steve fracy

JTT: Superb new avatar!!!!!!!!!! Are you missing hockey as much as me? Steve

Atta boy Charlie, I'm not far behind you on both accounts!

Good for you Charlie!! I recently found an old pair of Hyper Products fork guards that I used to use on my Beta TR33. (If you remember Hyper Products, then Iknow you are old too) I was staying at the Team Beta USA Headquarters one year while riding Nat'ls and doing some Neta events. I must have been bored or something, spent hours with a dremel carving little Maple Leafs as vent holes in the disc cover side! Still looks cool! Ah, to have that much time on my hands again.................. Cheers, Steve

To 5again: Yes I have ridden both a current 280 and a 300 with the Raga ignition settings! Very different from my bike and especially the engine! I guess for ME, I still prefer the 02 engine. Like I said in my earlier post, I beleive it is really a Pro motor! There is no doubt that the current models are more rider friendly which indeed will help sell more bikes to a broader variety of people! Heath, if you do the footpeg mod I told you about, you will notice a huge difference, especially if you are a taller rider! Cheers, Steve

Ahaaa! thanks Martin for confirming my suspicions about where it was!! No mistaking that type of terrain! Cheers, Steve PS. Martin, you should have some great pics from years gone by for us to guess at!

That pic looksl like it was taken close to home for me, it must be in Canada!

OK you guys: I've read this thread from the beginning, listening quite closely to see peoples different perspective's. I have ridden a Scorpa, but never enough to give a good opinion. I do think, that like most of the bikes today the are very good! I ride one of the much malined 02 GGPro 280's. In my humble opinion it has the best motor out of all the Pro's ever built so far! It is what it say's, a Pro! It is built for an expert rider! In all my years of riding trials, (too many to mention) I have been in pursuit of tuning an engine to perform like the one in my bike! The only mod I have done from stock is to move the footpegs back 1/2 inch. This is crucial in my opinion! My brother also has a 02GG and we both agree that it has the best engine we have ever ridden. It is also good to note that my brother and I are long time Beta guys. He had a Rev3 up until 02. We also agree that our bikes grip better and deliver ferocious power better than any bike we have ever ridden! I must also add that I did ride a new Beta 270 Rev and it was the first of any Rev3 I really liked!!! It had an excellent motor and fantastic suspension. But, I feel that my particular model of GG is a real advantage in the hands of a good expert! Cheers, Steve

I would say that the rider directly behind Phillipe Berlatier is Jean-Marie Lejuene! Defenitely Colomer beside Codina as well! More pics please! PS. my guess would be that the event is taking place in Wales

Vinnie: Yes, saw him this summer at one of our events! Don't see him as much as I used to now that I live on an island again. The Williams used to be like a second family for me, and many others over the years! Steve

Ishy: the answer to your question is Kit Williams. I knew the Ryan and curt ones too, but logged on too late! Steve

Dabster: If there are more than the one pair, or Tony decides he doesn't want them for some reason, I would be more than happy to pay for them! I have been trying to collect ANY Fantic retro gear to go along with my restored 240 that I ride in the twinshock class here! Cheers, Steve

Hey Heath: Put me on that list too! I had also wondered how I could get one after you sent me the link, but just never bothered to bother you! If someone else is willing to order one, why not make it two!! Let me know what you come up with! Cheers, Steve

When you come to god's country, what part of it are you thinking of living in?? Cheers, Steve

Just wondering if anyone out there knows the correct jetting for a 240 Fantic operating at sea level?? Any help would be great! Cheers, steve

Good post Ishy! They really are two different sports altogether aren't they? Will be interesting to see if the no-stop rules come back soon! Steve

Ishy: I guess it's true that when a Yorkshireman speaks, people listen!! I'm just along for the ride my friend!! Oh an while some of you are bringing up the subject of Hockey, CANADA- Olympic AND World Cup Champions!!! The best in the World, at OUR sport!! Did any of you guys from NY watch the final game?? Cheers, Steve

Ishy you old sod, next time I can bring a tear to your eye, let me know and I will be sure to have a tissue ready for you...............When I was a Lad!!!! That must have been quite some time ago then!! You old fart!! Glad to know I can invoke such emotions in you!! cheers, Steve

I would like to think that I am an expert on this topic! I have just turned 40 this year! I am a 4-time Canadian champion. My first championship was in 1984, the last was in 1994. I have seen many a young kid come along and get increasingly good and eventually beat me!! This list includes many other Canadian champs too, from Mark Cahill to Ryon Bell! For me personally, I always felt that the best thing I could do for these guys is try to dislpay to them the intensity it takes to be a good rider and be a champion! It was obvious to me that they would be better than me very soon, so I never had any ill feelings towards them as I competed with them! Most recently, in 2002, I competed against Sean Bird in the Expert class of our PNTA Championships. I could see he was going to be a very promising rider! He beat me the first day by one point! It motivated me to be better the second day! We were neck and neck the whole day, and the trial came down to the last section! I was lucky enough to beat him that day, but I enjoyed the totally competing with him and hoped that we both raised each others level of riding! I still ride expert in our club and PNTA points events! I believe that it is one of the ways that I can contribute to all the young guys coming up, by riding as hard as I can anytime I ride! I'm proud to be able to say that I have been able to stay at this level for about 20yrs, and hope I can continue for many more!! Cheers, Steve

So I assumed that Pons was riding the bike in the event, when in fact he was just going to demo it at the unveiling eh?? Rotten sods leading me on like that!

Hi guys: What happened with the Sherco 4t ??? Don't see Juan Pons' name in the results at all! No mention of him or the bike at all! Cheers, Steve

Hey Bob and Fanticisti: You guys are both so famous that some input on the most talked about topic in Canada would be great!! Steve

Ish: you of all people know why I am spending my time an energy on this whole thing! I love this sport, and I see something that could be much better and make things much more fun than it is! It's our passion for the sport! The time has come to finally try and bridge the gap between East and West in our country! With the aid of computers, now it's so much easier! That doesn't mean that I am not with you also in all your ideas with the PNTA. Especially a youth series. I would like to try and help you out with it next year if you like. I figure if you can do one day of the weekend, I can do the other! Always glad to help as much as I can get away with, without becoming single again! Cheers, Steve PS. I could write a best selling book on travelling accross the country and back with no money!!

I have many great conversation's with lot's of folks on both sides of the border about our predicament up here! I want to be clear about one thing on this topic. Although I do not agree with the decision the CMA made to leave Wilson off the team for the second year in a row, I do not intend to start bad mouthing the CMA. I believe we are entering into a historic period in our country with regards to our sport. Things have not been very good with our National series for some time, and the problems facing our TDN team and it's selection have now also been made apparent. It's time to go forward and re-build the foundation of two vital parts of our programs. I have heard from people in trials clubs from every region of the country, except Ontario. This week I well be sending a formal letter to the Ontario association to join with the rest of the country to work together and then make a formal proposal to the CMA to help work out problems and hopefully start a partnership similar to the NATC/AMA. Thanks to email and the online efforts of this site and other's, I can keep everyone informed with our progress! This way, an open forum can be continued regarding this subject! We only have something to gain from all of this! If we do find ourselves faced with a stalemate of sorts and are met with resistence to the plan, we may have to count of support from clubs, associations and governing bodie's from other country's. I believe that a Canadian Trials Council would have a lot to offer All the clubs and especially the CMA if we were allowed to work together! Cheers, Steve

Wow! 254 views of this topic! I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been more comments on there though! Especially from our home and native land! Steve