outlawtrials.com

As most of you regular readers know - I scour the various websites for news from all over  to maybe add some  interesting stories or pictures from our Motorcycle World. -

Sometimes it will bring back memories for some - including myself - because as we all get older - it’s the memories that we have and share - that seem to make this crazy Motorcycle life we live - all worthwhile.
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This is a great shot of Bernie Schreiber at the Scottish - look at the crowds - I wonder how many young kids were inspired to get a Trials bike by watching guys like Bernie?

And this is likely a woman that should have been the World Ladies Trials Champion - at one point - but along came Laia Sanz and Emma Bristow. - I wonder if anybody remembers her name? ( Pic by Heath)

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A Flying Squirrel  from yesteryear - my Dad had one of them when he was a young guy - but then came the war and I have no idea what happened to it ( He also had a Bugatti)

Here’s a pic of our old friend Walt Healy, taken when he visited us in Vernon a few years ago.

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As we enter the “Normal” riding season - I wonder how many have actually been out on the Trails ?  We have been careful not to join any large numbers, actually keeping things secret, but only because I’m at a very bad age to take chances on health scares like this. - This present situation, has been very hard on both family and business - for a lot of folks  - as old age pensioners, Babsy and myself perhaps have less to lose that younger people, but I still want to get out on my Bike !!! - Babsy has not been out of the house now for 5 weeks !!!!!

Amazing to say, that she still has her sense of humor, and still answers the phone to customers.  ( She is likely one of the few women that know the difference between a 2 stroke and a 4stroke)

And as I mentioned 4 Stroke - I had a flash of maybe  the worst  modern Trials bike ever built - the 2005 Sherco 320 4T

- Now I’m sure that the designer had great ideas, and was under the gun to come up with a 4 stroke, because the FIM told all the factories that they had to be ALL four stroke by 2006 .  -

Then maybe somebody investigated the Honda input into this ruling - and low and behold, we are back to a sane and fair sport. - But getting back to the Sherco 4T  - the best story I can tell you about this model, was that every morning I would go out to my shop and try different starting methods ( Now remember I come from the UK where we all rode British bikes - plus I had a Yamaha 500 as a demo back in the day)  - one day I came back in for my morning coffee, and Babsy said - “So how many kicks today? I counted 32 !!!!!  )

Interestingly enough - I spent about 3 months working with Jimmy Corkle on this model, and we did improve things, plus were able to give the factory our findings ( which they appreciated) - the later 2008 model was much better, but still a killer to  start if you stalled it  . ( I have a video of me riding it at White Lake and while it was fun, I found that you had to ride it like a two-stroke all clutch & throttle) -  - I sold this bike to Pete, but only because I gave up fighting with him  on why he shouldn’t buy it.

Looking back at that first 05 Model - I had a guy from the Shuswap stop by looking for a Trials bike. and he really liked the idea of this Sherco ( It was a good looking bike)  - So putting on my best sales-guy face I said - Well if you can start it - then I’ll sell it to you. - Wouldn’t you know it - he gave it one kick and it started !! and that is is the only time that ever happened with that bike “SOLD” I said.
Of course Graeme Jarvis won the Scottish on one ( Tricked up)  - but for that he deserved a share of the company - the pics of his face from that week show exactly just how much effort it took to ride the big thumper.
He was likely always thinking “Don’t stall you bastard”

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And as if Fort Mac hadn’t had enough, with the big fire, then a downturn in the Economy - now they have floods - our thoughts and best wishes go to our friends who live up there. - I first drove up to Ft Mac in October 1973, in my Yamaha Canada company car ( A Rambler) - the road was still gravel back then. The only hotel was the Peter Pond, and they they had no rooms !!! - So I drove the 300 odd KM back to Edmonton !!!

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Yesterday I was down town early again to ship off more Wulf helmets - another three this time - then it was home for coffee, before going out to the shop to do some chores - after doing an Opti change on the Xtrack - I decided that I should check the air filter, as I was out in some mud & water  last week .

I had been sort of putting this off, because the battery and other electrical stuff sits on top of the airbox lid on this bike.  To my surprise everything proved to be dead easy, and better yet - the airbox and filter were as clean as a whistle.  ( another big plus for Jordi’s design)

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Our video clip today is kind of special - check it out >>> post

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This pic was just posted as a thought provoking idea of how a bike like this would sell today as well as other models such as the Honda XR 650 - Kaw 650 etc - Simple design really compared to what the factories are promoting today - What are your thoughts?

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How many bikes is enough ?  Well this is Bernie Schreiber with a local collectors machines in Zurich

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Here is a great pic from the Scottish - back when they used this section called Edramucky. ( Photo by Ian Laurie)

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And for our Spitfire enthusiasts !!

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Yesterday was a busy day - first  a quick load up of all the winter junk out of the car port & off to the dump - then - back home to pick up some Wulf stuff to take to the Post office - and stop off at the Bank - both of the latter projects, now taking quite a long time as we line up to self distance , plus of course the banks are now only open for a few hours.

- I did have a nice chat with an Indian rider  ( A white guy riding an Indian Motorcycle !!!)  who parked alongside me at the Bank - he told me he just loves his bike, best one he has owned and very comfortable  for long rides. - I couldn’t help but tell him the story of Babsy & myself doing 3,000miles through Europe on a Norton 600 back in 1963.  ( we had lots of time to chat in the line-up)

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Back at home - another Wulf shipment had arrived, so it was back to packing up Helmets & boots for going out tomorrow. - The problem with this latest Pandemic, is we are at a loss to really know what and how much to stock - Yes we have quite a lot on hand - but we are lucky to get the 4 day delivery from Wulf, which helps big time.  - Some readers may have seen the pic of me from last Sunday wearing the Wulf gear - all very smart and hard wearing ( made in Scotland) - The Trials boots I find really comfortable - although the white/yellow riding gear was a one-off order to see how it matched the TRS color scheme.

Be sure to check with us if you need more info on all this riding gear.

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As many of you will have noticed - Trials bikes are getting pretty scarce at the moment, due to the shut down of the Factories - there are still a few good bikes available from both Beta and TRS, but these will be grabbed up soon - and don’t forget, with the shake up in the money market, any new 2021 models are certainly going to be up in price, - so now you know “The rest of the Story”  - You know how to contact me - you will never get a better deal.

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PSSSST - Anybody looking for a 2020 Beta Evo 300 Factory ?? - I know where the last one is.

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Breaking News.  US MX Champ  Marty Smith and his wife killed in Dune Buggy accident

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The quiz yesterday , showed Roger De Coster - Joel Robert and Torstan Hallman - but who was the 4th guy?

Bob ( which Bob?) emailed to guess the first three correctly. Was it Bob Clark? Bob Johns ?  no way for me to tell . UPDATE:  It was Bob Olar from Ontario.
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So we know this is an SSDT shot - and the bike is a Beta, but we noticed it has an addition under the tank ?  Anybody know what this is?  And who are the three people in the pic?
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Check this out >>>>>

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Your video for today >>>

The pre 65 Scottish two day trial at Kinlochleven. Pipeline section on day one. Day two Upper Mamore

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We found a lot more neat old trails Sunday on the Westside and the Xtrack was in it’s element ( As was I)

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Last week when we rode Summerland - the flowers were  not yet out - but this pic just popped up on FB, showing what they look like, with my Evo 200 front & center, - I see I had an S3 header on that one as well.

They should be out this weekend - Might get a chance to see - a wonderful sight.

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I noticed a lot of Golfers out while driving past the OKeefe Ranch on Sunday - AND a lot of bikes on the Westside road - a few doing their best to become hood ornaments.

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This is another great Heath Brindley pic of James Dabill at the Sheffield event back a couple of years.

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The new TRRS comes with lots of quality updates - like these new footpegs.

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US Hall of Fame Guy Ray Bolger died  at age 90 - born in Canada on Prince Edward Island he lived in the States for most of his adult life, including spending time in the US Military - He was a gifted Scrambler, and self taught engineer, who designed  some special suspension units for the Ossa, plus other things.

1990 World Round at Merthre Tydfil in Wales - Diego Bosis is the rider, but look at the crowd.

Your video for today >
https://youtu.be/MRzWlR6UDj0?fbclid=IwAR3lhzKmVvzRXnd0PWvyL_StOazqg2oG-lrnv2jizeQxYHsO6iclSlFcwdQ

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Who can identify these great riders from the past?

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Sunday afternoon - I was out on the Westside exploring some more old trails, and found this view, which has obviously been a favorite spot for other people - this is looking up Okanagan Lake, towards Vernon.  As you can see - it was deserted - I thought “Isolation Point”  would be a good name for this spot.

Back at the truck, this is a shot showing all the Wulf gear we sell - great stuff, hard wearing and priced right. - The TRS Xtrack impresses me more every time I ride it.

The plan was to take the new Beta Evo 200 out, but I found that after fitting the new S3 header pipe, I need to add more Hi-heat sealer at the joint where it fits to the rear muffler, as it is blowing out a bit. - So the Italian Stallion got to sit this one out.

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As most of our readers know - We have posted quite a lot about our trips up Joss Mountain via the old pack horse trail on our Trials bikes - This was not easy especially the first time we did this back in 2003.  - We had heard that snowmobiles were also up there in the winter, via a different route, but this is the first pic that I have seen taken of the old Fire Lookout in the winter.  - This must be recent as the new roof and windows were not installed until 2007.  Unfortunately this has now been listed as a No motorized vehicle area.

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Another couple of video clips for your enjoyment  >
Trial Off Road La Nucia

Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum

Images of Italian round of the outdoor trial world championship. 8 july in Courmayeur and earlier race in the Belgium Ardennes.

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Last week Ted Pepperdine and myself were out riding the various loops at Summerland (in the rain)  and later in the day, Ted tried out the new TRS Xtrack 300 with the Estart. - He was very impressed especially with the power and the suspension.

And this is another shot from Summerland - a couple of years back.

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Today I will take the 2020 Evo 200 out for a bit of a ride, now fitted with the S3 header pipe.

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Turk emailed to say that he noticed that Les Crowder was wearing rubber boots - which of course we all used to wear back in the day - they had steel toes, and we would pull our Barbour pants down over the top & fasten with the straps to keep the water out. in the old days Trials sections were often Creeks, which you needed to walk to check for rocks etc hidden underneath.  - Anyway - I still have a set of mine from the past.

I can never miss the chance to post a pic of one of my favorite race bikes.

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A bit of history about the place that Babs and myself grew up.

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🌿⚔️ ST OSWALD’S WELL 🌿⚔️

St Oswald’s well near Oswestry has an interesting history legend says that Oswald who was trying to bring Christianity to Mercia was fought by the heathens king penda.
Oswestry was named after Oswald whose body was nailed to a tree he was the Christian king of Northumbria 1300 years ago and was slain in the fight with panda who was king of Mercia.

when he was killed acts of miraculous healing was said to have taken place when people touched his remains. And arm of the vanquished king was carried off by an eagle who dropped it near the tree immediately a well bubbled from the ground. it was called Oswald’ well and contained healing water.

The rider is I believe Les Crowder from Liverpool competing in the Scottish when he was certainly getting on in years.  Note :  the spare tube tied to the Handlebars. - Les used to ride some of our local Trials when I lived in North Wales

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Another good video>>>
Riviviamo insieme le prime due gare del Mondiale trial 1991 Dove i nostri portacolori Bosis e Miglio ci regalano un primo e secondo nella prova Inglese davan…

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Here is good memory of Adam Raga’s first World round win on the brand new TRS - it was in Japan

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While I’ve never been much of a Vintage nut (Except that I am now one!!)  You have to admire the workmanship and dedication that many of these enthusiasts put into the old bikes - of course the end result is that they sell for unbelievable prices ( in normal times)

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So yesterday - Chris (from Revvy) stopped by to pick up bunch of money I had for him from the sale of his 2017 TRS ( went to Vancouver) - We had a bit of a chat from a distance, discussing the current situation with the virus etc. and the need for everybody to  be very careful about staying apart both when parking and riding, but we both agree  that being  out in  the woods in limited numbers, is not going to spread this terrible Pandemic -  AS LONG AS EVERYBODY REMEMBERS TO KEEP A DISTANCE. - The other thing we talked about was the general public aspect - in other words keeping a good image for our sport has always been difficult - even one bad guy - can undo everything that Clubs have worked so hard and for so many years.

I mentioned a couple of days ago how I  saw all the garbage left near our riding area in Summerland   - that is just one example of why we all get a bad name -  - We have all seen the discarded beer cans out in the woods - pick it up !!!  ( I saw a couple last week & picked them up - put them in my Outlaw Backpack.)

Hopefully somehow the people that do all these dumb things will hear what I called them - they are putting the future of riding in these beautiful places in jeopardy.

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Weather for the weekend looks a bit iffy - but Sunday I’m planning on going over  to the Westside for a ride with Roy -  I think I will take the Evo 200 which will be fitted with a new S3 Titanium header pipe ( Kindly supplied by buddy Harlow)  I had one of these on one of my 200’s a few years ago - but it went with the bike when it got sold - what it does is saves a bit of weight, and also makes the Beta rev more - As most people know, I’ve been promoting the Evo 200 ever since 2009 and my demos are always in big demand ( Yes I know a few tricks on how to improve the already great performance)

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Yesterday it seemed the phone was going steady - calls from everywhere  for parts - accessories or just plain advice - I get quite a few from Saskatchewan  where I have been shipping parts for all brands for years. - I  always feel good if I can solve their problem over the phone. - As I’ve often said - if in doubt, give me a call, I might not have the part you need, but I can certainly point you in the right direction - in the Trials world we are all “Family”

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A group of riders at Ioco for a round of the Outlaw Series - not sure when I took that, but lots of familiar faces.

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The latest news out of Italy is that Valentino Rossi is moving to Aprilia in 2021. The move would also see VR46 in the future run Aprilia bikes in Motogp

And still with Road Racing - check this out >> INCREDIBLE ” ULSTER GP ” 5-Minutes of Pure Road Racing …

And this >> Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum

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We had a call from Stan yesterday with all his latest news of the exciting trip back from Baja - He mentioned the pic I posted about a week ago with the name of the rider in the yellow pants watching Vesty in Scotland - seems that is Peter Willie from Victoria who was  on a close number to some of the super stars  (Stan was also in that group) That was in 1983 & Stan was on a Montesa - later that year I was able to put a deal together for him to ride one of the new Yamaha Mono-shocks through Walt Healy  and in 1984 he finished 13th in Scotland the best ever finish by a Canadian rider, –I guess these old pics are stirring up a lot of memories.

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Back in 1994 Brett Clark introduced me to Jordi Tarres, what a really nice guy he is - and what a fantastic  Trials bike he now makes. - It’s all about Passion for the sport.

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And here is a shot that Heath took of a brilliant young TRS rider, who has sadly decided to call it quits.

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This is a really neat picture - but I wonder if any of these organizers have heard about the “Keystone rock”  - you move that one and the whole mountain comes down. - As a Trials guy - I have often looked at some fantastic terrain for sections - but then thought “What if”

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The best part of our Wednesday - started when I arrived in Penticton to deliver a new Beta Evo 80 junior to young Leo Munns - Now some might recall  that this lad, when he could barely walk - was entertaining our local group around the campfire on his small wooden wheeled kids bike. Wow - Kids grow up and Leo is not the only one that we have seen  progress  - ( We now have Three really good local prospects)
Because Trials is such a family sport, we really applaud all the Mum’s & Dads who get the kids involved - it ain’t cheap - but neither is Hockey or Basketball etc etc -

Leo explains how the gas tap works to his little sister.

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Later I met Ted Pepperdine at Summerland for a ride - started raining when I got to the “Bird Bath”  and never let up all afternoon, but we had a great time, two old codgers out having fun exploring some trails. - I took the Xtrack estart for Ted to check out, and  he was quite impressed - the power and suspension certainly are fantastic, plus of course the “magic button”  saves a lot of energy.

We both got pretty wet and our hands got cold making clutch control difficult - but what a great day. and no snow at all  - ( next time it’s the turn of the Evo 200 - I’m spoiled for choice)

I didn’t take many pics as it was so wet - but we did see the Black Stallion hiding behind a tree in the meadow checking us out - no sign of his brood of mares. - At another spot we listened to the Sand cranes high above in the clouds talking to each other - must have been hundreds of them, quite a racket.

One thing we noticed while driving into the riding area, was a bunch of garbage, left near the road, where some enduro guys were camped over the Easter weekend  ( Ted had seen them while out for a hike) -Yes they had collected most of it into plastic bags , but why leave it there ?
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This is an old shot of Taff from another great weekend in that area - the section looks a bit like “The Devil’s Staircase” - One of the best Section’s Pete and myself cut out years ago.  It’s Taff’s birthday today - so have good one buddy.

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Usually this is the time for Scottish Six Day riders to be doing their final checks before heading for Fort William - but of course this year, everything is cancelled. so the car park  normally filled with Trials bikes, will be deserted.

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This is a great shot of the Pre 65 Program from back when Sammy was still riding on his famous Ariel G0V 132.  ( It doesn’t say who took the pic but it’s one of the best.)

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Your Trials video for today >>  post

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Although we are still being very careful regarding keeping our distance and wearing a mask/gloves - We are glad to report that we are still selling stuff, with accessories going out yesterday to both Toronto and Vancouver Island.

A special thanks to Sheryl today, for wearing a mask when stopping by to pick up some new gear for her first season on the new Estart TRS Xtrack 250 - We all need to take this virus seriously, especially when dealing with older folk.   Stay at a distance PLEASE.

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Today we head down the Valley to deliver a new Beta 80 for young Leo Munns in Penticton - with stops in Kelowna to drop off Opti Oil, to a couple of Lawn & Garden dealers.
Later, we plan on taking time to stop at Summerland - to show off our new TRS Xtrack 300 with the electric start.

Looking forward to that as it will be the first time at our favorite location this year.  Hopefully the rain stays away.
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This is a great old shot of Jordi on the TR34 Beta - It was a time of change in World Trials, with more and more very steep, stadium type obstacles added to to sections, so this bike with MX style expansion chamber gave Jordi that instant quick boost of power to get up the big walls and of course so began the era of the “Clutch”

And this is one taken from a video clip of me on the 2015 Evo 200  up on Bear ridge - doesn’t look like much on the pic  from this angle - but is actually quite a steep sharp uphill - not difficult, even for an old guy, using 3rd gear for momentum over the top.  - I think that bike ended up in Winnipeg.

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A couple of birthdays to report today - Queen Elizabeth is 94 and Graham Jarvis is 40 something  ( not sure)

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Today looks to be quite a busy day - parts & accessories to ship off - weather looks to be a bit cloudy.  Anybody notice that the mosquitoes are alive and about!!! - We need to get one of them electronic zappers for the back deck, both Babsy & myself got a lot of bites  from the little buggers the other night.
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