HOOKYH

I bought a 2012 Evo 250, pretty happy with it once I tightened all the bolts and sorted the stand out. Not at all impressed with the clutch though, the only thing it did consistently was drag a bit. So after reading about the fix I ordered a set of surflex fibres and went through the very monotonous task of cleaning them up. When I took the clutch apart I remembered an old mx trick and drilled holes through the inner hub, two holes, one hole then none on successive teeth. We always reckoned it improved oil flow through the clutch, might be a myth but worth a go. When I reassembled the clutch, after soaking the fibres of course, I was very careful setting up the free play on the pressure plate, getting it as minimal as I could. I then used only 4 springs to get a lighter pull. I should point out I'm a crap Trials rider and the clutch action is the very least of my problems. However the difference is night and day better, I can even select neutral easily now. The bite is much smoother and the same every time. Well worth the mind numbing task of cleaning up the plates and a bit more time on the other stuff.

Having had an older EM (2016) for a while now and competed in a Trial I have come across a couple of things I don't like in comparison to my sons Beta. Firstly is the lack of steering lock. Cost me a couple of 5s and contributed to a couple more. It does look like this has been changed on the newer ones. Next is that the fork angle seems steep and dropping into gulleys especially it feels like all your weight is too far forward. Final bad point for me is any situation where you shut right off then need to get back on the throttle there is just too much 'engine' braking. Trying to ride over a fairly big pile of logs this caused some spectacular falls while I could do it fairly easily on the Beta. All these issues could be easily resolved by a decent rider I would think. There are also some plusses. Most obviously it opens up many more places to ride and the public don't seem to be offended by it like they often are by petrol bikes. Although I read about a lack of grip I haven't had an issue with it and find the no gears approach nice and easy. Maintenance is absolutely minimal although parts are expensive. It is a brilliant play bike and no doubt a very capable trials bike in better hands than mine.

Spot on, never did answer my message but really good on the phone.

I have a 2016 EM with the 3 position power switch as well as the handlebar map. So far I have been really impressed with the bike but the other day it lost a lot of power in the lower two power settings although it seemed OK in the highest setting. This did follow my granddaughter crashing it fairly heavily and burying the throttle. Finished the day out on the high setting. When I looked at it the wheel was rolling on the stand with the throttle closed on the highest setting but not the lower two. I adjusted the throttle to stop that, after taking the throttle to bits to make sure it was all ok and tried the bike very quickly and thought it seemed OK. Unfortunately took the bike out today and it is back to being flat again. It is also making less power than before on the highest setting. Anybody had a similar problem or an idea what the issue could be? I'm OK on petrol bikes but rubbish at electrics so if it's complicated please remember you're talking to an idiot 🙄

I've always thought it would be good if the ACU offered a landowner indemnity insurance with licences. I think that is the big worry for farmers and it wouldn't be expensive given the numbers.

Have sent a message but no reply yet, have to ring them I guess.

Where will I be able to get a new rear mudguard in the UK? Inch Perfect don't have any on their site but guess it has to be possible to buy one somewhere.

The auction site roll over wheel chocks are one of my best buys ever. Just push the bike in from the back and it stays there while you walk round the side and strap it down. Almost no tension on the straps as all you have to do is stop the bike rolling backwards.

Did 3 hours with 3 riders on one 2016 bike yesterday, just trying different sections on a small piece of land. Bike was on the go pretty much non stop the whole time and used 1/2 the battery. No running between sections on full throttle though just the odd tyre clearing blast.

Yep works the same and can't test it yet but I'll bet my life it transforms it from good to spot on 😁 It did, made life so much easier not having that play, didn't realise how much you use the throttle to balance on tight turns.

I'll be out in the workshop having a look in about 2 minutes 😄 Thank you

I finally found a tidy 2016 EM at sensible money and have had a couple of plays on it now. Has to be said that I've barely ever ridden a modern trials bike so can't really compare it to anything newer than a mid 70s Bultaco Sherpa. However I have been really impressed so far. The bike is a lot better than me and better than I am ever likely to be at my age. There are 3 settings plus 2 maps which seem to control the throttle response for each, it is very mild on the lowest one with my near 14 stone on it. The middle setting with the fastest response map is my favourite so far. The highest setting makes more torque than any bike I've ever ridden right off the bottom including my flat trackers, unbelievable response and too much for me so far. The throttle seems to have a slight delay from fully off, bit like a throttle cable with too much play in it. Battery life is superb, two of us playing for nearly 2 hours today and it's not showing any lost charge. Maintenance doesn't get any better, wash it, lube the chain and cover it with acf50 seems to do the job. Battery charging from only a couple of bars from full takes longer than I expected but is no hardship. Plastics and their fastenings aren't great but improved a bit fairly easily. Can't imagine you'd want to do any trials with much distance between sections as it's like being stuck in 3rd on the old Sherpa (slow). Very happy with it and already have a local farmer letting me ride a piece of land whenever I want which was the whole idea.

Well I found a tidy 2016 EM at sensible money and have had a couple of plays on it now. Has to be said that I've barely ever ridden a modern trials bike so can't really compare it to anything newer than a mid 70s Bultaco Sherpa. However I have been really impressed so far. The bike is a lot better than me and better than I am ever likely to be at my age. There are 3 settings plus 2 maps which seem to control the throttle response for each, it is very mild on the lowest one with my near 14 stone on it. The middle setting with the fastest response map is my favourite so far. The highest setting makes more torque than any bike I've ever ridden right off the bottom, unbelievable response and too much for me so far. The throttle seems to have a slight delay from fully off, bit like a throttle cable with too much play in it. Battery life is superb, two of us playing for nearly 2 hours today and it's not showing any lost charge. Very happy with it and already have a local farmer letting me ride a piece of land whenever I want which was the whole idea.

I've been looking at 2016/ 2017 bikes as I can't justify spending 6 or £7k on what will be mainly a toy rather than a competition bike. Hopefully half that will buy something decent and leave enough to run the race bikes 🙂 I'm sure they are, yet to be involved with a motorcycle club where they weren't to be honest. Will probably join Waltham Chase if I decide to do the odd trial as they are the club I rode with as a kid and also Hut Hill which they still use a lot is only a 10 minute drive for me.

Do have a 1976 Sherpa 350 I'm rebuilding too which will be more what I'm used to. Just thinking that I could use the EM more often locally without complaints. So long since I rode trials I won't actually know any better how it feels than a modern petrol engine 🤞