My try at trials.

**koba** · 1st March 2009, 20:18

I managed to bludge a ride on a KT250 for a go at a classic and twinshock trials event.
I have had very little offroad experience and had never even seen a trials event before so I didn't really know what to expect.
As the course was set up I started to get a wee bit intimidated, it was looking all a wee bit to complex for my brain, all these marker things about the place...
After a quick explaination and a lot of walking about I got the idea of what I had to do.

The first three stages were mainly looping in and out of trees with a few jumps over the roots. They looked like they would be really quite easy. (guess what, they were harder than they looked!)

The second, and last, three were in an old dry creek bed that we had to drop into, turn on some and go thru gates over logs and debris and then come up the muddy bank.
They looked like they were going to be as hard as a schoolboy in a stripclub. They were!

These 6 stages were run 3 times to make 18 stages in total

The scoring works a bit like golf with lowest being best.
You get points for cocking up, with a maximum of 5 per stage.

1 for putting your foot down,
3 for putting your foot down twice,
5 for three times.

5 for stopping(It think), moving backwards and falling off.

As you go through a stage it had gate/checkpoint kind of things not going thru these or hitting them is also 5 points.

I got better at the part of the track thru the trees as I got the hang of the bike better and I was stoked with how much fun I had in that bit but some of the guys on this were REALLY good! It was amazing watching on guy taking the expert lines hit a tree almost head on so he bounced off it in the right direction, it bloody worked well too.

The Creek bed basically broke me!
out of the 9 runs I think I got 7 5 point runs and a 3 point one.
My FIRST go was the best with 1 point!
My real offroad skills suck at the moment but this was great development.

The variety of bikes was interesting, as wells as a good showing of Bultaco and Montessa twinshock bikes there were some jappas but the coolest bike were the old brit thumpers, with a brilliantly used looking Triumph Tiger Cub and an old Royal Enfield that looed HUGE and heavy compared to the newer strokers.

It was a brilliant day out, If you ever get the chance give it a go because it is really alot of fun.

**98tls** · 1st March 2009, 20:29

Great write up,always something ive fancied having a go at,learnt to ride on a TL250 back when a 9 year old.Ironic i still have a TL.

**Trudes** · 1st March 2009, 20:29

Sounds like great fun M. Good going!

**Brian d marge** · 1st March 2009, 20:34

Originally Posted by koba

I Royal Enfield that looed HUGE and heavy compared to the newer strokers.

It was a brilliant day out, If you ever get the chance give it a go because it is really alot of fun.

OI not quite that heavy ...400 odd pound ish ... not my fault those eastern fellas are tiny ......
I would like to see a combination of a trail ride with those observed sections thrown in ,,,like the A loop with observed sections ....

Stephen

**Ixion** · 1st March 2009, 20:36

Always wanted to try trials. I figured out years ago that I'd never be able to ride fast, so I might as well prove that I can't ride slow either. Just never got round to it. (And the experts make it look a bit intimidating)

**koba** · 1st March 2009, 20:46

Originally Posted by 98tls

Great write up,always something ive fancied having a go at,learnt to ride on a TL250 back when a 9 year old.Ironic i still have a TL.

Try have a crack at it if you can, I don't know much about clubs and all that but I'm sure if you found a meeting somwhere not to far from home and went and had a looksie and a yarn you would pointed in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Trudes

Sounds like great fun M. Good going!

Almost as good as a night at the Kendogs!

Originally Posted by Brian d'marge

OI not quite that heavy ...400 odd pound ish ... not my fault those eastern fellas are tiny ......
I would like to see a combination of a trail ride with those observed sections thrown in ,,,like the A loop with observed sections ....

Stephen

This one would have been lighter than that but it was still the biggest meanest bike there!
I think it was probably old enough to have been built in ol blighty too.

Originally Posted by Ixion

Always wanted to try trials. I figured out years ago that I'd never be able to ride fast, so I might as well prove that I can't ride slow either. Just never got round to it. (And the experts make it look a bit intimidating)

Give it a crack, plenty of old buggers out there today gave me the learn!

**Ocean1** · 1st March 2009, 20:56

Originally Posted by koba

I managed to bludge a ride on a KT250 for a go at a classic and twinshock trials event.

Dude called Samy Miller developed the KT, I used to wallow around on one. I was going to go for a look yesterday but they postponed it eh?

If you turn up at any one of these: http://www.ixion.org.nz/cald.html and look keen there's a very good chance one of the guys will offer you a wee play on something a bit more contemporary.

Originally Posted by Brian d'marge

OI not quite that heavy ...400 odd pound ish ... not my fault those eastern fellas are tiny ......
I would like to see a combination of a trail ride with those observed sections thrown in ,,,like the A loop with observed sections ....

Stephen

Scott trials? We used to organise our own version, completely un-sanctioned. Got everything from Ossas to TL125s to TM400s turning up, it all evened out in the wash, excellent fun.

**koba** · 1st March 2009, 21:13

Originally Posted by Ocean1

If you turn up at any one of these: http://www.ixion.org.nz/cald.html and look keen there's a very good chance one of the guys will offer you a wee play on something a bit more contemporary.

Oh yeah, could be worth a look!

**merv** · 1st March 2009, 21:21

Good on ya Koba, trials certainly is good fun. I started with trials as my first form of motorsport way back when I had a lot more hair and no helmet was required, though I haven't done it now for a long time. Mmmm where could I get a good Bultaco these days?

You'll love these pics from 1973 and 1974?

Sammy Miller was behind the success of the Bultacos too of course, and the long distance trials we called Scott Trials, and Koba will laugh but I even entered the A100 fitted with trials tyres in one of those long ago back when my Bro' was competing on his TS90 Honcho. Denill on this site will remember well those days in Hawkes Bay. Lookee there, the last pic is of Denill from 1973.

**98tls** · 1st March 2009, 21:23

Originally Posted by Ocean1

Dude called Samy Miller developed the KT, I used to wallow around on one. I was going to go for a look yesterday but they postponed it eh?

If you turn up at any one of these: http://www.ixion.org.nz/cald.html and look keen there's a very good chance one of the guys will offer you a wee play on something a bit more contemporary.

Scottish trials? We used to organise our own version, completely un-sanctioned. Got everything from Ossas to TL125s to TM400s turning up, it all evened out in the wash, excellent fun.

Nice post,theres even something for us downunder wannabes to attend,nice.

**Motu** · 1st March 2009, 22:03

Originally Posted by Ocean1

Dude called Samy Miller developed the KT

Don Smith did the KT 250,he did a lot of development of the Montesa Cota too,and you can see a lot of the Cota in the KT.After taking GOV132 to it's limits,Sammy Millar developed the Bultaco Sherpa T,then went on to do the Honda TL250,which was never a success.Mick Andrews fine tuned the Ossa Plonker,then went on to do the Yamaha TY bikes,which were the best of the early Jap bikes,the TY175 would be the best Japanese Twin Shock made.The guy who made the RL250 Suzuki is as forgotten as the bike.

I had a KT250 for 12 years - the motor was good,pretty grunty....but noisy and a bit ''ropey'' at low speeds.The handling was a bit wayward,and reluctant to turn full lock under power.

Unless those suthiners have their own rules,they should be...

1 - for one dab
2 - for 2 dabs
3 - for 3 or more dabs,basically you can sit down and paddle your way through for 3 points.
5 - for stopping or dropping the bike,or crossing your line,going outside a marker.
10 - rarely used,but the highest penalty for refusing a section.

These rules still apply to modern bikes,but because they cheat to the extreme,new rules have been made for Classic,Twinshock and Aircooled.You can't stop,or fail to continue to make way (no standing and balancing) no reversing,no hopping etc.This is just to enforce the intent of the old rules.

Good on you for getting out there,hopefully there will be more interest shown in trials again soon.

**xwhatsit** · 1st March 2009, 22:12

Oh right. Didn't realise about the `no standing' thing -- I saw an indoor trials event ages ago and they were standing and hopping and doing all sorts of trickery. Might've just been for show, but they were getting scored. Put me off the idea of ever trying it because one thing I sure can't do is balance on a bike like that!

I watched a few videos of outdoors trials like you described, boy it looks fun. Like the kind of things me and my mates used to get up to in the trees and creek behind the park on our mountain bikes. One more thing to put on my list of things-to-try

**Ocean1** · 1st March 2009, 22:13

Originally Posted by Motu

Don Smith did the KT 250,he did a lot of development of the Montesa Cota too,and you can see a lot of the Cota in the KT.

I stand... er, sit corrected.

Originally Posted by Motu

I had a KT250 for 12 years - the motor was good,pretty grunty....but noisy and a bit ''ropey'' at low speeds.The handling was a bit wayward,and reluctant to turn full lock under power.

I messed around with the forks a fair bit, was never entirely happy with them. What did work is I loaded up the flywheel mass a bit, helped with that hickup-stall thing.

**merv** · 1st March 2009, 22:15

Originally Posted by Motu

Sammy Millar developed the Bultaco Sherpa T,then went on to do the Honda TL250,which was never a success.

Funny you say that about the Honda, you must have selective memory, because I remember Eddy Lejeune winning the world trials championship 3 years in a row on the Honda as per this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ials_champions which sounds kinda like success to me, and Greg Power did wonders on it in this country.