A popular brand even although it has suffered financial hardship, Gas Gas are set for a return. The new Gas Gas TXT 300 Racing, the model most awaited by the fans of Trial and two-stroke engines. The new models of the Gas Gas TXT 300 Racing will begin production in March in the renovated facilities in Salt under strict quality standards of both manufacturing and of components, as the Girona factory emerges with this strong commitment in the manufacturing of all products.
2016 Gas Gas Racing 300 – Photo: Gas Gas Motos
Highlighted by a sincere commitment to quality and for constant improvement of its TXT 300 Racing model, next week, we will reveal this new flagship of our brand in the sport of Trial, at which point full details will be available with specifications of this new model in which Gas Gas has devoted a special dedication of attention to every detail.
Also Marc Colomer has joined the Development Team at Gas Gas Motos.
Gas Gas relaunch in Gerona 2016 – Photo: John Hulme/Trial Magazine UK
Here at Trials Guru, we are always trying to bring you something interesting from the sport of trials across the world.
Gordon Farley with a photo of him on the works Montesa Cota in the SSDT – Photo: John Hulme/Trials Media
Recently we have collaborated with two other websites and two media organisations to enable our viewers to access interesting material, some of which has only been available in magazines by subscription.
John Hulme, Editor of both Trial Magazine and Classic Trial in the UK has generously made available articles on Yrjo Vesterinen, Gordon Farley and Eric Kitchen to name three personalities from the sport. As has Sean Lawless of Lawless Media UK – Trials Guru is very grateful for this level of support.
Eric Kitchen with Mike Rapley at the World Trials Championship in Spain in 1984
Photographs are sourced from a wide range of photographers and again we are very grateful to these photographers who are credited on each photograph and in the end credit listings of any articles or features. Please respect their copyright as we do.
We know from feed-back, comments on the articles and our ‘Contact’ page that you are enjoying the experience and we thank you for letting us know.
Tommy Robb was a keen trials rider in his youth and also in later life as a racer to keep fit over the winter months
Tommy Robb is a well-known Ulsterman who rode for Honda, Yamaha, Seeley, Bultaco and a whole host of private sponsors, including Terry Hill in a career that started in 1950 and went on until the mid 1970s.
Tommy Robb’s first ever trophy, won on 3rd November 1951 a time trial in Ireland
In 1962, Robb was the first non-Japanese factory rider to be signed by Honda, the year he was runner-up in the 350cc World Championships. He is a five times winner of the North-West 200 and has won the Lightweight 125cc TT in 1973.
Tommy Robb in the Hurst Cup Trial of 1953 on his DOT
He wrote an autobiography called ‘From TT to Tokyo’ a fascinating recount of a works riders life on the ‘Continental Circus’
From TT to Tokyo – Tommy Robb’s autobiography
Tommy been friends with Trials Guru representative John Moffat for some years now, having been interviewed by Trials Guru at the Scottish Motorcycle Show near Edinburgh.
Part of Tommy Robb’s impressive collection of trophies, yes those are Isle of Man TT replicas! – Photo copyright: Tommy Robb
What is not generally known is that Tommy was also a keen trials competitor both in his youth and in later years to keep fit when not travelling the world racing motorcycles.
Tommy Robb on a Bultaco Pursang in 1967 at an Irish International motocross event – Photo courtesy: Tommy Robb Private Archive
Recently Tommy had a very pleasant surprise and contacted Trials Guru.
Here is what Tommy sent Trials Guru:
“Hi Big John, – A very happy New Year to you, your family and Trials Guru’s everywhere!
I thought the attached Certificate (Factory Rider) would be of interest to you. This arrived on the 2nd January 2016, from the DOT Motorcycle Club, whilst all the major personalities were getting their Knighthoods, MBE’s, and OBE’s I was delighted to receive this award, from 1954 -1958 and inscribed:
‘Special Award made to Tommy Robb, from the DOT Motorcycle Club in recognition of your Achievements as a rider representing the DOT Motorcycle Factory in the Golden age of British Motorcycle Competition’.
This, believe it or not, dates back to the mid-fifties when I rode factory 196cc and 250cc DOTS in grass tracks, scrambles (in those days) and trials in Northern and Southern Ireland. When Burnard Scott Wade was the MD of the Company.
It was a pleasure to receive this recognition some 62 years after the period concerned when I was 18 or 19 years old at the time. To have it in my trophy cabinet at 81 years of age, amongst my TT Replicas is indeed a surprise and an honour”.
The certificate presented to Tommy Robb by the Dot Motorcycle Club in 2016
We are always looking for something different, special or unusual at Trials Guru, so we thought Trials Guru readers would enjoy this.
Trials Guru’s John Moffat (left) with great friend, Tommy Robb at the Scottish Motorcycle Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh – Photo: Trials Guru/Jean Moffat
Words – Copyright: Trials Guru & Tommy Robb – 2016
Rob Edwards on Blackwater in 1977. One of a number of photographs from Iain Lawrie that have never before been seen. Exclusive to Trials Guru. Copyright: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven.
Trials Guru friendly photographer, Iain Lawrie from Kinlochleven has just unearthed a number of photographs taken at the 1977 Scottish Six Days Trial. Many thanks to Iain for allowing Trials Guru to publish these.
Here is a link for you to explore the wonderful world of ‘Morton Motorcycle Media – Archive’.
An archive that incorporates ‘Nick’ Nicholls photographs. Have a look here.
For advertisement purposes only in low-resolution – Image available from Mortons Archive (c) – 1961 Scottish Six Days Trial. G.L. Jackson on Grey Mare’s Ridge losing the solitary one mark to win! ‘Jackson’s Dab’ – This photo should not be reproduced without permission from Mortons Motorcycle Media Limited who own the world-wide copyright to this and other images in their archives. The image was taken by Peter Howdle, at that time a staff journalist with Motor Cycle News.
Part of the Mortons of Horncastle Limited group, Mortons Media Group Limited is a commercial operation which produces a large range of magazine titles in classic & modern motorcycle areas, scootering, heritage railways, heritage transport, lifestyle and farming.
They have an extensive archive of motorcycle images and own the late Brian Nicholls Collection, which is a large trials and off-road motorcycle sport collection. Many of the stars of yesteryear are captured in action, many in black & white but also colour images taken over 100 years of motorcycle sport.
The archive is a combination of staff photographs taken by photographers of The Motor Cycle, Motor-Cycling and many other titles over the years. All these images are now copyright Mortons Media Group and may only be used by express permission and payment of fees.
Trials Guru thoroughly recommends viewing this archive, there is a search facility to find riders or machines.
You can order prints on line without the protective water-mark and these are of high quality.
Site Recommended by Trials Guru – Dedicated to the sport of Motorcycle Trials.
The ACU Benevolent Fund, the only registered UK charity that provides for motorcycle riders, has just benefited by the tune of 200 GBP from initial sales of John Moffat’s book, Motorcycle Competition: Scotland 1975-2005.
Released for sale on 30th March, 2015, it covers the four main motorcycle sports organised in Scotland during that time frame and features many of the Scottish champions who went on to British, European and even World championship status.
The book’s forward was written by eight times TT winner, Jim Moodie and has 134 pages and over 200 photographs, many never seen before from photographers such as Eric Kitchen, Jan Burgers, Graham Milne, Jimmy Young, Iain Lawrie and Ronnie Weir plus many more.
Copies are still available online through Trial Magazine UK website: Here
The ACU are delighted at receiving the sum of money, every penny of which goes to rider benefit.
During the ninteen-seventies, Honda Motor Company decided to create a purely ‘Racing’ division, separate from their normal motorcycle production activities and core businesses. This saw the advent of Racing Service Center Corporation or ‘RSC‘ for short. Later, in September 1982, they developed from RSC, Honda Racing Corporation or HRC for short, which exists to this day and controls the racing activites of Honda. HRC produce and sell racing/competition motorcycles and spare parts. The parts, although well made and of high specification, are by their nature, not warranted for street use as they are for ‘racing applications only’. HRC European headquarters are based in Aalst in Belgium. The world HQ is at Asaka, Saitama, Japan. Below we can see some of RSC & HRC’s creations over the years.
The RTL250SW was for factory Honda riders only, not available for general sale and had the single down tube frame with offset exhaust port.
1986 – SSDT Steve Saunders (Rothmans Honda RTL270SW) on Ben Nevis – Photo Copyright: Iain Lawrie, Kinlochleven
1986 – RTL270SW (270cc) Honda Racing Corporation/Rothmans Racing – with single down-tube frame and oil cooler. Strictly factory only.
Tommy Sandham’s Book – ‘Four Stroke Finale?-The Honda Trials Story’ Click… Honda/Four Stroke Finale?
John Moffat (Trials Guru) was fortunate to be permitted to take the ex-Eddy Lejeune 1982 RTL360 for a brief excursion at the Highland Classic 2 Day Trial at Alvie Estate in June 2015. This machine is now in the ownership of Jean Caillou.
The 1982 Honda/HRC RTL360 shown above was once the factory machine of World Champion, Belgian, Eddy Lejeune.
Jean Caillou, a French trials enthusiast who has a passion for the Honda brand was fortunate enough to meet with Lejeune at his home in Belgium. It was during this meeting that Eddy revealed that he still had the 1982 ex-factory machine in his possession. The RTL360 was disassembled, but all the parts were there at Eddy’s house.
Jean Caillou: “I met with Eddy Lejuene at his home and he explained that he had just bought his daughter a horse. So he presented me with the invoice for the horse and said that if I paid him the same figure that he had just recently paid for the horse, then I could have the Honda. I did not hesitate further and the deal was agreed. I had effectively paid for Eddy’s daughter’s horse, but I now owned the Eddy Lejeune 360!”
EDDY LEJEUNE:
Eddy Lejeune from Verviers, Belgium was three times FIM World Trials Champion (1982-1984) and seven times Belgian National Champion (1980-1986). He rode Honda for the majority of his trials career, switching to the Spanish Merlin in 1988 and then to the Honda owned Montesa for 1989/90 when he retired from top flight trials.
Rear view of 786GON showing the fibreglass mouldings by Butler. The Ariel was not a replica, it was Sammy Miller’s second string Ariel he used as often as GOV132, it is rumoured that Sammy simply changed the numbers over for different events. Photo courtesy of Roy A. Kerr.
Not generally known, but here we have Ariel HT500 registered as 786GON, known as ‘Sammy’s other Ariel’. During the late 1950’s and 1960’s Sammy Miller had access to two HT500 Ariels, his famous version GOV132 and the machine pictured here. The bike is now in Italy in the possession of a collector, having been owned by Jock Wilson (Comerfords) Ernie Page, Roy Kerr and Tim Beaven, plus some other individuals
Timing side view of 786GON when it was owned by Roy Kerr. The exhaust was made to blow mud off the rear tyre. The machine was fitted with Ariels alloy ‘Leader’ type hubs. Photo courtesy: Roy A. Kerr.
The machine was put on sale in early 1965 by motorcycle dealers, Comerfords Limited in Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton, Surrey along with GOV132. Comerfords having taken over the support from Ariels to Sammy Miller when the factory had ceased manufacture of trials machines. 786GON was for sale at £350, which was almost £150 more expensive than a brand new Greeves two-stroke at that time.
Arthur Fowler bought 786GON, but returned it for sale at the end of 1965 to Comerfords and Jock Wilson purchased the machine.
The motor shows its pedigree. The engine number indicates that this is no ordinary HT5, but an experimental motor EXHS 99. (Photo copyright: Roy Kerr)
After selling the bike to Harry Rayner, Wilson bought it back from another owner, John Parry, at which time Jock Wilson slowly restored the machine to its former glory.
Wilson sold 786GON to Scotsman Ernie Page, himself an accomplished trials, scrambles and ISDT competitor, who owned Page Motors in Edinburgh, who at that time had a sizeable motorcycle collection. After a period of time, Page sold the Ariel to former employee, Roy Kerr, himself a former Scottish trials champion.
After some years under the ownership of Tim Beaven, the bike was then sold to a private collector in Italy called Carlo Ramella. The Ariel lives on but in its new home in the Italian alps.
786GON at it’s current home in the Italian Alps with current owner/collector: Carlo Ramella. Photo copyright: Justyn Norek, Turin.
Justyn Norek a design consultant from Turin, made the following observations of 786GON when a test of the machine was undertaken by the German ‘Trialsport’ magazine in March 2014, here they are:
“Frame: In Reynolds 531 tubing, modified with steeper steering angle, oil in frame.
Fuel Tank: Beautifully styled in fibreglass, very light and slim design, one bolt mounting with depression in front part to allow full lock of the steering, with the fork coming close to the tank. Perfectly done by Butler Moulded Laminates, the creation of Chris Butler. Also the builder of the Butler trials machine. It has a metal logo on the top of the tank a real work of art.
Seat Base: Integrated with the rear mudguard, another artwork in fibreglass by Butler. Very slim viewed from the top, in cream white finish, synonymous with Miller’s Ariel. It also had the integration of the rear registration number plate. The seat is perfectly designed to be light and slim, but still comfortable.
Exhaust system: Starting with the beautiful curve, extremely compact and well tucked-in to the motorcycle. It terminates with a small silencer breathing out the hot expelled gasses on to the rear tyre knobs. This ingenious idea allows for cleaning of the rear tyre from any mud and leaf-mould and also warms the tyre rubber for better grip.
“… extremely compact and well tucked-in to the motorcycle. It terminates with a small silencer breathing out the hot expelled gasses on to the rear tyre knobs.” – Justyn Norek (Photo copyright: Roy Kerr)
Kick-starter and Gear Shift levers: Bored out to shave more weight from the machine.
Speedometer: Mounted to the engine plate and protected by the aluminium shield from mud etc. It is not the easiest to look at when in operation, but who looks at the speedometer during an event. This was merely an attempt to keep the machine street-legal.
Chain guard in fibreglass, neatly styled with simplicity, weight-saving and functionality.
“…Chain guard in fibreglass, neatly styled with simplicity, weight-saving and functionality.” – Justyn Norek. (Image copyright: Roy Kerr)
Front mudguard: Again in cream white fibreglass by Butler. minimal and beautifully shaped and in perfect aesthetic harmony with the fuel tank, seat base and rear mudguard units. This creates an unforgettable aesthetics of this historic motorcycle.”
Technical Specification of 786GON:
ARIEL 786GON – Technical Specifications:
Engine layout: Single cylinder, vertical cylinder in light alloy.
Capacity: 497cc
Bore & Stroke 81.8 X 95 mm
Compression ratio: 8.5: 1
Max power: 24 hp at 5800 rpm
Carburetor: Amal monobloc.
Oil system: Dry sump with double oil pump and separate oil tank.
Frame: single down front tube in Reynolds 531 steel – Weight around 14 kg.
Suspension:
Front: Hydraulic telescopic forks with sliders shortened from Norton road-holder, yokes from BSA shortened to shorten wheelbase.
Rear: Rear swing-arm on silent-block bushes with chain oil system incorporated, Armstrong shock absorbers.
Wheels: steel rims, tyres front: 2.75 x 21, rear 4.00 x 19.
Brakes: Front: drum type 180 mm – Rear: drum side type 180 mm
Main dimensions: wheelbase 1340 mm
Ground clearance 220 mm
Seat high: 810 mm
Steering head angle 63.5 degrees
Weight: 111kg.
The magazine Trialsport in Germany carried a full report using material from Justyn Norek Snr and his son Justyn Norek Jnr. If you can read German language, here is a link to the article on the internet, (you may need to right click on the link to open it):
Emma Bristow seen here with her boyfriend and fellow trials rider, James Fry at Jerez, Spain. (Photo FIM Press)
Emma Bristow, Lincolnshire, England was presented with the 2014 FIM Womens’ World Trials Championship during the FIM Gala at Jerez, Spain. Emma is also ACU British Ladies Champion 2014. Well done Emma what a year you have had!
Trials Guru, John Moffat has a quick word with FIM Womens World Trial Champion, Emma Bristow at the start of the 2014 Scott Centenary Trial in October. (Photo courtesy: Penny Hutchinson, Leeds)Sammy Miller; Emma Bristow & World Trials Champion Tony Bou at the FIM Gala in Jerez – Photo Copyright: Mark Walters Photography. Lochgilphead.
TRIALS GURU 