Can you imagine coming to a stop on your motorcycle and leaving your feet on the pegs but not falling over? Experienced trials riders do this all the time! They ride offroad of course, but these riders can also do that on a street bike. A trials bike is a very light offroad bike. The engine sizes go up to 400cc and they usually do not have a seat. They are designed to be able to ride over terrain that other offroad bikes would have a very difficult or impossible time traversing. I started riding trials motorcycles when I was 48 years old, and it is the most amazing challenge you can imagine in motorcycling. Trials riding is not a race and speed is actually a detriment.
The competitions are so much fun. Depending on your expertise you ride over rocks, up dirt walls, across and down streams, and all this is judged by how many times your foot touches the ground. Competitions are set up into sections. A section is an area that has difficult terrain with rocks, loose dirt, climbs and any kind of obstacle that would make you work to get over it. Sections are not big areas, and there are ribbons that show you the path you need to take. There is one judge that watches you and keeps your score. You start when the judge tells you to. The scoring starts with zero points. If you put your foot down (called a dab) once you get one point and twice is 2 points. The third time you dab you fail that section and get 5 points against you. There are usually 10 or more sections to an event and the one with the least points after doing all the sections wins. There are different skill classes from novice to expert.
Go on YouTube and watch Toni Boi perform at a trials event (Click Here to Watch Toni Bou). He is the best trials rider in the world! It will absolutely blow your mind because you probably have never seen or imagined a motorcycle could do that! Motorcycle trials riding teaches you so much about motorcycle handling. This education helps you be a better motorcycle rider no matter what style you ride.
Competing under the mentoring of my dear departed friend, Gary LaPlante, led me to winning a couple of local championships over the next few years. I have the best memories of going to the events, camping out and being around all of the people enjoying that family oriented sport. You fall down a lot but you’re going slow. With good riding gear on I seldom ever saw an injury. I never got hurt but boy did I have so much fun!
When I started Southern California Triumph 25 years ago we sold Triumph motorcycles and Beta trials bikes. Well now we are bringing on an electric line of trials bikes called OSET. Come check them out. Think what it would be like to have a dirt bike that could go over most any obstacle you come across!
MOTORCYCLE NEWS
TRIUMPH TIGERS TAKE 1ST & 2ND AT THE INAUGURAL AFT ADVENTURETRACKERS RACE
The very first Sturgis Rally, known as the Black Hills Classic, was held on August 14, 1938 with a race of 9 participants and a small audience. Fast forward to August 11th, 2024, where 9 racers once again lineup on the starting grid of a new race.
In this race, Triumph Motorcycles has made history with Sammy Halbert (#69) clinching 1st place, and Iván Cervantes (#25) securing 2nd, at the inaugural AFT AdventureTrackers race. The new class took part in Round 13 of the Progressive American Flat Track Championship season, the Sturgis TT, which was held for the first time ever in the streets of downtown Sturgis, SD, and the last day of the annual rally. The AdventureTrackers race showcased the incredible capability of the Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro and Rally Pro motorcycles in near stock trim, as riders navigated a challenging TT course, blending road and dirt elements.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati heads to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Josh Herrin leading the title
The famed Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, located just out of Lexington, Ohio, is back on the MotoAmerica championship calendar for the first time in a decade, with everyone chasing Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin over the August 16-18 weekend.
Following on from one of his finest MotoAmerica rides in race two at Laguna Seca in which he withstood mountains of pressure to take the win and 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship points lead, Herrin knows everyone will be eyeing him as the season gets down to the business end with just three rounds and seven races remaining.
AMA PRO MOTOCROSS PODIUM
Triumph Racing have achieved a historic milestone in their AMA Pro Motocross Championship campaign, with Jalek Swoll finishing third overall at round nine of the series at the iconic Unadilla track in New Berlin, New York. Making a hugely successful return to 250MX competition after the three-week break, the team demonstrated their potential in the sport by claiming their first ever podium result
SALES & PROMOTIONS
*PLEASE NOTE - THE 20% OFF SERVICE VOUCHER IS GOOD FOR ONE USE ONLY AND IS PER CUSTOMER, NOT PER BIKE.