5again

GG UK also do an exchange barrel + piston service, maybe more up your street, used to be around

Hi Pitley, will the sections be same standard as last year now you are a championship round, and does the route return to Longtown throughout the day for fuel etc ? - have spoken to a number of people who rode last year and highly recommend it. cheers

heard that the '09 (which I think is same as '08 - Behr ?) can spring leaks around filler cap neck / header area, I guess stress related. Indeed recommended to beef it up with some liquid metal / epoxy etc. I have not done this, but not experienced any issues (yet !)

Interestingly Gas Gas France have the Raga 280 on their website at EUR 5999, pretty much GBP 5300 at today's rates. However its only EUR 300 more than the standard 280. In the UK the difference is more like GBP 1000. Makes the standard one in the uk look very good value.

Multi coloured route markers is pretty standard across all club level trialing these days, I guess things have changed, but most observers have gotten to grips with it now. Would recommend you give it another go, there were over 100 riders there yesterday, and everybody I spoke to was really enjoying their day out. For a certain category of rider they are certainly doing something right. There is another North Hants event half mile up the road at the MOD test ground in March, worth a look also, perhaps observe !

Fantastic area, sure it would make great trials country, have a friend in Grolejac who I'm sure would be interested. I think date will be a factor in maximising attendance, clashes with similar events and holiday periods etc. Also, why limit your potential entry to pre65 and twinshocks, a significant portion of club, centre (and even National) UK trialing consists of o40 and o50 etc riders on modern bikes, who enjoy good 'classic' sections and a good scenic ride round. You could still set the same trial, and attract 'like minded people' but stand a better chance of getting the numbers you need. Just a thought.

Was just discussing exactly the same thought with tilertrialer. No big gaps next year. Suprised at the Peak being dropped though, superb event (if a little hardcore, bit out of my depth) btw - congrats on another successful year (I think!)

thanks Dabster. btw - Gasser just dnf'd for the first time, ran out of petrol on the peak ! (still runs sweet as a nut)

Does anybody know if it's possible to fit 2 (or even 3) bikes in a VW Kombi or equivalent Vito or Vivaro, i.e. with 2 rows of seats ? - I see plenty of people using these vans at events but would be really useful if they could take more than 1 bike. (apologies if this topic has been addressed previously)

Likewise, really enjoyable day. Thought each group was good, nice to have the variety, though maybe could of had another section at the golf course? Didn't think the the road mileage was too bad, and glad we were advised to top up after the first group. Everybody I spoke to in the paddock after seemed to enjoy it. I wonder if you might get some grumblings though as I noticed a few clean sheets on the scoreboard so could of been a bit harder for them. Though I'm sure 90% of the entry dropped enough marks, I know I did ! Thanks to the club and observers for their hard work.

You're welcome, just did it, so its still fresh ! To measure compression you need a special tool that goes in the plug hole (obviously need to make sure its compatible with the GG plug size) - can't remember typical healthy compression, 100-120 lbs I recall, worth calling GG UK, who advertise on TC. (always recommended) We're hoping team GB can maintain their lofty position in the medals, though maybe tough to stay there for the rest of the week. Funny thing, somebody told me the US media is showing a different medal table, based on total medals, in which US is tops !

Maybe worth checking for compression, otherwise unfortunately I think you will have to remove the cylinder, and replace both o'rings and the base gasket, however its pretty straightforward: Remove the tank, exhaust front pipe, rad cap, plug Drain coolant, remove the lower clips on the two hoses on the impeller cover, then remove all the hoses, perhaps label them with some tape to remember where they come from, which end is which. Remove the screws in the frame that hold the rad in place, and any rad trim, then you can wiggle it on the metal locating dowels when removing the barrel. Take off the cylinder head. (can inspect cylinder condition now) Take off cylinder, may need to wiggle or displace the rad to get enough clearance, will defo need to when putting it back on. Remove one gudgeon pin clip, drive it out firmly from the other side. I think thats it ! New pistons have an arrow indicating the exhaust port. Hopefully damage is not too bad, enjoy the Olympics whilst waiting for any parts !

Yes, fantastic trial, thanks a lot Torridge. Very well laid out sections, great venue. Not having ridden rocks too many times personally I was out of my depth. But there was nothing dangerous, and you could paddle (literally) out for a 3 if you got into trouble. I regret not seeing him ride, however Dave Thorpe going round for 1 on his cub is amazing, best score of the day. (ok, I know the British Bikes had a handful of deviations) - but nevertheless the guy is a legend !

Thanks all, must admit I didn't try running with the 'sunshine' setting as the switch is removed, and top end is what I thought was missing with the new pipe. It may well be the sound it makes is misleading. Also the only time I've run with the new pipe was on extremely dry and steep going that I wasn't used to. I think I will refit the standard pipe and try and do a more objective back to back with the pipes at a practise session. Must admit though, do think the titanium pipe looks (and sounds) the part ! cheers

I just bought a used 'long' S3 pipe from ebay, and credit to the seller it was in undamaged condition exactly as described. However I can't help but feel it has made the power of my 07 250 PRO a little 'flat' - I didn't make any other alterations. Curious to know if anybody else has any experience of these ?

Interestingly today's TMX 'test' of the RAGA300 featured Shaun Morris' bike being ridden (with what looked like Aluminum 'Zokes) and a straight from the crate machine for photograhpy, with no such markings on the upper forks. Looks like the change to a different fork manufacturer has caught even the supported riders on the hop! - saw one in the flesh at a club event on sunday, must admit they are very tempting ...

The carb sleeve is produced by a TC member: IKB. Can't recommed enough, had it on both my last 2 Pro's. Not only is it a more effective solution, it secures firmly to the carb. It eliminates the hassle of refitting the airbox unit, Just needs a bit of WD in the airbox tube to help it slide on first time when refitting. Also always seems to fit easier to refit the airbox unit with the tank removed.

BillyCraig, interested to know how the RAGA 300 compares with a humble 280, did you find the 300 too much of a handful ?

Hi Mikee, looks real clean, hope you enjoy. On my 06 and later on 07 250's (which I'm sure are very similar to yours) I put the slower (black) throttle tube and a 10T gearbox sprocket, I think the 07 had boyesen reeds in also, definitely slows it down in sections and makes it more controllable to ride. All cheap and easy, and probably worth doing ahead of the flywheel and spacer mods, which seem more suited to the bigger engines. Of course the best bit of advice would be to practice and ride, then practice some more !

for example ?

Basingstoke and Aldermaston Nomads are very active, contacts and more here from the acu site: http://www.acu.org.uk/directory/centre.aspx?id=14

Tom, you do not need the 16mm allen key. I contacted factory Kev on this very issue, and gave up trying to find one. If you slacken the axle pinch bolts you can loosen the axle nut on the other end, which I recall is approx 7mm allen key, give it a tap through so you can grab hold of the 16mm end, then loosen off completely and pull out from the 16mm end. This worked fine on my 07 250 without a 16mm allen. Good luck Tim

Good point Atomant, as you suggest the question is more relevant as "What is the grippiest bike in the hands of a novice/clubman" as most decent experts seem to have the nack no matter what. And its awesome to witness, especially when you've just fallen aot just trying to walk a section, and somebody sails round feet up, one of the real treats in trials. Around here I do see a lot of SY250's doing well, certainly up to good inter level, though nowadays I'm even more convinced that its about the rider finding the grip, an SY250 may have a slight edge, but its nothing compared with somebody who has the finesse and focus.

I lived there (over 10 years ago now) and visited Takumi Narita's dad's shop in Kawasaki (less than a hour from central Tokyo) a couple of times, Shozo Narita, great guy. Very plugged into Japanes trials scene. His english and my dodgy Japanglish allowed a good exchange about Trials etc, I still have his card from then: 439 Nakamaruko Nakahara-ku Kawasaki 211 Tel: 044 411 4171 (can't recall Japan international prefix) Might be worth a try ....

Hmm, if so, this could be an interesting pointer for where new bike prices are headed, GBP is down around 12% against the EURO since last March. Interesting to see how much of this the factories and or importers can cover. Anyhow, looks like you've finally solved your conundrum, have fun(trials) - sorry !