turbofurball

If you want to ride in classic events you probably want a twinshock bike, if you want to just ride about then I'd suggest starting with a mono then switching as they're (generally) easier to handle I started recently with a 125 Gasgas (a modern mono) and have just bought a TY175 so I can ride twinshock-only events. (The TY175 is a nice first twinshock too, BTW, doesn't handle as well as a Fantic out of the box but has a little more grunt and you can fix the handling)

Also, to quote a friend of mine, you can have a lot of fun by "embracing the mediocrity" - namely that by having a quirky bike and just going out to enjoy riding it can be a more rewarding pastime I'm a rubbish trials rider, but by jove I love riding trials bikes

It's a used Wes single silencer that I'm getting, though the new ones are described as sounding "crisp" I guess I'll just have to get it on there and see how it goes!

So, last weekend I picked up a TY175 which only needs a little fettling - one item on the list is the noisy exhaust I'm getting a used one-piece silencer, which will get re-packed before it goes on, but I'd like to make the bike as quiet as possible - is there anything extra I can do that would help? Can I add a small extra silencer to the end or anything like that without messing up the performance?

They always used to say the bast way to reduce weight on a motorbike was to go on a diet, lol (I need to go on a diet ...)

I dunno, I've bought bikes (and cars) before that have been exactly as described, where the previous owner has done regular maintenance ... in this instance the bike has been performing great, so I'm a little surprised they missed out on that part of the servicing

Indeed, I'm working my way through the bike so when it's time to move up to something bigger I can sell it and honestly say that has been taken care of, lol

I wasn't sure if my little Gasser (that I bought in November) had a decent mix of antifreeze, since I may need to store it in sub zero temperatures sometimes ... well, I drained it and what was in there came out full of crap and obviously ancient I'll be changing it again after the next time I've ridden the bike, to make sure it's well flushed. The moral of this story - don't believe the person you bought the bike from when they say that it's all serviced and ready to go!

I suspect your Gasser is a bit newer than my '04 then I have both the original paper manual and the download (there's a couple of differences IIRC) and it's really not all that helpful

The Gasgas manual for my bike is ok, but has no torque specs and is pretty vague about the expected service intervals (ie. sometimes you should check this, occasionally you should change that, etc)

Might be worth considering THIS, I hate getting stuck in a wooded area and breathing in a lot of the fumes needlessly ... in fact, the exhaust gasses is exactly why my better half refuses to try trials despite being a motorbike nut, and it's a big part of the reason I plan on going electric when I can afford it. If someone can't kill their engine and then start it again after a couple of minutes, maybe they should maintain it better.

In other news, I think that looks like exactly the sort of outside the box thinking that's needed ... certainly it isn't pretty, but then the older Montessas with a single piece seat and tank look equally ugly to my eye. Maybe add a plastic fake fuel tank to make it look more like a regular bike, and a little downtube? Are they for sale somewhere? This could be an affordable / reliable way for me to get into twinshock bikes, decent examples of which appear to cost an arm and a leg compared to my cheap and cheerful 125 pogo stick

Try this ;-)

The problem with hybrid technology is it requires a lot of space - you need to have a petrol tank, batteries, and two motors, plus a more complex gearbox (assuming you want the petrol engine to power the bike and not just as a range-extender), and all the electrics to handle the delivery between the two motors, plus heat management which is more complex, and you also need to keep the petrol motor away from the batteries as that's an explosive risk if they get hot ... trials bikes will only ever have room for one motor because weight is such an important factor.

Given how widespread motorsport is across Europe I can't see this getting any traction as a blanket ruling; especially since the example case was a work injury and mounting a legal challenge that requires workplace insurance instead would appear to be an easy path to take.

I feel the same way, though I genuinely do rack up lots of 3s and 5s, lol ... but yes, I basically just want to ride about, have fun, and don't give two figs about competition. I also don't care what other people are riding, but I do think that pushing modern bikes out completely also pushes out a more diverse range of riders (ie. younger people, women, those on a tight budget)

Sounds like you could organise an all-bikes light trial every now and then, and get an infusion of extra members and money, which could then be used to encourage more classic trials. As someone on a modern who likes doing gentle stuff (I'm a newbie, but also have a bad knee) I'm super glad there's a couple of clubs local to me who do precisely this!

Well, if there's three of you it's possible to have a competition I guess, lol

Lots of clutch slipping, in fact so far I've not managed to find a use for 2nd gear in a section ... judging by this reply I should definitely remedy this!

One of the deciding factors for me is brakes - modern bikes don't get brake fade like the old drums! It was something I'd never considered until a co-worker who does twinshocks mentioned it in passing.

I've got a cheap and cheerful Spada helmet ... comfy for my head shape, and I genuinely forget I'm wearing it. That said, I'm not doing big jumps etc, and I'm used to full face helmets that are much heavier.

That's a classy looking bike, looks like it should be good for covering distance as well as trials Is there much trials riding in Tanzania?

Ha! Thanks guys ... I can't take a photo right now as my bikes parked up at work, suffice it to say that the leading edge is noticeably worn down to the tune of about 1 to 1.5mm, while at the back the tooth shape appears nearly perfect. The front one also has a little play on the shaft, and the more I think about that the more it worries me! Since I'm a newbie and about to turn 40 I'm not doing any extreme riding, so for now I'll just get a cheapo new front and be prepared to put a whole new set on in the spring ... possibly with a lower ratio, since it's 10/42 at the moment and I'm just doing everything in first (it started out as a 250, and got demoted to a 125 after the previous owner killed the piston and barrel).

Today I finally got around to properly cleaning up my chain and sprockets (half an hour with the parts washer, should have done it sooner!) and I noticed my front sprocket has noticeable wear, while the chain and back sprocket look fine ... if this was a road bike I'd be ordering a new set, but since this is a little 125 with a chain tensioner as I ok to carry on for a good while yet? Do you replace the lot, or just whats worn? This is my first trials bike, so I'm still learning the finer points of it's maintenance!

I wonder if, when they release a finished product, there will be a conversion kit available for existing Gasgas' ... that would be a boon I mostly want electric so it's quiet enough to ride in places where I can't currently get away with it on account of noise ... some kind of motor speed indicator will be needed if it's going to have a clutch and gears though, otherwise you would easily get in a real mess! An excellent point, though I wonder if that would throw the front to rear weight ballance off