bikerpet

Sorry, no gentle way to say it, but you are absolutely, totally wrong with this. Watch & listen to some good riders tackling big obstacles. Its abundantly obvious that the throttle is closed or dramatically reduced during most of the climb. You'll hear big rpm as they set up, then as they launch the noise falls away dramatically. At the top there is often an increase in rpm again as they ensure they've got power on hand to fine tune the last bit of the climb. If you can watch & listen in slow motion you can hear individual ignitions of the engine and you'll really understand what happens. Forget about about your squat/anti-squat ideas, that's going to take you nowhere in trials. What keeps the tyre on the obstacle is the rider. If you can find a good trials coach, spend some money and save yourself years. There's a lot of pretty ordinary coaches out there (plenty who can ride, but can't teach), so do your research. If there's no one near you, take a look at neilprice.com its far the best online coaching I know of.

I'd suggest you work on altering that approach. Get off the throttle as the back wheel hits the obstacle. You destroy traction when you drive up things on engine power, the slightest skid & the tyre quickly spins up and you stop. If you drive up on a trailing or closed throttle the tyre will never spin up. It might still lose traction, but it won't spin. This is where riding on throttle alone is a dead end. You have to learn to ride on the clutch in order to be able to adjust power & acceleration quickly enough. If you ride in to an obstacle slowly (as is common) then you simply can't build enough inertia to climb a larger obstacle power-off with throttle alone. But if you learn to build plenty of RPM & then control the power to the wheel with clutch then it's easy to have ample inertia in the flywheel to get you up big steps even with throttle closed. Throttle = available power Clutch = applied power Oh, and chain tension squats the bike more, not anti-squat.

Oh well, sounds like I just get used to it then. I rode about 300 hours last year so that's around 150L extra fuel from what I've seen so far - nearly $300 extra in fuel costs and 360kg extra CO2 emission. The first black mark against TRS I've found so far. I might block off the overflow and see if I can notice the difference.

I find my 300 RR uses fuel noticeably faster than my previous Beta 300. The Beta was a bit over a liter an hour for my normal riding. The TRS is closer to 2L an hour, although I've not yet done a really accurate test over 10-12 liters. There's usually some overflow, but I had what appears similar spillage on the Beta too. I had the carb out for clean a little while ago and the floats closed at what looked right from past experience, but I didn't measure as I had no reason to at that time. Anyone else find them a bit thirsty? Or should I be searching for a cause?

I'm fairly new onto TRS after GG, Sherco & Beta. Nicely built, everything "just works", great traction ... what more can I ask? The "sketchy front" thing I believe is just that it feels different to, say, a Beta. It maybe doesn't feel quite as solid at the front as some other bikes, a lighter front end probably, but if you just ride it with half decent technique it does exactly what it should. It's only when I get a bit out of shape that it heads off line, and every bike I've owned did that. Maybe it's a little less forgiving of poor turning technique, but that's offset by how easily it gets rear wheel traction. I vastly prefer the build quality to what the Sherco was like, personally I'll never buy another. The GasGas for some reason always felt a bit fragile - kick start quadrant failure, shift selector failure requiring full split to repair (older model), exposed radiator (again older model). Beta is well built and reliable, but the TRS suspension is so much better. The TRS feels snappier than the Beta, but not as good at tractoring along. I can see TRS & I having a long future together.

Looks like the 2023 RR gets a new bash plate that extends over the peg area more. The R retains the old one - maybe running out old stock before they change all models to the new plate? '23 RR part no. 01038TR100 Skid plate ONE II Others part no. 01031TR100 - there seem to be a couple of versions of the same part number, one with "grooves" (longitudinal ribs) on later models and one without.

I've read that grease or anti-seize should go onto the chain adjusters asap to prevent seizures. I've found my boots rub the left side of the airbox badly, I've tried "helicopter tape" but it wore through quickly. I've now taped 1.5mm rubber sheet over it. The ridges on the top of the rear guard proved a bit vulnerable - I've heli taped them now. The scrivets holding the back of the guard fell out fairly quickly so I've now put thin cables tie retainers through them. The Australian importer suggests 91 octane rather than our crappy 98, and a 4 plug instead of the standard 6. Certainly the 6 fouled quickly, haven't had the 4 in it long enough to know how much better it is.

Good choice I reckon. The 250 should be a ripper. The 300 has well more than enough power!

As an aging mid grade male rider I enjoy the predominant trials media - the Trial GP, Bou, Raga, X-trial - but I actually learn much more from watching the top women. Sadly there is just a tiny fraction of the coverage given to them. I find the women ride just as skilfully, but without the pure strength and without the high level of risk. That's much more akin to what I might strive for rather than the antics of the top men! I can actually learn useful technique from them. So I think the sport is doing a big disservice not giving better, dedicated coverage to women. And that's not even considering the equity, growth opportunity etc. It's similar in 125cc class too, I wish more people videod those classes - so much more relevant to most of us. So if anyone knows of good women's trial media, please point us at it!

put a crate or something either side of the bike so you don't have to step up, step down, step up, step down. Makes it heaps easier to keep at it when you're starting out. rest the front tyre on something to the side. Can start with a wall and progress to just a little pebble. It's surprising how something quite small can make a big difference. A bit of 2x1 timber can be a lifesaver, or a brick. Turn onto it to get your balance, then turn the wheel off it. Don't focus on how long you can balance, get balanced then do something from which you have to recover - turn the bars the other way, close your eyes, anything. Balancing for minutes is pretty useless in a trial, but recovering your balance is essential. Focus on balancing with turning movements of the wheel, not so much rocking the bike. Both are useful but turning the bars is more fundamental. Weight forward gives corrections more "impact", weight back is more stable once you've actually got balanced. Play with it. For a long time. A really long time.

I just responded to a similar thread with this comment: avoid the yellow & blue Sherco with rear tank from around 2013. Absolute piece of rubbish. Frames crack, steering stops don't so the frame tubes get crushed, various parts were made in the local handyman's back garage (or so it appears) ..... Just don't.

Great to hear you're getting back to it, you'll love it - it's a sport that gets better as you age. Or so I'll maintain. Don't buy a yellow and blue Sherco with the rear fuel tank - what a dreadful piece of machinery that was! Cracking frames, steering stops that didn't so the frame tubes got crushed, QA the Chinese would be proud of. There was almost nothing nicely made on them. Rode Ok when it was running. They were around 2013. Totally put me off Sherco frankly, I plan on never owning another. The Betas are really solid. Well made, very few serial issues although just check the particular year you're interested in. Great turning circle, somewhat mellow engine response compared to some bikes which is probably going to be helpful. I've had a couple and couldn't really fault them. They just work, and keep on working. Rear mudguards are expensive and some people find them fragile. I replaced the steel bolts with nylon bolts or cable ties and never damaged a guard in around 700 hours of crashing. The front mudguards have a plastic bridge which is guaranteed to fail but a GasGas guard & bridge fits. GasGas are a bit of a perennial favourite for a lot of people, but I've always been a bit nervous as they age. The gearboxes are very elegant, but tend toward a little delicate as far as I'm concerned. Lovely clutches though, and the rest of the bike seems good. I was always a little nervous about the relatively exposed radiator - I could see myself chucking it onto something hard and destroying it. Most other brands moved to a radiator protected within the frame some time ago. Last one I had was a 2007 so pretty out of date info perhaps. I've just moved from Beta to TRS and am very impressed with both the build and the ride, but they are getting a bit too recent for your aim. With the exception of the yellow peril I'd probably just say go with the lowest hour bike you can find. They all have some "personality" but the number of hours on the bike is the biggest differentiator in my opinion.

Is that the front bolt you're talking about? Do you put anything in the back holes that come with plastic Scrivets? And is it proven to pop off when crashed? Thanks.

Ah the cynicism. Ride a good MTB from just a few years ago then hop on a current model and you'll find there's more than gimmickry involved. Yes, almost every company selling something resorts to gimmickry, trials is no exception. But that doesn't preclude real technical development.

Any info on the flywheel proto kit? Self-made? Purchased? Pictures? It's something I'd be interested in trying.