I took the Fantic out for its first trial today and although things didn't go quite as well as planned, I was most impressed with the potential of the bike.
The trial was held in some great Welsh coutryside with rocky streams, roots and muddy climbs and cambers. The organisers put on some really good natural sections with challenges for even the best Experts on modern bikes, especially when a drop of rain after a couple of hours added a bit of a sting in some of the greasy banks.
There were 3 routes used, Red (Expert), Yellow (Clubman/O40, twinshock), White (non expert/pre65). I rode the yellow route and after a few months of riding BMCA pre 65 events it was a bit of a step up in levels of difficulty but the bike was well up to the challenge with grip and power in abundance, I certainly was not found wanting when it was clear that a lot of the more modern bikes were struggling.
The first 2 laps were pretty straight forward with a loss of 12 marks and I was getting used to the capability of the bike and the gears to use. I felt that I was on for a pretty good ride, however into the 3rd lap the bike started overheating, running very lumpy and became a dog to start.
Although, when running is was generally OK, it bogged a couple of times causing a couple of 5's and certainly disrupted the flow of the trial for me as it had to be cold again before it would start so I often had to wait for 10-15 mins before it would start.
My initial reckoning has me on about 37 marks at the end of the trial which probably puts me down the results a little more than I feel the quality of the ride would suggest, but it was an encouraging start and I feel that with a bit of work on the engine, we could be on to a winner with this bike.
The pictures from the trial were supplied by Keith Bowen at http://www.mx247.com/
The trial was held in some great Welsh coutryside with rocky streams, roots and muddy climbs and cambers. The organisers put on some really good natural sections with challenges for even the best Experts on modern bikes, especially when a drop of rain after a couple of hours added a bit of a sting in some of the greasy banks.
There were 3 routes used, Red (Expert), Yellow (Clubman/O40, twinshock), White (non expert/pre65). I rode the yellow route and after a few months of riding BMCA pre 65 events it was a bit of a step up in levels of difficulty but the bike was well up to the challenge with grip and power in abundance, I certainly was not found wanting when it was clear that a lot of the more modern bikes were struggling.
The first 2 laps were pretty straight forward with a loss of 12 marks and I was getting used to the capability of the bike and the gears to use. I felt that I was on for a pretty good ride, however into the 3rd lap the bike started overheating, running very lumpy and became a dog to start.
Although, when running is was generally OK, it bogged a couple of times causing a couple of 5's and certainly disrupted the flow of the trial for me as it had to be cold again before it would start so I often had to wait for 10-15 mins before it would start.
My initial reckoning has me on about 37 marks at the end of the trial which probably puts me down the results a little more than I feel the quality of the ride would suggest, but it was an encouraging start and I feel that with a bit of work on the engine, we could be on to a winner with this bike.
The pictures from the trial were supplied by Keith Bowen at http://www.mx247.com/
Having now seen the results I am quite pleased to see that I wasn't to far off the mark, considering the two 5's through engine problems and the loss of momentum caused by waiting for the engine to cool down I am relatively pleased. The winning ride by Steve Plain was absolutely class, but after Steve I could have easily achieved 2nd on the day without the engine hiccups so I am pleased with the first outing and enthusiastic about the potential of the bike having never ridden it before.
I have now arranged for the engine to go to Bill Pye for a strip and rebuild to ensure that everything is as it should be and worn items replaced and renewed, it should be back in a couple of weeks so we can get down to the business of practicing on it and understanding what it can do.
Results
Twinshock Class
1. Steve Plain (Fantic) 7
2. Stuart Ruell (SWM) 29
3. Kevin Adams (Fantic) 33
4. Dave Dawson (Fantic) 39
5. Andy Pitt (Majesty) 50
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