Trial Bikes

Nai · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Karma :

S'about 2 weeks scince my afternoon rock hopping on a trials bike. I still have bruises head to toe. I never knew you could bruise through armour so easily... Anywhos! I am kind of smitten! Speed just does not excite me. At all. These things though! Nearly managed to get the little bugger vertical up 1 hill! That was fun! Riding up walls! Well.... Falling off walls.... Lots.... Reminds me... Must go and fill the next 50 spots in the spill counter thread... But still! Even the noise they make! Its like seriously pissed off bees! I had a blast!

I had a look at trials bikes and all the brands are different.

Gasgas
Sherco
Beta

None of the usual japanese suspects seem to get a look in. So who makes nice bikes in the trials world? Looking for maybe a once a month toy, nothing fancy, and something that does not mind being dropped. LOTS! Any suggestions?

MarJay · But it's British! Joined: 15 Sep 2003 Karma :

I had a GasGas Pampera which wasn't a trials bike but it had a trials engine. It wasn't very well built, but it was good at what it was designed for.

I think one of the big trials bike manufacturers is owned by Honda or Yamaha... I'm not sure which.
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Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :

Montesa.

Honda gave up trying to beat them.... so bough them instead!
Montesa wear HRC on the cases, but are still 'Spanish' in as much as they are HRC 'Trials', with access to all the HRC computers and 'stuff'.

They have taken more world titles in the last two decades than every-one else put together, I think.

ANYWAY....

Most popular bike out there, in consequence to this is the Montesa 315R.

Its the last of the two-smokes. Was in serial production the longest, around ten years, and is probably THE best supported bit of iron in the sport.

For a Novice..... its just what you do for an easy life!

BUT, your first step is to go place a regular order for Trails & MotorCross News (T&MX) at your newsagents.

Read the 'regs' in the back, for a few weeks, and see what clubs in your district host most 'events'....

Head out to a few of them, spectators are usually welcome; see how freindly the club is, how 'keen' the members.

Find club; join, apply to the ACU for your 'Trials' membership & riding licence; & get your Gold-Book.

Read rules of trials and teh scoring system... Actually google ACU its on thier webby somewhere!

Try 'observing' at a couple of events; get the idea of scoring.

Its safer, you get less bruised, and you get an idea of what you have to do and what to try NOT to do... as well as the organisation of the events!

Also gets you invilved, and you'll find people offering bikes for sale 'in the club' or just being generally helpful.

Also small adds in the back of TMX WHEN you go look to buy a bike.

But your first purchase will probably be a trailer, or better, if you only have to cart one bike about, a 'trials-rack', bolts to tow-bar mount and carries bike sideways accross bumper! DEAD handy and saves a lot of muggering around with trailers.

Anyway; KEY is T&MX news and getting oyt and spectating/observing.

My first few 'events'... I did it long enough for the bike I bought in 1985 to see me through 'school-boy' into 'novice' and then into the 'classic' T-Shock class! Now I'm eligible for the 'old fogies' class!

Anyway; my first few events were a baptism of confusion!

All well and good turning up, signing on, but its not like a road race.... there you turn up, track is pretty obviouse and once you are on it, you cant REALLY get lost!

Trials? 12 sections around a wood. And the CoC is a sadist, he always hides at least ONE frigging section some-where out of the way!

You ride your laps, then find you get a DNF becouse you haven't done ALL the sections!

So then you try following the others around, and discover you are ALL playing Hunt-Section Six!

Some-one will suggest asking an observer, but they are probably hoping YOU'll tell them where the section is supposed to be.... and of course, you get to what LOOKs like a section only to find there's no observer to score you!

Can take a while to get to know the 'form', and observing/spectating a few events can give you a heads up when you aren't all keyed up and on a bike!

When you phone round or e-mail, ask if clubs use a regular venue, or are nomadic.

A LOT of the chaos comes from the fact that clubs will use private land to host events, but Land-Owner can often only host two or three meetings a year under planning rules; so to fill a 'calender' they use a number of venues, and set the courses up on the day.

My 'Home' Club, ESTC, have their own ground, which is rare these days, but means that a) you always no where to go; you dont just get six figure OS map-ref for a field in the middle of no-where b) When you get there, stuff tends to be set up! c) having been there before, stuff is usually in much the same place.... they change routings a bit and shift sections up and down the hill or go the other side round a rock or something, but within a 5yard raris they are pretty much in the same place!

This can be useful for the newbie.... if some-what boring for the more regular competitor; however, I used to ride with two clubs, ESTC for regular once a month event, & use of the ground for practice when I wanted, then a nomadic club, Peak-Classic, for a bit of variety..... and then the odd 'day-member' event when I felt like it.

BE WARNED: You are NOT so perilousely placed down south.... but there are 'hot-spots' where there is a LOT of trials action. South Yorks/Derbishire is one, Cotswoulds is another.... I live exactly HALF way between the two!

But travel distance is a saviour; When I lived in Doncaster, I often had up to five events a week I could go to with various clubs, Running 'Evening' Trials in the week during the summer, as well as Saturdays & Sundays! (And at £2 or £3 an entry as was then; very bloomin temping!)

BE WARNED.... TRIALS IS ADDICTIVE!

VERY ADDICTIVE

Twenty eight years ago, I 'had a go' and thought, "Oh, this is fun... not as exiting as scrambling, but its a LOT cheaper.... I can DO this until I can afford to go road-racing!"

Ten years later, I went road racing..... it was EFFOFF expensive and NO fun....

And I went back to trials! Once you have the bug.... well, you never STOP trials riding.... you just skip the odd season... or don't compete as 'regularly'!

Anyway, could ramble all night....

T&MX NEWS is your starting point.

A Montesa Cota 315R your next!
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Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

spaz · Nova Slayer Joined: 29 Apr 2012 Karma :

Regarding Montessa 315, WHS^^^^^
They are very well built machines HOWEVER they are starting to show their age and came feel a bit heavy compared to some of the newer machinery out there.

Also, look at Scorpa (made by Yamaha); very well built and robust bikes, if a little quirky in design.

I had a Sherco a few years ago, was a good bike but they are renowned for clutches dragging when cold (fine when warm).

Older Gas Gas trials bikes can develop gearbox faults in certain yrs/models.

Look at www.trialscentral.co.uk

If you are South London, look up Sidcup MCC or Surrey Trials Club.

Trials is an exceptionally cheap form of motorsport and unlike most other bike sports, nobody cares how new/old your bike & kit is.
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Nai · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Apr 2010 Karma :

Thanks lads, trailer wont be needed as I will be mostly tagging along with a mate with a van (piles 4-5 bikes in the bike). Will just need a means to get to them and he will take the bikes Smile

Was told to look at Scorpa's last night and told Gasgas could have gearbox problems as well. I was eyeing up a couple of gasgas bikes! Darnnit!

Montessa... Just searched them... OMG is there a manufacturer out there that have made as many good looking bikes as Montesa O.O Trials, prototype or race, they all just look the business!

Looks like it could be a 315 for me then ^^

Teflon-Mike · tl;dr Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :