steve fracy

I had heard about this bike last year...it looks pretty cool! Not as cool as a mono Bultaco though !

No, he dropped Ossa like a hot potatoe ( good move!) Now Sherco, not Beta....can I interest you in a slightly used Xispa though?

I know of plenty of people who are pretty uspset about all this! I know of at least one (now former sherco owner) who emailed the factory and let them know they lost a customer....and he wont be the only one!

is the TDN still a relevant event in the eyes of Europeans?

Brilliant shot, looks like home here on the West coast of Canada!

Well done Chuck, hats off to you and your entire attitude! I lived most of my youth the max under the same guidlines! Now I am a parent and trying to inspire my kids the same way! I hope we get to meet some day! I constantly take that same attitude and am very inspired by the sponsors out there who are willing to support my son! I think if more people had that infectous never say die attitude with this sport we'd all be better off! I thank you for all your efforts! Sincerely, Steve

Very impressive reply! Hats off to you Sting! Well done Ben and good luck with whatever you do! Its all about taking in as much knowledge as possible, no matter how old you are!

Chuck, all you need now is and invite to the NATC meeting, and start implementing some of these initiatives,,,,and watch the entries climb!

Thanks for the level headed and to the point post! Distance and the cost of travelling that distance is now in my opinion the biggest factor to why entries are dwindling. We CHOSE to go to the Eastern US to ride 4 Nationals. I venture to guess, coming from Vancouver Island in Canada, we travelled the farthest out of anyone. In order to get our bikes out there with a friend who drove, we had to ad to our expenses, 3 rounds trips on the ferry. ( one to deliver bikes, one to drive south to fly back east, and another to pickup bikes after they arrived home) Thats an addtional $600 in ferry fares, not to mention fuel etc. We are just like many folks who love the sport and are very dedicated. But, we dont complain about it, its just what we are used to. Some great points brought up here and Dave is right that OTF, you shouldn't be making negative comments about folks on this side of the pond unless you have spent some time here!

OTF....might be cheap enough compared to what you pay, bu have you ever driven from one side of the country to the other?? I doubt it, it adds up! Back in the day we could do it non-stop from one coast to the other in just over 60hrs!!!! Thats non stop driving time.

Chuck, I have to agree with one thing for sure, the cost of doing Nationals is huge! Just a casual observance, that most who are doing all of the events, are fairly well off.....from the amount of huge rigs I saw in NY and VT! the cost alone sure helps in dwindle the entry. Perhaps in the future, the council should do some cost analysis comparing a full series, to a maybe a 4 event Championship between two different states, and within one week. If you wanna ride, sure would make it simple that you need to ride all 4 events. Or, perhaps and east and west series, decided by 4events central to everyone in the format I described....just food for thoughté

Hi Martin: having attended the first US Nationals I had been to since 93 when we were in NY and VT, the AZ and NM were never in our plans purely down to scedule and what worked at home here. All I can add is that I am sure the forest fire danger might have played into some peoples decision, also, I dont know the areas well and was told because of the elevation (just like you have reported!) the riding in these two states in July would not be an issue. Glad to hear that it wasn't. But maybe that might have something to do with it too! As Kramit has stated though too, its more an example of the state of the sport too....I was shocked to see that there are now only 5 Pro riders competing. They are all fine riders and great people from what I saw. But boy is it a far cry from what I remember when it was tough just to get into the top 10 in a National. (Risk of sounding like an old fogey). Don't feel too bad though guys, we are light years behind you with what we are doing in Canada. That was the one thing I came home with after our experience. Not so much the events, but what we are doing to bring young guys along and make them better!

Dabster you ever tried the new Carbon Tech ones??

Thanks 303, obviously my skidplate is not stock....no hole for that plug, will remove skidplate and drill hole in it at same time! Great pics must be the original manual? Steve

Where is the drain plug for trans oil???

Carbon tech reeds are a must, only air screw adjustment needed

Sounds like a great time was had by all! Too bad we are so far away from this to ride another fine event! Glad to see that the WTC was able to work well for Mike and his crew, and that there are so many positive comments! Steve

I think the new bike looks great. I guess the only beef I would have is that I really think the Repsol factory model should have been made a full 300cc bike and as close to a "factory" bike as possible. The current 2stroke factory bikes have alot of upgrades. I really think that if Montesa sold a real 300cc Repsol bike it would be a big seller. People seem to not mind paying extra $$$ for getting a big upgrade.

does anyone else have issues seeing pics of both the Sherco and Mont?

Dabster you're on a roll!

Thats a good one! Yes indeed, when you can see your kids enjoying something that you love too, nothing better, and yes very lucky for us! Happy for you, thanks for the well wishes!

Yup! I am days away from a dream trip with my son doing US Nationals for the first time!

Novogar are good too

Have had this section around for years. it was my Dads. Just looking to sell it and make some travel $$$ for Nationals this year! Thanks Glenn and Billy for the advice. Found some really cool pics from the Robregordo trial in Spain this year, and looks like they have an mono/ air cooled class! I would love to locate a pristine 301 p2, the very first bike I rode when sponsored by Fantic USA! anyone know where there is one??? steve

I am sure that if you looked at the scores a little closer, you would see that the sections were not so easy. Perhaps for the top 3, but, I looked at the winners scores versus Jack Challoner and Pat Smage who were 10th and 11th....big gap there from them to 1st! Not so easy me thinks!