sectionone

I had overheating problems even though the thermostat and fan were working. When the bike was new, the fan was very audible over the engine with a strong push of air. 5 years later the fan is quiet and pushes a gentle breeze. I replaced the fan motor and no more overheating.

I think the solution is to keep scoring as simple as possible by making stop/no stop irrelevant. Score a five only if riders exceeds time limit, crashes, goes out of bounds or stalls. The designer of the section would set a time limit for each line from 20 to 90 seconds with the time allowed limiting excessive stop and hops. Stopping, hopping, going backwards, and crossing your tracks would be allowed without penalty. A special timer or smartphone app would be needed where you input the time and ten seconds from expiration there would be an alert and the observer would blow a whistle. This could be more interesting for spectators because new strategies could be used. For instance, have a 30 second limit section with a tight technical turn in the beginning, a straightforward middle section and a challenging obstacle at the exit. A rider could stop and hop in the beginning, race through the middle endurocross style, stop and size up the exit with a few seconds to spare.

Yes, they did better than the US men. Strange how our best rider chooses not to represent his country...

Sharpening the edges should help in slippery, muddy conditions but in the dry stuff, cutting the lugs will decrease traction because you are reducing the contact patch. Knobbies have less traction than trials tires on rocks and logs because of the smaller contact patch. Reversing your tire for a fresh leading edge also reduces contact patch.

Looks like real photos, not mock ups. I hope they actually start shipping these at a fair price. 63kg, 138lbs! I wonder how much hp it produces. Weird having no clutch. I'd like to see a second rear brake control for the left hand. Recent UK magazine has an editorial about the sport in crisis and electric trials is the future. Here in the US it is in an even bigger crisis. I can see trials taking off by going electric. Old warehouses in major cities can be converted into extreme sports facilities. BMX, skate, trials, endurocross using the same indoor/outdoor courses. You would swap out batteries at the counter. Recently, there was operating cost comparison between a Zero electric dual sport and a DR200. They should have tested the Zero MX with a 4T MX with both producing the same hp. Ownership costs should be comparable, maybe even less long term. electric/gas study

I've was having trouble with my clutch when going very slow/stopped with the clutch disengaged or slightly dragging. Often, the point where it is slipping and engaging will be abrupt, not smooth. I was reading the sticky in the Beta forum about improving the clutch and know about the clutch basket filing method used for enduro and mx bikes. GG has a steel basket and I noticed very subtle grooves worn in the basket. The pull is as light as new and thickness is within specs. The clutch plate tabs were a bit rough, which I suppose is how they come from the factory. I did a very light filing on the basket and a super light filing on the plate tabs and the clutch abruptness went away. I didn't take the clutch pack apart. I also think just taking the clutch pack out of the basket and rotating in to another position might work as well.

If it has an aluminum frame I would check for cracks. Manuals are hard to find and in Italian.

It seems all trials bikes made in the last 12 years or so have the huge gap in gearing between the section gears and road gears. 70's and 80's trials bikes were great as trail bikes. My 1995 bike also works well as a trail bike with it's evenly spaced gearing. I also think the older, heavier bikes feel more stable on the trails.

I have a copy of Bernie's book that was handed to me by Len Weed himself fresh off the press in 1983. We were setting up a local trials event in Hungry Valley, CA and Len strolls up with a box of books and hands them out to all the club members present. I remember Bernie was there helping set up sections. I also have a scanned PDF of the whole book and if anyone can get Len's permission to distribute, I could post a download link. He seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't mind.

I think the only way we can get a World Round back in the States is if the FIM gets rid of the rule requiring promoters to foot the hotel bills. Or if Trials becomes popular in the US, (highly unlikely) and ticket sales can offset the cost. Japan has rounds every year and it is much farther but they have a huge audience of ticket buyers. Big audiences also brings money from sponsors. It's too much of a niche sport here. The amount of spectators at the 2006 World Round at TTC was good, but in 2008 the numbers seemed down due to the recession and with today's high gas prices it seems like a losing proposition for any promoter.

Neat concept, but probably not good for trials with the unremoveable neck seal. It could be my next helmet for my dual sport bike. It doesn't take much impact to a tooth to kill it requiring an expensive root canal. Then that tooth will become brittle and can crack requiring extraction and then the even more expensive bridge or dental implant.

OK, I finally did some thorough testing on my cut up tire. The one in the photo was my ruined IRC that was my first attempt to mount a tubeless. I ruined the bead and it became a victim of the knife. I since bought a new Dunlop 803 and it took only half an hour to cut off half the knobs with my Knobby Knife. I test rode it in ideal traction conditions. Not much difference than a regular tire except on medium to large granite rocks where traction was worse. Good grip on logs. Test ride on rainy day: Mild muddy conditions. Test rode two trials bikes, one with a regular Dunlop, other with a modified Dunlop. Not much difference. Regular tire was better in some cases. I think I made the mistake of too low pressure on the modified tire (3 psi). I upped it to 7 psi for the next test. Test ride on very muddy day: Lots of sticky slop! On inclines, the only way to get traction is with lots of throttle to get the tire spinning to burn through. Regular tire would just spin/go sideways and modified tire was able to get grip. I could get enough momentum with the modified tire to get over the log at the top of the incline while with the regular tire I couldn't. Modified tire was also better in the deep wet sand pit. Results were logical. In sticky mud and deep sand, trials tires grooves clog up and can't get traction. Making more space between knobs lets the tire dig in and clean out better while spinning. I bought a spare rear wheel for quick swapping so my next test will be using a motocross knobby. It should be interesting to combine the low end power of a trials bike with a knobby. The main reason for these test is to get out and ride more. I used to avoid any mud riding but now I look forward to it!

40lbs

I was doing some traction tests on my trials bike and MX bike in mud and snow in a simple section in my backyard that has an off camber turn, uphill climb and over a log. It's an easy section when dry. When muddy, however, on my trials bike I'll slip on the turn, have no momentum, and spin on the hill without getting enough speed to get over the log. With my MX bike with knobbys, I can track through the turn, carry momentum, accelerate, spin and grab traction to get enough speed to go up the log. As soon as I hit the log with the knobbys, it will slip because of the hard rubber and often I won't make it over. The solution? A butchered trials tire transformed into the ultimate mud tire? It is still in the works but here is what it looks like so far. Trials tire don't work for me in sticky mud because the mud fills up the grooves and making it like a racing slick. Knobbys grab in the mud but the rubber is too hard to wrap around rocks and logs for grip. So how about a trials tire with widely spaced knobs to dig into the mud without clogging up. I know modifying tires is illegal in competition but I'm more interested in getting the best all around traction in muddy conditions. I took my knobby knife and started cutting off half the lugs and am waiting for a good rain to test it out.

I think your only chance is online video and if your lucky it will be in english. Some people can see cable coverage but only when there is a World Round event here in the States. Hasn't been one here since 2008 and none on the horizon. It may not happen here again since the promoter is required to pay $30k for travel and lodging for the teams. Promoters here can't afford that.

The Europeans now have a setup that maximizes Trials exposure by combining EnduroCross and Indoor Trials (renamed X-Trials) in the same stadium. The recent Italy event has the track weaving around the sections. I'm sure the Trials purists won't like the idea, but if that combination could happen here in the States it could be the hot ticket. Most top US trials riders already race EnduroCross so it would be a good combination.

I bought one of these overpriced lower shock bearings for my 07 GG from a GG dealer. I couldn't replace mine since I can't figure out how to remove the outer bushings without damaging them. I also found them for sale here, bushings included but not in stock: http://www.pivotworks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=cProducts.view&productid=1839

I like the new name. I've always been a little embarrassed calling it Observed Trials while explaining it to someone who has never heard of the sport. It sounds wimpy and conjures up images of people standing around watching something. I would make one change and call it MotoTrials (plural). Without the S doesn't quite sound right.

Thanks for the money saving tip! I'm going to be doing this procedure soon. If the fan motor is squealing, is that a sign that it is ready to fail? My 07 fan has been squealing and I've been oiling the bushing which helps but I can still hear the fan motor winding down when I shut the engine off.

How is the new location of the gas fill cap? Last year's location seems like it would be a mess in a mud trial and the new location still looks like it will collect mud, maybe even worse. Maybe they should have a door covering the gas cap like a car does?

Try standing on the pegs while kicking to give you more leverage. I have a head spacer on mine to lower the compression and have not noticed much loss of power but it is easier to start.

If your son bashes rocks as much as I do, the reason your bracket cracked could be because your bash plate is bent and has metal to metal contact. Mine was like that. The rubber pad was cracked and damaged and the bash plate was impacting the lower mount, hammering it in but not cracking it. The stock plate is curved so if yours is flat and you can't bolt it on easily, it is bent. I can't figure out how to straighten it. I hammered it and drove my weighted down truck over it with the plate propped up on wood but it wouldn't bend. Heat didn't help. Would a hydraulic press work? What kind of shop has a hydraulic press?

The middle muffler has stainless steel shavings inside it that looks like real coarse steel wool. At least my 07 does. What I do about once a year is remove the fiberglass silencer packing, lay it on the ground, pour kerosene in it and light it with a torch. You will need to relight it several times in the beginning but after it heats up it will keep burning for hours with flames and smoke coming out both ends. Make sure you remove the rubber o-rings first! Afterwards it will have that new bike sound again.

Actually I was thinking about putting a trials motor in a small MX frame like a KX100 to make a stunt bike. Preferably a Yamaha or Honda 2T motor, but would also consider a Sherco or GG. I was also curious how much a Sherco would weigh with a GG engine, Mont/GG, Beta/GG etc.

I took my GG Pro engine out for service and it weighed 40lbs (18.143kg). Does anybody know the dry weights of Sherco, Beta, Scorpa, Montesa engines?