Intotrials

The sections these guys are practising on currently, requires 2 minders most of the time!

You can't blame the riders, and I don't understand why you believe all of them think the sport owes them a living? Maybe the odd few think that way, you get that in all sports, entertainment and such like... There are what I see as a few problems here in the UK: There is a major lack of support for young talented riders, The majority of the general public in the UK dislike off road motor sport, especially motor bikes which they see as a dangerous nuisance. Quality land availability for practicing off road motorcycle sports is few and far between, especially in the midlands and the south. Trials as a sport is under the radar of the vast majority of people, it gets very little to no exposure rendering it a non viable prospect for large advertisers. Unless you are an enthusiast, trials can be boring to watch

Thanks, I'm going to stick with the 300 just to get used to the change and be sure its the way forward for me. If I decide I'm happy with the Mont then a 301rr will be on the list next now then ?

The top level is now so elitist it has gone beyond the reach of most bar a very select few. When you have riders like Dibs and Jack who are awesome riders and very capable yet fall miles short, week in week out, then what hope is there? 99.9% of the trials community cannot even relate to what these guys are doing, I've been riding for 40 years some of that at a national level and 25 years or so ago, even as an average national rider, the world round sections though obviously very tough wouldn't have raised any fear in me. I would have had a good go at most and though I would most likely fived the majority of sections, at least I would have had some idea and technique on how to tackle them. I can still compete at national level even today, but I look at how the likes of Bou & co ride and I can honestly say I have no idea of how they do it, I just can't comprehend or relate to it. I really do think the current world championship is doomed to extinction unless something radical is done. I will and do support trials at all levels and will continue to do so and I'll be very sad to see the world championship come to an end if that does happen. I really don't know the answer, maybe there isn't one, or maybe things have to dramatically change (which would be difficult). I'm not a big fan of halting technological development but maybe that is what it will take. But as its already been mentioned, the biggest problem lies at the most elite / minority end of the sport, and not anywhere near as many problems at the grass roots where the vast majority of riders are at.

That's the thing, they sound so good and feel great to ride, but under pressure I still have a niggling doubt. Like you I think I'll stick with it and get used to the bike before making a decision to keep it or not. I really really want to love it hands down cause they are such a great machine! Good luck and keep us posted with how it goes ?

Hi Jimmyl, how are you finding the 301 compared to the 300? Just a thought if I decide to stay with the Mont I might upgrade at some point. I've heard different reviews some advise stick with the 300 and others say the 301 is even better, I would really like an honest opinion from somebody. Thanks

I've recently had a 300rr, after riding 2 strokes all my life this is my conclusion so far: The 4 stroke grips like a tractor if you ride it like one, i.e. you have to feed the power in smoothly and keep it ticking over as soon as you give it too much zap and it breaks grip it struggles to bite again. The power across the whole range is great and the torque amazing The bike doesn't feel any heavier until you start to bounce it around or get into trouble, then you notice it especially when you are tired I'm currently struggling with timing/synchronising the power & suspension and body action, especially when jumping on the back wheel across rocks. I cant quite pin point the issue, whether its the the extra weight, the suspension settings or the difference in power delivery, or a combination of all, I'm still unsure. I'm currently playing around with gearing, suspension settings and fast/slow action throttles to try and restore some confidence. My conclusion so far - Love the feel of it, love the sound of it, love how it grips and pulls when you ride it properly, love the power delivery and build quality. Still concerned about the extra weight, lost some confidence on the big rocks and the trick riding, Hate heaving it around when I'm tired and in trouble. The jury is still out at the moment.

I totally agree, unfortunately the government health advisers may not share the same view. I had a NHS senior nurse who complained to me about going out ""off roading" on my motorbike during this epidemic stating that it was selfish because I was potentially placing myself at high risk should I crash and require medical assistance adding additional strain on the NHS system.

Hi folks, I've recently bought a 300rr and still getting used to the bike. It has come with a 41 tooth rear sprocket and a 10 tooth front, which I believe is standard? On my first outing I found that the bike rides really nice running in first gear but is a bit quick in second. My spare rear wheel has a 42 tooth sprocket from my previous bike (300 gas gas) I ran this and didn't find a lot of difference, but have since noticed that second is now only very slightly more manageable. My friend is running a 43 tooth rear sprocket and uses second much more, he is preferring this setup, I rode his bike and I'm not convinced. What do you folks run and why do you prefer your setup? Thanks

Looks good Ben, I'd also set a couple of sections that are just slightly beyond your current ability, something that you can work up to that will challenge you. Riding sections repeatedly that you can complete is good for keeping up your skill level and confidence but to improve you need to keep gradually increasing the severity (nothing too dangerous though) so as to test yourself. It also keeps you interested and gets you excited when you achieve a section you thought you never could. Most sections you can just adapt as you improve, but setting a specifically harder section gives you a goal to aim at. I do a bit of local coaching for some beginner riders, and this approach works really well and keeps them enthused. :)

A 250 is more than powerful enough to learn trials riding on, even experienced MX riders will find a trials riding a totally different animal. I have a few friends who have been top Mx riders now riding trials and they struggle with bigger cc trials bikes. My advice is to start with no bigger than a 250, learn the basic trials skills, maybe ride a few events then after a while you can decided whether you want to take the plunge to a bigger machine.

It's not uncommon these days for elite athletes to concentrate solely on certain "major" events to limit physical degrading, especially when the purse money is more substantial. Tiger woods is an example of someone who has pretty much dominated his sport, won just about everything going and now at a later age has to protect his body against injury. Bou is no different, has had a previous serious back injury so limiting his activity to protect against further damage makes sense. He has nothing left to prove, so missing out on a domestic title to favour a world title seems sensible to me.

Not sure if its feasible, but maybe if you feel the rim is shot anyway, perhaps you could drill it and fit a clamp (modified to suit the rim)?

Yeah man, just a warm up for the season.

Stop allowed at this level makes sense. Marking no stop for modern trials at championship level is too inconsistent and puts added pressure on the observer. I started my trials career riding no stop then adapted to stop allowed and enjoyed the "new" format. In my experience a good percentage of the people who complain about stop allowed do so cause they perform better no stop, or feel it evens the playing field (which it can to some degree). In some respects allowing stop can make the spectating more boring than it currently is so to combat that a time limit per section makes perfect sense. I've said it before and i'll reiterate, modern trials has developed into 2 sports. Back when I started out a decent centre rider could enter and compete to some degree at a British/world championship event and have a good go at most of the sections, these days this level has become elitist.

I'm confused??? why would you mark a 5 on each section before you ride them? Trials, much like golf rely s on a certain amount of honesty from the competitor. I ride trials for the challenge of man and machine over terrain. Personally I like to have a sense of achievement when conquering a section and a humility when I fail. If a person claims a better score than they actually achieved then they are only really cheating themselves, and will most likely get found out eventually anyhow. I would like to believe most folk would rather be proud of real achievement over falsely winning a tin pot for the mantle piece.

Yes he is guilty, but I guess they see it a bit like a criminal on remand, where the remand time is taken into account during sentencing. Since he was doped checked in September 2018 and only received notification of his ban recently I guess they saw it fit to negate the results for the 12 month period straight after rather than losing a rider from the next season. Right or wrong I would assume (hope) that they feel that the WTC is in a poor enough state as it is and anymore controversy will just add more fuel to the demise.

I've taken Nox - Pump as a pre-work out supplement while training at the gym. It made me hyper and feel like I had more energy but I lost a bit of coordination and timing as a side effect, oh and couldn't sleep that evening either. It would certainly give him the feeling of more energy but I doubt it would enhance his riding, rather, based on my experience,it would be more detrimental due to the diminished coordination and timing. I can only assume he was feeling a bit off side and low on energy and decide (unwisely or by poor advice) to take it before the comp? Still, a banned substance is a banned substance and any professional athlete no matter what sport should not be using it, regardless of the intention.

The problem being that these land owners may get scare mongered into stopping people using their land, not just for motor sports either! Its a shame that things have got so bad that we have to go through "formal" approval for everything just because of the "sue for everything and anything" mentality of modern society. ?

I recently happened upon a new piece of ground that would be perfect for trials events and/or practice sessions. I came across it by chance and was rather excited when I got talking to the land owner and he turned out to be a keen motorcycle enthusiast. I asked him if he would be interested in hiring the land out for either events or as a practice ground. He was quite blunt and told me he was not interested because of liability. He had heard a story of a farmer who had allowed MX bikes to practice on his land and even though he had all the riders sign a waiver of liability a person who crashed there was advised by solicitors to sue the land owner. The rider won the case and the land owner had to pay compensation. This sort of thing really, really gets my goat! Decent land is difficult to come by these days and off road Motorsport is suffering enough through bureaucracy. Motorsport is a risk and the riders/drivers know and accept this risk as soon as they take control of their machine, they should have their own insurance in place if they want to ensure financial support after an injury or accept fully responsibility for their own risks and actions. There should be no way an innocent land owner gets sued in the event of an incident, these loop holes in the law should be filled and greedy solicitors stopped!

Not many people do, myself included ?

I agree, but we could sit there and say that about all sorts of things in life. I find cricket, fishing, gardening, tv soaps... boring and pointless. Even F1 is boring to watch these days yet still attracts massive revenue and audiences. For some reason or another in bewilderment to us trials fans the majority of people find it boring and pointless. What I will say is, I always watch the indoor and outdoor world rounds and have attended many over the years, but I can see why people in general could find it monotonous at times. My wife doesn't understand the appeal either she always comments when I put it on to watch with "why do you watch this s***t" I always reply with "the same reason you watch soaps". She will not come and watch any trial I ride in, she just says "go play on your big boy toy but leave me out of it, boring" Maybe this opinion is shared by the majority of people?

The difference being that snooker, darts and similar sports appeal to a far greater audience. My Gran used to sit and watch both and enjoyed them, no chance of getting her to watch trials! I agree, you find some MX riders and most Enduro riders either ride trials themselves or enjoy it as a sideline and/or training. But I know many MX riders who think trials is a waste of time, boring and pointless. Obviously I don't agree and try to get them to see the skill and benefits from riding trials for all forms of motorcycle sports. trials just dosent seem to appeal to the vast majority and certainly not to the general public spectators.

Personally I ride for the fun of it these days. Trials is probably one of the safest & cheapest motor sports you can do. Unfortunately its quite exclusive and has never seemed to gain much popularity with the public or in some cases even other motor sport enthusiasts. So for me expecting some reward for a couple of hours fun in the woods is a bit pointless and i'd rather see my £10 I might win go back into the clubs that need the money to enable them to put on the events in the first place. For the young kids coming through I get it, anything that keeps them enthused has my vote! At the higher national level, yes maybe a little help with costs for the riders would be helpful for sure especially for those travelling around the country to compete. But again I don't think entry fees would cover this and higher fees may put the majority of riders off from making the journey, especially if they feel they have no chance of getting into the awards. If trials was a bigger more popular sport, like golf or similar then you could have substantial awards going down to lower places because you would get the backing from big sponsorship deals. But unfortunately its the tin pot end of motor sport so I can't see its popularity gaining much ground anytime soon. Just going back to a point I mentioned. I've competed in a few different motor sports over the years and the general consensus I get is that, even other motor sport enthusiasts seem to be uninterested in trials. Whether they feel that motor sport = speed or not is their thinking I'm not sure. But I have had many folk say to me "trials is boring" the problem is from a spectators perspective I sort of see their point!

I think you are dead right about a stop and a pause. Back in the Sammy Miller days when trials technique was about keeping the wheels turning and throttle control to maintain momentum, then it was easier to define between a forward motion and a stop motion. These days trials is so dynamic, especially at the top level the task of defining a stop from a split second pause, to maintaining forward motion is far more difficult to judge. For the observers its a nightmare to maintain any sort of consistency that is fair across the board. I think in principal the "no stop" rule is/was a good idea as it in theory should level the playing field better and provide better safer sections and less boring to watch for the spectators. But in reality it isn't working because "stopping" in modern world trials is too ambiguous. For it to remain and improve then there needs to be some clear definitive consistency to what is actually deemed a "stop". I don't have the answer and I think most folk are scratching their heads on how to tackle the issue. Personally I would definitely have a 90 second time limit per section, maybe have a pause allowance i.e perhaps a max 3 seconds and I would want to see a larger variety of terrain and section styles included. It seems that the section builders tend to follow a common trend these days which just falls nicely into the hands of Bou and co. If you notice when the sections are do or die style then Bou tends to blow the field away. Maybe add some more trickier stuff in there that gets the riders to think more about lines, throttle control, maintaining momentum and grip... If you notice, other than the big fails, they are the types of sections that take the marks of the riders.