Trials Notebook
Trials Notebook
A monthly course in the art of trials riding. Instructors: Bob Nickelsen, Mike Obermeyer
This month we put it all together, or at least a goodly number of the techniques we've shown you. The section in question is at Saddleback Park, and is ostensibly a simple one, being nothing but a descent, a turn, and a climb out. However, as a number of suppressed pix of Nick lying on the ground underneath his scooter would attest, it’s a toughie!
SLAB DESCENT AND CLIMB
We’re not going to be overly redundant, or belabor the obvious too much by going back over all the fine points, but. . . this is where the idea we’ve been trying to drill into your dear little heads gets emphasized: You must learn the individual techniques and practice them so that they become your everyday, standard moves in sections! If you can only do them in individual, one-move practice sections, they aren’t going to help you in an event. So 777 analyze the section carefully before you ride it, determine what techniques you must remember and use, and then get it on! Weight back on descents, outside on turns, forward on climbs! Smooth throttle, on hard for lifts, off to avoid slippage after contact; unweight as necessary to get the rear wheel over. Keep the front wheel on the ground for steerage, unless it has to be in the air. And here, Nick shows a new ploy, learned from five-time Scottish winner Mick Andrews: don’t attack slabs with your front wheel pawing the sky—lift at the last moment, virtually at front wheel impact, and let the angle of the slab impart an upward vector to the front wheel.
This idea may seem foreign to many of you, especially the more experienced riders. The idea, as relayed from Mick through Nick, is that a thunderous assault on such a face, with the bike picked up roughly parallel to the face, usually results in much of the speed and momentum being scrubbed off in impact energy, and absorbed by the suspension. Therefore, reasons Mick, the idea is to let the rising front wheel impart what amounts to a change in angular momentum so that loss of forward and upward momentum is minimized. Enough engineer talk; it works, so let’s get on with it, mates!
Key Points: 1. Don't wheelie too soon, or the bike will just scrub off momentum when you hit; 2. Don't wheelie too late, or you’ll just slam into the face and lose all your momentum, as well as some mementos that you might want to keep; 3. Timing is critical—you will have to practice this until it becomes natural; 4. Start building speed as soon as the turn allows—most “fives” on sections of this type are a result of the rider’s inability or unwillingness, in the face of the impending obstacle, to get momentum built up; 5. But roll the throttle on, so that you don’t loop out, or spin out on the turn; 6. For purposes of analysis, divide the section into its component parts—this one is just a descent, a turn, and a climb ... bút everything must be focused on the climb—all else is preamble.
MAINTENANCE
Our maintenance tip this month is aimed at helping your engine to live. We all know that air cleaners have to be cleaned and re-oiled periodically, unless of the paper variety. What many riders miss, however, is that they must be properly sealed, so that crud can’t find its way past the filter. The solution^ to use a good grade of heavy, waterproof grease. Although the example shown here is a Honda, with a rigid type element and rubber seals on each end, the same principle applies. If there’s any place in your air filter system where the element doesn’t make a tight seal with the housing, slather lots of grease under,” around and over, to seal the holes.
Don't, however, get the grease on the element itself. Many trials bikes, especially those of European manufacture, have a fairly small surface area to strain air through, and a big glob of grease (or even a small one) can eliminate a good percentage of that area, thus restricting breathing and fouling up carburetion. A good idea here is to be consistent, and use the same routine on your filter all the time. Many carburetion problems have been traced to the use of some magic” filter oil, which is either too estrictive, or not restrictive enough, so that the engine can’t breathe, or carburetion is altered.
Find yourself a good down and up like the one in our pictures this month, and work on it hard. Learn to turn both ways, and when it gets too easy, tighten up the turn. The idea is to practice things that are harder than the trials you ride; then the trials are a snap, so you can relax and enjoy yourself.
MAINTENANCE
