metisse

Theres a huge enduro on this weekend in my neck of the woods down in deepest France. Thought I would pop over and have a look at the 600 odd riders, just wondered if any one knew of any Brits entered that I should look out for... Seems the cream of France and Belgium plus some older Favorites will be there so if anybody knows please add a reply. Thanks very much

Ah Oui, vous ete correct pas le meme chois excuse e moi... interesserait come meme

Classic trials here in France catering solely for Pre65 and twinshock are mostly held under the UFOLEP federation, alhough a very poorly supported classic series under the FFM series does exist so Im told. Trials like the popular three and four day events and modern trials in general are held under FFM rules and regs ,and they are trying to up the interest vis a vis the classic scene , but riders of classic bikes prefer to stay loyal to the UFOLEP cause. Trials in France cost a huge amount to stage and the FFM have realised that by catering for the growing classic scene any club organising a trial can boost its entry and financial viability by adding twinshock and pre 65 enties, however the cost of a yearly license ( with club membership ) Euro 135 compared to the same thing costing Euro 60 for UFOLEP. Every body new or coming back trials after a period of time has to take a proficiancy test also CASM again costing money and time. I looked into getting a FFM licence this year although it enables me to ride all over France as with my club affliation, when I looked at the trials I could possibly get to ride ( A championship of less than 10 trials for the year in my very large neck of the woods around the size of the whole of southern England ) decided I couldn t justify the cost. Now if I want to ride a FFM trial I pay for a day license at Euro 36 plus the entry fee. A lot of clubs are now doing this to encourage riders and charging a nominal amount for the trial entry, ie. euros 5.00, so overall you end up paying possibly 15/20 euros more than someone who has invested in a yearly license and paid a correct entry fee. More and more clubs are going down the UFOLEP route now much to the distain of the FFM who think they are the only ones capable of running motorcycle sport, I find it a real bore everytime my bike is scrutineered as they are all over it like a rash and they are very Gestapo like in there approach.. I hope I havn t bored you too much, but if you are hell bent on a FFM licence perhaps have a word with Joel Correy at Trail 70 Vesoul, I know he has contacts and can sometimes smooth the path and it might be better to pay for a yearly licence than try and get an international one. Bon Chance..

I rode in a multi class trial yesterday including most of the best Experts in this area, watching the cream of trials tackling the sections was in my mind one thing Boring Boring Boring......... They huff and puff reved and roared at big step after big step, hopped here there and everywhere all the sections the same.. There was quite a few spectators ( the French love a free sunday out ) and looking at them and their expression far from being impressed and excited looked bemused and thinking whats this all about, me too....... Any children or adults for that matter slightly interested, Im sure thinking I wont try that, looks dangerous and hard. Of course they could have looked at the lesser lights and easier route but Im sure they were drawn to the drama of what the best riders were trying to achieve. I dont pretend to know what the answer is but do you just look for bigger and bigger steps with shorter and shorter run ups or instigate some sort of handicap... non stop, bike developement etc The top riders seem to like it as it is , for me in some ways its incredible what can be done on a trials bike but its all the same, and don t get me on the scoring what do you have to do to get a five these days............ I would nt cross the road to watch a modern trial and thats from someone who loves trials ...........

Can some one with a little more knowledge than me regarding bike values help. I have been offered a 1999 ktm 300 cc the guy is looking to move back to the uk, the bike is in France and he is selling a lot of is gear before the move. He has asked me to make him a sensible offer. The bike is in good condition, has has been well looked after, can someone please advise me on a ball park figure so neither of us is dissapointed. Thanks very much

Another one on ebay now, I thought they were like hens teeth..........

Supply and demand............Makes the world go round

Hi I am filling out the entry tonight and not sure which route to ride, can someone tell me how hard is the hard route.. I will be riding a 1982 300 fantic in the post 1978 class. Its a toss up between the inter and expert. Any suggestion now may avoid changing once there. Thanks very much.

There is so much bull...t talked about fork angle and changing this and that. It wont make a hapeith of difference to 99 pct of people riding twinshock trials bikes however much they think it might........ Sorry to sound so hostile but it really is a load of crap... Practise parctise parctise.... that will make you ride better not a few degrees difference in the fork angle... Or perhaps someone can convince me different...

Hola, Thanks will look out for that, and thanks for the email before, I hope you received the reply.

A good, enjoyable, well organised trial, however is there any information on where else to stay, bearing in mind you spend two days next to the Spanish M4 in albeit an up market service , area if you use the hotel ajacent to the start. Perhaps our Spanish members might be able to suggest quieter alternative surroundings not too far from the start. This is not a critisism as the hotel on site was good but if mia esposa is to come again I need to rethink this part of the weekend. Muchas Grathias

Wasn't Alf Tupper the runner out of the Victor weekly comic .......I then graduated to the TMX ,little off topic but got me thinking

I was going to go with the " Ground hog day theme" you beat me too it.

Havn t we been here before........

Hi If your in France give Stuart Brown a call on 06 87 38 35 30 he has an Aladdins cave of twinshock trials bikes in various states of disrepair.... he may have what your after.. At worse if he hasn t, he might know a man that has.... Hope it helps.

I ve been delveing a little further, and have come up with some more information. If you wish to ride in a French national championship trial under FFm rules you have to have been resident for a minimum of three years. To have a FFM licence and ride one off non championship trials, you can be a non resident but you have to belong to a french club etc etc, and there are no rules regarding over 50s and ECG scans. Remember this is for a normal yearly FFm licence not an one off international one, there is a difference it would appear. The sticking point as I see it. Since around 2005 before a license is issued, to anyone, you have to complete a course of competence "CASM" in a nutshell basic trials know how. So when you arrive at a trial you know how to sign on, start the bike in a safe manner, fall off in a safe manner etc etc etc............Now this is universal whether you have an FFM or Ufolep license. It doesn t matter if you have been riding in the UK for the last 100 years no way round it. Unless as stated in a previous post on this subject , Joel Correy seems to be able to circumnavigate this for Brits wanting a Ufolep licence for classic events and you join his club as well. All in all it is a lot of hassle certainly to ride only one or two events a year, again this was gleaned today on a cold French hill side from a enthusiastic French man speaking at 100 mph so I hope I understood it correctly and I am correct in what I have written. By the way is there anyway I can come home and ride the Phil king national next year and get a day licence as I no longer have one, or belong to the organising club. Bon soir

Here anybody can go and see any doctor, and that would apply to any non resident, most villages have them, no appointment just turn up and wait your turn. At the end of the consultation we ALL have to pay twenty euros. Living and being in French system this is reimbursed into our bank account, for someone on holiday or not in the system you would not recieve it back unless you had extra insurance. Perscriptions work along the same lines. I cant see how if you have you come to a trial here in France and have a medical it should or will cost more than twenty euros. If it does then something is not right... My doctor in fact just signs and stamps the medical everyyear, doesn t charge me as its not obligatory , I scan it onto the computer and use it for the numerous other things that require it over the course of the year. There seems to be a lot of hearsay regarding this and I am pretty sure what I have written is correct. As I mentioned in an earlier post the FFM are very rigid in their interpretation of whats right, the classic scene run under UFOLEP are just happy to get the riders and will in most cases be very accomodating.. Winging it in 99.9 pct of cases is usually ok but.................... Again hope this help Back to X factor...

Thats true, if you are taken ill, you are covered. However to ride a trial you either need a licence albeit a day one. If I ride an FFM event, usually once or twice a year, its 25 euros for a day licence. However, the clubs have lowered the enty fee for one day licence holders so in fact the whole days entry ie. entry fee plus day licence is only 5 Euros more than I would expect to pay if I had in fact a FFM licence. Out of interest I will make some enquiries as my local club is FFM, although we are trying to have a classic side with a UFOLEP affiliation as we speak. I will see if non residents can have a club licence and what would be needed to qualify for a FFM licence. Again hope this helps and after all, I thought now we are all " Europeans " you should be able to work and ride trials where you like...........hassle free..

It all depends on what type of event you wish to do in France, there are two federations that trials are run under. Firstly the FFM which is mostly modern trials with a few Pre 65 and twinshock trials, or UFOLEP which is in fact an association for all amateur sports, with a branch for trials. The later is under which the majority of classic trials run . The FFM is very strict with lots of rules and regs and UFOLEP is more laid back for example you can ride in your old helmet, without gloves, kill switch in the middle of the bars not by the clutch lever etc etc. With both, you are covered by insurance although with the FFM you bike should be registered and covered with the additional insurance that would come with road use. I dont know the true cost of club membership and FFM licence , but ball park around Euro 140/150 plus you may or maynot have to sit an exam to prove you know what your doing before they give you a licence. A UFOLEP club and licence is no more than EURO 70 however you need to have a medical for both adding Euro 20 to the cost. The amount of UFOLEP trials are on the up and many clubs are changing their affliation because of the license cost and the fact there is no difference in insurance cover, much to the distain of the FFM and as you can imagine there is not a good word between them I ride in Spain from time to time and they are happy to accept my French UFOLEP license but again these are classic events which are usually more laid back. If this is of interest to you and would like to apply for a UFOLEP license and club you could do no worse than contact Joel Correy at Trail 70 vesoul. He knows the system inside out, and most Brits living and riding in France use his club no matter where they live as its the easiest option to get going. Hope it all makes sense Bon soir

Recently we ran a club trial and I was surprised to see it was using the " open free " style of marking. My initial thoughts were trust the French to take something simple and complicate it. To a point I was right. Different coloured gates with differing values. If I understand it correctly you have a time limit in the section to which you must or can ride as many gates a possible and to which you are capable of passing through. You must not cross your tracks and to get to a gate you cannot pass any other gates the wrong way. Hope that makes sense. The observer ran behind me flipping over a scoring card counting the gates and their relevenent value. If you take on a high value gate but dab, you gain the gate value but loose points as you have dabbed and the higher the value gate when you dab the more points you loose, so when you walk the section and this is only allowed at the start , I beleive ,you have to really to think can I take this gate on and clean it otherwise ,valuewise it isn t worth it, I might as well play safe and go for the low value option just to stay clean. Then as I see it you have to keep any eye on the guys you want beat or are in your class to see what gates they are taking on. A little cat and mouse............ Now did I enjoy the trial, well it wasn t serious and it was a chance to have a go at something different. Its complicated to start with and you have a maths lesson at the end of the section counting up the gates, subtracting the points lost via footing, and I would think without several observers on each section the problem of accurate scoring would arise. Its not my cup of tea really, I like the simplicity of everyone in the same class riding the same route, but thats not to say its wrong, its just different, it may suit some riders as it is a variation of trials as we know it. Hope this helps in the discussion.

When talking about a TL 125, an expression a friend of mine uses from time to time springs to mind !!!! " You can polish a turd all you like but it will always be a turd.........." Sorry to be disparaging about a trials bike ,but harsh , but fair... I think. P.s And yes it was my first ever trials bike and remember it welll..............best

Hi looking for one too, tried Classic trial but is unable to supply, any other sources, or is it a case of spending even more time scanning ebay. Any ideas or help much apprciated. Thanks

Here in France all trials are unable to start unless you have a ambulance on site and a doctor present. If there it is a long lap, sections can only be laid out where there is access to get to any injured party and the organisers may have to have two ambulances and teams to take this into account. I think I am correct in saying also before a trial can take place on land it has to be homologated ie. inspected by the Fireservice, police and council etc to make clear any other safety issuses. Now on the face of it, this looks the perfect answer, accidents do happen, certainly with modern trials and their eagerness to mount incredible steps and extreme sections etc etc...but it adds huge cost and problems to the organising club. Each ambulance and first aiders Euros 300/400 and a doctor on standby the same.. and then tying to find someone certainly a doctor to give up a Sunday even for this type of reward is very difficult. So if you want the security of knowing someone is on hand it has to go on the entry cost and trials have attract enough riders so clubs do not lose out. Again, here elf and safety is going mad, and the price and general aggravation and of course putting huge responsibility on organisers is drivng clubs to think is it worth the hassle and financial risk, so the trials calander is starting to decrease and riders are losing out. By all means a first aider and a box of relevent bandages plasters etc etc but for me ease the sections so accidents are less likely to happen.

One of the Frenchies in the club has busted his back wheel, he has not yet told me what year it is but imagine its 98/99. Usual thing he has noticed things a lot cheaper in the UK and wants to source one here or in fact there.... Does anyone know of a possible source ie bike breakers etc so I can show willing. Thanks very much if any one can help Bonsoir

Sorry to get away from the original thread, but talking of modifications, I cannot see how you can really allow later Reed valve Fantic engines in 240 frames etc etc and then get upset when someone slots a Mono yamaha engine into a frame...... Its either right and accepted and not and unacceptable there really arn t any grey areas as far as I can see... Also trick Ariels have always attracted criticism in the Sammy Miller series this is nothing new but then again it was nt really set up to cater for them either.