the artist formerly known as ish

Needs to be Fri K, got to sort the bike, and I booked in at the Plaza, from Fri

anybody from the Silsden/Skipton area going up to the Scottish on Fri 28th April, I need a lift, will share petrol cost. I don't trust riding up with our lad Sunday morning and I need to get mi bike dialed in sat if I can.

QUOTE(AS iow @ Apr 11 2006, 09:22 PM) And who would pay for them to do that then QUOTE(Nigel Dabster @ Apr 11 2006, 09:41 PM) The same people that pay for Alexz sam lee and Ross (et al) is my guess........... mostly their parents. I think you answered the question in another topic. However, I think the US will be the place in the future, more land to ride on, more sponsorship oportunities, just needs to get a few Euro riders earning a bob or two and more will follow. Bit like the aftermarket trick alloy parts, one makes em, now every bugger and is dog is after a peice of the action, shame!! one might of earned a bit, but all of em will earn little if owt.

I think it needs pointing out that the NATC membership, is and are the riders who are riding the Nationals, plus the organizers, and importers. What you have is what the majority of those people want. Now with adding a harder course ladies class, we have two ladies classes of two riders. Add a 125 class, the same thing will happen, it won't attract more riders, just some from another class will ride that because it is now another trophy up for grabs. As for the old boy taking away sponsorship $$$ from the young riders, I don't buy that, any youth who showed enough potential to be competitive against the Euro riders, would be better supported than them. I'm quite surprised that we haven't seen more lad's from the UK competing in the US series. Answer that question, Nigel, what percentages of this years expenses will be covered by sponsorship and what will come out of dads pocket, for Alex to ride the 06 season.

Give em a chance, hat's off to em, in at the deep end in the ssdt. Still love my 3.2 more time it gets on it, the better it seems to be. Hope they get it sorted so the weak legged un's can start it

Lane was going to post, but when he saw all the **** flying he decided it was best to duck behind Debbie. I don't see a post that anyone doesn't think the best bike for the young riders is a 125, those that plan/trying to compete against the Euro 125 riders would be best on one no doubt about it, competeing on one against other young riders on larger capacity machines in the nationals, will be closer to competeing against the Euro riders on 125. Choice is a good thing. Two best ever trials riders in the world, won thier first world rounds at age 17, what capacity machine were they on? 11th national, no not me, I may go along to the NATC meeting to put in for the event for Gary, but I want to ride. I also wouldn't speak against a 125 class if they wanted one, it's nothing to do with me. Just don't like being told that I should promote it. My two boys are on a 50 and an 80, looks like they will be on em a long time, they have all the power they can handle at this time.

Weird, I had this dream a bunch of us were reading this brass plaque drilled and bolted to a stone at a group of sections, and said "bet he's laughing at us daft buggers now"

Dabster trades his Sherco in for a Gas Gas, and goes all 125 on us, daft bugger stop winding them up. Seen many nsaqam's say how big it can be and how it should be done, not seen one actualy do owt though, normaly if they can't get someone else to do it for them they **** off and bother the next thing to take thier fancy.

You come on here logg in to the mental ward, and think you have it all sussed oop's Let me give you a little tip, nowt will happen! it never does, but some have to get bit a time or two to find out.

Aye, what the **** would I know, show me.

If I wanted to do/try something new connected to trials, I have always just gone out and done it. If you guy's think a 125 championship is just what is needed in the US, do it!! Gear the whole thing around your target, a few of you get together put an event each on, during the summer vacation time, call it the US 125 national championship. Open to 125 machines only, who's allowed to ride, how many classes you think it needs, and run the series. If it looks like doing well, after a test period, I would think the AMA / NATC would be keen to take it on. Looking at the posts, no one has a clue of what classes or which line should be used, but you expect to go to the NATC with an half baked plan, and they will except it. Or is this more!! we would like others to do this for us, but don't want to do it ourselves ?

Couple of new names I don't recall seeing before, Flemings falls and WD, Mark has put one or two new groups in each year since he started being C of C. Soon be stood at the bottom of them, wondering how to get up em

Just to get back on topic. Firstly, this is by no way a knock against any events, just an observation, of what I have seen happening over the past few years, any nationals that I have attended in this time have all been great fun events, and some I didn't attend would of probably prooved my observations wrong. Using myself as a gauge in National trials events I have noticed the scores dropping, to the point if you have a single dab you are likely to be beat. I know it isn't my riding that has improved, but rather the sections are just getting easier. The last four rounds of the US series, some support riders have ridden three events for the sum total of three points. I know many of the same riders used to ride the same classes and returned with scores in the teens per lap. Are we getting too easy ? WELL!! are we ?

Bit too early for me to start dateing Lane

you can't change the names of the classes Alan, the names Pro, expert, master can imply something other than the truth, and sound cool, so they will stay. You do however have four lines of difficulty in the nationals, A,B,C,D. The first three take care of themselves just by the fact they are of an higher difficulty than D, D is of the same difficulty for all the riders who compete in it, however some clean the line and some loose over 100 points on that same line. Pull up the support classes combined, and for the past three years you can, by ability only, nothing else!! divide that whole group of 14 classes into three classes based on ability and not gender, top 33% middle 33% and the bottom 33% you would then have three classes of riders D,E,F Each of thirty riders plus who could compete against riders of similar ability. Make sense!! not really, because only 18 people would take a podium pot home, rather than 51 that can now But going on the NATC rule that a rider must be at least of Advanced caliber of ability to compete, that would mean anyone in the support class must be of advance caliber. Until you can grade the system on ability and not gender will you get any sort of standard to work off. What a waste of ink

This is one area that people don't have to debate rules or in this case go to the NATC and put forward a proposal, each trial, providing danger isn't a factor will be left just how the club setting the event desire them to be. The Vermont and other rounds in past years, have riders loosing a lot more points, yet the events were very highly rated. I do know that if you drive a couple of thousand miles and you knock a marker over, get a bad call, or even just stall or five a section, that your event is over as it will be won on one or even zero marks, isn't much fun. Also from the other point of veiw, if most riders who are competeing for the whole series think it's great as is, chances are that is the way it will stay. I just want to bring attention to the fact the scores are getting very low, do the section need to be more difficult at the entry level of the US national series, and should the requirement as stated at the top of the NATC entry form, now read riders of intermediate or higher caliber.

I never thought I would say this, but Lane is spot on when he talks about training, and working on your weak points, but what comes first is knowing what those weak points are, the young Amercan youth is jumping up big logs rock faces and all other large obsticals, if they can do that what is the point of practicing the little stuff, that depends on how far they wish to go in the game.

This is the first thing James picked up on when doing the US trials schools, and I consider to be the weakest link in the US riders arsenal, it's no good being good at the big stuff, if you can't get to the big stuff. The strongest all round rider in the US, on both technical, big, wet and dry, is Geoff, in the past 12 years only ex world round contenders with the ability to ride all section types and conditions have been able to challenge him. A complicated set of rocks on the ground are has hard if not harder than the big rock with a twenty foot drop off one side, but the consequences of failure are a lot different, one has more chance of a trip to the hospital than five penalty points. Duluth last year is a good example, the big sections the lower riders punched a five and didn't even attempt, both Doug, and Bou, had horrific get off's on em, yet the sections in the stream took as many marks yet the lower ranked riders could get through them. The end results of the day, was an high scoring trial, yet the lower ranked rider margin was less than it is in an event like France last year. Is it the size of the obstacle that defines how good a trials rider you are? judging by the daily scores of top US riders who have ridden the SSDT I would say not, they are all riding the same line up nadgery rock sections as the club riders, but loosing more points a day on 30 sections than they do in 36 sections in some national championship rounds. I know that the kids think it's cool to do the big stuff like the top riders, but if they are serious about competing with the European riders, there is a whole lot of work needed on the technical side of riding first. Then again, my topic is about the section difficulty at the US nationals, and my point that it can be made harder without making it any more dangerous.

This is the link to the NATC results page, and results can be veiwed from the past few years, before that, it's just the final standings which doesn't give loop or event scores. It isn't hard to see which events include terrain with moisture involved in the section difficulty. link > http://www.natctrials.org/results.htm

Firstly, this is by no way a knock against any events, just an observation, of what I have seen happening over the past few years, any nationals that I have attended in this time have all been great fun events, and some I didn't attend would of probably prooved my observations wrong. Using myself as a gauge in National trials events I have noticed the scores dropping, to the point if you have a single dab you are likely to be beat. I know it isn't my riding that has improved, but rather the sections are just getting easier. The last four rounds of the US series, some support riders have ridden three events for the sum total of three points. I know many of the same riders used to ride the same classes and returned with scores in the teens per lap. Are we getting too easy ? I don't want sections to get bigger, the US riders ride big well, I think the sections could do with a more technicality, turn, flat ground big up is not the way to improve the young riders, without making the sections any more dangerous, I think the scores could be a lot higher without higher risk. At the first two rounds [which I attended] I saw technical parts of a section that every rider in the trial had to negotiate, the cool thing was, after watching a pro rider clean what looked to be mega big up and then drop off, they proceeded to loose a couple of points on the technical corner. This in my mind is a good thing, and more technical and less big is a better way to attract more riders into the top classes, than the big and scary looking stuff they ride now.

Ron has is lad on a 125, because he probably thinks that is the best tool for him to learn on. I am a fan of the 125 and have ridden at high elevation in Colorado nationals, the bike managed to lug me around fine. I had a valid attempt at every section riding a 125 in the SSDT, results for the week on a par with when I rode larger capacity machines, I weigh 175lb, most young lads riding 125 will be closer to 100lb. The newer 125's perform better than those of a few years ago. Does it need to be A compulsory class ? I don't buy the 125 is a disadvantage at the level in question, when there are young lads in the world who have the capability to win the top class in the US series on a 125. Those that want to compete in world 125 chmpionships and beyond, can. I agree with Al on this one, why make it compulsory for kids who just want to ride for the sport. At best in the US it would be another class of 3 or 4 riders, would the ACU or FIM of introduced the rule if that was the case in Europe?

I'll go for the mild, it's cheaper....................on dabs

I think in most kids eyes dad is always the champ, camping with dad and sticking sticks in the fire is always more fun than staying home with mum. So what if dad has to load three bikes and keep them in working order. So long as they don't have to wash their necks, play with fire and other kids, they can put up with riding the bike now and then, T "dad nearly had an heart attack loading all the **** into the trailer" B "daft bugger doesn't he know we only pose on em to keep him happy" T "aye the silly old git!!, watch him blow a gasket wen we kick our boots off in't RV and get **ite all ower place" B "ha ha, did you see the daft old bugger fall ower my bike in't dark when I left it in is road" T "no, but I learned a new word when he did". T "HEY!! Bryan, pee thi pants and I'll nick a handful of candy while he's chuntering on changing thi" B "grab bag and I'll fill em" Dad, "reet lads everything is put away, time to head home" T " I'm hungry, will you make me a sandwhich" D "why didn't you ask before I put everything away" mek sandwich for em both, "hear lad's," both fast asleep. Kids is kids, they only get one shot at it.

As you get older, your supposed to have regular prostate exams, I don't see you worrying about that

Flasher, try a 4rt kickstart on the shaft of an RTL,see if it fits, it looks the same setup, yes the kickstart is shorter on the 4rt. Shafts on the TLR and the RTL are different.