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The Trials Training Center website tells you to turn left to hop left and Ryan Young's video shows you to turn right to hop left. Both ways work but I found when you are learning it is easier to turn left to hop left and straighten the bars when you land. If I do a downhill nose wheelie and turn left, my back wheel kicks to the left almost automatically with a little left lean. If you don't straighten out the bars on landing, you will keep falling left. Another tip is not to load and unload the rear suspension too quickly. If you slow it down, you will use more of the shock's energy.

I discovered a technique where I can make small hops with very little effort. It involves a pre-bounce before the second bounce to get the rear wheel up and over to the side. It's like if you were doing a stationary jump, you do a smaller leap motion with feet planted before your final leap. I think it makes you get the timing right and use all the suspension energy instead of fighting it. Turn your front wheel slightly to the right and lean it against a tree or wall so you don't have to worry about losing balance. Using knee bend, leaning forward and extra pressure on the left hand, with front brake, do a small bounce followed by a slightly larger one and your rear wheel will move to the right. It should be one continuous motion and with very little effort you can get 6 inches of side movement. After that you can try it with forward motion and bigger distance.

True, the lever should not slam the footpeg, but it is designed to hit it. The key is to kick hard and fast at the top of the stroke, then the lever slows down and hits the peg, but not too hard.

IMO, Pros are harder to start than other brands even when brand new and especially if you are vertically challenged. What I do is stand on the pegs when starting by leaning against a tree or leaning the front wheel against a rock and put all your weight into the kick.

Cheapest solution is to put a toggle switch on the wire and turn the fan on after it warms up. During the summer in hot climates you can leave it on all the time.

Tires is one area that hasn't lost weight over the decades. If Michelin made a trials version of the Tweel that could change since there's no sidewall. No more flats, interchangeable rubber, spokes tuned for terrain. http://www.gizmag.com/go/3603/

I had similar symptoms where at low revs it was OK but past 1/4 throttle it would get blubbery. I cleaned out the carb and took off the flywheel cover where I found water inside. I think the water was causing the problem. It ran fine after it dried out. Make sure you seal up where the wires go in.

You can see my praCtice sections here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ultimatetennis...kyardSections02 The only things I paid for were nails, screws, 2x4s and the concrete blocks used to keep the pallets off the ground so they don't rot. Construct by stacking, making cubes and triangles and cross bracing with 2x4s. I find that the smaller pallets from the paint store are very strong. In action: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4655324305339683088

Is the cylinder corroded as well? If it is, you probably need a whole new caliper. Try taking the rubber seals off and putting the pistons back in. If you can do that, swollen seals are making the pistons not go back in.

I've never taken the pistons out of the 4 pots but have done it on the 2 pots. Take caliper apart and put a rag over the pistons and use compressed air to pop pistons out. Check the rubber seals as it only may need replacing, not the piston. Unless you have fluid leaking on your pads, your problem may be elsewhere like the master cylinder. I think a piston going bad is rare.

I highly recommend the first Ryan Young Training video for learning the basics. The second Advanced one is too hard for me. I can't do most of the things shown and I've been riding over 10 years.

I had a slow leak at the rim and tried 1/4 bottle of green slime. Didn't work. 1/4 can of Fix-a-Flat did work.

I'm a proponent of the dbSnorkel (thedbsnorkel.com) on trials bikes and have been using it on my GG 250 and it makes it sound like 80cc. There is a little bit of power loss which smoothes out powerband. It fits on standard 9" diameter oval silencers which means GG and Beta only. I can ride in backyard since I'm quieter than a lawnmower and leaf blower. Most brand new 2-strokes start out quiet but since some brands don't have repackable silencers, they can get loud over time. The middle muffler is another part that gets clogged up with burnt oil. On the GG it is packed with a steel wool type material so I think it could be cleaned out with solvent. On the downside, a quiet bike doesn't have the thrill factor of a loud pipe which appeals to a lot of riders.

What I did on both levers is used a hammer to straighten them out and reduced the travel with the adjusting screws. Then I use one finger near the ball ends. More leverage=less effort.

It looks like he hit his visor, forehead and and chin. He's lucky he didn't break his nose, teeth or jaw. A face plant on an irregular shaped rock could have been much worse. A full face helmet would save you on a crash like that but most people don't like the impaired visibility. I took my KBC full face, cut off the top of the Darth Vader vent and face guard doesn't bother my vision. The cheek padding is removable so I took it out and replaced it with some backpacking mat material. The face guard lost strength by cutting it so I filled the gap with JB Weld epoxy. My main problem adjusting with it is not visibility, but my habit of spitting! I remember some World Round riders in 1992 wearing helmets with narrow face guards.

I bruised my hip bone by hitting it on the clutch perch which seems in the perfect position for pain. So I applied a big gob of black silicone adhesive sealant on the perches, let it dry, then cut it into a rectangular shape with a razor. No bruise the next time it happened.

I'd be interested in knowing how many bikes sold last year and how much by each manufacturer.

I would check the adjuster screws at the lever first. I once rented a bike that was set up like that which I think was done on purpose for beginner mode. The throttle cable tension at the carb was adjusted way out which would normally cause high revs but the clutch was adjusted so it was always slipping which kept the revs down. A throttle blip wouldn't bring the front end up or cause rear wheel spin because of the slipping. The clutch was like an on off switch.

I just use the bike's balance for side to side level and the bubble level for front to back. I made my Gas Gas even lighter for just a few dollars. Next project is to replace the 2 lb. tank with a 6 oz. 650ml fuel bottle. Save some weight and dents! I'll need to find a way to cover the gap between the frame. Maybe something soft.

Most trials and riding areas near where I live are so small a 3 liter tank and 5th and 6th gears are unnecessary. I'd like to only fill the tank with enough gas for a loop or a riding session but with the GG tank I can't tell how much is in there and would top off to be safe. I would be carrying around unnecessary extra weight up high where you want it least. 3 liters of gas weighs about 4.5 lbs and I only need about .5 liter for a loop or session. I can save weight by filling up with only the gas that I need and keeping in on reserve. So I made this simple visual gas gauge with clear fuel line and two vacuum line T-fittings. The green line shows where I usually fill to and circled is a bubble level to ensure I get an accurate reading. The top T fitting is in between the cap and the line valve so gas doesn't spill out. I had to use a smaller diameter hose to fit the space above the radiator and through the frame. The small line is for model boats and was bought at a hobby store. My reserve is now a .375 liter camping fuel bottle I carry in my fanny pack. If someone made a small capacity tank that weighed 1/4 of stock, I would buy it.

Even if it's brand new, I wouldn't assume it's ready to ride. My GG came with the airbox boot slightly off the carb letting in dirty air.

Using a hair blow dryer is a safe way to apply heat.

A key for me to hopping the back end is to turn the steering wheel in the correct direction. I used to think if you want to hop left, you turn towards the right and let the bike straighten out. This works on a bicycle, but on a motorcycle the back end will lift up but not over to the left. What works better to hop left is to start with the handlebars turned to the left. As the back end swings to the left, you start turning right.

On the Todo Trial site, www.todotrial.com on the Clasico section, there is a news story that Bernie will riding at an event in Spain next year along with a recent photo of him. The english translation is not so clear but it says he's in good shape from mountain biking so I guess he's going to be riding this vintage event. Maybe someone who speaks Spanish can translate better. It's been a long time since I've heard anything about USA's only World Champ. Has he ever ridden in the US in the last 20 years? From what I know, since retiring, he stayed in Europe, married the sister of another European world round rider, and switched from motorcycles to mountain biking.

My backyard sections I made these with pallets, logs and rocks all picked up for free. 4 pallets can be nailed together and braced to make a cube. 2 for a triangle. Pallets are nailed/screwed together to make a stack. Concrete blocks are under all pallets to prevent rotting.