Roger Boothroyd sent me this pic of Melissa Andrist riding at a Vancouver Island demo.
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After the Ymir Trial, I posted a lot of pics and videos on FB of the event - which I think most riders liked , - But it was interesting to see the comments posted from overseas, regarding the video I took of Stan on Section #8 ( The very difficult Quarry section) - even Ex World Champion Bernie Schreiber, called this a “5″. - Now I’m not sure what went down on Stan’s score card, but very few Experts made it through this section, so maybe a “Good effort” was rewarded by a “Three”.
The problem that I see in Trials today, is a sometimes lack of consistency in scoring, either by group checking or with Checkers. - A classic example, is when is a “5″ a “1″ for a rider with his foot down, on a bike that is stopped?
We have seen this type of scoring for years in Western Trials, mainly I think, because the sections have become more difficult, and the rules relaxed. ( We won’t even touch on the fiasco’s happening on the World scene)
In Canada, our sport is very small, and the number one concern, is always to keep riders happy, so that they will come back, but I sometimes wonder, why we have a rule book at all. ( Yes the WTC rule book can be accessed via the Trials Canada website)
At Ymir, I spent some time talking to one of the US riders about the sport in general ( not this particular topic) and found it refreshing to hear his comments, on how The scene South of the border went downhill, when they had so many classes, everybody went home with a Trophy. ( This Gentleman has put on a ton of Trials events)
It reminded me of 1994 at the Donner World Round - Martin Lampkin, asked me to sit in at the Checkers meeting, to find out just how they were going to score certain infractions. - In other words, if riders know they won’t get called for either a long dab - or a “Peg-pivot Dab” - they will use this knowledge to their advantage.
The ” Non-Stop” rules used in current World Trials, are a joke, in my opinion, and none of the top contenders get called for a questionable “5″ by a checker, for fear of being abused, by not only the rider, and his minders, but by loyal fans.
No wonder it’s become so difficult to find people to do this job - they are all amateurs by the way, in a sport that is supposed to be Professional .
On the other side of the coin - you have the Scottish Six Days Trial - going on now for over 100 years - back in the day - they tried to keep up with modern techniques, by allowing stopping & hopping - but entrees dropped so badly, there was a fear the event would fold.
A return to the No Stop rules changed all that and the Trial is now more popular than ever. BUT and the big BUT - is that the rules are correctly enforced, by a team of hardy checkers with years of experience.
At the end of the day, local Trials should always be about having family fun, and avoiding conflicts over scoring, and the fact that the 2019 Outlaw Series saw very good rider participation at all events, bodes well for the future.
However, it’s important to remember, that the Clerk of the Course is the Boss, and it’s what he or she says that goes.
Just some thoughts on recent events that have occurred .
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Details of the new 2020 Beta Evo have been released.
With experience gained over the years spent on race tracks, this year’s Beta Factory Team made up of James Dabill and Benoit Bincaz was able to transfer all that technological know-how to the new Trial range, so that both amateurs and professionals could get access to highly-evolved bike technology.
The 2-stroke version is available in four different engine sizes: 125, 200, 250, 300 & 300 SS where “SS” stands for “Super Smooth”, a bike with a smoother character compared to the standard version. The 4-stroke model, on the other hand, comes with the usual 300 cc engine which provides an impeccable combination of performance and ease-of-use.
CHASSIS
Much attention has been paid to the chassis design. In fact, the look of the Evo MY 2020 has been completely revised, making it an even more attractive bike.
Here are some of the details:
New front headlamp cowl: completely redesigned, for that decisive look and markedly racing spirit.
New tank shell: fully redesigned, further highlighting the hydroformed aluminum chassis, a particular feature of the Evo.
New mapping selector switch: with a revolutionary new design, this has been moved from the front headlamp cowl to the new tank shell, making access and visibility easier. It now also has a LED indicator light, making it much simpler to identify which mapping is selected.
New rear fender: completely redesigned shape, with particular attention paid to the tail lamp.
New LED lamp at the rear.
New fork setting: using the experience we gained with the 2019 Factory version, the hydraulics have been made even more progressive and we have also introduced the ability to fit a compression adjuster kit (already fitted to the Factory series).
New anodized parts (gear shift lever, foot brake lever, engine head 2T).
New graphics and colors
