pete_scorpa3

The 2004/5 Rev3's did suffer very badly with faulty stators, however this is an easy (if not cheap) fix. I had two go on a brand new bike in 05. That said, the Rev3 is probably the better bike providing the condition of the two is comparable. A mint 2001 is better than a thrashed and abused 2005. Remember, spending money on a rough bike soon adds up to the point where you might as well have bought a newer/better bike inthe first place. As mentioned above, don't rush into buying the first bike that comes along. There will be another next week.

This idea certainly is worth considering, but it wouldn't be simple to put in place. The Colmore Cup has 40 sections at 10 different groups around a 28 mile lap. Allowing riders to start and finish wherever they like and at any time would create a number of issues. Every section would have to be manned all day, observers wouldn't know when the last man had been through, riders could pick and choose which sections to ride, they would naturally leave the rocky ones to last and do the muddy ones first. Some would inevitably get lost and end up riding round and round the countryside looking for the sections. There would be lots of places with two way traffic, and local residents would have bikes going back and forth in either direction for hours. Not just one per minute for 110 minutes. The furthest clean tie break would also be lost and the results could not be announced on the day, as the punch cards would be spread all around the course. I'm not saying it couldn't work, but it would need a great deal of carefull thought.

Best sit on the fence and make all the right noises, hope the problem goes away. If (that's IF) I've done it correctly, then the list of officials that will be present at the event are listed as: Stratford Club Chairman Clerk of the Course Secretary of the Meeting MSA Liaison Officer PR Officer Riders (Travelling Marshalls) x2 Observers in Charge of Groups x3 Last Man. This should give enough names and mobile numbers to sort out any problem at any point of the event if needed. I hope this is enough/correct. Who knows? At the Colmore we have 40 observers and 40 punchers (that's positions, some people help twice) plus other officials, so it would be impossible to provide accurateadvance contact details for every one present on the day. I can say, that if we need to do much more than this to satisfy the MSA, then it is highly likely that this will be the last road trial we run. Remember, the Colmore is only 28 miles, our Miller round is more like 40 and our LDT is 75+. I really do hope we've got it sussed now, there's not a lot left in reserve. And we are lucky, we've got a good team of workers. Some clubs run with just two or three organisers. Pete

Here is a copy of a letter received by our club today from the ACU. I hope that you will all find this clear and decisive and will put this issue 'to-bed' once and for all. Dear All During the ACU Ltd Board meeting yesterday, your Directors had further discussions regarding the MSA Authorisation, its process and the affect it might have on some of our events. Whilst we recognise that the Motor Vehicles (Competitions and Trials) Regulations 1969 is UK legislation as laid down by the government under the Statutory Instrument No 414 of 1969 and the MSA were appointed by the Department of Transport as their Sole Agent to ensure that any motoring event which utilises or uses part of the Public Highway is subject to authorisation under the legislation, your Board have decided to have further discussions with Alan Kind and other recognised experts as well as seeking further legal opinion regarding the MSA’s interpretation of the law. We are also informed that some of our Clubs are aware of the AMCA’s stance on this issue in that they have decided to advise their affiliated Clubs NOT to apply for MSA Authorisation for motorcycle Trials using the Public Highway to travel between groups of observed sections. Their view is to ‘let sleeping dogs lie, motorcycle trials have not required MSA Authorisation since 1969 so why start now? And that they intend to review this situation after six months. A very important point to note…………….…………… Please do not be under any illusion - in order to comply with UK legislation - the AMCA , IOPD and any other motor sport organisation that utilises the public highway for their events are subject to the Motor Vehicles (Competitions and Trials) Regulations Act of 1969 – the AMCA or any other organisation are not exempt from this. As the responsible Governing Body, recognised as such by the UK Government and the FIM, the ACU will not suggest to our Clubs that there is ‘no need to apply and we will review the situation in six months’. What we will do is have further discussions with the parties outlined above and look at the 1969 Act which we believe is open for interpretation and then if appropriate challenge the MSA on their interpretation of the law. I will keep you posted of developments moving forward. With kind regards Gary Thompson MBE BEM General Secretary Telephone: 01788 566414 Fax: 01788 573585 Website: acu.org.uk

Applying for MSA was a straight forward process. Couple of emails, some forms, a signed letter, a couple of tracings of maps and an agreement to pay £2.75 per rider prior to the event. No problem I thought. Probably took me three hours to complete. Then the email detailing additional stipulations arrived. Another more detailed letter required, more tracings and a map, a list of officials. All prepared, printed and posted to four different places. Probably around three hours work again. This is starting to feel like a chore. Now I need to sit back and wait to see if the authorities raise any concerns, objections or additional stipulations. Meanwhile the entries are flooding in. I have to say that I'm not comfortable with all this, I won't sign to say a job has been done if it has not. And what happens then? Will the MSA withhold approval? Will the ACU then refuse to issue a permit? Will the trial be cancelled? Everyone looses if this happens, and not just for this trial. We've got two more big road trials this year. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we've done enough.

No, but ensuring that the wheels are inline will provide a base point to make further investigations.

We are not trying to get round it at all. We are prepared to do exactly what it requires..... providing this is actually possible. And that's our dilema, it is almost impossible to achieve.

I've had one of these for the road racing bikes for many years, it is available from Maxton. It makes aligning the rear wheel really easy as it bolts two pieces of box section through the rear rim. Alignment is crucial on a road racer that may be touching 180mph and the factory marks are never spot on. http://www.maxtonsuspension.co.uk/files/wheelalignment.htm

If the wheel is out then the sprocket would not run true when the wheel is aligned. Use a long straight edge from the back wheel to the front, then measure the distance from the straight edge to the front wheel rim. Do this both sides and adjust the cams until you will get the same measurement, the wheels will then be in a straight line. Now look at the sprocket and see if it is running true. If it is, then the chances are that the swinging arm is bent, if it isn't then it's probably the wheel out of true. Hope this makes sense. Pete

Yep, spoke to Debbie at the start of this process early December. She said "I will help if I can, but you probably know more about thsi than I do."

I've just spent another three hours preparing the required information to send to the Police. It doesn't help that the route covers two different constabularies. But the PR requirements are huge, I really don't know how we are going to comply with this.

We are struggling with the additional requirements stipulated by the MSA for the Colmore Cup on 3rd March. The £2.75 per rider isn't a problem, we've put the entry fee up to cover this. Producing a map and sending it with the completed paperwork has been easy. (I know I did this.) Checking that the route doesn't follow/cross any footpaths, restricted byways etc is a little harder, but has now been completed. But.... how on earth can we send a letter to every houshold within 100m of the 28 mile route? It's almost impossible withthe man power we have available. More worrying still is our LDT later in the year, this is 75 miles round. What are other clubs doing?

I don't know what happens if you run the bike with 700mls in, I've never tried it. I had my 05 bike from new and the first time I changed the gearbox oil (after one practice session and one club trial) only 450mls came out. I put 700mls back in as it states on the side, opened the level screw and 250mls of fresh oil came back out. Since then, I've only ever put 450mls in. It's coming up for eight years old now and has been used in many road trials. In the first few years I owned it, I rode most weekends and so far it's been a good bike (unlike the new 04 Beta that it replaced!) I used to change my bike every year, but feel that the Scorpa flatters my very limited ability so much, that a new bike wouldn't save me a single mark. Pete

Surely SVA would not apply to a 50cc trials bike any more than it would a 250? If you can get a certificate of newness of an appropriate dating letter, it wouldn't be any different to registering anything else.

Welcome to TC. When you clean the carb, you will need to remove the top bolt from the rear shock and swing it back to gain access. This is a simple job and makes it a lot easier to get to the carb, but make sure you chock the rear wheel before removig the bolt. If the rear wheel drops down too far, the swing arm pinches the rear brake pipe. Once the carb is off, it's also worth checking that the square block on the top of the gearbox has had it's corner ground off. This block has a habit of denting the centre exhaust box and causing it to split. Be gentle with the rear mudguard bolts, they screw into brass inserts that are set in the plastic airbox. The original M5's can be tapped out to M6's if the thread has gone providing the insert is still good. I always use Silkolene Light Gear oil in the gearbox and go by the oil level bolt and not the quantity (never got more than 450mls out/in). Others will tell you different but I've had my 05 from new and this has worked well so far. Pete

I've got a 24 & a 36v and they both last for well over an hour when used for trials riding. The performance dropped of fairly quickly once they start to fade, but you do get some warning. It certainly isn't like a "cliff."

Check the radiator pressure cap is working. Loss of pressure allows the coolant to boil at a lower temperature.

The Conducted route might be a bit tough (joke), but the kids love it. The White route should be fine. Here's a shot of Sam Connor back in June at the venue.

I've got a 2010 Renault Trafic which is nice to drive, I've trimmed out the back and fitted three extra seats (and side windows) so that I can use it as a family vehicle. Looking at quoted mpg above, my van's not the most economical, I can just get 40mpg if I'm carefull, but 38 is the norm. Two points worth mentioning. If you modify the van with seats, it makes it much harder to insure (correctly) and, unless the van is car based, the speed limit is 50 on a single carriageway road. Not 60. Pete

I'll try to expalin the reason for this from the club's view point. The ACU really wanted to introduce the online system and scrap the need to join a club, after all the ACU don't benefit from the money the clubs take as subs. It's the clubs who benefit. We were asked to approve this idea and went back to the ACU and asked that they maintained the link between rider and club by linking licence applications to club memberships. This the ACU agreed to, although it would have been much easier for them to have scrapped the requirement. We (Us) got what we asked for and I hope it continues. With 100 paid up members, a club who charges £5 a year gets an income of £500 which makes a massive difference to running a club each year. It also maintains the contact with those 100 riders, you never know, some might even turn up to help run the events. All because the link between rider and club has been maintained by the need for a licence.

That's it, great idea... cut out the clubs altogether and save loads of money. No clubs therefore No club memberships fees, no trials, then there is no need for licences or insurance or anything. Cheap! That idea's a winner. Makes you wonder why anyone would ever put theirselves out to run events at all.

Same here. But returning to my original point; I hope the same will apply to people who handed their licence applications in at the Dirt Bike show and promised to join a club.

Over the last two or three years we have constantly heard from people who argue against using Non Stop in the British Championship. with the cry.... "It's not fair to handycap our TOP riders by making them ride Non Stop in the UK and then ride Stop allowed in WTC." I guess the descision to go non stop by the FIM will at least satisfy all the people who used that argument..... I'll wager that not one of the people who used that line will now be happy. It's still going to be a case of "It's my way or no way!"

Here's a shot of the lever fully adjusted in, (both sides are the same measurement.) As you can see, the lever is 1 1/2" from the grip at it's nearest point. With it adjusted this close, it does also touch the grip when being applied. My 4 year old daughter has it adjusted a bit further out than this, as she likes to keep some fingers on the grip when she is braking.

I'm really suprised that you've found this to be the case, I can adjust both levers so that they actually touch the grips. I'm sorry if my advice has caused you problems. It probably won't make any difference, but have you got the pads running dead level against the disc? Pete