martin belair

Lots of great ideas here. Here are a few of mine. (hi Tim) World Championship: it does not matter what rules are used because the sections have to be set so hard to get points from the top riders that it will limit the number willing to attempt. Rules:no stop puts the pressure on the observer to make the BIG 5 call for loss of forward motion. It's the call that no one wants to make. TIME Limit in the section is the best way to keep the riders moving. It moves the BIG 5 call to the exit gates. FIM needs to control this with electronic start and end gate timers. Makes observing easier. Keeping young riders in the sport: It's Easy.... money. Once a rider has reached the WC level he has most likely drained his family, friends and sponsors of money. A young man at that age sees his peers begining to earn money and yet he is still a trials bum with no income. The best way to get points from the top riders is to make them run 15 PSI in the rear tire!

NATC stats 1976 to 2005 From the NATC website. Judge for yourself.

I am curious as to how much TV coverage there was for the recent X Games on European TV. Thanks

Getting any form of trials into the X Games would be a major coup. I know that Geoff Aaron tried hard to crack that nut. It may be some sort of Indoor section or side by side racing or even some Free Riding by top riders that would appeal to them, but it would be a major boost for the sport. The comments about the NATC are out of line. I have been to a lot of NATC meetings over the years and no one ever said a word against the X Games. Why people make these kind of stupid comments is beyond me.

Great effort at Erzberg Doug! Get well soon.

The weight of a properly oiled air filter is 35grams as per J Granell head mechanic Montesa/HRC TT

did you clean the choke slide?

Stuart, the manual says NGK BR6ES. We also used the Bosch WR8DP. Both plugs have the "R" in the designation meaning Resistor. Some people will tell you that you don't need an R plug and that the R is for Automotive purposes, they are wrong. They symptoms described are exactly what happens when a non-resistor plug is used in the Monty. I am sure one more knowledgeable than me can explain it better, but I think that a charge builds up in and then is disapated when the bike is shut off. Then it runs great for a bit 'till the charge builds up again and so on.... Martin

Chippy, I would bet a large sum of money that you have a non-resistor spark plug in your Cota. What plug are you running? Martin

Darrel, a love of screwed up english is one thing that Gary Jackson and I shared. Gary's favorite was at 99 TdN in Luxemburg, the riders had to ride through the town to get to the practice area. Well some of the riders were doin' wheelies to the delight of the townspeople. The police got involved and asked the organisers to warn the riders, so they came and spoke with all the team managers and asked us to tell our riders: "Please do not to make the clown in the city". We understood perfectly.

Honda Safety Rules > > Taken from a 1962, Honda Motor Cycle Owner's Manual. Translated by Honda > for the

Fuji will have a great Outdoor season in 09. Bou will be champ but Fuji will win several rounds and finish a strong 2nd. Raga will fight with Caby for 3rd. Dabil 4th with consistent top 5 finishes and even a podium or two.

X = 1999 1997 = V 1998 = W 1999 = X 2000 = Y 2001 = 1 VTDMT03A01E300001 2002 = 2 VTDMT03A02E300001 2003 = 3 VTDMT03A03E300001 2004 = 4 VTDMT03A04E300001

Thanks for posting the pics. It's a production model and not a works bike. It is a very early number and I agree that it is strange that it found its way to Canada. Check the welds at the point where the 2 frame tubes come up from the engine and meet the steering tube. They were known to crack there. Later models had a triangular gussett plate welded in there. I will try and post a picture. Also, the tranmissions on some of the early ones had lots of neutrals. Re-shimming the trans was the cure. Keep the chain well adjusted because hitting a big step with a loose chain will actually cause the front c/s sprocket to skip a tooth and it make a hell of a noise. Later models had a case guard installed to avoid this. I think the also moved the sing arm pivot point. Also check the inside the rear hub for cracks around the bearing. Later models had more webbing. The forks may NOT be bent or mis-aligned. Older Montesa have stuck forks often. The bushing on the damper rod swells up (dissimilar metals reaction) and cause the damper rod to stick in the forks tube. When you take the forks apart you can pound it (damper rod) out with a broom stick, be careful. It looks like the rear shocks mat be silver Betors. They were a common upgrade from the standard Telescos. Keep them if they still work well. You have a bit a work to do but the bike is well worth saving and while it is not #1, low numbers always help in a vintage bikes' value. Where are you getting you parts? Steve Odell in BC or Jed Bates in AZ? Good Luck, Martin Belair

Can you post a picture, please? I think I can help confirm its identity. Your bike is a very early one. While it is true that sometimes factories reserved early production numbers for works bikes and prototypes I don't think that's the case here. I was working at the factory during those days and got a bike from the early production run ( #51M 00011) if my failing memory serves me right. They built 25 bikes just before the Spanish World round for sponsored riders. They were early production models built on the assembly line and not works bikes. There were many differences between the works and pre-production bike and production.I may be wrong, but being able to see a picture would help me confirm it. Cheers, Martin Belair

That is the late, great Joe Gugliemeli. It would take a lot of words to tell you what a great guy and rider he was. I have lots of Joe G stories. One year we went to the Spanish World round. In those days all the Spainsh bikes came standard with 4 ply Firestone trail tires. All the factories loaned us bikes with proper Dunlops installed except Ossa gave Joe a bike with Firestones. No matter, he went on to finish Top American. He was tragically killed in a trailriding accident years ago. He should have been National Champion. He got screwed. He rode on the Yamaha and Honda Teams. He could ride anything. That was a great National in OK. Great sections. Close competition. 35 years ago! Yikes! Check out Marland's number of cleans. More than the winner. Jon, I can't read how many cleans I had. Can you read it? I had a good day. Soooo many good riders. Martin

Total Nonesense. There are no 20 bikes stuck anywhere. Some of these rumors are amazing. Feds, Government Smackdown, No more World Rounds, Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY! You guys should question your sources. Martin

Longtime Montesa and Scorpa Importer for Canada Dan Fisher was killed in a boating accident last Friday. Dan Fisher Racing Dan recently sold his trials business DMI....just in time it seems. Rest in peace Dan

MN National Day 1

Hey Dom, good to hear from you. I will give you a call. Tim, thanks for asking. All is well. Life is good and I am happy. We had a great time hosting the Montesa boys at the USGP. Fuji and Bou were incredible. Just had back surgery, so no riding for at least a year. Sorry to hijack your thread Mr Flowerpot. Martin

You have a better chance of finding a picture of D.Sileo with his feet up! Where are you Sileo???

Sequatiche here we come !

Great result Pat. Only a point off the win. How things start does not matter. What matters is the how things finish (the Championship). Keep your head up and stay in the game. We are all behind you.

Ohhh, it is a beautiful thing to see a young American on the top step in Europe. Congrats to Pat and all of Team Smage. Martin