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Finally got the flywheel off and sent the Stator off to Motoplat. They've just come back to say they can find nothing wrong with it I'm going to send the CDI down as well, which they can also test - just hoping that hasn't gone fut!

I've done a day with Jason at Tricks in the Sticks. Bike, boots, helmet and gloves supplied, as well as lunch and tea/coffee/water. I'm a bit nearer than you but IMHO well worth it to give you a taster and learn some basics.

Cant see how to remove this 6-wire connector from the underneath of the CDI box. Looks like there are some barbs that engage with slots, maybe three separate ones? If anyone's done this and got some tips it would be much appreciated... plus any info on resistance to ground on the different wires, both on the CDI side and Stator side to check. Many thanks

Wandered down to my local Homebase and B & Q to check out what they might have available. After a bit of deliberation I found some Diall heavy duty workman's gloves that feel ace. Supple and stretchy with faux leather on the palm and fingers plus a velcro closure at the wrist. I tried some Mechanix M-Pact but I found the extra palm patch uncomfortable and they were not as snug a fit as the Diall ones. Very weird wearing something like this on a bike after a lifetime of road gloves but we'll see how I get on!

Not as daunting as I first thought. The airbox comes off with two heavily recessed screws and unplugs from the carb rubber - a little too easily I thought. About 3 cable ties to clip through and once the two wires are unplugged/unscrewed it pulls through. Bit disappointed with the Leonelli replacement item though. Firstly, the cable was a little on the short side; I'd been expecting to mount it pretty close to the clutch lever but there is only enough cable to reach to barely 1/3-1/2 way along the handlebar. In addition, the handlebar clamp was simply not big enough for my diameter of handlebar, which I'm sure is the original. I had to re-use the spring clip from the original. Anyway, all sorted and when I refitted the airbox I relocated the jubilee clip to the very end of the rubber, where I feel it is actually clamping down on the airbox stub tube.

Yep, got the mudguard off and gave the tank/silencer area a clean up and then the mud flap slots over the lower bracket and mudguard back on - perfect!

Ah, great, thanks for that

I've got a rubber mudflap that will mount just below the petrol tank at the rear, to protect the rear shock from mud off the tyre. It has one slit in it, which I guess should line-up with the lower wire bracket/clip of the main guard, but apart from that there are no other fixing points. How is this fitted on the 2012 and later models? Anyone else retro-fitted one of these to a 2010/11 model - cut some holes and find something to which it can be cable-tied ...?

Yeah, agreed, I was being lazy! Looks like the ground is under the airbox, which will need to be removed to gain access to the earth bolt. Anyone removed the airbox? Anyone had cause to access the earth bolt?

Sounds about the same as me. Just got my first bike but yet to ride it in anger. Just done a trials experience day down in Kent at Tricks in the Sticks, which was excellent - not much use to you! There are other training centres up your way though, if you search around. I'm very close to a trials centre, so have bought a bike that is road reg and MOT'd, otherwise you will need to sort out transport as well.

Just thought I'd clarify a few of the common petroil mixtures - do please someone check my maths! Ratio Percent Oil/Petrol 80:1 1.25% 12.5ml/litre 66:1 1.5% 15ml/litre 60:1 ~1.7% 17ml/litre 50:1 2% 20ml/litre

My 2011 2.5 is fitted with a leonelli button kill switch mounted in the centre of the handlebar facing forwards. Looks like the simplest option might be to cut this away and simply connect the magnetic kill switch wires to the two ends that previously went in to the button kill switch. My hope would be that if I got a Leonelli magnetic lanyard one, it would be wire for wire compatible. Anyone comment on this? Will I, in fact, have to trace where these two wires go to, which looks to be somewhere down near the engine, and then replace the whole thing...? Many thanks

Peter - hired from Kendalls - it was up near Huntingdon so a bit of a trek, but many thanks for the offer. It was a Peugeot Partner in the end. Absolute doddle getting the bike in and ended up putting it on it's side-stand and just a couple of bungies - one around the swing arm on the same side as the stand and hooked to a floor D ring, then another around the handlebar and hooked through a metal bracket in the roof. No problems at all. Doing a steady 60-65 mph I got 65mpg out of it, there and back - awesome. PS - went up to Hookwood Sunday but about 2-ish by the time I'd got there - spoke to some guys and I think you'd left by then, if we'd identified the correct Peter T. Nearly scared myself watching, when I thought the white flags were wobbler-class, until someone pointed out the yellow ones!

Just bought my first trials bike - a 2011 Sherco 250. As you do with a new purchase, I've leafed through the paperwork and come across some contradictions. So the bike was serviced at John Lee's last November and they put 75W in the gearbox. At the back of the manual, in the spec. section, it recommends 10W-40. In the text of the manual where they explain the location of the drain plug, they recommend 10W-50... Maybe it's a bit like crop rotation - a different one each time you change it...?

BTW, bike is a 2011 Sherco 250 - not sure whether I'll have a ramp available - just seller and me to man-handle it

Oh, just about to say 'I hope so' and then realised that although road reg and MOT'd it won't be insured, doh! May be able to get up on my TTR, wife-willing. Hoping to book some training with Katie Nash in due course.

Excitement! Just bought my first ever trials bike and have hired a Berlingo to go and pick it up. I've got an assortment of straps and ropes that I've accumulated over the years, along with dust sheets and old towels. Are there plenty of anchor points to which I can secure it? Is there any trick of experience that someone can pass on, or is it all pretty obvious? Many thanks

Here are some interesting links... (if you are in to this sort of thing that is!) http://www.brainskills.co.uk/LearningMotorSkills.html http://cobalt.rocky.edu/~paul.roper/Courses/PEH315/Engrams.pdf

Not got out on the TTR recently but just had it out in the driveway to practice static balance; engine off and tyre pressures right down. Can only manage a few seconds but what I've learnt is that one tends to over correct. It reminds me of some other hobbies trying to control stuff and one has no 'feel' initially and one doesn't realise just how subtle are the required movements. I've got to a stage were I'm butt-wiggling to try and reduce my movement and it's interesting how much moving your bum one way or the other can affect balance. But it's all about gaining that feel for what's required and just how slight the needed movements are to keep upright. The problem for those giving advice is, I suspect, that the skill becomes subsumed into the sub conscious and becomes a muscle reflex to some extent, so it's difficult to explain to a beginner, where one is using one's conscious brain to determine what to do. This is why it is fatiguing until one has built up the brain patterns, as, to use a computer analogy, you are using real time CPU compared to just memory lookup to determine what to do.

I'm sure the guys on this forum would have a few tips for cleaning trials bikes.... Detailing World

Great, thanks for all of the responses. It is interesting what one starts to worry about - also looking at a rather old and tatty 250 Rev3 2t that a guy had bought for his 11 year old daughter; reckoned it was a pussy next to her 80cc MX bike!

Are they less manageable than the 2t? Would a 250 4t be too much of a handful? I'm buying second hand and older, hence restricted choice, as no point in anything too new for a numptie like me that will spend more time falling off than balancing!

Oooh, Errrrrrr! Am looking at a 2015 Sherco 250 and this sounds a bit mixed! I liked the sound of the petrol/air filter swap, mass centralisation and all that, plus intake well up high Is it quality control or fundamental design problems? Thanks

Thinking about one of these and there are two versions. One has a small diameter neck that includes a pouring spout, whilst the other doesn't. Does anyone know if the small diameter neck is still big enough to be filled easily from the spout of a plastic 5 litre spare petrol container, the general car type sold everywhere? Thanks

I'm in the same boat and doing the figure 8's, currently with my trail bike until I get a trials bike. Nearly got to full lock, leaning to the outside and with feet on the outside of the pegs and bike lent over a bit; it sounds ugly and it probably looks ugly too! Also attempting wheelies using the fork compress/bounce technique; first time I've ever managed to get the front up standing up on the pegs but still miles away from finding the balance point. Also very, very sloooooow riding heading towards stationary, but I've yet to get close to that! The Western Districts Trials Club (Australia) videos on youtube are excellent - and very amusing too just search for Basic Trials Training.