grahamjayzee

I'm sure this has been done to death, but I seem to remember that the MT43 was tubed-type and the MT73 was tubeless. I think the MT73 was discontinued in the interests of all that is good; I believe the MT43 remained as some people like to use a new tyre to lean on when fitting their IRC or Michelins... Long story short, I think it's a tubed type tyre and will not hold air at low pressure regardless. As many others have stated, for trials use, they are a poor choice. Budget tyres such as Vee Rubber are much better if you are squeezed for cash, but best of all, bite the bullet and go for IRC or Michelin! Graham

Thanks for all your suggestions and comment guys. I've bought a pair of Fox Titans, which arrived on wednesday. They are light, but a bit bulky. However, I haven't yet tried them under trials jeans or on the bike. I had considered wearing the left one over my suit at work as I'm terrified someone will accidently kick my ruined shin! There looks to be plenty of scope to modify them to make them less bulky if this does turn out to be a problem. I do think I'm going to be prepared to get used to a bit less freedom and comfort than going without though, because on balance my comfort 'account' is pretty much in the red at the moment! Still, the shin is healing nicely. I still have in mind riding on Sunday, but if I'm honest with myself, that might well be out of the question! Graham

Thanks Guys, I know that I'm holding the gate whilst the horse is somewhere in the distance, but my wife won't let me go out to play until I pad up! I think for the sake of £20 and a bit of mild discomfort, I'd be daft not to. At the very least, this has cost me a ride on Sunday because the thought of starting the Beta at the moment makes me go a bit faint, never mind actually riding it. Another pegging would be too painful for my weak threshold! Graham

Morning All, I had a pretty shocking ride yesterday at the Eastern Experts trial at the wonderful Purl's Hill Wood on the Suffolk/ Essex border. We all have off days, and this was mine! I had a nasty off when I failed to crest the top of a big climb and clattered into a tree (I actually managed to paddle out and saved 2 marks, so that's the important thing...), this resulted in my full decelerating weight falling onto my left footpeg. I now have a hole in my shin that makes me feel sick if I even think about it, never mind look at it! This is the worst 'shark bite' I've ever had, but I do get peg marks from time to time. It's made me think that a decent shin protector would have saved a lot of pain yesterday. Does anyone use these, and if so does anyone have any recommendations? I have seen guards designed for the pedal triallers, but these look like they are 'ankle up' rather than 'knee down' that we would need to cover the gap above the boot. I'll try to load a picture for the gore-curious amongst you! Cheers Graham

T-shock, totally agree! Whilst it is true that everyone at every level bends the rules a little in term of a crafty kick of a rock, I don't recall seeing people do this at a club trial. Maybe to a struggling young-un or raw beginner to keep their spirit up, but not to a potential trial winner. With the caveat that I wasn't there and don't know those involved, on this evidence it looks like a case of 'what goes around, comes around'...

Depends how worn they are, but probably! They are terrible in mud...

If you really are on a budget, go for a set of Vee Rubber. They are not so bad and certainly loads better than the Pirellis. I had a set for a season and they coped OK. Only real problem is the sidewalls are a bit stiff so the tread becomes concave if you try really low pressures. Otherwise, X11s or IRC... Graham

Yes, it has. I think it was always intended to be on 7th, but for some reason we published 14th! 7th it is, pass the word around, with my apologies. Graham

Tell him that Graham is looking after Baby; he'll know what you mean! To go along with the training, best thing to do is enter a trial! Our (Braintree and District MCC) has a summer series trial on saturday 8th at Beazley End. The summer trials are on the easier side and so don't worry about hurting yourself or looking a chump (there's plenty of us already vying for the chump awards...). A trial is loads more fun than practicing! Drop me a pm if you feel like coming along and I'll introduce myself. Graham

+1 for Paul Nash. I'll dig out his number when I get a sec. Graham

I've removed it from my Evo 290 and it made the bike easier to ride. BUT, I've been at it a while and have a gentle hand. It does spin up faster without it. The engine will feel softer with it fitted, but I tend to find that unless you know that the bike is still driving when you have closed the throttle (it takes a while to get to understand and make use of this), the slower decay of revs makes the bike harder to ride. (as Dabster said!). I an case, try it and see; it takes moments to change! Graham

Hello iconic558 and welcome. I can advise some differences that I know about: The biggest change was from 2000/2001 to 2002 and beyond. The earlier bikes had the airbox opening on the side of the bike and the later had it on the top, where the 'seat' is. I had a 2001 bike and this caused me loads of problems. Basically, the subframe is totally different and is a plate on the early bikes (It's a pair of rails on the later ones). This plate was prone to bending, and when it does it makes the airbox cover seal badly, letting in dirt. I changed the whole airbox and found the following differed: Airbox Exhaust Subframe Frame (around top shock mount. Needed to be modified for the subframe to fit) Mudguard I fitted a 2004 swingarm (because mine had a seized shock bolt) and found that the rear caliper mount is different between 2001 and 2004 (I don't know when this changed). After 2005, the rear caliper changed from 4 pot to 2 pot (and is better!) and so the rear pads are different Other than that, the engine is pretty much unchanged throughout. I find 2004 250s a bit 'soft', but that may just be the ones I rode. The plastics are similar, and can be interchanged from any year post 2002 (although someone may well put me straight on that for the later years!). The forks got a nice black coating after 2005. Hope this helps Graham

I hate it when people beat around the bush; just say what you mean... It does mean you can control the back brake and restart if you stall in section. You get very used to it and it teaches you decent technique. If you are right footed you cannot 'stab' at the kickstarter as you don't have the strength. So you have to sort of 'lock your knee' and then just let your weight fall. It's dead easy when you get it dialled.

Neilh; Do you have a particularly withered left leg then? Good luck with your search. Look for the same things on all makes; suspension linkages (gently lift the rear of the bike and feel for free play as the wheel leaves the ground). Not the end of the world, but the thick end of £100 to replace all the bearings. Wheel bearings frequently need replacing, but only a tenner a wheel tops. Chain and sprockets are £60. Again, none of these are show stoppers, but you can easily spend £2-300 getting the bike spot on. I have a 2002 280txt in my garage that belongs to a mate and it's not for me (I'm a beta man), but it's a good bike, just different. The clutch is a bu66er though. This one drags irritatingly and will need a thinner plain plate to resolve it. It is a bit tricky to start sometimes as you only get one firing stroke per kick, and the kickstart is really long (give me a beta shortie left footer any day!), but you gat the knack. The 280 is quite a firy beast though, and if you're new back, I'd try to find a 250. Graham

Maybe, but Ben is finding he's not enjoying the trials and therefore is voting with his own cash. It isn't cheap to travel the country, so it's not unreasonable to expect some degree of enjoyment for that sacrifice. I accept that rules were changed to get bums on (over?) seats, but the various comments on here also point to generating the feed in at the lower end of the sport (kickstart definitely did this). But we can't do that at the expense of the higher end. What does seem reasonably clear to me is that a 'one size fits all' approach seems unlikely to work, and as the very top echelon are riding stop allowed, it does seem odd to force the top UK boys to ride a different set of rules. Personally (and many on here have pointed out that this is unworkable), I really can't see why both sets of rules cannot be applied. We have route variations and observers can manage that without problem. Why not stop allowed on the hardest route? And yes, I have observed! Whether this solves anything is another matter! Graham

Debatable, I guess. The idea is to produce a winner (and get the majority of riders within a sensible band of scores). I don't personally think it matters if you cannot clean a section, as long as the section does not produce either all 5s or all 0s. If that's the case, it's too hard/ easy. I quite like a (no-stop) section that has a perfect line that may produce a clean if you are a god and all the other gods are smiling on you. You can go for the clean at the risk of a 5, or decide on a tactical dab. I wasn't there at this trial, but was interested to see if any sections fell into that category. The better guys usually aim for the clean, but stand to lose more; it's just the nature of the talented! If they genuinely were not rideable (as opposed to cleanable), then all the arguments stand! In any case, the opinions of those riding have to be taken seriously. My comment was purely out of interest...

Back in the day I never got on with the Yam. Partially because it was ubiguitous and I didn't want to go with the herd! However I do remember grudgingly admiring how well it steered without tucking. I never got on with the power delivery. There were loads of mods at the time, but I was riding a 241 Fantic and that had a snappy delivery I got to like. The Yams were always a bit too soft for me. I rode both 260 and 240 TR34s and preferred the 260 (I've always got on well with bigger motors, possibly because I learnt on the relatively snappy 241 and ended up with a gentle right wrist). The 245 was a great bike and I loved it, but the TR34 was my favourite. My 241 had a great engine, but the rest of it was nothing like as good as the 245. I also rode a 327 Gas Gas and thought it very similar to the TR34. Quite rare now though.

Just a question; were they totally impossible, or just impossible to ride clean? Could a tactical dab get the rider to the ends cards?

Agree regarding the 245/ 305. But back in the day, the bike I most enjoyed riding was a 1989 Beta TR34 260. Great bike.

Vee rubber are not disastrous. Had a couple of seasons of them on my Rev3 whwn I got back to the sport. However, they have hard sidewalls so don't work well at low pressures because the tread becomes concave. 4Psi is fine for everything though. Graham

Agree Smalley; my 290 Evo is a pussycat. Dadof2 and Cope make good points. As you stated, budget is an issue. That's partly why I ended up with a 290; you can only go for what's available to you. The 125-225 upgrades offer another 'feel', and the one I rode had the nicest delivery of any gasser I've ridden. As Dadof2 states; whilst it's preferrable to buy the right bike in the first place; if you find a tidy 300 in your price range, it's not the end of the world to tame it a little. What would be wise is to drop Scott-King a pm (I hope that's OK scott?) and go along to a trial. We're a friendly lot and if you approach most people right they'll let you have a potter on their bike. That really will be the best way to find what you like. Graham

Hi, and welcome back to Mamma! I think the short answer is that whilst you will no doubt get used to a big engine, a smaller one will do all you are likely to need and tire you out less. However, it does depend on what suits you. I ride the middle route and have no huge ambition. Down our way, I am called (amongst other things) a Novice. I had a 250 Rev 3 and now ride a 290 Evo. Why? Because condition and provenance were more important to me. I knew this bike, and had a chance to ride it. Like you, I have a good right wrist (other bits of me lag behind a bit!) and my style is generally very gentle. As such, I like the 'plonk' of the bigger engine and the fact that I can let it drop to the point of stall, at which point it really digs in and grips without ever coming close to stalling. BUT, had I found a good 250, I would have bought that and been happy! I have a 280 Gas Gas in my possession, and hate it. It's snappy, aggressive and generally just hard work. Bear in mind my style and how I adjust to my Evo, it does indicate that you need to try the bikes. My mate's 2005 250 pro is very nice to ride, but gasser's just seem to be less 'calm' than Betas. Have I contradicted myself enough to totally confuse you yet!? Short answer, I think I'd aim for a 250, but get a ride if you can and see how they 'fit'. Good luck Graham

Welcome Tony, The pain you are noticing is the natural healing process and, forgive me if I'm wrong, is probably centred around the wallet area. This doesn't diminish, but changes. In the early stages there is a sharp pang as the first bike is purchased, followed by an ongoing dull ache as broken bits are replaced. This then becomes a further dull irritation caused by the onset of competition and the need to a) pay for entries 2) pay for bits to improve your performance and iii) pay for burgers. In the later stages, further acute pain occurs as you realise that one bike is nowhere near enough... Disregard the physical pain (usually discovered in the shower that evening and known as UTIs, or unspecified trialling injuries), that will heal. A broken mudguard won't fix itself though! Enjoy my friend; you've come to the right place! Graham

A good friend of mine gave me good advice: If you want something, spend the MOST you can afford and get the best you can find for the budget. If you don't it will end up costing you more to get LESS. I've tried to cheat this rule several times over the years, and never beaten it! This looks a horrendous cash hole to me and at the end you won't have anything any better that youcould have got for the money in a working state, but will spend the summer working on it (and spending on it) rather than being on it... Graham

OTF and Guy53, These are very valid points, but I think Pludmugger is in the suffolk area where modern trials are quite similar to classic trials anyway! Saints be; if someone put a 4ft step in a section they expected me to ride, I might write them a strongly worded letter! We're a genteel lot around our way and the sections (at least on the clubman and inter routes) are ideal for either the talentless on modern bikes (that'll be me then), or anyone on a twinshock or classic. I guess that's a nice luxury; you can pick whichever floats your boat and still be included. Graham