but that would be likely to require more events and each event would get fewer entries. There is a substantial barrier to entry for all forms of motorsport, but at least trials is better able to poach people from BMX and mountain-biking.

Sitting in the pub and drinking cider?

I don't like the cheapo plastic cans either, so I bought one of these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5L-MILITARY-GREEN-METAL-JERRY-PETROL-CAN-5-Litre-with-Spout-Funnel-Hose/201562079745?_trkparms=aid%3D555019%26algo%3DPL.BANDIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20151016114640%26meid%3Df097c333111243cebd7b48783edadfa1%26pid%3D100507%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26&_trksid=p2045573.c100507.m3226 There are loads of people selling them on ebay. I just picked this one out at random to show you, but I think I paid about £15 for can + spout. It's a proper job.

Not the way I play cricket! I can definitely score higher in a trial than a cricket match.

I came back to trials after 47 years, having hardly thrown a leg over a bike in between. So definitely rating myself as novice. I ended up buying a Beta 300 4 stroke. It seemed a bit of a handful at first but it hasn't tried to kill me for weeks now. Indeed I've just put the quick throttle tube back on, though I haven't tried it out again yet. I was also advised to buy a 125 but whenever I saw them being ridden, they seemed to need to be revved so hard on climbs. Personally, from my very slight experience, I would suggest a 250 2T or any 4T, depending on your preference.

The fencing wire legs look good. Something like your "END" card would also work well instead of flags for section route marking. I wonder how simple coloured card would stand up to the weather if painted with a clear lacquer.

I have a Berlingo car. I've removed both rear seats. Then pushed the passenger seat forward and made a little wooden infill to bring the rear footwell on the passenger side up to the level of the main platform. I put the loading ramp to the right of centre and run the front wheel over against the passenger side BC post. Finally I get a bit more diagonal by lifting the rear wheel slightly to the right. Headroom is only just adequate and I have to take care to keep the bike perfectly upright to stop the end of the handlebars savaging the roof lining. You should have a bit more room in the van as I assume that has no roof lining in the back. The car has six tie-down points built-in. I don't know if the van is the same. I use three straps: one to left rear, one to right front and one to left front. Very easy.