outlawtrials.com

UPDATE:

Results feed from day two of the 2020 Red Bull Romaniacs where Manuel Lettenbichler has stormed ahead to take the win and overall race lead ahead of Graham Jarvis on a day which saw Taddy Blazusiak retire with a shoulder injury.

Another day in extreme enduro heaven (or hell) saw Graham Jarvis lead away and open the track after his day one win. Mani Lettenbichler closed the gap to Graham early on and the pair rode together in through some of the difficult early uphill climbs before Mani stretched an advantage which sees him lead overall by 2m18s. Wade Young was second on day two and now sits third overall 5m13s behind the leader.

Both Alfredo Gomez and Billy Bolt were in the mix up to the service point but lost time on their rivals in the later checkpoints – Billy after having a couple of crashes. Taddy Blazusiak meanwhile looks to have withdrawn from the race at today’s service point with a shoulder problem.

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A lot of people comment on how they like our blog content - not all about Trials - and with a variety of old photographs - mostly “Nicked” from other places. - This one caught my eye - not because it shows the great Don Rickman on one of his fabulous “Scramblers” - but because of the spectators seen on the left - all wearing collar & tie !!! ( I doubt you would see anyone watching a MX these days wearing a collar & tie)  Most old timers like myself,  will remember the days, when it was quite common for British Trials riders to wear this gear  ( although I never did)   - However I did often wear the small white towel around my neck inside my Barbour suit jacket to soak up the rain ( which was a regular thing back in the 1950’s)

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Not quite sure what is on this link - but hopefully the 1974 Scottish. ( Sorry not on the link but other neat stuff)
Pasión por Bultaco

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Quiz for Today - Names please !!!

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Had to post this pic of these two stunning Yams - As mentioned previously, I built one similar back in the day, but not nearly as “Trick” as these.

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And for you Enduro guys that might log in once in a while - check out this “Face of a Champion and a World class Trials rider” - Graeme Jarvis. -one of these days I need to dig out the pics I took of him at the 1992 Scottish Six Day Trial - ( The first time he ever went to Scotland) - I think this is what prepared him so well for his future in the crazy world of Enduro.

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Video to watch >>>

https://www.facebook.com/iomttoriginal/videos/239523450671704/
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Here’s a flash-back to the Outlaw Trial at Scotch Creek from a few years ago  - A happy group.

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Last week, some rotten SOB set fire to Lang’s Motorcycle shop in Ontario, burning it to the ground - Rob has always been a big supporter of Off Road, including Trials, so a huge loss indeed. we can only hope they catch the culprit
Here is a pic of the demolished building - hopefully his insurance will be enough to get him going again.

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One event that has NOT been cancelled this year, is the Red Bull Romaniacs. - Here are the first day results.
enduro21.com Red Bull Romaniacs: Time trial qualification results – Wade Young fastest Wade Young has set the fastest time on the opening day’s time trial qualification run at the 2020 Red Bull Romaniacs.

news after day one .

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Every time we get to go out with  new riders to show basic Trials technique, the “Double Blip” is perhaps the one that is most important, but also the hardest to master, as it requires precise timing, combined with perfect clutch and throttle control, while also using the legs to “unweight” - So much for a “Newbie” to remember, and many never get it right. - This is the one thing that Enduro riders all need to practice, for getting over logs and steps. -  check out this video >>
youtube.com MotoTrials Basics: The Double Blip Technique This video was produced for the June 2019 issue of On The Pegs magazine. There will be a new tutorial video posted in each 2020 issue as well. Be sure to tak…

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This has been posted before of a Cigarette smoking road racer jumping Ballaugh Bridge bridge on his BSA Bantam in  the 1952 TT.

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And this is for all the Yamaha TY lovers - Lots to watch here>>>>>

YAMAHA TY : Factory and competition

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We have been chatting to quite a few people about Trials in 2021  and in particular the Outlaw Series. - At this point in time, it’s hard to plan anything, but one thing that appears to be getting renewed interest is the Vintage class.- Of course there are old Vintage bikes and then some New/ Old Vintage bikes - which candidly are a lot more fun to ride. - New 2ply Tires is probably the first mod to do, but suspension mods and updated electronics sure make a difference.

We were really surprised to see a few of these bikes at the last Ymir Trial - all from South of the border, and they all did really well. and speaking of Ymir - we got a call from Pete Bustin yesterday, who tells us that yes there will DEFINITELY be at least one Trial at their place next year - wonderful news..

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Although the CPTA are holding a few events to wrap up this rather strange year - they do have strict rules which MUST be followed - check these out >>
THERE WILL BE NO ENTRIES ACCEPTED ON EVENT DAY.  YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED IN THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS:

CPTA Pre-Event Registration Process (click to open)

CPTA Covid-19 Safety Measures for Events (click to open)

CPTA Waiver 2020 (click to open)

CPTA Covid-19 Questionnaire (click to open)

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The Victoria Motorcycle Club held the Lohrmann Memorial Trial last Sunday, and lucked out with the weather - a total of 34 riders showed up with following winners in each class

Club, 1- Jenn Dickson  TRS

Inter 1 -Jaden Roach  GG

SNR Inter  1- Peter Falk - Vert.

Sportsman 1- Phil Plasterer - Mont.

Expert - 1 - Thomas Cordner - Vert.

A full report can be seen on the VMC Website -or later on Trials Canada - Thanks to Roger Boothroyd.

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Here is a pic with a lot of famous Trials riders - names anyone? ( I got five)

Video for today ..>
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fenduro21.com%2Fen%2Fracing%2Flatest%2Fendurocross%2Fendurocross-haaker-does-the-double-hart-closes-the-gap%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR1ZP815TvxCHvRqJPzPMUoxeAvdoFdPIsV4gO-0H18Ex3KdK1b-2H4Lc7U&h=AT1GdsnoGhThAlS2wJO3NqlJFBHowcvJY2gGmD7FXkVUupz-dHDb1aQNQwXXFNPC4gAovxTLw4PuRGkf51WHMv7WZy8GjlQGsADNJvuf_02tO0VQd-Igd793rFtR1hNrzQ&__tn__=H-R&c[0]=AT1bWeSnOym1vPN5YKPJjK6WbZkkMdrK1gQsALlzJVSt3LIGQPq9-IXVD2ymfq81ugUfU4-8AanBMCIXlpLBmL9Ce5kaityocbyuKb6g1B3-972bh4jHY9PqMaEvSTp71qNlMCcg6i3yVLFvUmm0PP6BbIdlRsn1yz4kg3pOGyiLwHFtik19_rnT9poo-GCRnrSU137P8g

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This old pic just popped up - a group of riders at  the top of Joss Mountain - ( Think that was the most we had at any one time)

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This is a good shot of a Beta Trials training camp going on in Italy - the lads look very colorful in the Beta clothing, but to be honest - we don’t stock this as the quality is very poor when compared to our Wulf line        ( made in Scotland)  - Would be nice to have that Transporter though!!

Looking ahead to mid-week the temperatures are supposed to rebound -  with a high of +11, so maybe, just maybe we will get out for a ride - if we do, I will be on my Beta Evo 125 - lovely little bike.

Here’s another Beta pic - but all our bikes go out with Opti Oil - another German product (1920)  manufactured under license  in the USA, by Interlube International, since we first started Distributing the product back in 1987.

And another Beta pic - this from this time 10years ago at Bear Ridge - no snow that year at this time .

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youtube.com FIRST RIDE ON THE NEW 2021 TRRS ONE R WITH JOSH ROPER Join myself and Nigel Parker as we take on our first rides on the all new 2021 TRRS One R 300cc for a quick morning practice session! Instagram: @joshroper4 …

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Last Saturday should have seen the Scott Trial being run in Yorkshire - but like most other events, it had to be cancelled due to the Pandemic. - This pic by Trial Mag UK - shows a typical section, with riders everywhere - Most Canadians are unfamiliar with the way the Scott Time Trial is run - quite different from a regular Trial. - Maybe somebody saw this and decided it would be a great idea for Hard Enduro!!

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There are still a few Trils events being held - this is a pic of Harry McKay’s  young lad riding a typical Scottish  stream on his Oset.

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We also heard that the CPTA held a Trial last Sunday (18th)  with a good turn out of riders - Alex Walton (TRS) was top Expert - and Bob Clark (TRS) had a zero score to take the Sportsman Class -( Don’t often see that!!) A full report will be up on Trials Canada shortly

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The bike in the Saturday quiz - was a LE Velocette  - liquid cooled 2 stroke used primarily by the Police  in the UK - it had a unique starter handle and was super quiet. - Some say that it was the huge manufacturing cost and poor sales that brought the end to Velocette Motorcycles.  Only one person got it correct - John Kitchener from Nelson.

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Now this is a neat section from the old days. - imagine riding that on Dunlop 4 ply tires!!

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We had a phone call from Steve Richardson last night - someone we haven’t seen for a couple of years - we managed to catch up on a lot of the latest news & glad to hear he is doing well on his Island home just off the Coast of Vancouver.

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Well - we have certainly seen a change in the weather this past couple of days - an early snowfall has now blanketed the OK Valley, and any thoughts of riding are definitely  on hold for the time being.

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We received some very sad news on Friday, when we learned of the passing of a good friend Peter Kratzer -  Although we lost touch many years ago - Peter worked at Yamaha Motor Canada -  first in the Accessory department - then later in sales, eventually becoming general sales Manager.

I still have fond memories of our travels together, with one trip to Yellowknife high on the list - we were looking for a dealer in that area, but because of forest fires - we had to fly into Fort Smith and rent a car. - the “Car” turned out to be a 1965 Chev, which had obviously been well used. - However with no other option -  we set off on a bright sunny day and were soon on a gravel road - ( as most are up North) everything was going fairly smoothly. then we got a flat tire, - not good as we were dressed in business suits - fortunately the spare was ok, and we started to do the change - not in any real rush as it was a nice day - that was until we were suddenly attacked by a swarm of black flies - I can tell you that we did that tire change in record time!!

Later we began to interview interested people for the Yamaha dealership at the Hotel bar in Yellowknife - and this was quite hilarious  - Well we started with a couple of people, but by the end of the night tables were pushed together, and everybody wanted to be a Yamaha dealer !! That’s because Peter was picking up the beer tab.!!!

I have other  memories of riding with Peter and his brother Tom ( also dead) near the family home at Barrier BC, and another time Peter had me do a test on a new DT 400 up at Squamish because we had a Japanese Factory guy over. - He had me riding this big heavy Enduro bike through some  rocky creeks - which I did and while it wasn’t easy, at least Sam Sanabe (the Jap) seemed impressed. ( Wish I had pics of this the little Jap was clicking away like crazy)
Unfortunately, things at Yamaha Motor Canada began to fall apart around 1981 - the factory were in a  big push to become #1 in Motorcycle sales, and had built 3 million motorcycles - but then we had the downturn in the economy. -

Our Japanese head guy Mr Abe  was really under the gun to sell bikes - but in reality did not understand the market, so Peter finally said to hell with it and resigned. -That was when we lost touch as he went into his own consulting business. - For myself I persevered for another few years, until I too said enough is enough and quit Yamaha, in January 1984.

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Lets go over there!!!! a good shot of Stan high up above Scotch Creek.

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I’m sure we have all had days when this would apply -  either in every day life or in competition.

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youtube.com Senior T. T. Race (1967) No title - Senior T. T. race. Isle of Man. M/S of pits at the Isle of Man T. T. race. M/S of a Japanese mechanic working on Mike Hailwood’s bike C/U Hailwood…

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This is a pic of Darryl Copithorne riding a Trial in Australia - Darryl lived in Cochrane AB before emigrating to OZ a few years ago - back in the day - he took over the role of setting up Trials for the Calgary Club, after I moved on to race Cross Country.

Although most of my stories from the past usually involve either Trials bikes or Enduro - When I was 17 years old - I was passionate about road racing and in fact had  a 125 Ducati on order to do just this with a buddy who also raced. - Unfortunately we had a family tragedy when my 27 year old sister died, and the resulting family grief put a stop to everything that could have possibly added to that - my mother pleaded with me not to continue with this idea.( back then road racing was more dangerous)

All this put me into a bit of a slump competition-wise - so I bought a Norton 600 Dominator - in fact I bought two  as another “tricked” up one came along & I swapped my car for that one. - That was the bike that Babsy & myself   took to Italy in 1963 - an epic trip over the Alps  which few people did back then.  -

I remember adjusting the tappets on a French lad’s Norton on the side of the road because he couldn’t figure out what this noise was !

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.Seeing this pic - reminded me  of how I used to ride back then - picking the fastest line through a corner, knowing where the telephone poles were on any given bend on the narrow Welsh roads - and yes pushing the limits. !! - But of course my family didn’t know any of that.

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Check out this wonderful video of Sammy Miller showing off the 1957 Moto Guzzi V8 Road racer - ( I saw two of these race in the Isle of Man TT that year)-

.Now Sammy is a “Real” Legend - still going strong at age 86 and doing this video without any script.  -

I think it was in 1958 that I rode in the same National Trial as he did in Wales - called the Lomax Cup Trial.  Sammy had already won and gone home before me and my brother finished absolutely knackered.

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Moto Guzzi V8 at the Sammy Miller Museum YouTube

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Here’s another guy you might want to call a “Real” Legend - Mick Andrews.

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Who remembers this? and what were they called.?

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Another good video >>>

youtube.com Great Bikes and Bad Business : A Brief History of Norton Motorcycles A brief history of Norton Motorcycles and it’s various guises. From its initial inception with James Lansdowne Norton to it becoming part of NVT and beyond! …

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Another neat old pic >>> but what is the Bike???

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Wednesday after our ride over in “The Valley of the Sun” - we were sat outside on Roy’s deck having a brew before heading home, and as usual swapping stories. - The Scottish Six Days was mentioned - so I told a few of my memories of spectating in 1972- 1989 and 1992. -

I always tell Trials enthusiasts to put a trip to Scotland on the “Bucket List” - as it’s an experience you will never duplicate in a lifetime, whether as a rider or a spectator - the atmosphere is out of this World, and the scenery is breath taking ( even in the rain) -

As is the scenery in the Okanagan - but I think this area is more like Wales - maybe that’s why I like it so much.

Here is the Elan Valley in Wales. Where the RAF practiced for the Dambuster’s raid in WW2 - Also near where the 1983 ISDE in Wales was held.

I told them about how hard it is to find a motel or hotel in Ft William that has enough hot water, and they usually turn off the electric radiators in the rooms overnight - so your wet clothing that you hung on them to dry -remains wet in the morning!!! ( All a learning experience)
-Although bikes have improved, most of the sections remain the same as they have since the early days, of big British Thumpers. - And yes they host a Two Day Pre-65 Trial just before the main event.

Roy mentioned that he would like to see “Pipeline” - and I told him how hard it is to hike up that long rocky hill - and if you want to see Fersit - better have strong legs as it’s a half hour walk up to the sections from the farmers yard that acts as a car park ( I told them a special story about that one from 1992)

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Here is a great shot of former World Champ Yrjo Vesterinen on the 348 Bultaco, watched by Malcolm Rathmell     ( Not sure what section this - but look at the crowds)

This pic of Shane just popped up from a few years ago - likely 2016  - That was when he bought one of our first TRS bikes, and has put a zillion km on it since then.  Think he has likely worn out that gear though.

Still on the TRS Theme - Steve Saunder’s Team certainly did the job this year in the shortened British Championship.

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I used to like watching Formula One - both at the Tracks in the UK and then on TV - Names like Stirling Moss - Juan Fangio, Mike Hawthorn - Peter Collins plus of course the great Jim Clark pictured below. ( all dead now)

However, I have completely lost interest since Lewis Hamilton started acting like an idiot - no more for me.

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And they say Trials riders are crazy!!

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Beta Canada have just announced their pricing for 2021 - prices are up a bit due to a fluctuating dollar. plus the bikes could be in short supply due to a high demand ( especially the Enduro models) - If you are thinking about a new Beta for next year - best to let us know asap.

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We have snow forecast for today -

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What a fantastic Autumn day in the Valley on Wednesday, and we made the most of it by heading over to the Westside for a ride with Roy & Andrew. - It was much cooler and definitely  a day for a warm Wulf Trials Jacket, but not a trace of snow anywhere out on the trails, now covered in leaves, very colorful.

Before we set off, I gave both Roy & Andrew a copy of the latest MC Mojo Mag - and here is Roy taking a quick  peek before we leave.

As usual, we ended up at Two Chair Ridge for lunch, and we could certainly feel the cool breeze coming off Okanagan Lake , so  we didn’t hang around too long, before heading back down into the Valley - exploring more trails and now have a very good idea where they all “hook-up”.

I remembered to put my woolly Wulf Toque in my Backpak - as I figured it would be cold up on the ridge where we always stop for lunch - plus the Welsh  “Neck warmer” worked a treat ( Thanks Taff)

We stopped off at our Gully section, and Andrew rode it a few times, with a few cleans and a few fives!!  - after that I took Andrew up through to the other side of the ridge, where we did some more exploring  - here is a pic I took of Andrew trying a fairly big log. -( Hard to see in this shot) But you can see the beautiful view,  now all  in  gorgeous yellow and gold.

Although in this pic it appears as though you could ride up that track from the valley - there  is a large steep, heavily bushed  area which is pretty much impassable at the moment, so we have to cut across from the  right side through a narrow ditch with water running down the hillside.
We found some really neat spots for sections, and  plan on checking some of these next time we get over that way with a handsaw with us, to do some clearing. ( Note! This is all Private land)

This is Andrew in our Gully section - the climb out  up the bank is tricky - with mud and roots. - I had Andrew try it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. - This is always good practice.

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I always have my Go Pro running when we head out on these back trails - thinking that we might get a chance to see some wild life - we know there are bears in this area, and a lot of deer - but so far we have not captured anything on film -  once again the only deer I saw were on Westside road when I was driving home.!!

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Video for today - Hawkstone Park was about 30 miles from where I lived in the UK - And was the first Scramble that I attended - in 1955 - unfortunately my brand new James 197 Street bike got stolen from the parking lot. - pretty devastating for a young lad!!

youtube.com 1956 Scrambler Racing Filmed by my father in 1956 at Hawkstone Park

And another from the TRS UK demo Trial

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=eHRk7FebJxU

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