Eventpost 44 - BMCA Champs Round 1 - Marshbrook

Today was the 1st round of the BMCA championship and with a different format this year (7 rounds with all 7 to count) I decided to ride even though I was still suffering pretty badly with the chest infection. I figured that a few points would be better than no points!

As it turned out, the entry was very good with more Experts entering than are normally seen at BMCA events. The trial was held in a wood which was on the whole very dry so the banks, although quite steep, were quite grippy and easy to ride so the organisers had to tighten the sections and make the normal tight nadgery sections that were not too testing but could easily take marks - which they did!

Although suffering with a tight chest which made breathing difficult and a general feeling of weakness, I was actually riding quite steadily with just two single dabs on lap 1. Lap 2 was similar with 4 marks lost due to a bit of a mistake at the top of section 8 which needed 2 dabs to get back on line.

After a reasonable start that I was quite happy with I dropped into section 1 on the 3rd lap which was a tricky entry down a steep bank followed by a step then a blast across a muddy bog which had got badly rutted. I had been using a line which skirted the bog then required a hop over the rut to get back onto line, however when I tried it I lost the front wheel on landing and ended on my ear for a soft 5 marks. That was instantly followed by another 5 when I stalled the bike on section 2. The rest of the lap went for 2 marks but those 10 marks were just too many for todays trial as it wasn't difficult enough to claw them back. I did the last lap for 1 mark but the damage was already done and a total loss of 19 marks was the result.

The bike went well today and as it got hot in the wood, the carburation was much better, however I did notice that as it got hot on the 3rd and 4th laps the clutch stated to go off again.

I just had the results through and it seems that others had similar inconsistent rides to myself as I finished 4th in my class with some good riders behind me - I am now glad that I ventured out as I am pleased with the final result, though without the two fives a score of 9 or 10 marks would have been much more pleasing!!!!

Results

Experts - Up to 350cc

1. Alan Nicklin 4

2. Nathan Jones 11

3. Mick Parkes 11

4. Dave Dawson 19

5. Gary Hawkins 20

6. Nick Wooley 23

7. Dave Wood 24

8. Adrian Kent 24

9.Keith Gardiner 27

10. Brian Dale 28

Experts - Over 350cc

1. Jim Pickering 12

2. Pete Reed 28

3. Arthur Browning 29

Beezerpost 16

Got the bike back (again) at the weekend and all is back to normal.... Clutch fixed and timing sorted so it feels just like it did before we went swimming! Thanks Pete..

I now really must do something about carburation to try and remove the slight cough when I snap the throttle open. I know 4 strokes generally do this but I am sure that it can be eliminated with a really good set up. I have been advised so many conflicting ideas on this relating to less cut away on the slide to richen it, more cut away to weaken it, more space between the carb and the engine - I guess everyone is an expert in their own right and are basing their thought on what has worked for them - I will need to try them all and wee which one might work for me.

I remember on the Cub we couldn't get it how I wanted it until we opted for a DelOrto carb then all was OK (perhaps that's the answer)..

Anyway, I didn't ride last weekend, instead I opted to observe at Bromsgrove to help my dad out and also get over the chest infection that has been thoroughly pissing me off.....Sleeping on the sofa because my coughing is keeping the house awake is just not fun and as i write this on thursday morning it still isn't getting any better (10 days now so I hope I get some improvement soon!).

I am planning to ride the 1st round of the BMCA championship whis Sunday at Church Stretton so health permitting I will report on how things went on Sunday night.

Old Pictures (BMX Racing from the 80's)

I managed to upload some old BMXphotos from the early 80's - please take a look here

Old Pictures

I was having a look through some stuff and found these old pictures of me in the 90's on modern bikes and my 360 Bultaco scrambler at Hawkstone Park.

Eventpost 43 - BMCA Trial, Ullenhall

Following my recent dip in the water, after the Nostalgia Trial my bike went back to Pete Kirby for the engine to be stripped, examined and rebuilt - mainly for my own piece of mind to make sure that I didn't cause any damage to it.

Pete bought the bike back to Ullenhall on Sunday so it was a bit of a testing day to make sure that it was all running well and get the settings back to where they were before it went away.

Well, all didn't actually go to plan to be honest. The engine was running fine but I had some problems with ignition and clutch.

Firstly the clutch started playing up as soon as it got hot, not engaging and dis-engaging as it normally does - I checked with Pete and we believed that it was down to the oil that had been used as I normally run AFT in the primary case. Not a major problem as the trial was fairly easy and I thought it would be a good idea to ride off the clutch and see how I got on. Bit of a culture shock to be honest as I never ride without full use of the clutch!

I then felt that the bike had lost it's punch at mid throttle and felt quite flat so I went back to the car, dropped the oil from the primary case and avanced it up a bit.

This seemed to improve things but unfortunatly the clutch had now stopped working completely.

I continued to finish the trial but I was losing marks for fun! A coupls of 5's were taken where I stalled the bike, needing a bit of clutch at the bottom of a steep bank and another couple due to over running tight turns and missing the line because I was ahead of where I wanted to be.

The problem was that I generally set quite a lot of tickover to ensure that I dont stall then ride on the clutch and this clearly was not going to work in this trial because there was no clutch and the tickover was jus too quick for the tight sections.

Anyway, as the trial went on, the bike again became flat. It was like the timing was inconsistent or we have come across a self reterding ignition system!

Needless to say, Pete has taken it back to check these bits and bobs out and I should get it back next weekend at Bromsgrove.

The result was as expected, pretty poor considering it should have been a single mark trial, however it was good to identify these issues sooner rather then later at an event that mattered.

Pics are from this trial - I decided to wear my mountain bike helmet because it was so hot! You will see that on neither of these pics do I have a finger on the clutch (pretty unusual for me!)

Results as follows;

Experts (Up to 350cc)

1. Nathan Jones 7

2. Dave Jones 14

3. Laurance Alden 22

4. Dave Dawson 34

5. Ray Barrett 39

Experts (Over 350cc)

1. Pete Peed 18

2. Jim Pickering 20

Intermediates

1. Steve Neale 5

2. Pete Kirby 29

3. Ian Bullock 32

Eventpost 42 - Nostalgia Trial Kendal

Saturday was the annual Nostalgia Trial held in Kendal, Cumbria. This was the first time I had ridden the event and it was one of the best trials I have ridden for ages.

There was an entry of 200 at the event split between pre 65 and twinshock bikes and the trial consisted of 2 groups of sections, 7 on the rocky hillside and the other 8 sections in a woodland area so there was everything from loose rocky jumbles and slippery rocky, rooty gullies in the first group to steep climbs, slippery cambers and rocky streams in the second group. In total 3 laps of the 15 sections.

Riding in the unit pre 65 group I started at section 1 and almost immediately realised that the lack of trials that I had ridden this year along with the general lack of riding on rocks for ages had taken me by surprise. The sections honestly were harder and more severe than I had expected and in due course I started holding on too tight, trying to make the bike do what I wanted rather than riding loose and the result was far too many marks lost through my lack of conviction and not believing that I could clean them!

A five on section 1 as a result of losing the front wheel on a loose rock and ending up on my ear and a couple of 5's from a stall and not enough agression on a cambered climb were the specific lowlights of a first lap that cost me 30 marks, however during the lap there were some good rides, specifically on section 7 a pretty difficult section that started up a rocky gully then turned up a slippery cambered bank over more jagged rocks then back across the stream up some rock slabs and big roots - that ride at least gave me some heart that I was able to do OK.

The second lap improved with a loss of 18 marks which included a 5 on the last section, a steep long climb that got steeper and looser at the top where I just broke grip and had to bail out.

The final lap, with sections becoming more bedded in and a clearer line through some of the rock fields was better and a lap without a 5 was a better result but still returned a lap of 17, many of which were lost because I was knackered to be honest! (note to self - go to the gym!!!)

There will be stories and reports of long queues but I didn't find them too bad and I think the longest waits were only at about 4 or 5 sections and I found the rest a bit welcomed to be honest.

The trial did tell me that I need to start to venture out and ride some more severe sections as they did take me a while to get my eye in. I think I was riding these sort of sections regularly when we lived in Lancashire but in the last few years I have not been used to the severity and it is suprising how it makes you ride so rigid on the bike when you are not so confident.

I must say though, the top guys are in a different class. The trial was won by Paul Hays on 4 marks and even thinking about it after the trial, I think without any errors the best I could have managed at my ability level would have been about 9-10 marks per lap, which puts his ride into perspective!

My total of 65 was not great but I am happy with how things went and how I rode towards the end of the trial. I will certainly be trying for an entry again next year as it was a really great trial.

Update - I have just found the results from the trial and perhaps I didn't ride quite as badly as I thought I did, considering some of the names that were on similar marks. It appears that I was about half way down the entry so I am a bit happier than I thought! See the results here

Beezerpost 15 - a wet close shave

Got the bike ready for next weekend yesterday - all spannered polished up and ready to go so I decided to give it a quick spin over on Steve's farm (on the dry sections to keep it all clean and shiny).

All was going well and good and I went to practice on a steep little bank next to the stream to try pulling 2nd gear from no run up. After a couple of attempts, getting closer and closer to the foot of the bank I had an attempt with a big handful of throttle when almost at the top I knocked it out of gear and the next thing I knew I was under water with the bike on top of me. I swam for the top of the water to find it about chest deep and the bike completely under water!

Once adrenaline had helped me drag it out of the water and up the bank onto dry ground I started to empty the water out! I stood it up on its back wheel and the water poured out of the exhaust for what seemed like ages. After emptying the float bowl and whipping the plug out to clear the water out of the barrell I put it back together and thank god it fired up 1st kick!

I can tell you I had images of engine damage but I guess the engine had either stalled by the time it went under water or it stopped pretty quickly!

So I guess it is back out with the metal polish before the Nostalgia trial on saturday. I certainly had a close shave and will think twice before practicing alone again!

Llangollen - And More

I mentioned below that we stopped during the trial at a bike show and did a timed section in the main arena - here's a short video clip of the arena whilst we were waiting for our slot in the proceedings....

Eventpost 41 - Northern Bike Championship Llangollen

Yesterday I went to llangollen for the round of the Northern Bike Championship..... What a good trial. The countryside in that area was superb and the route managed to take in scenic views of the valley as well as some excellent green lanes and single tracks to join up the various groups of sections. Plus the weather was good too after the recent rain. The only dowside was that the sections in the first half of the trial were possibly a bit on the easy side.

It was a bit of a long day in the seat though considering we started just after 10.30 and were the first to finish at around 5 pm. No idea how late some of the serious rock kickers would have taken to get round.

We were set off in alphabetical order so I was off near the front and as I didn't really fancy sitting about I knew it would be a day of trail blazing and scrubbing the moss and slime off the fresh sections that would undoubtedly have eased during the day. This didn't seem too bad for the first half of the trial because as mentioned before, the sections were not too difficult.

After about 6 sections we arrived at a quite large motorcycle show and the central show ground which was housing a trials demo and freestyle motocross show has an arena style section laid out (tyres, barrells, logs and a zig zag between some poles) and was also timed to decide any tie breaks on score. This slowed up proceedings a bit as we had to wait for almost an hour for our 'slot' in the show. Not too bad though, a free burger and a chance to take a look around and say hi to my old friend Jason Rennie who was performing a 150ft jump with his show that he takes round to this sort of event.

On with the trial and soon a few odd dabs slipped away on slippery rocks as we were now at the front of the field and first through the sections. I had a single dab out on the moorside on a loose and slippery slate climb which was certainly going to catch others for marks and another couple as the sections began to get more difficult just after half way. Still riding well and the bike performing like a dream I was on just 5 marks when I got to about section 22 (of 30).

We then came to some sections in Dodd's Wood that were not too difficult, just some rocks up a steep gully followed by a couple of sections on the banks in the wood, all normal stuff that we ride every week, yet I then just went through a bit of brain fade, I had been riding most of the sections all day in 1st gear and finding good grip but I guess I just needed more speed and a bit more agression rather than trying to finesse it and lost 3 on the first gully followed by 5, 5 and 3 on the next 3 sections on the banks. I think if I had just pulled 2nd gear I would have used the momentum to get up rather than losing grip on the steep parts of the climbs which resulted in failure. The extra 16 marks on the card resulted in a reasonable score that I was pleased with turning into a pretty average one!

Once the score had gone I started trying other approaches and used 2nd gear in the next couple of sections with dramatically different results and finished the trial for a loss of only 1 more mark for a total of 22 marks. I think this will be miles off the pace but I am actually quite pleased with the bike and how I am riding it and I guess you just have to put these things down to experience!

I will certainly try and ride this trial again though as it was a great event and a good day out! Will post results when I get them and the rather blurred picture was taken by one of the spectators at one of the last sections of the day.

Thanks to Steve Thompson for being the chauffeur for the day - especially the slow drive home! (Not every day you get to overtake a Ducati roadbike on the country roads in a van - eh Tommo!!!!)

Just found the results on the web - took some time to get them posted on their website.... anyway 8th in the Unit class and just as I thought, the disasterous run on sections 23-26 turned a pretty good ride into an average one, but a good learning experience! See the full results here

Beezerpost 14

A couple of slight enhancements done to the bike this week....

1. The location of the chain tensioner was a little dubious as it was mounted near the swinging arm and was located inside the chain quite close to the tyre. I was always a little concerned that in muddy trials this would be prone to being caught by mud on the tyre and potentially being dragged downwards. Mechanic Pete had the bike this week and changed the location of the mounting point to the inside of the frame where the footrests are located and this has allowed the chain tensioner to run outside the frame and cranked inwards. I have added an X Block tensioner pad and will give it a try this weekend in its current rough form to make sure that it works before tidying up the welds and painting it up.

2. The NJB rear shocks were OK but I found them a little dead in action and wanted something a little more adjustable and lively on the rebound. After taking a look around I decided to give the latest Betor pro shocks from Sammy Millers a try. The certainly look good and initial thoughts are that they have achieved what I was aiming for but proof will be in the riding so will update the BLOG tomorrow night - will let you known how they perform. Note - I was intending to give the 'Magicals' a try that Mick Andrews is doing with Alan Witton, but none are available at the moment and as you know if you regularly read my BLOG, I didn't have the patience to wait a month at least for them!

3. The Sammy Miller footrests that I put on when it was built were used because, to be honest, they were the only ones I could get hold of at short notice when the original Hebo ones didn't work because I had ground the backs down to fit the old frame. They work OK but aleady have started to point downwards. This week I went to BVM in search of something new.... I was tempted to buy some Raptor's but at about £170 I found it had to justify the cost! After checking out all that was on offer I chose the S3 pegs that you see in the photo. They are very similar in size and shape to the Raptors but not made from titanium and at a reasonable £45 they look like a bargian if they hold up OK. They come with 2 red shims to allow a small amount of movement in the positioning on the mounting bracket which means that you can adjust the height by about 5-6mm depending on where you place the shims. I have them at the lowest position with just 1 shim being used on my mounting brackets.

Tomorrow (Sunday 2nd Aug) I am going to the Northen Bike Championship trial at Llangollen. First time on a road trial since the Sammy Miller trial last year on the Ariel. Hopefully the rain wont be too bad! Will update the BLOG tomorrow night....