scorpaf

John, this has been debated frequently among parents of riders in the 16 year old bracket, my understanding was that a 16/17 year old would still have to ride a 125 even as an adult. My reason for believing this is due to the very last sentence of TSR1 ' The rider must always comply with the maximum capacity class for their actual age.' Surely this is the reason many of our top youth 17 year olds are still riding 125s at events like the Scott and the Scottish!

Dale Robsons' 2005 SY125 has done approx 80 trials riding expert class, 12 B Class Nationals and 1 European Youth Round and he's still currently using it. The motor has never been touched in that time, not even the valve clearances have had to be touched. Believe me, he rides it just as hard (maybe harder) as any of his competitors on 2 strokes. I guess most of them will have worn out 4 bikes in the same amount of time. When he's finished with it (hopefully soon) I'm keeping it for myself! If thats not confidence in a product, I don't know what is! Top bike.

No1, you must be using a very funny map! The Nationals a very definately Southern biased. I do agree about Richmond though, great trial (still South of the centre of the UK though). Think of Allan McMaster and Shankies (I think they're from Fort William and Glasgow) must be 300+ miles (South again) to their closest National. Allan was in the IOW aswell, must have been an 1100 mile round trip! Bet there was some Red Bull consumed on that trip. But heres a thought, where would be the best place to live to do this years nationals if you had a choice between the IOW (seriously South) and Newcastle upon Tyne (moderately North)? The man from the IOW will drive approx 2600 miles and the man from Newcastle will drive 50% more!! Are you sure they're not Southern biased?

Now I could be wrong here (don't think I am though) but the geographic centre of Great Britain is Haltwhistle in Northumberland. So I propose that we have a British Championship that radiates from this central point - instead of the current Southern Championship that we have at the moment. It would be more environmentally friendly! And, of course, substantially cheaper for me. Seriously though, it kind of makes me laugh that I live 45 miles East of this 'central' point yet travel South for every round!

Check your breather pipe from the fuel filler cap - I've known them to get melted by the exhaust pipe where they run down the front frame tube. They can also get full of mud. You'll end up with a vacuum in your tank and a shortage of fuel to your carb. Bike usually runs fine for a while then runs crap - leave it for a few mins and runs better again - also gets worse as the trial goes on and your fuel level drops. Well worth shortening it anyway if its long. Worth checking out and very simple to fix.

Come on Old Trials, gone are the days when you could by a house for 30 bob, a gallon of diesel for tuppence and get into the pics with a jam jar. Your pacemaker would stop if my monthly diesel bill dropped through your letterbox! And nobody is demanding help for 'little johnny'. We were asked a few questions by John Collins and people have merely left some suggestions. Also remember most of these riders are probably knocking in 50+ trials per year - they are already contributing big time into the ACU purse through levys. So maybe, they could be given free entry into domestic trials. The transport system is feasible(yes I've worked it out and yes I could probably do it), but maybe not perfect - I suspect people living near the South coast and particulary those with motorhomes would maybe be less interested. Still, the time saving would be a benefit to all. It could be easily subsidised (not paid for) by the ACU and ultimately would be best run by the ACU even if the final organisation was left to a third or interested party. How about arranging all World and European rounds in the UK and making the foreigners cough like we have to? Sorted. Right, I'm off to bed after my 12 hour night shift - heres hoping I don't get disturbed to do my part time job even though the money would come in nicely for this weekends 700 mile drive to the IOW. Still, if I got off my fat backside.........

As a parent of a rider who would like to compete in Europe I would obviously like to see some funding available for our riders to compete in these events. I think that a subsidised method of transport to get the bikes and associated kit to the event thus enabling the riders and parents to fly would be both cost effective, less time consuming and fair to all. And no I don't mean we need the Italian 'factory' truck! As things stand, sending 10 to 20 seperate vans from the UK to European rounds with each van costing around

I think Castleside Quarry is now off limits - I'm sure I was told that the police showed up there recently and confiscated some bikes. Maybe someone else knows more, but I was told by a reliable source. Not really worth taking the risk.

Just to clarify, Dale Robsons' Scorpa is a customer spec 05 model SY125F Racing. The bike was set up by Birketts as per their well publicised "4 stroke set up" and of course to Dales personal preferences. The only non standard, although still available to all, bits on the bike are the Racing CDI and Flat Sump Guard. If you have followed Dales' results on the bike and been impressed enough to buy one then don't be put off by thinking its a 'factory' bike. It's not.

Thanks for the posts - keep 'em coming. I've managed to get a quote of

Since we're hopefully heading off to the UEM round in Spain, does anyone know the cheapest way to get across the channel? A rubber dinghy is out as we can't fit the van and caravan into one. I've managed to get some reasonable quotes but I'll bet some Yorkshireman has probably managed better!

I've attended 27 trials this year, ridden one and observed at one. That's 25 times I could have observed but didn't. The reson being the amount of crap you get from the riders for observing them correctly. You know the sort of stuff, the rider who didn't stop, didn't go backwards or didn't lean on that tree (or just never bothered to study the rulebook) etc. If I have to stand for 5 plus hours just counting how many times the riders put their feet down in the section (which is what the riders seem to want you to do) then I'm sorry it's not going to happen, it's just too boring. Observing correctly to the ACU rules (whichever set your riding to) is a bit more interesting. Many riders are all to capable of riding the sections feet up and its only the more technical infringements that ever seem to squeeze any marks from them and at least involves the observer in the process. So in my view, if the riders want observers they should show a bit more appreciation and don't argue with the observer. The observer didn't write the rulebook - hes just the mug standing there upholding it! On the subject of trials with no observers (ie riders marking riders), well whats the point, you get no consistency whatsoever. Personally I wouldn't even bother riding. I take my hat off though in appreciation of all the observers who I see week in week out at the many trials we attend, especially those that somehow manage to pull off that feat of marking 'harsh' but technically correct. 3 cheers for the observers without whom there is no trial.

Fact - you are not insured to ride a 200 at ACU events regardless of which class you choose to enter. If you have an accident you could get a right shafting! And so could the club if they let you ride. As things stand you need a 125 and you'll need one right up until you're 18 years old!!!

Just as a small footnote and to save yourself all of this hassle in future, don't push your pistons right back when changing your pads. Push them back just enough so that with the new pads fitted there is just enough gap to push the disc in between them. This is because the pumping action required to bring your pistons back out can suck air in through the seals - the seals are there to keep the oil in rather than the air out!

B Class Jonathon Richardson 24 Ben Morphett 25 Ricky Wiggins 33 Alan Ayres 34 Dale Robson 36 Andrew Chilton 37

Yip, definately had three in this baffle before I took them all out - sounded awful and produced less power on the rolling road! So I made a complete new baffle from aluminium and welded one restrictor back in - guess what, only 0.1bhp increase, but hell it proved a point. That was on a very early TYS125F (maybe UK models are different), also have a SY125F but I don't recall how many that had in it and I can't be bothered to go into the workshop and check. Anyway thats my personal inexperience.

Take off the silencer - drill the rivets out of the end cap to remove it - slide out the long perforated tube that sits inside complete with the exhaust packing - there should be 3 steel tubes welded into the perforated tube at 90 degrees to it - grind away the weld on 2 of these tubes to remove them leaving the end one in place - don't remove all 3 (if all 3 have already been removed then weld one back in!) - re-insert the perforated tube and repack the silencer - rivet the end cap back in place. 15 minute job if you have the tools to hand.

Its evident from observing at Nationals that there is a lot of local variation in the rules - one C class rider quizzed me about a 1 he got for stopping and then pointed out that in his centre they're allowed 3 seconds!!! Where does it say that in the ACU handbook? Another dad said "you're just being mean" for fiving his son for ditching his bike into a bank just before the ends cards. Seriously, you just can't win. I will say this though, I have only twice sent my son back to ask an observer about a 50/50 decision at a National - on both occasions his mark was altered - but having given the decision more thought later in the day, I have to admit that the observer was right on both occasions. Fortunately on neither occasion did it gain him a place, so I slept well. On the other hand, I have always been happy with my own observing decisions, although I doubt all of the riders agree. But as I always say to my son (on occasions he is having a moan), keep your feet up - keep moving - keep away from the flags, and there is nothing the observer can five you for.

and half a dozen riders will have a low score by persuading (read: arguing or intimidating) the observer. Whilst others do indeed learn, and up their game, to ensure they don't get a five.

I watched the 2005 World Outdoor review yesterday on DVD and, since I hadn't swotted up on the 'World' rules, I found it quite boring. Every section looked like it had been fived to me. So as you say, we have too many sets of rules! As far as the no-stop being easy for everyone to understand.....lets just say I no longer observe in my own centre (hooray say the riders). Sections need to be able to be ridden no stop and riders need to accept the five they get when they have stopped - otherwise its a waste of time. Personally I prefer a 1 for a stop as I hate to five a rider (contrary to local belief) for what has sometimes been an otherwise faultless ride.

John, Dale runs standard 10/57 gearing on his bike and tries (as much as possible) to ride everything in 1st gear, there are of course exceptions to this. Personally I find 1st a little tall on the standard gearing although I am getting used to it rather than run the two bikes on different gearing. To Nigel Dabsters comment that Mark wouldn't say anything bad about the bike - well why the hell would he? He'd just won a clubman national on it - he must have enjoyed riding it. The bike has sufficient power to do what most people are capable of and what other issues are there? All the rest of the kit is the same top quality gear you get on the 250, and they have to be the easiest and cheapest to maintain bike on the market. I'll bet in 10 years time you'll still see early models at trials and as competetive as Pros are, none will last 10 years, or 5 years for that matter. How bad where the early Pros? What about this years Rev3s? Still everyone to their own, its just a shame folk are so quick to slag off such a bike.

Mark won the Wainwright on a 125 (not a 143)which was loaned to him by Birketts - he was very impressed with the bike judging by the post he left on this site. Dale Robson also managed a 6th place in a recent B Class National on a 125 - beaten on the day by 5 better riders rather than 5 better bikes! Up to a point the Scorpa is as good as anything else - and that point is way above most peoples riding ability or section severity.

It just doesn't seem to be a good time at the moment for selling trials bikes, I've never had any problems selling our 125s in the past but I've had absolutely no interest in the Pro 125 I've had up for sale for 2 months! I probably did the worst thing and spent a lot of money on it to sell - should have just flogged it off dirt cheap. I'll be seriously out of pocket when I eventually sell it. Still, they say you live and learn, usually the hard way!

Just a quick note to say well done to the NE Youth Team (Lewis Peart, Dale Robson, Joe McMeekin, James Brooke and John Battensby) on Saturday after riding a trial that would have seen many a good adult rider retiring due to driving rain through the night and the duration of the trial which meant that 5s were the order of the day. With A and B class sharing the same route we were always on the back foot fielding 3 B class riders. I think it would be fair to say our lads struggled with the A and B route although the C route was about right. However, despite running right up to the time limit (which was extended by 1 hour and 3 sections being cancelled on the 2nd lap) the lads attempted every single section. Thanks also to the dads (minders) soaked to the skin by the time they reached the first section - so were the riders. Lastly to our TWO observers Debbie Peart and Clair Robson who stood in the rain for 7 hours - yes, I think we had the only section with 2 observers and consequently no queueing - other centres please take note. Nigel Robson.

Sorry I'm a long way behind on this topic but have just got back from holiday (well dragging a caravan around the counrtyside doing trials related things for a fortnight) a real holiday is a luxury I can't afford in terms of time and money. I don't know how financially astute Alan Stay is but I can assure him that many riders parents just do not have the cash or the time available to compete in all of the rounds of the Southern Championships (oops did I say Southern, I did of course mean British Championships). Without going deeply into the finances of it, I'm sure many parents are like myself and have a pretty much fixed trials budget, even if they haven't got an actual figure they know what they can afford. I spend about