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Buying A Bike For A First Time


sjmlancs
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Hi all,

After years of doing speedway & grasstrack i retired due to injury & i've taken a few years out. I'm keen to start riding again but i can't handle speedway any longer & i want to ride trials.

I'm currently recovering from a nasty road accident & i'm due a few quid from the claim. I'm going to buy a brand new bike & i've no idea what's hot & what's not. Up to press i like the look of the Montesa & the Ossa but i could be barking up the wrong tree with them.

Anyone got any advice on buying a new machine ??

Cheers

Si

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If you have never ridden trials and a little out of shape due to you injuries, I would recommend the Beta Evo 200. Trials is all about control, too much power and you are all over, too little and you are working the body to make it work. The 200 is often overlooked.

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Hi. Good choice taking up trials......you going to hate it at first :) but after a little practice, you will wish you had started sooner. You can obviously handle power (speedway) but dont let that fool you. At the beginning, you dont want all that power, accidentally, when there is a wall/tree stump etc right in front of you. As lineaway said, dont dismiss a slightly smaller cc bike to start with. You have tons to learn before you even think of going past half throttle.

As to make, I dont think you could go wrong with any of the new bikes, however beta and gasgas seem to be the most popular and there are tons of guys that can give you great advice on both. Try them both if you can.

I started on a rev 3 270 and am now on a evo 300, definitely not because I needed more grunt (just had a good opportunity to get a new bike). Most trials bikes, 200cc +, have more than enough power to scare the pooop out of you.

Good luck and enjoy :)

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Hey guys,

Cheers for the replies, theirs a nice mix of machines to try there. When i've purchased road bikes in the past there are demo machines at dealerships which you can test ride before you part with your dosh, is this something trials dealers offer ???

I was looking at a 280cc bike because i am rather tall & not exactly light weighing 17 stone which i've always found problematic with smaller motorcycle engines. I had a 350 Jawa grasstrack bike which will no doubt throw out bags more power than a trials bike & i had to literally spank the nuts off it to keep it going.

Hopefully there is somewhere i can test bikes so i know when i make my purchase i'm getting the perfect tool for the job.

Si

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Go to some local events and talk to folks , (they'll all tell you their bike is best :) ) Watch as many section rides as you can , and you will soon realize it's not all about power . It's all about what you do with what you've got , traction is the key to everything trials , and to much power can take that away from you at first . Try to watch a pro level rider on a 125 , it will amaze you what finesse and control can do !

But get a bike you are physically comfortable on , and then practice all the trials basics ... turns and balance , turns and balance , turns and balance...

Everything in the section is just there to upset your Balance and turns , so get that hardwired and then have FUN !

Welcome to the Fold ...

Glenn

Edited by axulsuv
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like yourself, i will come into a fair bit of money and also i have not been able to work because of ill health so i decided to get back into trials mainly because i used to love doing it but also as a fitness regime, i decided to get a second hand machine just to see if it was still for me and to see if i still enjoyed it, i ended up with a 250 sherco 1999, on my first ride i was totally shocked with how much power the bike had got, i thought i would start off with a 250 and then when i buy something newer i would move up to at least a 300, well that as all changed and now i will stick to a 250, the modern trials bikes realy are very powerful, so i wouldn't let your wait put you off trying the 200-250 range.

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Hello sjmlancs. Notice a theme here of smaller capacity. I came back to trials from road racing 2 stroke 250s 2 years ago. My current bike is a 2000 GasGas 280 and way to powerful in some situations for me .

I'm dropping capacity in January and i'm looking at a year 2010 Gas Gas 200 and putting a 225 conversion on it . Unless you built like a brick **** house i would say nothing more than 250.You don't want outright horse power like in racing .You need to be the master of the bike not the other way round.Like i really had to tell you that.

Keep us posted.

Regards Ted.

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everyone is right about the power side of things. i bought a sherco 290 and found the first five rides or so i was doing better on a friend's 125. but i am trying to learn fast and figure i'll grow into the 290 with time. if i was going to just dabble in trials then around 200cc would have been plenty i think.

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