A street-legal trials tire? The Dunlop K950 sounds like an interesting proposition. 

Begin Press Release: 

Dunlop introduces the street-legal trials tire: the K950

Rancho Cucamonga, CA: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires has expanded its off-road tire line to include the new DOT-approved K950 trials tire.

Trials tires are popular among off-road riders who also enjoy a dose of pavement on their rides, and for that the street-legal trials tire, the K950 is ideal. The K950 delivers the kind of performance trials riders and off-road enthusiasts are looking for, with additional durability and on-road capability.

The K950 features bias-ply construction, and compounds and tread pattern designed to tackle tough single-track terrain and challenging conditions. In both wet and dry conditions, the K950 excels when the course or trail turns hard-packed, rocky, or littered with tree roots.

For dual-sport riding, the K950 provides a smoother ride and longer wear than a traditional knobby tire on the street, while providing a high level of grip and bump-absorbing compliance in the dirt.

Available from your local Dunlop retailer, the Dunlop K950 comes in a 4.00-18 size and joins the premium-performance D803GP, Dunlop’s competition trials tire.

The post Dunlop Releases its Street-Legal Trials Tire, The K950 appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Torrot, owner of GasGas, has revealed this midday in Bilbao its renewed and ambitious commitment for the 2018 season with the stellar signings of riders Jaime Busto and Jeroni Fajardo of Gas Gas Factory Trials Team. A structure once again led with the experience of Marc Colomer, who repeats at the front as team manager.

A four-time World Champion, Colomer puts all his sporting knowledge back to the service of the Gas Gas Factory Trials Team. An official squad undergoing a profound transformation for the next season, in which it has committed to the talent of the young Jaime Busto and the experience of Jeroni Fajardo to take a big step forward in their aspirations in the fight for the 2018 FIM X-Trial and 208 FIM TrialGP World Championships–formerly known as indoor and outdoor, respectively–and also in the Spanish Trial Championship, in the TR1 category.

“The addition of Jaime Busto and Jeroni Fajardo to the Gas Gas Trial Factory Team demonstrates the willingness of Torrot and GasGas to get back to the very top of the Trial World Championships, both indoor and outdoor,” Colomer said. “Jaime will turn 20 next week. He is a young rider with a very promising future. While Jeroni has great experience and has always been high up in the World Championship. Together they form a very complete team. The goal of GasGas is to come back to being World Champions as soon as possible. We know that at present it is a difficult challenge, since Toni Bou has been the great dominator of this speciality during the last seasons. We are aware of the difficulty that this entails, but that is also the motivation that pushes us to improve to fight for victory.”

Jaime Busto and Jeroni Fajardo will debut with the Torrot company sports team on Sunday, December 3, in El Vendée (France), on the exclusive, competitive Gas Gas TrialGP 300 bike. Busto, a talented young rider from Górliz, 20 years old, will debut for the first time wearing the Gas Gas Factory Trials colors.

“I am very happy and motivated to face this season with the Gas Gas team thanks to the opportunity that Torrot has given me,” Busto said. “This is a new challenge for me. I will have a new bike, which I had always wanted to ride, and to which I have adapted to very well. Also to a new team, with a very good atmosphere. I really want to start the World Championship; the feeling of the Gas Gas TrialGP bike is very good and the team is very happy with this new project. We will give everything to get as high as possible, first in the X-Trial World Championship and, in May, in the TrialGP World Championship.”

Fajardo, the experienced rider from Girona, 32, return after a decade to compete with the brand that accompanied him at the beginning of his sports career in the trial discipline.

“I am very motivated with the start of this season,” Fajardo said. “We are launching a new bike and a new team and my goal is to take a step forward in the X-Trial and TrialGP World Championships. This is a change that will allow me to improve a lot during the next two seasons. The Gas Gas TrialGP is a fantastic bike and we have a great team, so I hope to be able to fight for podium positions in the X-Trial and TrialGP World Championships. I want to thank Torrot for betting on me to be a Gas Gas Trial Factory Team rider.”

After the presentation of Torrot in Bilbao, an acknowledgement by the brand to the home town of the young rider Jaime Busto in his incorporation to the team, the Gas Gas Factory Trials Team will travel directly to France, where this weekend the 2018 X-Trial World Championship is starting. Vendée is to host the first date of the indoor World Cup that, on this occasion, has brought forward its start by almost a month, to December 3.

ABOUT TORROT
Torrot is the only Spanish industrial technology company that makes connected electric vehicles. With a history that goes back to 1948, it was re-founded in 2015 by its current CEO, Iván Contreras, who gave it a strategic change of direction towards sustainable, interconnected personal mobility. At the end of that same year, Torrot acquired Gas Gas, its current subsidiary of off-road enduro and trial motorcycles. Torrot has 150 employees, exports more than 90 percent of its production internationally and has a commercial presence in more than 30 countries around the world. Torrot operates a factory in Spain and is finalizing the start-up of a second one that will be located in Cadiz, scheduled for next year with an investment of some 16 million euros.

The post 2018 Gas Gas Factory Trials Team to Include Busto, Fajardo appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

With one trial still to run before the end of the season, Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou mathematically sealed the 2017 FIM TrialGP World Championship outdoor title in Sokolov, Czech Republic aboard the Montesa Cota 4RT last weekend.

Bou continues to write trial and motorcycle history. This marks a 22nd consecutive career title, in both indoor and outdoor disciplines, adding to a winning streak that began way back in 2007, when Bou first joined the Repsol Honda Team. No other rider has ever achieved a greater number of top-flight individual titles.

Bou dominated the TrialGP of Spain, Japan (double-date event), France, Great Britain and the United States (double) before arriving at the penultimate event in the Czech Republic, where in spite of not winning on the day, he accumulated enough points to clinch the championship title by finishing in second place.

The post Repsol Honda’s Toni Bou, 2017 FIM TrialGP World Champion! appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Repsol Honda Team head to the Czech Republic to dispute the seventh and penultimate date of the FIM TrialGP World Championship, where Toni Bou can effectively secure an eleventh outdoor title.

After a well-deserved summer break following the intense months of May, June and July, Repsol Honda Team fire up the engines to tackle the two remaining dates in the FIM TrialGP calendar. This weekend sees the penultimate in Sokolov, Czech Republic and the following and final event takes place in Arco di Trento, Italia.

The main attraction of the TrialGP in the Czech Republic will hinge upon whether Toni Bou can mathematically seal the title on Sunday’s outdoor trial. Fourth final place–irrespective of whether nearest championship rival Adam Raga wins on the day–would give Toni Bou the title. Bear in mind that the last time the Montesa Cota 4RT rider didn’t make it onto the podium was five years ago.

Repsol Honda Team should be able achieve one of their best overall classifications in recent years, given that Jaime Busto and Takahisa Fujinami are contesting third and fourth place in the championship. After an excellent trial in the U.S., Busto goes into the event with an advantage, but still has his work cut out to take the bronze medal. Teammate Takahisa Fujinami, currently in fourth place. will give the young rider a run for his money until the very last section.

________________________________________
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE CZECH REPUBLIC TRIALGP
• Toni Bou can clinch his eleventh title in Sokolov. He needs only to finish in the top four – in case of not winning the trial – provided the victor is Adam Raga. If Adam finishes second, a top seven position will be enough.

• The Repsol Honda Team leader has won seven victories out of the eight trials held this season (two double-date GPs). Since July 8, 2012 Toni Bou has always managed to finish on the podium in the 69 competitions of the outdoor world championship held since that date.

• Sokolov, about 20 kilometres from the spa town of Karlovy Vary, has already hosted the Trial World Championship in 2015 where Toni Bou debuted as the winner in the Czech Republic, triumphing over both days of competition.

• Takahisa Fujinami has yet to win in the Czech Republic despite having four podium finishes in Nepomuk and Kramolin. This week conmemorates his first win in World Championship: 20 years ago, at German GP 1997

• The constructors title was decided in the United States with a double for Montesa Cota 4RT riders in categories TrialGP and Trial2.

________________________________________
• Toni Bou Stats
96 wins in world championship
193 GP participations
139 podiums
3073 points
________________________________________
• Takahisa Fujinami Stats
33 wins in world championship
319 GP participations
160 podiums
4326 points
________________________________________
• Jaime Busto Stats
41 GP entries
4 podiums
453 points

Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 BOU Toni 1 SPA 155 Repsol Honda Team Montesa
2 RAGA Adam 67 SPA 127 TRS Factory Team TRS
3 BUSTO Jaime 69 SPA 103 Repsol Honda Team Montesa
4 FUJINAMI Takahisa 3 JPN 95 Repsol Honda Team Montesa
5 FAJARDO Jeroni 47 SPA 95 Vertigo Factory Team Vertigo
6 CABESTANY Albert 37 SPA 85 Sherco Factory Team Sherco
7 DABILL James 7 GBR 82 Gas Gas Factory Team Gas Gas
8 CASALES Jorge 33 SPA 57 Beta Factory Racing Beta
9 KADLEC Franz 11 GER 48 Gas Gas Factory Team Gas Gas
10 GRATTAROLA Matteo 9 ITA 44 Gas Gas FG Italia Gas Gas
11 GELABERT Miquel 10 SPA 40 Sherco Factory Team Sherco
12 FARRE Arnau 19 SPA 25 RFME Spea Gas Gas
13 PRICE Jack 34 GBR 19 Gas Gas Factory Team Gas Gas
14 NOGUERA Oriol 15 SPA 18 MRW Gas Gas Trial Team Gas Gas
15 BINCAZ Benoit 16 FRA 16 Scorpa Factory Scorpa
16 FERRER Alexandre 13 FRA 13 Sherco Factory Team Sherco
17 KUROYAMA Kenichi 98 JPN 11 Yamaha Racing Yamaha
18 KARLSSON Eddie 12 SWE 10 RG Team Montesa
19 NOZAKI Fumitaka 99 JPN 3 Sherco Factory Team Sherco
20 GUBIAN Loris 14 FRA 2 Beta Beta

The post Bou Can Wrap Up World Trial Championship This Weekend appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Infused with new capital, the company has labored feverishly to update its line of off-road and trials motorcycles, such as the 2018 Gas Gas EC 300 and XC 300 two-strokes, with great results. But the TXTe EGD might represent the pinnacle of the company’s current effort to innovate, and it’s already a champion.

Piloted by multi-time FIM World Trials Champion Marc Colomer, the TXTe EGD recently won the inaugural TrialE Cup for electric-powered trials bikes. Although still a concept machine, the TXTe EGD’s success so early in its development has Gas Gas seriously looking at producing the model for sale on the future.

Born out of Gas Gas’ adoption by Torrot, competition bikes, the TXTe EGD was first unveiled at the 2016 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan Italy. The machine is propelled by a liquid-cooled electric motor that is claimed to produce 18 kilowatts of power and 20 Newton-meters of torque. But the real secret to the TXTe EGD’s performance, according to Gas Gas, lies in its speed controller, allows for a level of control not possible even with electronically fuel-injected internal combustion engines. Juice is supplied by a Lithium-ion battery rated at 1500 Watt-hours. Gas Gas claims that when fully charged, the TXTe EGD can run for approximately 90 minutes. Unlike most electric motorcycles currently on the market, the TXTe EGD features a full six-speed transmission and hydraulic clutch, same as the company’s petrol burners.

The motor and transmission are housed in a chrome-moly tubular steel chassis with a 51.9-inch wheelbase. Out back, an aluminum swingarm that features Gas Gas’ rising-rate linkage rear suspension is controlled by a Reiger shock absorber that offers adjustable spring preload and rebound damping. Rear suspension travel is 6.8 inches. Up front, a fully adjustable 39mm fork delivers 7 inches of suspension travel. The TXTe EGD is claimed to weigh a mere 145.2 lbs.

The TXTe EGD rides on standard trials wheels with a Michelin Trial X11 2.75″ x 21″” front tire and am X11 Trial 4.00″ x 18″ rear tire. Braking is handled by a 185mm NG wave disc clamped by a Braketec monobloc four-piston caliper. The NG rear brake disc measures 150mm and is clamped by a Braktec two-piston caliper.

Guided along in its development by none other than Colomer, the Gas Gas TXTe EGD has already proven itself to be a winner in his hands. Time will tell if a production version of the innovative machine will ever fall into ours.

The post Gas Gas TXTe EGD Wins Inaugural TrialE Cup appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Enough of this bull!!!

What in the pluperfect hell is so wrong with getting wasted on the night before a race and then going out the next day and still enjoying it as much as your protesting body will allow? Who says that every racer should be Jack Armstrong?

Sometimes, I think that the only riders with common sense are the Old Timers Club and the Over-the-Hill Gang. These fine fellow racers don’t take things quite so seriously and actually have fun at what they’re doing. They have also been known to have a cool tall one in between motos on a particularly hot day. Are they any less the man for giving in to the natural urge to have a beer when the call demands? No. A thou­sand times no.

There is a place in this world for the beer gut. Twenty pounds of padding makes falling down easier to deal with.

Does every rider have to weigh in at 130 pounds and look like Eli Tomac of Kenny Roczen? Can these lean young riders ever experience the thrill of eating an entire bucket of fried chicken right before a moto? No. They’re so caught up in the seriousness of their approach that they stave off enjoyment in the pursuit of enjoyment.

Wait until after the race to have that Big Mac or pepperoni pizza, they say. It’ll slow you down. Oh, really now? How many tenths of a second will a ham sandwich take off your lap times? And for that matter, who cares? Aren’t most of us in this for the pure fun of it anyways? It gets me sick just to think about the extreme examples of dedication and so-called training that have made the fun of racing a mockery of itself. Let’s get back to those days of old, when the beer cooler was the first thing put in the back of the truck, rather than the toolbox.

And another thing. All this emphasis on equipment and maintenance. Hah! My method of motorcycle maintenance is to buy the cheapest bike I can and never touch it. Then, when it falls apart some time later, I merely get another cheap bike.

Having ridden both good and average equipment on various tracks tinder many conditions, I have yet to see much difference in the actual results. Clean a filter? Never! Buy a new one when the old one gets so clogged up it won’t pass air. This may seem like an expensive way to handle things, but I can assure you, that at the end of the year, I will have spent no more money than the average rider in my class who spends much time and money, only to have the same miserable record of finishes and placings that I do.

Ride, yes. But work? No. Enjoy. Let yourself relax. Leave the tuning and wrench raising to those who are paranoid about such things.

Those of us who have finally matured enough to under­stand and accept mediocrity can see the wisdom of this approach.Those who demand winning and perfection may never get it anyway. Isn’t it far better to not even try that hard, and be even more pleased the occasional times in life when everything works out fine by accident?

Again, face it. The best laid plans of most of us, most of the time, never work out. So why try so hard? Relax. Enjoy your racing, like our Creator intended us to do.

Sure, try as hard as you feel like during the actual race, but don’t get all bent out of shape by trying to get in shape. After all, life is far too short to spend all of your time working at your playing.

And one more thing. I promise not to pass you if you embrace my philosophy. Cross my heart.

Heh heh.

The post Rick Sieman Column: Get Out of Shape Quick! appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

The 2017 U.S. men’s team includes Daniel Blanc-Gonnet (Montesa), Bryan Roper (Gas-Gas) and Pat Smage (Sherco). The men’s team alternate is Sam Fastle (Sherco). The 2017 U.S. women’s team is Rachel Hassler (Gas-Gas), Madeleine Hoover (Gas-Gas) and Kylee Sweeten (Sherco). The women’s alternate is Madison Leigh (Scorpa).

The event is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, and the U.S. teams are organized by the AMA and the North American Trials Council.

“Trials competition is a growing sport in the United States, and we welcome this opportunity to showcase our best riders on the world stage,” said AMA Director of Racing Kevin Crowther. “We’re very proud of these AMA members who will challenge the world’s best.”

The U.S. team will be managed by Todd Roper.

“I could not be more satisfied with our teams this year,” Todd Roper said. “All of these men and women have proven themselves over many years of competition, and we are anticipating a strong showing. We are very much looking forward to rejoining our friends and competitors from the international community in Spain.”

The sport of trials involves riders navigating their motorcycles over seemingly impossible terrain.

The FIM Trial des Nations began in Europe in 1983 as a way to bring the best trials riders from each country together to compete as teams, and it has evolved into one of the most anticipated motorcycle events of the year. Each competing country fields two teams: a men’s and women’s team, each consisting of three riders.

“Overall, we are attempting to create the opportunity for our riders to be able to participate in the Trial des Nations in such a way that they can focus on what they do best — riding,” Todd Roper said. “Sometimes, the trip details and logistics can get in the way of the fun and we intend to help as much as possible by creating a once in a lifetime event every year.”

Fans wishing to support the team can do so by purchasing Trial des Nations apparel available at: www.amagear.com. You can also support the team by sending a check payable to:

NATC – TdN

5119 West Barbara Ave.

Glendale, AZ 85302

Contact the North American Trials Council at trialsrideraz@gmail.com. View updates about the team at www.facebook.com/USATrialDesNations.

“A very special ‘thank you’ must be given to our friends in California, headed up by Jared Malmquist,” Todd Roper said. “With their efforts at local trials and the El Trial de Espana, they were able to raise some significant funds for our U.S. team this year.”

The support of sponsors is crucial to the ability of the teams to compete. 2017 sponsors include: Zip Express (Brad Baumert/www.zipexpress.com), Specialty Welding and Machine (Dawna Maulden/www.swmtx.com), Integrated Solutions Inc. (Ropers/www.isiaz.com), Ryan Young Products (Ryan Young/www.rypusa.com), US Montesa (Martin Belair/www.usmontesa.com), Gas-Gas USA (Geoff Aaron/www.gasgas.com/us) and the motorcycle manufacturers and importers.

The post AMA Names 2017 Trial des Nations Teams appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Repsol Honda Team rider Toni Bou started the Trial Outdoor World Championship in the best way possible with a convincing triumph and a notable display in Camprodón this weekend.

The weather turned out to be one of the main protagonists in today’s trial. After a fine start yesterday during the qualifying round, conditions took a turn for the worst later with storms blowing up after the initial phase had finished. Riders awoke today to a splendid sunny day, before a radical change took hold, with torrential downpours and even hail. The result was fifteen sectors now far harder than had been previously expected.

Toni Bou rose to the occasion, clinching a 90th world championship outdoor win. The tougher the hazards, the better the Repsol Honda Team ace performed to finish the day with a considerable advantage over closest rival Adam Raga. Bou finished with a twelve point gap, which lowered his first lap score by ten marks over the nearest second place rival. The champion, aboard the Montesa Cota 4RT, becomes the first leader in the new season.

“The first trial of the year was a complicated one with a lot of nerves and pressure,” Bou said. “This place is a paradise for trial, but it’s not really the type that suits me best, as I find it tough with all the mud. But I think I got through it pretty well. It was a hard event, and I think the rain made it more difficult, but I’m very pleased about the victory as it has been a great way to start the season. Adam is pushing as hard as always–he’s a really tough rival, and I think that it will be a hard season for all of us.

Japanese rider Takahisa Fujinami was able to make amends for yesterday’s qualifying position by producing a solid performance that had him jostling for a final podium place. Fujinami placed fifth on the day, a single point off fourth spot.

Meanwhile, young Jaime Busto was suffering in the sections with the worsening conditions. After rubbing shoulders with the big guns in the earlier part of the trial, Busto began to burden the scorecard with an excess of penalty points in the latter and had to settle for seventh overall place.

Toni Bou’s triumph brings valuable points for Montesa in the constructor’s championship. An important win for Trial2 rider Gabriel Marcelli also adds to the brand’s score.

2017 FIM Trial World Championship
TrialGP Spain
Camprodon, Spain
Results: May 14, 2018 (Round 1 of 8)

Overall
1. Toni Bou (SPA)-Mon/46 (28/18)
2. Adam Raga (SPA)-TRS/58 (29/29)
3. Albert Cabestany (SPA)-She/72 (27/45)
4. Jeroni Fajardo (SPA) Ver-/44 (40/44)
5. Takahisa Fujinami (JPM)-Mon/85 (42/42)

The post Toni Bou Wins Inaugural Spanish TrialGP appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

Sunday 14th May sees the opening round of trial’s top category with the Spanish GP. The event which has been a regular feature in the trial calendar every year since 1975, will this time make its first visit to Camprodón – a natural enclave just fifteen kilometres from France in the heart of the Pyrenees. The championship begins with a Repsol Honda Team trio raring to go and keen to improve on previous results. Behind the bars of the Montesa Cota 4RT, the riders of the team managed by Miquel Cirera and Òscar Giró, will face a tough challenge, particularly as the 2017 season will have some new features.

En Route to an 11th World Championship Double
Ever since Toni Bou scooped his first world title back in the 2007 indoor championship, the Catalan rider has managed to clinch the indoor / outdoor double every single year without fail. Bou now sports a full decade of absolute domination of the trial scene and is hungry to keep on going. Bou was recently re-crowned X-Trial world champion for the eleventh consecutive time. With the indoor title in the bag the rider now moves on to the more taxing and troublesome outdoor discipline in a bid to renew the number one currently emblazoning the Montesa Cota 4RT

Fujinami in Record Figures Too
At 37 years of age Takahisa Fujinami is the most veteran rider in the paddock, but in spite of this maintains a level of physical fitness, technique, tenacity and ambition that are the envy of his adversaries. Last season the team stalwart posted third overall place in the championship. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the Japanese Repsol Honda Team rider won the world title back in 2004, but as he admitted to Bou at the end of the 2016 campaign, there is nothing he would like more than to retire as champion. Charismatic ‘Fujigas’, the rider with most participations and points achieved at World Championship, will be looking to sustain the momentum for as long as possible and sees the top of the podium as a distinct possibility for 2017.

Jaime in Search of Podium Finish
Basque rider Jaime Busto tackles a third season with Repsol Honda Team, well aware that he needs to take a leap forward on the scoresheets. This winter, the team’s youngest rider has diligently trained alongside team-mate Toni Bou in a bid to raise his level. A podium finish still remains the maximum priority for the rider from Górliz, after having narrowly missed out on the feat on various prior occasions. Busto, likewise, will be wishing to improve on the sixth

What Do You Need to Know About the New Trial GP?
• The arrival of a new promoter
The world championship moves into a new era as a new promoter takes over the organization and promotion of the world pro category. Sport7 has introduced several changes to the rules which, on paper at least, should bring greater interest and repercussions in the trial competition.

• New categories
New categories have been established in the world championship. TrialGP is the top category featuring the sport’s elites and most-garlanded riders. Trial2, Trial125, TrialGP Women and Trial2 Women will be the categories making up the rest of the championship.

• Ten trials with points counting towards the championship
The FIM Trial Outdoor World Championship will have eight events, six of which will take place on a single day, with the overseas competitions in the U.S. and Japan having two days which will total ten trials whose points count in the championship.

• Qualifying round on the eve of the GP
It has been decided that a qualifying round will take place to decide the race day’s starting order. The rider with the least number of errors in a single section will have the best starting position. In case of draw, the fastest of the riders will occupy the better position.

• United timetables
The Friday before the competitions at 15:00 hrs riders will be able to look over the course. Technical and administrative scrutineering will take place on Saturday for the top category from 10:00 to 11:00 hrs. From 11:00 to 13:00 hrs there will be training for the qualifying section. Fans will be able to enjoy an autograph opportunity with the riders at 14:30. The qualifying round will take place on Saturday afternoons at 15:00 hrs. The main events will kick off in each GP at 09:00. The podium prize giving will be held at 15:45 hrs.

• 15 sections 2 laps
The format of the course for the new TrialGP will be different to previous seasons. A fixed number of sections and laps has been established for all the trials made up of 15 sections and 2 laps with a maximum time of 5 hours (two and a half hours per lap with a twenty minute break).

• Constructor’s Championship
For the first time the manufacturers of trial bikes participating in the world championship will be able to choose a maximum of two riders per constructor and category (TrialGP and Trial2) the top rider in each class getting points towards the constructor’s championship. In TrialGP the riders representing Montesa will be Toni Bou and Takahisa Fujinami and in Trial2, Francesc Moret and Gabriel Marcelli.

2017 FIM TrialGP World Championship Schedule
14 May: Camprodón, Spain
17 May: Motegi, Japan
18 May: Motegi, Japan
11 June: Sant Julià Lòria, Andorra
18 June Lourdes France
9 July: Tong, Great Britain
29 July: Kingman, Arizona, U.S.A.
30 July: Kingman, Arizona, U.S.A.
10 September: Sokolov, Czech Republic
17 September: Pietramurata, Italy

The post Repsol Honda 2017 Trial GP Series Preview appeared first on Dirt Bikes.

What is this all about?
The next time you get to this hill, you try to go a little faster and find that you are going too fast for comfort. So you squeeze the front brake and the front wheel skids the bike sideways. A fraction of a second later, you find yourself on your back in the dirt staring at the sky. You have just Endoed.

The reason most beginning riders fear down hills is because they have crashed their brains out on them. It doesn’t have to be this way.

You have to learn to accept the fact that 90% of the crashes on down hlls are caused by improper braking, or going too slow.  Yup, going too slow will prevent your bike from skimming across the normal ruts and bumps in any downhill. Combine that with improper braking and you have all the makings of a classic Endo.

When you’re riding a dirt bike on level ground, all you have to deal with is the force of gravity on the bike. When you’re going on a downhill, you’re dealing with gravity plus.  On level ground, you can often go a bit faster to smooth things out. On a downhill, if you go faster your fear level rises.

Never, Ever Lock Up Either Wheel on Downills

Don’t ever attempt to do any sort of a turn on a downhill  when using the front brake. Not even a little bit. You’re just about guaranteed a washout  with the front end.  Don’t even touch that front brake when you make the turn. Sure, you can use the front brake right before the turn and immediately after completing the turn, but going to the turn itself… No way.

Always keep your body weight as far to the rear of the machine as you can. Consider, when the bike is pointed down, most of the weight is on the front and very little is on the rear. By keeping your butt back,  you tend to even out the forces.

Keep your feet on the pegs. You’ll find it virtually impossible keep your weight to the rear of the bike if you have your feet off the pegs; this means that the further you slide for on the tank, the closer you are to falling on the ground.

Different Kinds of Downhills

Fast downhills are very tempting, especially if you are doing well in the race. Whether a downhill can be taken quickly or not, depends mainly on what is at the bottom of the downhill. If the bottom of the hill has a relatively smooth straight run to slowdown in, the hill could be taken at greater speed. One thing to keep in mind;  the heavier your bike is the harder it is to slowdown.

On slow down hills, just remember that the more speed you ride the rough, the smoother your bike rides.  And as long as you can make the curves, that’ll do the trick.

The Biggest Problem with Downhills

The only real obstacle you have left to overcome is in your mind. The average rider will never want to descend a hill  that he can’t stop on. You will probably never  have gotten over the fear of going down a hill, especially a fast rough downhill.  So forget it and ignore the fact that that it is a downhill.  It’s nothing more than a straight pointed down and if you have a smooth run at the bottom, you’re home free. There, gravity will let you stop easily.

Sometimes You Can’t Ride a Downhill
Here is we have to resort to a technique called bulldogging.  First, you kill the engine and leave the transmission in first gear. Get off the machine and lock the tank of the machine under your right arm.   You have the front brake and the dead engine will act as a rear brake.  You can control how this works by engaging or disengaging the clutch. Put both feet wide apart and skid down the hill with your feet near the front axle. Remember, bulldogging a bike down a hill is sort of a last resort.

The post Rick Sieman: How To Handle Downhills appeared first on Dirt Bikes.