turbofurball

In the UK there's enough used bikes around for people getting started, I'm guessing that's not the case elsewhere

Hard enduro is much more en vogue than trials these days, I have to admit I find it more entertaining to watch than WTC ... maybe that's just where the money is drifting to?

Good bike choice, doing trials competitions is a lot of fun and very challenging! I started out on a Gasgas 125 too, and moved into twinshocks after about a year as the competitions better suit me (plus my partner's blood runs cold at the sight of modern trials bikes for some reason, whereas she loves the old stuff!)

I used to get loads of bruises on my calves before I got my Forma boots (when I first started I was using some Lidl £5 motorbike boots). I still get the odd bruise above the boot, but only when I fall off!

Sorry I didn't see this earlier - the date was on their website, and it was very much on A really good day in fact, very slippery but excellent practice!

Fantastic! The good old "it won't be deep, it's only a rut" trap

That's a funny way to spell Gasgas

Mmm, at the moment we get upwards of a hundred channels of data at 20,000 samples a second and the dummies all have their own internal systems so you can chop a limb off and still know what happened to it ... it's nice to be on the cutting edge, but the early days of data capture look more inventive! Footage of TRL in the '60s looks like a lot of fun, too

There's a reason there are lots of those for sale - people ride 125s for a bit then move up (that's what I did - to twinshocks), and people buy 280s/300s assuming that they want the biggest because that's best and then either scare or hurt themselves. So, if you're super new and struggling with your 247, and if you weigh 12 stone or less, grab a 125 and then sell it on. If you're more fully bodied, or confident and wanting to be more competitive, be patient and get yourself a 250 when one crops up

Interesting stuff! Were you doing data acquisition at that time?

One thing that strikes me about almost all of the trials outfits is that they seldom appear to have a neat stylish look, but rather like they've been shot at by a branding blunderbus

Slow throttle alone works a treat on my Cota, haven't had any issues giving it a good gob of extra throttle when needed

Classic trials is about the most risk averse motorsport there is It's good that you appreciate the risks, many many people don't - even now some things happen that surprise me in regards to things failing! Type Approval for DeLorean is before my time, but I can imagine that was interesting - these days all the preliminary testing is simulated on computers, but it seems to have led to more testing happening rather than less!

If your car hits something stationary the bike continues at the same speed - large objects like that generally get thrown through the windscreen, often after crushing people in the front seats, and can then hit other cars / people. From a safety point of view, it's better to be well strapped to the back of a car than inside. Same goes for vans without a bulkhead. If a bike is well strapped down inside a car or van the tiedown points are the next most likely point of faiure, so beefy fixings with spreader plates on the other side are in order. As for nose weight affecting braking - it does, but remember that you're lifting a ~100kg bike rather than pulling a ton or more of something heavy; that's why there's a tighter speed limit for towing on the motorway. If you're maintaining a sensible stopping distance that weight won't make a large difference - again, unless it is the cause of an accident (or a significant contributing factor) the insurance company won't care about the bike and rack any more than they would a trailer. From my point of view, when I had a car with a suitable hitch a rack was fantastic. Now I have a van big enough to take two road bikes, with chocks bolted to the floor etc, it's transformed my biking experiences and this year and we've been able to do loads of things that were previously not on the cards - worth the expense if you can stretch to it

Yes, an extra light gauge strap to a high point of the car (for me it was in the rear window, to the handle in the headliner) helps to stop the bike bobbing front to back. Also, with a twinshock or trailie on a normal car they get a lot of wind resistance over 50! (wasn't an issue with a modern trials machine for me) I used to do one strap to the handlebars from the rack, and one around the back wheel to the vertical post of the rack. Experimented with one over the middle but TBH that didn't seem to make much difference.

I carried a 95Kg Pampera on a Dave Cooper rack many times when I had a Mondeo with a rusty 70kg rated tow hitch. It didn't cause any problems, but I had the car on a lift every 3 months or so to check everything, just in case. The static max nose weight allows for the dynamic forces that are likely to occur with a generous safety margin. As for insurance, they won't refuse to pay out unless the bike or rack is responsible for an accident occuring - so inspect the rack and tow bar regularly, make sure the bike is properly secured (500kg rated straps are easy to get and longer lasting than market stall specials), and have a light board that works and looks 'proper' (ie. not a bit of cardboard with your reg number written in biro). In an accident the rack will bend before it breaks unless it's very rusty ... if the accident is severe enough for the rack or hitch to be torn off then you'll have other things to worry about TBH. (for what it's worth, my day job is being a crash tester)

Looks promising, though judging by the condition there's going to be a lot of replacing bearings, seals, etc! The Mk3 shares it's brake lever with the EC, for what it's worth

Hello and welcome - this site is more about observed trials rather than long distance, but a lot of the advice does carry over! My other half has a Mk3 Pampera which has been pretty much rebuilt from the ground up (still has bits to do), and I just recently picked up a Gasgas EC250 that had been used for long distance trials (which just requires a freshen, thank goodness!) Good luck with your project Any chance you could post up some photos?

£2500 is about right for a twinshock bike that's in properly working condition; I paid much less for both my twinshock bikes, but they've both needed a shedload of work. Conversely "modern" type bikes that are "undesireable" (10 to 20 year old 2 strokes) can be found for about £1K in good working order if you're patient. Note that with ANY used bike you need to know what you're looking for in order to find a good one - there are huge numbers of trials bikes for sale that look good but are falling apart under the surface. If you're not mechanically inclined, find a local club member of good standing who is willing to help you; trials clubs are generally a friendly bunch and often good deals go to club members without being advertised elsewhere. Last bit of advice, even though you've ridden motorbikes before, avoid anything bigger than a 250 like the plague for a first trials bike - as soon as you're in a confined space in sketchy conditions you'll understand why!

That site is accurate enough that DVLA accept it as a source for dating old TYs before registering them for the road The serial numbers are a little confusing in places as they sold the 125 in some places and the 175 in others, but with similar numbers ... still, it's all in the chart!

That's a really interesting link, thanks for posting it up

Or they might just want to make their own patterns? I know I did when I had a modern bike, and I asked the same question at the time. To answer OP's question, I didn't manage to find any templates when I last looked, but that was a couple of years back. Best solution is to get a set of cheapy stickers off ebay and measure them

That does sound like a nice holiday Welcome, Bob! Have you got any photos of your steeds?

Best thing is to ride it and see if it feels cramped, most twinshock riders want a certain modicum of comfort that the original riders weren't worried about ... at 6'3 your chap may struggle. My TY has a peg kit and benefits from it, though without the lengthened back swingarm it might have been a bit wheelie happy in it's current state of tune! On the Cota I have a 1" lift on the handlebars and stock foot pegs with a little extra platform welded to give more surface area.

A stockish TY175 is a really good first trials bike and fun for pootling on green lanes too ... with a little seat time on any bike you will have context as to where you want to go next - I chose to modify my TY to make it into a more "serious" machine (it's a bit of a blank canvas for making your own bike), but selling and then getting a Fantic would be a good choice too