neonsurge

I just can't understand how the Scorpa management would apparently ignore the advice of a local importer, especially one as obviously knowlegable and experienced as the Crosswaites. Surely they rely on their importers to provide them with vital information about the market into which their products will be sold? If Scorpa's critical marketing decisions are now being taken by accountants instead of engineers and enthusiasts, you'd have to think that maybe it's the start of the end. Remember what happened to CCM when that happened? CCM were a company in a very similar situation to Scorpa (innovative chassis design using a bought-in engine selling into a niche market)? Short-term boosting of the bottom line in order to make the company more attractive to investors or potential buyers? All speculation of course, but it does seem to be... odd.

It's one thing to express a considered opinion about a trial, it's quite another to question the competency of a club based on a single event. The Lampkins obviously have no doubt about the Bradford club's ability to organise and run a world class event and by posting such an ill-considered attack you're implying that both they and Jake Miller are unprofessional as well. Timp is right on the money: Sections that are easy in the dry can become practically impossible following even a short shower. I wasn't there so I didn't see the sections myself but no-one is forcing anyone to attempt a section that they think is dangerous or impossibly difficult. Take a five and move on. If you feel that your concerns were genuine, the correct course of action would have been to discuss it with the clerk of the course but if at least a few clubman competitors were at least footing through for a 3, I don't see why any kind of concession should be made to those who failed. If it was as tough as you suggest, everyone else was in the same boat so it's I'd guess that it's unlikely it had any significant effect on the overall results. Clubs almost always welcome constructive criticism. Such ill-informed and ridiculously extrapolative ranting doesn't serve any purpose at all.

I saw these Pivotpegz at the Stoneleigh show last year. I'd like to give them a try, but

By coincidence, after posting the link to motorcycle.com in the mechanical section, I was clicking through the links on that page and came across this about repairing corroded water pump housings: http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcdirt/trailrider/497tlbox.html

I came across the following page recently with links to step by step tutorials on how to perform common maintenance tasks: http://www.motorcycle.com/mo/mcdirt/dirttech.html. Not trial-specific, but a Beta is used for a couple of the examples.

Just wanted to emphasise the fact that the trial in question (at which I also rode) was an East Yorkshire centre event, not a pre-65 or twinshock event, nor were there classes for either of these categories. Mr Macdonald won the clubman B class against all of the usual modern machinery ridden by some pretty handy riders (myself excluded). And as Brad mentioned, he had the most wonderful, fluid riding style that made that Triumph look like it was almost floating across the rocks. Very impressive. For me it was another vivid example of how rider ability and experience is far more important than the bike that you ride.

I was at Hewlett-Packard's research labs in Bristol a while back and saw a large-scale 3D printer (as they called it) being tested. I don't know how the Dimension ones work, but the HP model used jets of molten plastic to build up the object being manufactured layer by layer so the end result is in effect identical to (and as strong as) an injection molded item. Scarily, they're apparently working on a version that uses molten metal. They didn't say which metal but I like the idea of being able to "print" your own spare chassis and engine parts!

I was riding at the SDMC centre trial yesterday. Unsurprisingly, Michael won by a mile (see here). He's great to watch and arguably the club's biggest asset at the moment IMHO. I wonder if The Atom reads TC? Maybe another interview could be arranged. (Edited to avoid misinterpretation)

I've seen a few bikes with riveted chains. If you don't want to trash the chain for whatever reason, grind the link pins off with a Dremel, use a chain breaker, clean the chain (see elsewhere for cleaning recommendations) then refit with a split link. Having said that, if the chain's old and even partially worn, it's probably a better idea to fit a new one. Trials chains are cheap (compared to the

Sounds like there might be quite a crowd heading down from the Scarborough area. Maybe we ought to get organised...?

it's exactly the same, just with different fonts and less content as far as I can tell. There's an awful lot of white space isn't there?

I so want one of those Dimension printers... but $32,000? Kinda rich for a desktop toy at home...!

My Rev3 came with a flywheel weight (unfitted) and quick action throttle. Loads of zip, very fun to ride but completely useless in the kind of tight, very slow sections we tend to get 'round here. It was difficult to find traction and the engine stalled very easily. It might have been OK for an expert level rider but just didn't work for me. I put the weight on (2-minute job) and changed the throttle and I now have a more controllable bike. Mt results haven't improved significantly but I'm fiving for different reasons now!

Ouch! Big slapdown for trialsboy. Nice reply John. We're all guilty of blaming everything that we see as being wrong with the sport on the ACU on occasion and your comments "from the horse's mouth" are much appreciated. And at least we know that our comments are being listened to!

Nothing constructive to add to this discussion apart from an anecdote: I was in my local dealer's last week to buy an '04 Rev3 front mudguard. They only had an '05 one in stock and since it's the same as the '04 with different graphics, I bought that. The next two people who came in were both looking for '05 front mudguards (and I'd just bought the last one). I still haven't fitted it since my existing one isn't broken, just a bit bent and gouged. It seems to me that these things might become valuable pretty soon - offers? eBay?

Hmmm. Makes sense. I wonder why they call it a "spring" though... maybe because of that metal clip (the exact purpose of which I've never worked out)? landrover, your suggestion seems a good place to start - I did push the pistons all the way into the calipers when I changed the pads, so that might be it - thanks! If all else fails, I'll try the "reverse bleed" method.

I know rear brake bleeding has been done to death recently, but I'm not sure that this is a bleeding problem: Since replacing the pads on my Rev3, I've had a very long rear brake. It still works, but needs to be depressed almost the entire available travel before it bites. My first reaction was that I'd managed to somehow get some air into the system, probably while pushing the pistons back into the calipers so I've bled it for (literally) hours and I'm pretty confident that there's no air in there. Last week I resolved to fix the problem once and for all and set about loosening the piston rod (connecting the pedal to the master cylinder) when I noticed that it was almost all the way out and at the absolute limit of adjustment. Under normal circumstances, I'd expect this to lock the wheel but it was in this state that I was having the opposite problem - obviously something is not right. I also noticed that the rod wouldn't adjust in the opposite direction and it appears that the threads are stripped either on the rod itself or in the pedal. Not a problem, I can clean up and/or carefully retap/thread the relevant parts, but during my investigations I noticed that there's a component on the Beta parts diagram (no. 150 on the attached image, labelled "pump pin w/spring") that I think I'm missing. It's not obvious where it should sit - does anyone know where this should go? Any other recommendations on how I should go about resolving my problem?

Not a moment too soon, me old china! I was about to post the exact same question. I've done it a couple of times on my old Gasser, but that was easy since the top of the lower forks unscrew and come off complete with seal. The Beta looks a little more... involved. Now I am truly enlightened. Thanks Charlie! One more question however - how much oil in each leg? Standard fill weight? Thanks!

I must admit, I was starting to think that maybe Dougie was reaching the end of his career a while ago. However, his recent performances in the indoor championship (especially in St Petersburg which was nothing shot of heroic considering he was riding the standard bike), the way that he's totally dominating the other HRC-Montesa riders at the moment and most recently the interview in DBR magazine (UK) have convinced me that he's as driven to win as ever. In that interview, Dougie seems surprisingly philosophical about their current bike problems, an attitude that becomes completely understandable when he talks about the future of the sport. He makes the point that by the time the 4-stroke rule comes into force, Honda will have at least 12 months head start on the other manufacturers. They may be looking slightly silly now, but can we expect to see Raga and the others struggling in a similar way at some point? Perhaps not, since Montesa seem to have made the decision to do all of their testing and development in the public eye while little doubt that GasGas and Beta are already testing 4-stroke prototypes in secret so that when they make their public debut they'll be as competitive as possible. But there's also the required adjustments to riding style to take into account and the fact that Raga seems to have a similar "rev happy" style to Fujinami suggests to me that if Dougie can get through the forthcoming "transitional" outdoor season, there's a distinct possibility that we'll enter a new era of Lampkin domination. All of this depends on the FIM not reversing the 4-stroke ruling for whatever reason but even if they do (and HRC don't decide to take their ball home as a consequence), I think it's way too early to write off the 4-strokes and more specifically, Dougie Lampkin just yet. Just my opinion, of course.

They've been mentioned before on TC, but these guys are doing amazing things with 2-stroke direct injection engines. This paper details one of their trials but it's from 2000 and I can't find much more recent information on their site.

Right on, SocialClimber. An unfortunate consequence of the litigious society in which we live is liability insurance. The ACU/AMCA and their affiliated clubs are ultimately responsible for the actions (and consequences thereof) of riders competing in events they they have organised and they simply can't afford to not take all reasonable precautions to minimise the risk of legal action by some doufus who cracked his head open because he/she wasn't wearing a helmet. As SC and others have pointed out, this contradicts the apparently unfashionable concept of common sense which states that each person is directly and ultimately responsible for their own actions. This, along with political correctness are two of the world's greatest evils, IMHO. That said, I never ride without a helmet. Not because the ACU or whoever tells me I have to, simply because I have a family to look after. Fundamentally I couldn't give a rat's ass whether other people wear them or not, but I appreciate the possible repurcussions for the organising club if they don't.

Best mods I made to my 270 Rev3 were a slow (standard?) action throttle and a flywheel weight. Vastly improved controllability and fewer stalls.

Another unfortunately accurate wife vs. Beta analogy: It's all over much too quickly and I fall off a lot.

Mine arrived last week. Asked for a CD, got a book. Ho-hum. In retrospect, a book's probably better since I can keep it in the van to consult when I need to dispute the 100 or so lost marks separating me from the class winner First of all Brad, I think your Shift key is broken. And spell checker. And grammar checker since your first sentence makes no sense at all! Substitute "and" for "or" and you're getting there... And that Beta comment coming from someone who thinks that the abominations shown on "Pimp My Ride" can be translated directly to trials bikes is a bit rich!

I don't think we've got much to worry about. "Proper" outdoor trials is much less spectator and TV-friendly than just about any other motocycle sport (with the possible exception of enduro). There's not many people who will voluntarily stand on a Yorkshire moor in a force 9 gail in February to watch some blokes on bikes throw themselves at rocks. Can you imagine the cost of covering an event like the Scott properly on TV? The interest isn't there, so neither is the money. But without the money, you can't spark interest... Indoor trials has far more potential to be developed into something that at least approaches other "extreme" sports in terms of TV popularity but even then I don't think it'll ever be much more than an interesting diversion in the public psyche. In order to become really big, it's a fact that you've got to have something that appeals to the lowest common social denominator and that means speed, glamour and to some extent, violence. Trials has none (or at least, very little) of these elements. You could make a case for the glamour but the kind of light shows and "rent-a-body"s you see at WITC rounds are superficial and if we're honest, not truly representative of the sport itself. What do we really have? A bunch of skinny Spaniards, an almost-sterotypical little Japanese fella ("I is very 'appy") and a big Yorkshireman with an accent so thick that he needs subtitles on US TV. All of whom are stupendously talented and considered almost gods amongst afficionados but you've got to think about what Joe Public will see.