anyone into trails bikes? - of the motor kind

Trials bikes?

On and off, (pardon the pun), most of my life.

I think quite a few on here as well. As I would expect.

Never got my skills up very far, but I could say that about everything I do non professionally! :)
 
I have been thinking about getting into the vintage stuff for a number of years. Never had the time or space though. Now that I have had a big clear out of old cars I might look into it again.
 
i only experience of bikes is a KX100 when i was 13yrs old, then bits and pieces of friends bikes, and i also rode my brothers XL125 around the fields when i was younger.

really fancy a trails bike, as they are quite good for fitness and skills that i can use with my MTBs.

plus i have the space in the shed for one.

any tips, and brand experience, pics are welcome.
 
Never really road much off road on them but I loved and still love the 2-stroke 125's MX styled of the 80's and 90's. Most are busted now but low gears, lightweight, peaky powerful 2-stroke was fun, fun, fun 8)
 
Like highlandsflyer said, do you mean a trials bike?

A trials bike and a trail bike are two different animals - a trials bike is designed to be ridden in observed trials, where you have to ride an observed section and are marked according to whether you accomplish this without dabbing or not. 1 point for 1 dab, 2 for two dabs, 3 for anything more than that, provided that you maintain forward motion relative to the section and stay within the section markers.
Plus a 5 point penalty for a fail, which can be stopping (including feet up stops in a trial run under no-stop regs), going outside of section markers, leaning on a tree or bank, that sort of stuff.
Can be used for trail riding, of course, (as long as you don't want to do much road work) and where they can go is only really limited by rider ability - if you are good enough you can basically get to pretty much anywhere, plus you don't have all those lights and indicators and other crap to break.
Anyway, some good trials video footage here on Trials Central. This is World Round stuff, so not no-stop.
Watch the Dougie Lampkin ones - you can see (and hear :roll: ) his minder Jim Lampkin giving him line advice......

A trail bike on the other hand is now usually an enduro-styled bike (but without the performance) and with indicators, pillion footrests and that sort of stuff. Often all looks and not much else IMHO.

I was a trials rider from when I was 16 to about 42, but I haven't done anything for the last 16 years . I still think about getting something again like a 320 Majesty or 280 SWM and doing some twin-shock trials.
 
Rich.

My brother rides trials most weekends as there is a big following round us as Dougie Lampkin lives very near to us so has been a big influence. He was in the year above me at school.

My brother rides a Sherco but some of his mates ride Beta's and Gas Gas.

He would prob recomend a Gas Gas as being the better buy if you have the brass.

Regards
Richard
 
There was an article featuring Lampkin and Martyn Ashton years back where it mentioned Lampkin had come second to Martyn in one of the rounds of the British Bike Trials Championship, and wherein Lampkin is said to have used an Orange for training. Hans Rey was in that mag too, anyone remember him?

Andy. I know where you are coming from, but of course trail bikes can be very capable machines, but there is a certain prejudice about them amongst the biking fraternity due to all the posers buying them after all the Luke Skywalker and the other chap who used to do something else hype.

They tend to be bloated, but you can fettle them out of most of that. They are great long haul machines.

It was a totally embarrassing to be a traillee rider once those guys showed up on the scene.

They had support vehicles, should have been on KTM250s or something like that, or at least on Dakar 650s if they had to stay BMW.

The only BMW I have left, that is running, is a Funduro, which is basically a Rotax engined Aprilia. Actually works for the twisties in the Highlands, have surprised a few sports bike riders.

:)
 
they're not trail bikes
tourers with off-road pretentions maybee
trail bikes are things like xr 250's dt 125/200's and the non race enduro
type things
probably the ultimate trail bike is a yam 225 serrow

trials bikes are a lot more specialised ,good fun but depends if you have ground to use them on near you
i sold my off road moto's a few years ago due to lack of places to go on them ,however with a bicycle i can go anywhere

trials bikes ,good for your bike handling skills you learn a lot on them
 
Lampkin is sponsored by Hope among others but has an Orange Strange proto downhill rig adorned with everything Hope. There was another one with Lampkin and Steve Peat in MBUK not so long ago ragging it down Ben Nevis both on bikes and trials bikes.
 

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