outlawtrials.com

Never forget “The Pilots of 1940 and The Battle of Britain”

Here is neat shot of Heath’s buddy Fransisco   on the very nice Beta TR 34 that Heath just restored.

A book that I have never read and do not have in my collection.

Entrees now open for the 2021 Scottish - get them in!! and hope this Pandemic is over by then.

I wonder how many entrants next year will be on the TRS with estart ?? makes a lot of sense, especially for older riders, who need to save energy. - How many times does a rider have to kick-start the bike each day in Scotland?
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At a time when Newspapers and Magazines are folding because of the Electronic media - It’s great to be able to still get this Mag: out of the UK. - Plus this issue has a super poster of Jordi on the Beta to stick up on the wall.

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So yesterday, I had to scrape the windshield of my van for the first time this Fall - and with snow up on the Hills we could be in for an early Winter. - They are warning of a possible 25cm in Calgary today.

This being the case, I might try to sneak out today for a ride with Roy!! - More on this later if it happens.

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In Moto GP News - Valentino Rossi has tested positive for the Corona 19 virus - and will miss the next race at least.

A reminder to everyone that was at Scotch Creek last weekend  to let us know immediately if they show any signs of the Covid  over the next couple of weeks!!!!
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This photo by Iain Lawrie of a section in the 1983 Scottish Six Day Trial, is perhaps one that best describes the sheer magnitude of the Highlands. If you haven’t been there - put it on your bucket    list, but don’t plan on entering unless you are classed as either Advanced or Expert- Yes it’s tough.

While we are talking neat shots of Motorcycles  in nice picturesque settings - lets  see one from our local area - up above Vernon - not sure who the rider is though - it didn’t say.

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Watch out for this lad in the future - he’s Dougie’s Nephew  -

Congratulations to our supported rider Harry Hemingway on a fantastic first season competing in his first year in the world championship, finishing a brilliant 5th place overall in the championship. A fantastic achievement considering Harry was the youngest rider in the championship, competing in 4 two day trials over a compact 6 week period that also included returning home, riding a club trial and also taking 2 podiums in the British Championship event in Devon. Harry also goes down in history as the Youngest Rider to achieve a podium place in a world championship event with a 3rd place finish in Spain on day 1. Congratulations from all at Dc Air conditioning ltd

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This old pic of me with the Beta 300 4T just popped up on FB - Can’t remember who was with me on that ride over to Spanish Lake, but it was a great day and the 4T is a wonderful bike for this type  of trail ride. - Now if Beta would just put an E start on it!!

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The name “Jones” is quite common in the UK - in fact it’s Babsy’s maiden name - but I never knew that there was a motorcycle  by that name.

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Looking for something else and came across my copy of Sammy’s book on the Honda story - while there is no doubt that he was instrumental in teaching the Honda folk all about what a Trials bike should be like - things did not go well  for Sam and the Japanese and in the end they parted ways.

It’s a great book to read, and having worked for Yamaha, I can appreciate some of the difficulties that Sammy Miller experienced.

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Believe it or not - It’s time to start thinking about Christmas - and for wives and girlfriends - this usually means buying clothing for the Trials guy in their family - I thought of this when I saw Byron decked out in that orange Scorpa gear at the Trial - and he certainly needs a change of clothing for next year, now he is on the TRS - !!! The Wulf stuff which we have been selling since 1995 - is great quality and reasonably priced - although we can  get the TRS gear  which also seems quite popular.

This is Kevin on one of the very tricky and slippery log sections.

And Steve Day on the same section.

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Jordi must be very proud of his Team.

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Take a look at this pic of the bikes at a Classic Trial in Europe -

Here is the Vintage scene in Edmonton!!! Walter sent me this pic.

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It was interesting to chat to a couple of the riders at Scotch Creek about both “Bike set up” and also “Mind games”  - The fact is that many riders have the riding ability, but just fall apart in a Competition , because they can’t control nerves and get their “Head” right.  - I remember our old friend Ady Brown who commented back in the day that - He had his competition beat before they started by just making some remarks to unsettle them.  - Even at the top level - one bad ride on an early section, can ruin the day for some.

What I have always told anybody that I’ve coached is this - “If you have a bad early “5″ - get that out of your head straight away - forget about it - and plan as if the Trial starts at the next section.

Of course there is no doubt that to become a Champion - you have to be Consistent -  winning one day then finishing down the field the next event will never win you that #1 Plate. - - It’s a fact that many riders do not know how to walk a section and have the right pictures in their head before they go through the “IN” cards. - especially if there are a bunch of spectators or their competition standing watching every move.

An interesting thing happened at the Scotch Creek Trial when Brian McNeal was riding the big log section on day two - when he made the turn to approach the BIG log - he was chatting to brother Pierce who was standing up top to act as minder - He said that he didn’t know how to ride this - in other words what technique to use !!

With Pierce shouting instructions, the result was pretty much a foregone conclusion - good effort but Brian needs more practice on the new bike, and overall did pretty well on both days.
This is why I like to shoot a lot of video - because it shows the rider technique ( Good and Bad) - this is always  a good idea for play back after a training session.

Bottom line is that if you can’t see a picture in your head of yourself  “Cleaning” a section - chances are you won’t do it.
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We hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving weekend - It is always a special time for family gatherings and Yesterday was no exception for us.  Good to be able to see the kids and grand-kids in these troubling times.

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Below are the top three  masked men in the shortened Moto Trial GP Class ( As they call it these days)   Tony Bou (Honda) - Adam Raga (TRS)  and Jaimie Busto ( Vertigo)

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Back with more from the Shuswap Trial  > This must have been a very scary ride for Steve, as he knows that he hasn’t hit the log quite right which then got him all out of shape in the next couple of pics I took - he had to use all his experience to save it as he went off the end log at full throttle, ( Note: his nice Wulf Trials pants and Outlaw Toolbelt- don’t think we made many in that color so it must pretty old by now)

Here is Judy giving the riders the low down on social distancing in the groups etc.

This is an interesting bike that Shane showed up on - He had to switch the forks and other stuff from his TRS to make the old Mont work for him. -All last minute stuff so he had something to ride for the weekend - And yes he did well on it.

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We have posted this pic before - but it shows Arthur Lampkin winning the  Scottish -  the eldest in the Lampkin Family - Arthur was a brilliant “All rounder”  competing in Scrambles and Trials with the best in the World. ( Notice the “Valve lifter lever below his left hand - used for starting the  BSA)

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In weather news - today is supposed to be another wet one -with snow up on the hills - but we don’t have a lot planned - unloaded my van yesterday - always a big job for me as I put as much stuff in as I can to take to the Trials events - but then a lot has to be restocked in the shop. We have helped a lot of riders over the years by having the parts they need last minute because they break  something.
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More news as it happens >>>

Well, the weather on Sunday for day #2 of the Shuswap “Pot Luck” Trial - was pretty much perfect - with the sections drying out, scores were a lot lower and everybody had a really good time - A huge thanks to Ross and his crew for hosting this event, and to Judy and Julie for looking after the score keeping.  Stats :: Saturday 26 riders - Sunday 23 riders - Bikes Stats  - 11 Beta- 7 TRS - 3 Honda/Mont - 2 Scorpa - 1 Vertigo.
It was great to see a lot of familiar faces from both BC and Alberta - during these strange times.
Once again, we were out with the cameras, and with better light conditions, things turned out much better - below you see a pic of Stan, who took another win in the Expert class on his Scorpa.

Below is a shot of young Christian Zanders,( Beta)  who has grown a lot since last year and moved up to the Intermediate class, taking 3rd place in a very competitive group.

NOTE:  We took a ton of pics and video on both days and have posted a lot on FB, but it doesn’t seem to stay up very long - If you would like to know if I have any good shots that you might want to print off for your wall - just email me and I will see what we have.
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Toby Martyn (TRS )  took the win in Italy in the Trial 2 Category  >>>> Well done.

Jordi’s TRS Team did well on Sunday in Italy not only did Toby take the top spot in Trial 2 - Alex Ferrer was 2nd and  Adam Raga was 6th in Trial GP, ( Not a great weekend for Adam) - The TRS Team also won the World Manufacturers Award for 2020.

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Well the first day of the Ross Rathbone -”Pot- Luck”  Trials went really well with 26 entrees and fortunately the rain held off for most of the day, although it had definitely “poured down” overnight - making for some very slick logs out there.

We had riders from Alberta  and the West coast, plus a good turn out from our interior group, and we saw some brilliant riding from everyone, all glad to get back on their bikes after the long lay-off due to the Pandemic.

I took a total of 148 pics with my Nikon and another 50 with the Canon - plus a bunch of video - very difficult in the poor light conditions without a flash. -

Today I will be back up to Scotch Creek again with batteries recharged - to add more to the files. - Hopefully the weather will be kind to us again today - it sure dumped last night both on my drive home and later while I was downloading files.

Here is a shot of Stan taken with my Canon - he took the Expert win on Saturday.

Colten was in charge of the Expert sections - his first time doing this -  and although some were a bit too long with lots of tight turns - all in all he did a great job for a first time effort - it takes a lot of experience to get it right - then of of course you have to out guess the weatherman.

This was a very tricky line for the Experts - not many made it up this.

Hopefully the light will be a bit better today for taking pics - but I have posted quite a lot on FB - check them out.

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Results from the World Trial in Italy on Saturday - Toni Bou takes another win.

This article just got posted on FB - Seems there are still a lot of “Old Codgers” out there enjoying bikes.
youtube.com ATTITUDE TRUMPS AGE: DIRT RIDING AT 80 YEARS OLD! Cross Training Enduro http://www.crosstrainingenduro.com http://tractionerag.ca Paul Rodden is now 80 years old and he’s preparing for even more dirt bike adventures with a new bi…

And still some old shops still going today ( Somebody said these guys are still in business- likely not the guys in the pic!)

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This is a pic of Don Vesco welding something on the Yamaha Motor Canada XV920 that Bob Work built for the “Battle of the twins” race series - As with all the bikes Bob tuned - it went like a rocket - I was at Daytona with Bob when Ron Peirce raced it.

Interestingly enough, I also rode one of these a bit back in the day. ( But not on the track) -             I borrowed one of the first ones from Walt and rode it home to Vernon, one weekend. -

I even took one up to Kamloops later to check out a Cross Country race - I tried to get to a check point - but had to quit when I got to a real muddy - muskeg type  spot - - Everything was really quiet out in the backwoods - then I heard the sound of a bike coming - hard on the gas . - pretty quick he was past me ( I was a bit stuck in a muddy rut) - to my surprise the rider turned around and came back - It was Guy Perret - and I will always remember his words “Dave what the F** are you doing out here on that bike? - and with that he was off again to win the race. -

I don’t recall having too tough a  time getting the big 920 out of that place - but I think my Trials experience  might have helped !!

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(Bob -with a beard - is standing on the right - next to our friend Brian Rolls who also worked for Yamaha Canada back in day -)

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The Final round of the Short World Championship Trials series goes this weekend in Italy - Here is a shot of one of the TRS Team tents  getting set up.

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John Banks seen here leading Sylvain Geboers  at a Scramble was one of the very best UK riders never to win a World Championship - He came close finishing 2nd at least once.

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Another old  result from when SWM were in the Trials market -  many years ago I bought a used one cheap to maybe use for the Vintage class - but to be honest I didn’t like it plus the stator fell apart.

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South of the border - some riders changing brands - Carl Davies now on Vertigo and Josh Roper (pictured)  will ride TRS.  - Just heard that Wilson Craig has bought a new TRS Gold 300 - Welcome back Wilson.

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Here’s a nice pic of Heath with the TR34 Beta he has just restored - looks great & he does an  excellent job. - Just saw that some scumbags tried to break into his garage last night - without success. - Obviously did not know the BIG Rotty sleeps in there!!

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So I will be out the door early today (7am) for the drive to Scotch Creek - I got everything loaded yesterday afternoon - a job I find wears me out these days as old age creeps along. - I also have to go “The long way around” in  order to meet a new Opti customer near Kamloops. - I was going to load my Beta Tent as it’s going to be a wet weekend, but it’s stored underneath a pile of junk and I didn’t have the energy to move it.  - Luckily Ross has lots of outbuildings and I know Gord Rinke will be there with the TRS Tent I gave him. Looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends for the first time this year. - Watch for some pics posted later tonight.

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