apriljo

We’ve had our property open for trials riders for a couple years now, all we’ve asked is for an introductory ride so we can get to know you and a signed waiver. I can count on one hand the amount of return visitors we have outside of events and there’s only 2 regulars. We are an hour plus away from most of the “local” riders. I think the reality is that you need the competition events to get riders to make time in their busy schedules to come together and ride. We held our first competition this year in early September. We were lucky enough to have some experienced people come and help us with the section setting. I learned that it takes WAY more effort than you’d imagine to run an event like this. I also learned that everyone has different opinions about how difficult the lines should be, and they often contradict themselves! Ultimately as a section setter I hope to find the balance that makes it challenging but not too difficult. We can’t please everyone as section setters, and I think that will be a consistent problem with other styles of events.

I taught a friend to start my bike and after pulling the bike backwards he was moving the kickstart until he felt resistance before kicking. It won’t work if you do this since you’ll be turning the engine out of the sweet spot. There’s a bit of easy resistance at the start of the kick when you do it with the trick and you want to kick through it. i agree with Captain Bob. You should bring the bike to the dealer and have them start it. It’s a lot harder to ignore a customer standing in the store with their new bike in tow claiming they were sold a lemon than it is to ignore a phone call.

Pretty sure my wife and I would both have brain injuries by now if we wore half helmets in trials. The extra coverage helps.

I’m finishing up my third year of riding and one of the things I’ve found is there’s no replacement for seat time. Riding with others helps a lot, countless hours of YouTube helps too even though there’s no real feedback or ways to ask questions. Ultimately it’s practice practice practice. Like any sport you need to continue to practice the basics. Balance and body position is going to help with those hill climbs. Practice the things you find difficult too. For me right now that’s off camber downhill to uphill turns. For you it sounds like that’s hill climbs. Start small and work your way up. If you’re an average adult you might need to rev the snot out of that 125 and use your clutch to moderate your speed. It does sound like you might be under biked for your weight. I think most average weight adults probably start on a 200 or a 250. Any bike should be capable and get you learning and enjoying trials though.

In my experience most (not all) people giving advice just assume all bikes are like theirs. I wish! Working today. I'm taking donations to help with my retirement plan. 🤣

Choke on. Put the bike in gear and pull the bike backwards. This movement will put the motor in the perfect spot to start the bike. Pull the clutch in, front brake on hard, 1/8" turn on the throttle and give it a solid kick. If it doesn't start, repeat the process from the start. The bike will start in 1 or 2 kicks. People will tell you it's harder to start like this because you have it in gear. But my wimpy ass can start my 300 no problem using this technique and without it I'd be kicking for days. If it bothers you then you can put it in neutral before kicking, but it's an unnecessary step and you risk moving the motor out of that sweet perfect spot. Edit: I've been told in the past this puts the motor in bottom dead center instead of top dead center. I'm not sure if that's the case, I just know it works every time.

When I had the 280 I dropped a tooth on the front and rode up a gear a lot. Eventually you'll get used to people telling you that you're riding in the wrong gear for things (how would they know about your specific gearing?) and you'll miss the pep when you try other bikes. As you've noticed, the 280 is particularly peppy compared to the 300. I think like others have said the main cause is likely the flywheel.

Any manufacturers making aftermarket parts for the 2023 TXT bikes yet? It would be nice to have an alternative option to GasGas parts for things like pegs and mudguards (yes, it breaks).

It was a great day to see everyone having a fun time riding the sections. The rocks got a little slick with the rain but they dried up quickly. Even though it boosted scores, the rain brought a nice break from the heat. Looking forward to hosting our second event in the future.

I went from the Jitsie HT1 (was it the HT1 or HT2? … the heavier cheaper one anyways) to the Airoh trials helmet. The Airoh is less than half the weight. I didn’t need a new helmet, the old one did the job. However, I no longer need a masseuse, chiropractor and 2 hours of hot tub for my neck after doing wheelie practice. When you’re learning you will make mistakes like hitting the back brake too hard or slam in to obstacles. It’s all jarring and affects how long you can practice before you’re winded and sore. This is where the lighter helmets shine.

No one here knows where you live or who your local trials supply store is. Might be a good place to start. Ask in your local trials community. I’ve found ordering parts overseas to be sometimes necessary. A 30 second google search shows at least 1 option. https://www.thehellteam.com/piston-assy Relying solely on random internet users to do your research for you probably isn’t a great idea if you’re going to get into maintaining an older bike.

My wife and I have the TRS E-Start (hers) and 2023 GasGas (mine). I like them both to ride, they feel pretty similar. I think the gasgas has a little more pep feel and the TRS feels a tiny bit more planted. Either way you're going to be replacing parts as you crash and continue to learn. Like others have said, it's best to go to a local club and nag other people to try their bikes. I thought I'd love a vertigo; I tried someone's at a trial and the power delivery felt so foreign to me. Forum posts aren't going to tell you too much. I think there's also some truth to what ever you're used to is going to feel good, but at least trying them gives you a reference point.

Pre-entry required. https://www.ataont.ca/ata-westport-rolling-rock-trial-saturday-september-2nd-2023-pre-entry-required/ A new venue. The 10 great sections are all set up and ready to go. Loop encircles the gully. Should be loads of fun!

I use a bright yellow parachute cord in place of the elastic for my lanyard. It doesn’t self-propel into my face or the bushes that way and if I do drop it I can easily find it. Bright pink would probably work better but I used what I had. I also hide an iridium magnet inside the frame of my bike just in case. I think the magnet switch connects ground when the lanyard is off, so you could probably unplug it or cut the wire in a pinch too, but then you’re looking at stalling the bike to stop it. I’ve heard that adding a washer under the spark plug is a good cheap way to tame the 300s down, but I’ve never tried it. I used a 9 tooth front sprocket for my first couple of years riding to tame the bike down and help learn clutch control and full lock turns. I recently went back to the 10 tooth because I’m starting to look for the extra power and pep in my learning progress. Easy to change and not overly pricy.

I can’t recommend wearing the lanyard enough. My wife and I have both had the bikes end up on top of us when trying out new things. My wife has a scar on her belly from the rear tire still spinning. If she didn’t have the lanyard that day she’d be dealing with way more than a scar. We put them on our dirt bikes too. I use it on my left wrist so I can pause to balance and swat the mosquitoes with my throttle hand.