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Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2015 5:40 pm
by Darren Robinson
Well Done Paul we need to get the sport rolling if this means over sea imports well so be it. the problem as i see it is we lose to many people from cubman to c grade , i know we talk about practice but some people dont have the time or place ,so please look at the reason why we lose so many new members after the first 1 or 2 years and not the people who work hard for our sport. :D

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 9:36 am
by ianrogers
Good point Darren. Perhaps we should start a new thread to discuss why that is?

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:04 pm
by Twinshock200
At the risk of repeating myself time after time, the answer to loosing riders in our sport is the fear of going up a grade,,, in other words, section severity. and entry fees. Recent MQ events in Qld have been costing $40 to enter if you have a licence and giving us 24 or 32 sections to ride,,,, not value for money guys!
As for section severity,some organisers seem to be obsessed with setting sections to test the best riders so that they can make it to the upper echelons of our sport, problem is I can't recall more than a couple of riders in the last 20 years who have made any impression on the world stage
You are right Ian, we need another thread starting,
Cheers

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:04 am
by outforfun
Further to Darren's comment on why the sport loses riders. The concentration of efforts on the higher grades can be off putting. Some of us ride for fun, some ride to collect trophies. But when you see photos of any event have a look at where they are taken. How many are taken in upper grades and how many from lower grades?

If all motorsports were covered the same as trials seems to be, no one would ever know there are classes under the main ones. The MotoGP would be the only one covered, Moto2 or moto3 coverage. Formula1, well is there anything under the class of formula1? Do we want trials to go the same way?

As for the age of the bike, where this thread did originally start. Mine is 14 years old next year and running fine I see no need to upgrade. For me it is not the machine you are on, but how well you ride the course that matters. I sure wish I could ride like some of those in the covered grades, but I can't so I ride in the lower echelons and enjoy myself riding with the friends I have made in the sport.

Therein lies the crux of a catch 22 situation. If you add age restrictions on the machine like some sports do, then riders will drift away in droves as not all of us can afford the high price of a name on the tank. But we still compete alongside riders with newer machines and sometimes win. Proving it is not the machine that makes you a better rider, at the expense of the bike market itself. In years to come those good second hand bikes may become less available in future, stifling the second hand market too. (Not the right wording but you get what I mean)

I sure think we need a new thread on the direction of the sport...

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 5:09 pm
by Simon Ford
Nipper, reading your post just made me angry. You're wrong, and having a go at a bloke that does as much as Paul for our sport shows how short sighted your view is. I hate people that have a dig using an alias.

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:03 pm
by hank
It's funny this has appeared as it was something that was discussed last night by a group of trail riders I was having a beer with.

Ten blokes who ride a lot having a beer and trials bikes came up as something to train on. Not one rider was interested in competing etc as all that is seen are pros doing impossible things.

Nine out of the ten riders were keen to do a trials training day over near Ballarat and four of ten would buy a 4K training tool.

Supporting local businesses that promote the sport and as mentioned before make it seem not quite so extreme through easier line setting. Most people only know trials as blokes who ride bikes up walls

Having a source of Dealer serviced cheaper bikes can only be a good thing as it's potentially four new riders who will more than likely bring six more as they can get the tools.


.. using Tapatalk

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 1:12 pm
by bgradesherco
interesting that the last 2 trials bikes I have sold have been to riders who use them for cross training.

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 5:42 pm
by Jools
Seems from the comments that we've pretty well established that Paul is doing a positive thing for the Trials community by importing used bikes.
I can't think of ANY area of human activity that has been aided (in the long run) by maintaining a false rarity of the 'tools of the trade'. (love linux!)
Of course, competitive riders are always going to be wanting the latest and greatest, and that's as it should be, one way or another they'll be able to get on 'this years' bike. But I'll bet that there are many, many people who are more happy with a much cheaper but still usable older machine. I was lucky enough to get a 2002 Gasser a while back, which with the right rider is an A-Grade machine. It cost me less than 3k. Love it! (but I wish I could do it justice! - at least my son can).
If it had cost much more, I wouldn't have bought it at all, -I wouldn't have bought anything! The point is Nipper, that if people like Paul weren't 'lubricating the market' with second-hand machines, many people like me, wouldn't be in the market/sport at all. I'd be making a fool of myself on my ol' TL125, and my (40 years old! :shock: ) kid would be more likely riding enduro.

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2015 1:13 pm
by Terryg
Edit...

Re: Importing late model secondhand competition bikes hurts everybody.

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 9:57 pm
by Dirt_drifter
Just had idea. Next time why don't you throw a few gg cadet 80's and stuff. Second hand kids bikes seem vary rare.