NoTraction

There were some lovely bikes there…. I suppose I just said Bantam because they usually look the most ‘trick’, Draytons etc, so thought they were most likely to feel a bit more modern like the Fantic…. It’s a bit of a minefield with the old bikes unless you’re clued up. To be fair, I’d love a well sorted Cub or C15 but that would be nothing like the Fantic so getting off topic a bit…

The difficult but is educating yourself on what’s good and worth having and what’s unsuitable. I’ve been looking and it’s a bit of a minefield if you don’t know what you’re looking at..

Thanks Rich, What’s the BMCA British series, I don’t know that one? I’m going off at a tangent now but I rode my Fantic at a Golden Valley Classic and Twinshock trial the other week on their Clubman route and had a great time, a day full of ‘real motorbikes’ but those trials are few and far between. I do like that I can ‘do more’ on the modern bike but it’s all rev and squirt and lacks charm. And although I love the Fantic I’m thinking there is more variety and more of a ‘scene’ for the pre 65 bikes. I’d love a Cub but with other trials bikes I’ve found that I get on better with two strokes, hence wondering about a Bantam. Interestingly, (or stupidly), I didn’t realise my Fantic had a reed valve!…. And the brakes, which I keep on top of, are no problem at all…. Guess I need to try and get a ride on one..

This might be an odd question to ask but there’s a reason… I bought a Fantic 200 last year (been riding modern bikes for a while) and it’s a cracking bike to ride, and always puts a smile on my face. The only thing is that at my level it doesn’t really fit anywhere in the local trials I ride. I ride Sportsman and easier Clubman/middle routes on the modern bike. I also have friends who ride pre 65 bikes. Where I’m coming from is that there isn’t really a class I can ride in competitively at my level as Twinshock class always seems to follow the Middle/Clubman route which is often beyond me on a modern bike let alone the Fantic whereas pre 65 always has an ‘easy’ (Sportsman route) and a ‘hard’ (Clubman/middle route). There is always a good few chaps riding pre 65 bikes on the easy route. If I want to ride the Fantic it has to be in Sportsman against modern bikes really as there is rarely an ‘easy Twinshock route’. I know score isn’t everything but it’s nice to try to compete in your class. I’m not a young bloke and I don’t bounce so well these days so Middle route on a Twinshock is not really for me… So the question is, how would a well sorted Bantam compare to the Fantic? I guess the fact they are twin shocked and 2 stroke might be where any similarity ends but my thinking is that if I rode one of those at least there would be a specific class I’m capable of riding in to a reasonable standard. Can anyone advise on this?

I bought a pair from Saunders Extreme for my TRS Reiger, they were only about £20 from memory. Would they be the same?

So... mines 2018. I'll need to look up the part numbers from then. Definitely different on new ones as you say 👍

I see you didn't get a huge response to this, but how did you end up? I'm just going through the same process with my 4Ride which I'm planning on fitting a 4rt kit to (tank, plastics etc) for giggles and kicks....

Thanks - as is always the way, a curve ball has been thrown in. Someone has just emailed and asked if I would like to trade the Harley for a Trials spec Tiger Cub! The head says uh-oh, the heart says ‘where do I sign’!

That’s brilliant 🤣

I’m looking a buying a classic trials bike of some description. Unfortunately, when it comes to motorbikes, I love everything! I’ve been riding trials for about a year on modern bikes and have become fairly addicted so I’m flogging my classic Harley as it now languishes in the corner and want to sample some classic trials bikes. So I’m just wondering if there are any particular brands or bikes out there to avoid due to inherent or unfixable issues, I guess I’ll be looking at SWM’s, Fantics, TY’s and the like from the early 80’s. Love the style of SWM’s but know nothing about them otherwise. No idea what the difference is between front kick and rear kick Fantics (200 I think?). Like the look of Bultaco’s but I rode a mid 70’s Sherpa and didn’t take to it at all, rattly old bag of bones I thought. Might just have been that particular bike! Really like the look of the TLR Hondas but again, are they imports that are hard to get parts for? So just trying to find info generally on the older bikes and what might work best and what to avoid. If anyone could point me in the right direction I’d be grateful, thanks.

So I’m told - it’s frustrating, I’ve had all sorts of bikes over the last 40 years and when I was told there was a learning curve to starting them I thought it was probably a load of tosh - how wrong I was! Still, only had it a week. I’m sure it will come! Wish it would come quicker though, how hard can it be!

I’m having frustrations starting my ‘21 TXT 250. Obviously not as much compression but still a bit random to start. I guess this would work the same? Makes you wonder why they don’t build something into the design to make them start easier!

So I had a bit of practice on my mates today. Think I got it nailed! 👍

I'm practicing tomorrow with a mate whose got one (TXT 250 Racing) so I'll have a bit of a session with it and see how I get on. I've been spoiled starting wise with the Beta, 1st kick every kick whether its a positive kick or a lame half prod - apart from when its been on its side or upside down then its a bitch.... (usually somewhere awkward...!). 😉

Thanks, that’s reassuring! Loved riding the 250 👌🏻

Good Evening all! I’m looking at buying a TXT 250 Racing, 2021 model but I’ve heard too many rumours that they’re hard to start. I test rode one on Sunday and, to be fair, I had to get the owner to start it as it wouldn’t start for me. Is this a thing? Doesn’t make sense, surely it would put folks off buying them if they don’t start? My Beta Evo starts easy, I’m looking forward to the change as it’s a great bike to ride but will be mighty frustrated if I can’t start the thing, especially if I’m half way up a slippery bank! Can anyone enlighten me on this?

One of those then… I haven’t really tried tuning the set up so I’ll have a go at that before spending out… again… just in case I regret swapping. The Gasser belongs to a mate though and he’s told me I can ride it as much as I like so I think I’ll be trying that! Funnily enough, he commented on how much he liked my Beta!

That’s a possibility. Would be interesting to see comparisons.

Ouch! That’s just what you want on a day out… not! But you’re right - I don’t think there’s any way of saying right bike or wrong bike until you’ve had a chance to ride one for a decent amount of time. And don’t get me wrong, I do like the Beta. I’ve just checked for the first time properly and the rear suspension wasn’t set up as it should be from what I’ve read. Over 30mm static sag and the sag with me on it was about 110mm! Now I don’t profess to know much about that but the figures are far larger than anything I’ve read on here this afternoon. So I think I will start there and see how it goes whilst keeping one eye open for a deal on Gas Gas if it comes along. By the way, we had a very wet and muddy practice a few weeks back and we were also using third for climbing slippery muddy banks but with much slippage of the clutch. It was all quite noisy but seemed to work quite well….

I reckon that might be the case - although testing when I first started was tricky because a) I didn’t know anyone and b) I wouldn’t have known the difference due to my lack of experience. I do like the Beta but I found the gruntier gas gas really nice to ride, effortless almost.

Hi Chris, You may remember we had a few chats when I first got into it so it's good to hear from you. I seem to remember you had a TRS 280? Or is that gone now? I had a Rev 3 250 briefly then moved on to the Evo 200. So now we're down the road apiece and I have a bit of experience under my belt. Still got masses to learn and still making schoolboy mistakes but I can now feel the difference between bikes which was not the case at all when I first started, just staying on was the priority! I'm learning that the TRS and Gas Gas are possibly similar. Two of the guys I have my regular Thursday morning practice with have electric start TRS 250 RR's and love them, although they both think the standard R would have been fine, it was just what was available. But they seem to be far better specced than my standard Beta ( I can't speak for Factory models, don't know anything about them). And the Gas Gas I rode which is a brand new old stock 2020 model is also well specced. I guess studying the differences between the two is called for. I've ridden both but to me there was something about the Gas Gas that I just liked. Apart from starting it which was a pain, especially for a new bike.. I am also a bit of a bike tart in fairness, always looking for the next thing so I need to be a bit careful! But its whether to spend money adding better parts to what I have if required (shock, brakes etc) or sell what is a two year old pretty well sought after bike and move on. You could probably very easily spend several hundreds of English pounds on better shock, brakes, and even forks and never see that back and maybe not end up with what you want I guess. All food for thought, not really confident enough in my own judgement yet to be sure I know what I'm talking about!

Thanks, I better double check the set up on the Beta. It was like I’d stepped on to something plusher and more substantial than the Beta. It just felt ‘solid’. The bit that got me is that there is a half buried log about 4 feet in diameter with probably 3 feet of it projecting out of the ground half way up a slope of about 45 degrees. On the beta, I loft the front wheel and it kind of bounces over it in a fairly jerky fashion yet on the GG it almost cruised over, really smoothly. My approach was the same, if anything gentler because it wasn’t my bike! On the tight camber turn, it just felt like the centre of balance was lower and I felt more planted and able to lean the bike over further than usually works on the Beta, despite the turning circle not being as tight. I’m still very much a novice and it may have been fluke. But it did make me think, is it the bike or the set up? Everyone raves about the Evo 200 which is why I bought one and I love it, but this has made me wonder. It may have been that by luck the GG just happened to be set up right for me and the Beta needs tweaking so I’ll go through it. Thanks for the input guys 👍

I’ll keep this short and sweet. I ride a Beta Evo 200 (2020), have been riding trials around a year and am getting on pretty well I think, at least it’s all coming together and I’m falling off less than I was! Riding Sportsman routes with scores usually around the 20-40 points mark, sometimes better, sometimes worse depending on the venue. At my regular Thursday morning practice I had a go on a new Gas Gas 250 and immediately obstacles/logs on flat and slopes were crossed more smoothly/less jerkily and, weirdly, a tight camber turn on a slope I’ve been struggling with was easier, did it second go! The Beta is less powerful, lighter and has a tighter turn. Yet the Gas Gas immediately seemed smoother to ride after spending ten minutes on it. Certainly surprised me! What would be the logic behind this? One for the experts!

Just bought the black ones. Love ‘em, they make my Formas look like carpet slippers!

Thanks for the tip! 👍