ChrisCH

The XT 500 trail bike is a modern classic and worth enough to buy you a brand new Vertigo outfit built by Paul for you. Tidy it up as much as you can and expect a decent return on it. If you want to sell it off for a few hundred to get a crappy old TY PM me and I will have it.

That's a rather nice Yam. Sounds like you have got the right idea. I know how easy it is to get carried away - I bought a Bonneville many years back (the co-operative one) and I loved it. The front wheel rocked in tune to the engine. But it was a money pit and was stupid to keep shovelling the cash into it. I could have bought another bike with what I wasted keeping the thing running. If the engine is good the gasser is worth a few bob as things stand. I hope you get it sorted and enjoy it.

Looking at the rim I would be sceptical the tubeless will seal on the corrosion. You can save a bit by using duct tape rather than rim tape - you would need the wide 4" tape for fat MTB on a trials rim, or the proper trials tape (£20 - probably will not seal either). If you are worried about spokes you might just have to bite the bullet and put a rim on, by which time you are at new wheel stage. What is the engine like? It is a very hard decision to make but by the sound of it you are very unhappy with the cycle parts and trying to renovate on the cheap? I think you have to decide if you are repairing it to resell or to ride. If the engine is good you might have to come to terms with spending more than you are comfortable with and at least having a basic ride for a year or so. If you want to resell it stop looking for faults to fix - fit a tube and relist it on eBay. Thinking you will ride it for a while then break it seems to me to put you in the position of getting the worst of both outcomes.

I have no idea if this helps but the wife's 2014 Evo has a black spring. The suspension feels quite normal, a bit soft compared to my TRS. I find it (Evo) bottoms out easily but the TRS seems to ride as I think it should (I am no expert mind). I even thought about replacing the shocker.

I don't know the usage but about the same as al_orange - 10 hours - at a guess. Three or four weekends of practice and a trial - ish. The same as him the oil looks as if it has had some wear and noticeably smells a bit different. I am sure it would last longer but it is not a big or expensive job. Oils - Nano trans in the Beta (it is really noticeably better for cold stick) and light gear oil (Putoline) in the TRS. In the Beta I use half a tin (500ml) so you get two changes per tin.

I wish I had known that a week ago. You are correct and once the mud is cleaned out it would be an obvious way to get WD40 into the threads at the other end. I might have got away with the oil and tiny turn routine. I will make a point of keeping this clean and lubed now.

One on ebay if you are content to go second hand.... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254795016554

As we are locked down and cannot ride I thought I would do the chain and sprockets. Looks like the last owner struggled with this - one of the bolts slightly bent. Sadly even with three days of penetrating oil and tiny turns I managed to finish the job off and snapped the bolt. So a twenty minute job has become a day. Swinging arm out to get the broken bolt out and new bolts and copper grease both sides. I guess it is bad workmanship before - the rear sprocket bolts were two different types (cannot surely be normal?) Anyway - worth bumping the thread and remind anyone that is bored sitting at home this is a worthwhile job. So far this is the only bad point I have found on the bike.

78Kg. One here: https://www.powerstartbikes.co.uk/product/tenaci-wong-twc-200-2020/ The new TRS also have electric option but are a lot more money. Nice though. (That's the problem I like them all)

I would love to try one. I am curious about the weight issue though, they are (according to the web page) nearly 50Kg. It really is not that much less than a light ICE bike. If I could pick up one cheap (dream on) I would have on to play with. The main problem seems to be decent tyres and if you put better wheels on to get good tyres you lose the weight advantage such as it is. As above I think I would be looking at the eMotion or similar as a better alternative (although they are "normal" weight). Anyway if you get one please let us all know how you get on. They look like great fun on the Smadge videos.

You are obviously a sensible, nice person. Lots of MX or enduro bikes round here, often illegal or illegal pipes, ridden like loons at high speed past dog walkers and the like. We are lucky to have a few decent green lanes but they are abused (and by the 4x4 noddies as well). I have always taken the view that a nice quiet four stroke ridden sensibly and with a degree of politeness to other people bothers no one. Plenty of dads letting their kids ride over the heath in the New Forest as well. As you say - idiots.

Farley has a cheap Gasser. No idea what they are doing lockdown wise but I am sure they could ship it. http://www.gfmotorcycles.co.uk/used.html 280TXT 2006 £1795 Trouble is you can't go look at anything. Shop has a good rep though, I bought my old Rev3 from them. Slightly overpriced IMHO at the time but handy as I have a customer nearby and can justify taking the van there on work diesel.

Where to ride a pit bike? I think we all know where the 500 quid off roaders get ridden. Trials is very cheap compared to most other things. Two grand is not that much to get started really. Two grand is not much of a push bike to be fair. I would love to see old nails selling for a few hundred and I agree this would make it easier to get into riding trials, but the people selling them presumably are into trials but don't share that view.

The same is happening for push bikes and all other leisure items. A road (motor) bike is worth at least 1500 if it is MOT and roadworthy. OK you cannot ride now but what you can do is fix up. It is better to have an old bike in the shed as something to do than sit though daytime TV. People who are salaried and can keep their job have nothing much to spend it on, no holidays and no commuting costs and so on. Although the unlucky ones are skint quite a lot of people are cash rich, unusually so as they normally spend. The most cost effective way to buy a trials bike seems to me to buy a two-three year old machine. If it is in good order the depreciation on new has taken place but it is still mechanically sound. I have ridden the TRS over a year and all it needed was rear wheel bearings. I have just ordered chain and sprockets to replace during this lockdown (did the missus' Beta last one). I would happily spend time doing other small and easy jobs but nothing needs doing. I would like a "project" but the prices have put me off for over 18 months and presumably will for ever.

Depends who is wearing it..

I also have MX trousers (they were gifted to me so might as well use them). They are fine. If it is warm and dry I just use my work trousers, there are lots of them about in Wickes or Screwfix type places.

Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh............. Everyone will want one.

Any sort of leather treatment is best applied from new. Once the leather is dirty the treatment is less effective. (Unless they are factory treated - don't think the trials boots are, some walking boots are) I have Wolfsports and gave them two good applications one when brand new and another a few rides later. Have not bothered since and they are still OK. The critical thing is the boots to be clean if you are putting more wax on. I am lazy - far too lazy to really deeply clean mine and will buy some new boots at some point.

It is and a jolly nice job you have done - very good.?

One of my customers was a keen rider. His wife was in the British ladies team. They called it a day as they could no longer afford the money but mostly the time. The hassle was tearing their relationship apart as well. She is off work at the minute and nipped over to us to pick up some goods for her husband and the bikes are sat in the warehouse. You could see how much she missed riding and was showing my missus static balance and so on. I think the "enjoyment" aspect tends to get overlooked as people become too preoccupied with the competition aspect.

Since we are back to posting links... https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/media/how-to-convince-yourself-social-media-is-more-trustworthy-than-real-news-20201203203145

Could be good for the viewing figures?

The lithium battery technology is very different to lead acid. A lead acid battery has all sorts of bad habits and needs care and attention that they tend not to get in light automotive use. A good lead acid battery charger has the facilities to do something called conditioning which the experts tell me my battery needs. Generally the charge is varied during the process as best I understand it. This certainly is the case with our fork lift. Lithium batteries are just replenished. Trickle charging is so the battery doesn't get hot and bend the (lead) plates. Motorbike batteries are much smaller than car batteries and so require a more gentle charge, hence trickle chargers for bikes. I can only guess that the bike's charging circuit is OK with lithium (unless it was the OE). They do seem to be "the thing" for bikes in the last few years. Very sensible for a dirt bike where it might spend the odd minute upside down or on it's side, a bit overkill for a road bike.

Here you go - So for the UK we need B&Q.

All true. The big difference between us and the broader bike scene is that trials bike buyers are buying to ride in the sport. If Suzuki (for example) are the winning bike in the GP it might well see a lot of road riders buying a new gixer as opposed to a Kawasaki. Even if the Repsol was the super-duper go-to machine it is not the one most of us are going to buy as we are not super-duper go-to riders. Just read the number of times a Beta 200 is recommended by other posters as an "ideal" bike. One sponsorship item we are overlooking though is the obstacles on X Trial. They all seem to have some sponsorship logos on them. Maybe that is what we need to do? Find a sponsor for the obstacles? Is there a big cash rich company out there?