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Bruno Ceriotti, Argentinian Trials Chronicles.


xeriotti
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Hi everyone! Before I start with the actual "thread" I want to thank immensely to everyone here at TrialsCentral... Im from Argentina and the trials scene over here is almost none. Theres about 80 guys nationwide that ride trials bicycles (im one of those) and i dont think theres 20 trials motorcycles in the whole country (and im not referring to operative bikes!! im counting everything, old stuff from the 80s, 90s, and early 00´ the sport of motorcycle trials never happended at all... The bikes i know about, most of them not operative or lacking a trials interested owner came from Europe, Chile, or some under-the-table importer... Most of them lack the requiered documentation to be transported or ridden legally so they remain to rust in some garage or barn... Really Sad.)...Add to my misery that i live in the middel of nowhere. So all I know, comes from here...

Entrance of my town...

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Well, As i dont have Motorcycle Trials friend to ride with the only way i found to keep motivated and learning from my mistakes is sharing my trials-related-experienced with the forum... I hope not to get everyone bored with my ****tyness and bad english... (My mothertongue is Spanish!!! Viva la vida loca!!! jajaja)

I traced my itch for trials to highschool...I started riding BMX when i was 12 i guess, streets mainly. then when was about 15 or 16 i switched from BMX yo Trials... A complete stranger i knew online invited me to his house 80kms away to try his bike and have a BMX street sesion also... So that same weekend i packed my bike into a bus and headed there... I had a great time, felt the bike and trials really natural so i build my own bike and started practicing on my own... alone...in the middle of nowhere...

First highschool day, with a Triplex MX-204

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"El Gordo Pioli" (Fat Pioli) As he lookd back then when trials bikes had a seat...

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Some Oldschool Trials moves..

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First Seat-less bike rides...

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Some BMX Riding... (Sorry for the rap music)

Years passed, till i turned 19... I quitted studying architecture and started working for my uncle in a mechanical workshop... i was into trials and bmx partially, not very motivated but still riding sometimes, one saturday afternoon with the main street full of people a guy popped off the front wheel of his KLX650r and went the whole block that way...everyone was like OMG!...Including me, but i knew that a wheelie was a total newbie maneuver... throttle=up brake=down...In that moment i had never ridden a motorcycle in my life... So well... I decided i was getting a bike, TO LEARN HOW TO WHEELIE IT!!! :D Long story short, i ended up getting a Yamaha XT225... In which i not only learned how to ride, and wheelie... i learned how to stoppie,

My current rides at that time (Circa 2005)... The familiar bikes and the big one, without pedals!!! (notice the XT already had some kind of wheelie bar jajaja)

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The same as with trials nowadays, nobody was stunting motorcycles SERIOUSLY over here...I thaught it was my chance to go big...So i was training everyday... after lunch and late at night (Cops dont like it when your having fun on a motorcycle, thats a global law) Below, some stunts in the good´ol XT225 1992....

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Some oldschool Stunting with the XT225.... Sorry for the music, swapped by Youtube....

Everything was going fine... Had a work, car, bikes and could ride almost everyday... I was learning a lot with the XT but it started to be like cheating, i knew that to be serious about stuntriding i needed a streetbike... So I started saving money like crazy to get some kind of crashed sportbike at a bargain price that could be fixed and stunted for cheap... Not long after i started looking for one a Honda CBR 600 F3 appeared!!! The owner lowsided the bike and it was completely scratched and dented, but no structural damage at all..it was worth like 2 XTs so it was really cheap... The only problem was... I was 20yo. and over here you cannot have anything by your own util you turn 21... So to get the bike my parents permission was needed. when I told them about that 100 HORSEPOWER 260 kilometer per hour Missile I was trying to buy with the only purpose of STUNTING IT... They offered me a deal:

Why not selling the XT... Selling your car... (A brand new Fiat UNO they gave me as a 18th birthday present) and grabbing that money you saved + some more we can give you as a present (I understand now it was some kind of bribe ajajaja).... and you can have any car you want...

It was temptating... So i ended up with a BMW 325i Coupe... But... WITH NO BIKE AT ALL!!!!

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That BMW last me like... 8 or 9 months... I couldnt stand living without a motorcycle anymore... I thought i could wait...save and get both.. The BMW and a decent Stuntbike... but i couldnt... So the BMW was sold, leaving an itch for import cars on me and i got something that looked like a sportbike... but some guys says it isnt... a Suzuki GS500... 11k, Mint condition... Until someone hit a car with it... Perfect!!!!

I bought that bike in 2007... The same sunday as RP07 (Roque Perez 2007, the greatest Sportbike, Supertouring and BMW Gathering in South America)

Arrived like this.

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An hour later... It looked like this :D

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And after some reverse engineering from Stunt videos i managed to fabricate and bolt on a completely custom made from bike pegs and some piping a crashcage, 12 Bar and handbrake, made from a GSX1100 hidraulic master...

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Believe it or not... I bought the clutch master online...before i even know about the existence of the bike i was going to build....

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The bike as it looked when ready to stunt... I rode it all ****ty a couple times to test it out and then wrapped it with matte black vynil... It wasnt flashy, but it was much more concealable if i had to escape police... Something that used to happen quite often...when training in the city access crossing...

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Some Video with the GS500....

As I was more and more into stuntriding... With a fullhouse stuntbike of my own and tons of motivation, i needed more time to train... working 8 hours a day was good money but money was pointless if there wasnt time o stunt my GS500 and learn more and more secrets... As sent by God or something one day my cousin appeared at the workshop and talk to my uncle... She is a lawyer and needed someone trusty, good looking and efficient to work as a secretary for her... And i was the only one she trusted in town for that job...:D :D :D

A week later i was working in a suit, with air conditioning 8 to 12 for the same cash as i was doing 8-12 and 14-18...:D I could ride every afternoon and some more advanced tricks appeared....Notice at the starting of the video, thats from inside my works office :D...

Another good stuff... My mom needed a car to go to work (formerly used my Fiat UNO) but now it was gone... So instead of that as it was going to be OUR car... I decided to get a small van instead of a car, just in case i wanted to haul my bike to ride somewhere else... who knows...

At the endings of 2007, something strange happended... I was the only new school stuntrider in the whole nation and the videos I uploaded started to spread out, some way they ended up in the hands of Fabian Figueroa, a recognized motorcycle traveler and the organizer of the more "southern" motorcycle gathering in the whole world... He called me and asked me if I could set up a show in his event... I told him i never did a show in my life... But i that i could go there and throw some stunts in front of people with no problem... I sat with my dad and made a fine calculation of all the costs it would take to go there, come back, eat sleep everything... And of course, the cost of the show...no less than A MONTH SALARY AS A SECRETARY :D :D :D.... I called Fabian, hoping for a huge NO as an answer for my Super-Expensive-Motorcycle-Show...but insted of that he accepted and sent me half the money so i can cover anything i need for the trip....

The stuntshows was 2450kms away from home... I needed a GRADE 1 travel partner, only a person came to my mind...the one that got me into trials... Fat Pioli (Matias Pioli is his real name) who even living 80kms from my house is one of my best friends... He accepted to come and was very happy to hear i was making some money out of this break-fix-repeat waste of cash i had as a hobby....

We took our trial bikes with us, and headed south for a 10 day 5500kms oddisey... 2 non-stop days to get there... a weekend of shows and the way back home was all fun, trials and eating junkfood....

All packed and ready to go...

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Argentina is so big...You dont notice until you have to go across the Patagonia with a Peugeot Partner :D

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You can always stop by the sea to relax a little...

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Even play with the toys we carried...

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Finally got there...

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Showed off...

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And got payed!!! For having fun!!! The greatest feeling ever!!!

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After that trip I realised what i wanted to do with my life.... I didnt want to work like a slave to make my boss richer everyday... I wanted to hit the roads, and stunt for a living... A couple months later i did another show (small one a a bikeshop).... and a couple weeks later another show.... The first important event in my carrer... RP08... that was exactly one year after i bought the GS500... with the presence of an international stunt team and massive audience.. all the cameras where pointing at me, and the media did his job to put my product in the eyes of people....

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After that event... The telephone started ringing.... My inbox was full of people who wanted the show for their events... was like an avalanche... Kept riding the GS500 for a couple years and then switched to a top of the line stuntbike... a BMW F800st 2008... Bought it cheap from BMW, i made some friends driving for them at Bike presentations, driving clinics and some brand-specific events... I travelled al across the country, with some ocassional visit to Paraguay and Chile... Theres lots op pics of all my shows here, if youre interested... https://www.facebook...i/photos_albums

Some highlights...

Driving the F800R at the official unveil...

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Crossing to Chile

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Made it to the cover more than once!!

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Some stage action...

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Live on TV a couple times...

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And if someone ask what about the ladies...

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I declare guilty... jajaja

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And maybe the peak of my carreer.... Riding at RP10... Performing together with Chris Pfeiffer...

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How a full show looked like....

Edited by xeriotti
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Now its been almost a year since my retirement... I started selling exclusive cars like two years ago and started seeing profits id never imagine riding a motorcycle so I quitted doing it...tough decision tho.. Sold the F800, the ATV, the Van....All gone for good, made some investments and managed to buy a warehouse a block away from my house and im now building my pre-owned-exotics business there... I ride some enduro with my friends, and some biketrials of course :D with Fat Pioli... Who also grew up and became a dad a couple weeks ago!!!....

During all these years, I always wanted to give a try to motorcycle trials... it wasnt possible back then, no money, no time, or a combination of both...

A couple months ago i realised that life is really short and that i should give motorcycle trials a shot now, that im still kinda young... So with my new goal in mind... I started this new project......

I started looking for ANY trials specific motorcycle available... but after browsing across all the available websites about motorcycles I realised those seatless bikes were really hard to find over here... Made a couple phonecalls, more internet browsing, some emails, but with poor results... all i could find were... 2 1994 Beta TR34, really beat up... a JTR 250 also 1994 ... abandoned in a garage for almost 20 years and a couple newish bikes one brought from Chile with no documentation (useless for me) and the other i guess it was a bike that some pro left here when an international indoor trials event came to Argentina... Some of them... Useless for modern style riding... Most of them. lacking propper documentation...All of them... Expensive.... The majority of trial bikes in Argentina are in hands of collectors who only stare at them and use them to start conversations... I even called some guys that work with some kind of parallel custom... bringing prohibited stuff from abroad, in this case... a trials motorcycle... but they wanted 4000us dollars to bring home my 80kg mistery box!!!

As one of my last resources of motorcycle knowledge i called a friend of mine that runs a Motorcycle Magazine, a TV Show and raced in several Dakar Chapters...El Gato Barbery.. Who didnt know anything about trial bikes for sale but was in that exact moment, having dinner with Beta Argentina´s CEO... :D He told him about me, That my intentions were pure about getting a trials bike for learning and maybe showingoff purposes... So he accepted to bring an EVO300 for me with no profit at all!!! :D

So here i am now... I payed for the EVO yesterday... and im waiting for them to call me so i can pick it up in Beta Argentina´s Headquarters in Buenos Aires...

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Thanks for sharing. I love the fact these forums attract folk from all corners of the world :)

PS. Can I have the girl in the blue top? She looks well dirty :D

Thanks to you Andy for your time... I love this forum for the same reason, TrialsCENTRAL its not only a domain name :D

PS: You can have it... If you really have a crush on her I can take you to her house its like 600kms from here :D

Edited by xeriotti
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That is a great story Bruno, and just goes to show what you can do when you have the desire and passion to succeed. When you get that evo under control best show us some more of your great talent on two wheels.

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I have my truck aiming to Buenos Aires... As soon as they call me i dont mind what time is it.... Im heading to pick it up... (Im4 hours from there)

Im now picking up some obstacles to start with the training course, pallets and maybe some huge tyres!...

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Daily update!

About the bike: The guys at Beta Argentina called me to arrange some paperwork... And promised the bike will be ready next week, i asked about the color.. and they "Think its white"...

About the riding spot, i started gathering stuff today... Not much, but the plasce has lots of potential.... 2 pallets, 2 200liter drums... Lots of sleepers and a couple pieces of fencing that can be turned into something sith not much effort... Theres 2 dirt mini-mountains that sure can be used for something... Nice trees a small cabin and lots of place for building stuff...

From the main street...

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From the back entrance...

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Durmientes...

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Pyle o´dirt.

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The cabin and some random fruit trees... Orange, Lemon, and some other i cant name in english...

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Ill make a good use of these for sure...

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And these are the pieces of fencing i was telling you about... The look like bridges or something, with some reinforcement they can be ridden over. Not much skill demanding but fun and impressive to see by non-riders jajajaja

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Ill keep throwing pallets and drums in there, ill try not to go big at once..Better to stay safe and save bike and health while i get the feel of everything... Any reccomendations about training procedures, training diagrams, obstacle layou would be very useful and will be REALLY HELPFUL...

Thanks in advance...Ill keep you updated.

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Bad news... Its extremely hard to get pallets!!! They are trying to sell them to me (no chance at all jajajaja) the only type of pallet available for free are "not reusable"... so they are complete crap...

Looks like this... Lots of separation inbetween each piece of wood... and really thin and fragile material...

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I grabbed some of the big ones and the guy told me those were for sale... And not only in one place... They are selling them everywhere!!! Rats!!!

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I think its another obstacle in my trials experience...not only i do live in a flat soft land.... I also have to pay for pallets... (or risking going to jail for jumping a fence and stealing them :D)

Edited by xeriotti
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It's normal that you have to pay for these kind of pallets (known here as Euro-pallets).

there is a deposit on them, so they get used more than once... Bad luck

Another bad new...I went to pick up those huge tyres i mentioned, and they also wanted to charge me for them jajajaja They have been there for like... 10 years!!! They are useless for any vehicle, all torn and dry...Building my training spot wont be as easy as I thought!!!

I have one last probable source for pallets (nice ones) and have to ask for some of those huge spools also... Ill keep you guys updated.

No news about the bike yet (Its sunday :D)

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Its been a productive tuesday... Got some pallets from a local sandblasting shop..another 200lt drum and a friend of mine called me to pick up a pair of tractor tyres :D... Everything for free!!! I havnt ste up anything yet...(Ideas welcome) im still waiting my bike to be ready... The guys told me it comes "CKD" (Completely Knocked Down).. :( So ill maybe have to wait another week or two... :(

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At the spot... :D

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Good set of tyres you have scored Bruno, while you wait for bike get busy and make centre platform for the centre of tyres and fix them securely into position so they are ready to use....while near a power source drill 4 holes through sidewalls of tyres to hammer securing pins through so they wont move.

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