toofasttim

By and large the best way is to hook up with a couple of guys who ride. Pennine trialsport will be helpful here. Most guys are really helpful and obliging when it comes to taking a new rider under their wing. Try their bikes, see what you like and don't like. Get involved laying out a trial (so you get to see the other side of the coin). Your contacts may know somebody who's selling a bike. They may also know somebody who's selling their clobber. Get to enjoy your new friends company and get to know what makes trials riders "tick" (we're a pretty eccentric bunch and the humour can be very dry at times). Most of all, ease yourself into the sport. Their's nothing sadder than seeing somebody who thinks they can be Toni Bou in an instant and then discovering that they don't have the talent or emotional or intellectual state of mind to stay with the sport (and I've seen plenty of these).

That's an old fashioned attitude. Most enduro riders these days are very respectful of trials riders (that almost all top enduro riders are highly competent trials riders is probably to blame for this shift in attitude).

It was ordained (by my dad)

Thanks Andy. Apologies for dragging you away from GT5

I see there's a list of TC sponsors but it doesn't go anywhere Andy could you give us a link to TC advertisers/sponsors that will save us lurking around topics that discuss bodily fluids and let us go straight to TC's advertisers?

Rude word

Jeez Copey. You spelled it wrong it's SMEGMA. I was waiting for you to get to that one.

'04 was a chrome plated frame and the '07 was black and black is, well, black.

I was wondering about that. Whichever tartan is on the bike they're going p*^& off somebody. (p.s. Never realised there were so many: List of tartans)

Luda, I'm afraid I'm going to rain on your parade. Threads like this tend to degenerate into a "my bike's better than yours" bunfight and nobody can make that decision other than you. If somebody does make a recommendation and it goes pear shaped there's always the post mortem "it's your fault I bought that piece of #$%^". Another poster has said there's a gnats pube of a difference between the bikes. This is particularly true at the lower end of the skills ladder. What I suggest is go to a club trial, bum rides on those bikes that are likely to be in your price range, then buy the one you think looks the best or floats your boat (that's what most of us do anyway). Hook up with a local rider or two and, if you see a bike that you fancy and is in your price range, ask them to come along and give it a once over. Good luck.

Ah we're lending them to you. Thought it would be nice to give the trophy cabinet a bit of a change

Tony, I would think the piston is the least of your mates problems. Tyres for the 123 are a major hassle. 20" and a 17" I think. Very rare now. I have a mate in Cape Town who did up a 123 whether he sourced a piston I don't know. I'll try and dig up his e-mail addy for you.

OK, be honest here, how many of you picked up the dad was an ISDE rider?

Miguel, I don't suppose now's a good time to ask for a raise?

No it's not trials but it's all about the brotherhood of motorcycling.

I assume it was because he had an offer he couldn't refuse.

James Dabill

Ah, tricky one that. Yoyis site is a bugger to link to. But here's a pic: If you want to find it yourself go to Todotrial, at bottom in middle click "todotrialshop", go down a bit on left you'll see "Placas en aluminio para clásicas", click here.

While in China , a man is very sexually promiscuous and does not use a condom all the time he is there. A week after arriving back home in the Melbourne, he wakes one morning to find his penis covered with bright green and purple spots. Horrified, he immediately goes to see a doctor. The doctor, never having seen anything like this before, orders some tests and tells the man to return in two days for the results. The man returns a couple of days later and the doctor says, 'I've got bad news for you, you've contracted Mongolian VD. It's very rare and almost unheard of here, we know very little about it.' The man looks a little perplexed and says, 'Well, give me a shot or something and fix me up, Doc.' The doctor answers, 'I'm sorry, there's no known cure. We're going to have to amputate your penis.' The man screams in horror, 'Absolutely not! I want a second opinion.' The doctor replies, 'Well, it's your choice. Go ahead, if you want but surgery is your only choice.' The next day, the man seeks out a Chinese doctor, figuring that he'll know more about the disease. The Chinese doctor examines his penis and proclaims, 'Ah, yes, Mongolian VD. Vewy ware disease.' The guy says to the doctor, 'Yeah, yeah, I already know that but what can we do? My Australian doctor wants to operate and amputate my penis!' The Chinese doctor shakes his head and laughs. 'Stupid Australian docttah, always want to opawate. Make more money dat way. No need to amputate!' Oh, Thank God!' the man replies 'Yes,' says the Chinese doctor, 'wait two weeks. Faw off by itself!'

Police in Liverpool last night announced the discovery of an arms cache of 2,000 semi-automatic rifles with 250,000 rounds of ammunition, 10 anti-tank missiles, 4 grenade launchers, 20 tonnes of heroin,

This reminds me. I recently read Stanley Hookers autobiography. Hooker was an engineer employed by Rolls Royce and Bristol aircraft. He was pulled out of retirement to get Rolls out of the RB211 fiaso in the early seventies. In the book he describes the problems Bristol had with the Proteus engine and specifically the icing problem. It only occurred in the tropics and put the schedule back over a year. The customers reasoned that if the proteus engine iced over the tropics it would be far worse over the north atlantic. Hooker argued that the air over the north atlantic was dry in relation to the tropics because the evaporation was far worse there.

We're fine down here so far Copey. Bugger is it's rooted (Aussie/Kiwi for f%&ed) the harvest for many farmers. Feetupfun's up in Gladstone, not one of the officially effected areas but I'm a bit worried he hasn't been on here. Maybe he's on leave?

No

For those folk in Queensland (Feetupfun, you ok?). It's sad, in country where water is a scarce commodity, that it should be flushed away like this. (Now do you think the Pakistani govt will donate any aid?).

Good find. Thanks.