5again

I'm on my third PRO now, all of them 250's, and ponder this choice each time. For most adults it seems 250 is the way to go, its easy to ride, plenty of inexpensive tweaks to make it ride right for you, all explored on this forum. It will resell easier too. However, if you are a genuine centre expert (and up) contender then it looks like the 280 or 300 is the choice. Must admit though, I do think the bigger engines sound nicer, and would love to have a go one on the big climbs!

Good to hear you will be back on the wtc trail Andy, .. jealous! - Sweden sounds good, unfortunately just sold my RB5 so no longer in the scooby fraternity! Any chance of a return of wtc prediction thingy from a few years back, it added a little expectation to the wtc results, was fun! How about it? cheers

With the draft dates for 2008 now being published is there any confirmation about any change of rules for the "ACU Traditional" series - particularly on the dual routes topic? (or otherwise) - or are these confirmed at the trials forum?

... WSB champion Troy Corser. Was washing my bike one Sunday pm after doing an event and his dad strolled up (turned out he'd been visiting our neighbours!) with a tinny in his hand and spent an hour jawing about mostly trials, and a little WSB goss as well. Lovely guy. (actually it could of been anybody, but I was convinced) - btw this was in the UK, not Monte Carlo where I believe his son lives !

Hi BikeSpace, tragedy if this happens, and I'm sure you guys will be exploring every avenue to keep it available. Just a quickie on something similar that happened a few years ago here, English Nature (shudder!!) tried to ban events on MOD land in Hants / Surrey it transpired that ground nesting birds were the cause. In the end it meant that events were not banned, but restricted to Sep thru' Jan (nesting elsewhere or something) as long as the route / risk assessment was reviewed by the land agent and EN. (of course the armoured personnel carriers, tanks and dog walkers could keep using the land, as the birds aren't worried about them!) - Its not ideal, but its kept the land available. Good Luck.

It's a great move for both HRC and Bou, and a shame for Beta. Dougie will surely only do one more year, if that. And it looks like Bou has the ability to take the fight to Raga and Caby, if a little lacking on consistency. I guess they could of gone for Raga but I wonder if he could of adapted as effectively to the 4RT - he seems so synonymous with the PRO and its development, I know he's not popular in the UK, but it looks like he is going to win the most fiercely fought wtc for a while, he must deserve credit for that.

Missed out on riding the bluebeards myself this year, but the results are here: http://www.brdmcc.org/Homepage.htm

Really enjoyed the Poland coverage, the terrain looked more familiar to me, steep wooded banks etc with some big gear blasts, rather than hopping up big rocks. Looked like a tough one, with both Fuji (crash not withstanding) and Raga really taking it to another level. Also liked the closing interviews, don't remember seeing the spanish lads speaking Inglese, turns out Jack's translation is not needed after all!

I think its up to the club's membership to decide (at least the handful who turn up to the agm) whether they want observed sections or are ok with self or group marking. I don't think there is any doubt that the current group of regular observers are in general ageing and not being replaced by friends / family etc, and lets face it

I agree totally with your sentiment gasgas249uk - "We all want him to win this year" - saw him take what I believe was his first wtc win at Houghton Towers in '94 and have been enthralled by the phenomenon ever since. I enjoyed your personal commentary of the wtc and Dougie etc, clearly something is causing some inconsistency for DL, whether its fitness or whatever lets hope its sorted for Poland onwards. Also hope that Dabill or Morris can start to make the break into that top 5 in the next year or so, most of the current crop of front runners were starting to breakthrough at about 19 or 20. Hopefully young Mr Wigg will be in the big class next year, it will be great if the next super teenager in the wtc was a Brit rather than a Spaniard!

Does anybody have any contact numbers for the guys making the machined carb boot adaptors for Pro airboxes that were mentioned some months ago? Much appreciated Thanks

Thanks for the advice, I removed the wheel and silencer and loosened the centre section and it all came apart, though getting the airbox boot back on the carb when I put it back together was a pig! Thanks again!

Trial last Sunday was a bit of a mudfest and would like to take the airbox completely off of my recently acquired s/h 05 rev3 to give it a good cleanup, used to do this on previous shercos - nice and easy to work on. Will the airbox assembly come off without removing the shock / exhaust? - or does either need to be removed first, it looks a bit tight in there, was even wondering if the expansion box needs to be slacked off or removed. Appreciate any guidance or previous experience. btw - I did remove the flywheel cover to let the leccy bits dry out, it did dribble a bit when removed. thanks again.

Hmm, I posed a similar question on the forum a year or so back, as I recall then the scorpa was highly rated. I believe the Beta r3 250 (with standard slow throttle and flywheel weight) would also be a strong contender, certainly more so then either the 250 PRO or Sherco 290 I've had recently. Would also note thay Scorpa's and IRC getting extremely popular down south (muddy, short climbs)

This is clearly a weakness (at least pre-06) but the extra tlc mentioned here should help out significantly with reducing the chance of erosion. As I recall it the owners manual even recommends removing the flywheel cover and allowing the electrics to dry. Yeah I know, as if anybody reads the manual !

For my 04 290 I fitted the slow throttle (though I understand if your're not keen on this) a VX plug and the 05 front pipe. The resulting extra smoothness in delivery feels like it has helped me keep it moving under control in the snot, and not have to resort to 3/4 gear burns. My jetting had also been experimented with when I bought the bike (second hand) - I reset to stock jetting for the best results for me. Even after trying a few bikes at the BVM test I still thing there a few bikes as smooth as this.

Couldn't agree more neonsurge - including the single sitting comment! At least the limited coverage in TBM still has an edge that makes it interesting. What I don't understand is that Mr Rapley seems to contribute to TBM, not the TMX Trialsworld product. Shame that TBM couldn't get their dedicated mag off the ground.

Thanks guys, seems like the Boyesens make sense, any suggestions on where they are available in the UK? - VX plug likewise.

Anybody know of a UK stockist for either of Boyesens, V Force or Active reeds, I usually use BVM however they don't seem to know much about these. Will jetting stay the same after fitment to a 04 290, I'm just looking to try smoothen the low / mid power if poss. Many thanks.

Anybody fitted the wider read mudflap on their pro? - did you remove the original first or just stick the new one over the top? Also, any tips on carburetion for the 250 appreciated, a tiny bit more pickup off the very bottom would be useful, currently running 35 pilot, go leaner ? I've fitted 10/40 gearing which made a big difference. Thanks.

I'm impressed that everybody is staying on the 'grip' thread. To Steve Fracy, good to see a GG Pro fan comment on its abilities, but I'm curious, have you ridden later 280's even the 300 we have here, supposedly they have made that motor have less of a hit, I would of expected that to make it more of a gripper, with equal rider and tyres. I also agree that tyres are a huge factor, but given that I try to squeeze a year out of every rear tyre, club trials only, then an intrinsically grippier bike would make a difference. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

This seems like the Scorpa is coming out pretty universally as a good grippy machine, I've only watched a few in action, and must admit they do impress. Little suprised to not see the Sherco 290 being favoured here, especially as they seem very popular in Southern uk events. Thanks for your feedback everybody!

Thats interesting about the Scorpa, recently I've noticed a few looking good in dodgy conditions, though of course usually associate that with the rider. I'm currently running a GG 250 Pro, which whilst being light etc it does seem very sensitive to body position, also I don't think it has the most flywheel, its revs very freely and doesn't take much to break traction. I agree its the rider that finds the grip, but I wonder if some bikes are better than others, tyre condition and rider being the same.

Looking out of the window this morning and watching the rain I was thinking what is the grippiest bike? - forget build quality and all the usual best bike stuff, in the snottiest conditions, greasy clay, chalk or mud, slimy rocks, though being a southerner don't know too much about that, what is the bike with best ability to get you to the ends cards feet up. Assuming you are not Grimbo!

For club trials in the south, I would say that Sherco is clearly the pick of the bunch right now, and dealers I have spoken to confirm they are getting the most sales. Then Beta next, who have really gotten the experienced veteran market, as well as youthfull experts as well. Then GG, Scorpa with a very few Monts, though I strongly suspect Mont's will rebound with the 4st. One thing I am amazed at is just how many new bikes there are around, what with them all going up by around 10% or so this year.