12/1/14 - A brilliant trial yesterday , but 2 little issues found on the 2014 Jotagas - tweaking will sort :)

1/12/2014

Yesterday the 12th of Jan 2014 i rode the Alton Mcc club trial at Butser Hill. This was the first time i had ridden a trial at this venue as previously i had been setting it out the trials here , so it was nice to have a good blast.
You can see what the bottom on the quarry looks like at Butser. This photo was taken in December 2013/

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

This photo was taken yesterday. This just hsows how much rain weve had here. the place is completely flooded .First thing in the morning the approach slope down to water was covered in. ice. If you havent been here recently , the far left of the photo was the location of the huge chalk step made famous and filmed at the 1988 World round , when Jotagas Steve Saunders won.

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

So it was cold and there was a fine mist in the air . The grey clouds over head got the more experienced and aged riders promising rain ( theyre not usually wrong)

So 5 laps of 8 sections it was , set out by long term Alton stalwart Mick Coles.

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Only the stragglers at the end of the day had their photos taken :)

Here are a few pictures i took of the day. Alton club trials dont have expert routes , and i was a little worried that some of the expert riders might have been disappointed . I neednt have worried as the section and drizzle stiffened up the sections just right. All of the sections could have taken marked off good novice riders.
Reynard Norris was witnessed falling off for the first time this decade ripping his ridding trousers from knee to hip. It didnt bother him though and he climbed back on .

Here is a good photo of the very capable and experienced rider Peter Penton on a very tricky section indeed. Many riders on modern bikes didnt get through this at all. From the bottom you have to really hit this bank hard , and clear the furtherest blue marker in the air. It was so slippery , that if you failed to jump it far enough , you would just spin to a halt and slip back .

Peter is on good form here ...............but

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

he wasnt fast enough and span to a halt. To be fair he is on a 125cc GasGas and it just didnt seem to have the punch out of the bottom to make the jump.

It didnt stop here though , Pete lost traction and went backwards further. The pictures doesnt do it justice

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Here Steve Sell bravely goes on his Ossa Mar where others on their Jotagas's and Gasgas' fail :).

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Here is another view of the same section. You can here see Sam Rolls getting some air time on his 125cc GasGas. Sam rode really well as always , but this section caused him real problems. It looks like Sam is smoking a fag , but i can assure you he isnt ha ha , its just my rubbish shutter speed. .

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Here is Sam's dad, 90's Hamilton Yamaha sponsored David Rolls showing him how its done. You can see David really charging hard at the bank on his Montesa 315. You needed to go this fast or you just weren't up it. This was technical trials this was balls out trials.

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

This was the one of sections that got riders talking and some of them a little worried.
First ou had to ride up Hampshire's version of Laggan lochs, then you have to ride over this greasy grassy camber onto the bank top. You then turned sharp left and went down a very very steep back to a chalky slimy path beneath. This is the 3rd lap and riders and still watching it , it was that nasty. The left lime down to the bottom would have you in the under growth. the right line down the bank would try and have you over the bars.

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

You then turned sharp left and went down a very very steep back to a chalky slimy path beneath. This is the 3rd lap and riders and still watching it , it was that nasty. The left lime down to the bottom would have you in the under growth. the right line down the bank would try and have you over the bars.

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

After turning on the greasy path you then turned left , up the path , then left again up the steep bank. You can tell the steep angle by Mick Marshalls body position.

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David had a problem here on lap and couldnt quite get up the bank. It was time to clear the Mont out

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Lets rev its some more. Im sure the old Yams used to grip best on full chat. Yes David , but they only revved to 3000 RPM , not like the Mont . The piston was knocking to come out :)

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It wasnt all trouble. On this lap he flew up.

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Here Craig Daffin looks like a man on a mission. This year Craig is tacking the nationals , with yours truly and Kevin Nolan. It should be a laugh. Craig's going to be my catcher on the steps :)

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I dont know this rider's name and should do. He's a nice guy and weve ridden around twice now. Some of the climbs were 4th gear flat out with some nice air time at the top.

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

Why did i take such few photos? . Because i was riding the trial. The only photos were taken of the stragglers at the end of the trial , when most people had had the sense to get out of their wet clothes and go home.

Anyway .... back to where we started. The Jotagas performed brilliantly. I had stiffened up the front and rear suspension quite significantly and really though this helped in holding a better line. The 2014 Jotagas works brilliantly. Its the lightest bike out there. It is superb quality . it performs brilliantly and it looks darn pretty. This is my second Jotagas and im converted .......

However , they can always be improved. My bike pinks slightly when hot. It always has done and it did do today. Ive fitted a mud flat to the front mudguard to stop mud getting in the radiator. (THIS IS A MUST - DO IT OR REGRET IT). Make one from an old plastic Oil bottle. Despite this and the radiator being clear it still pinked. i will raise the needle on the carb to try and eliminate this.

Secondly , the old problem of the chain tensioner arm rubbing on the tyre (at low pressures) reared its ugly head again. On muddy day like this i was running 2 psi in the rear. Well , the Spaniards dont run the tyres so low so they wont know about this. The tyre side wall rubs on the chain tensioner side arm and wastes horsepower by a fairly significant degree.

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The chain tensoner arm that rubs is about 4m thick . It neednt be. I took mine (on my previous model ) down to 2 mm with a flap wheel on an angle grinder . this really helps with the problem. The last thing you want is the drag sapping power.

In this picture you can see how close the arm is , ans this is with a fully inflated tyre.

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Mud splattered but happy at the end of the day

The Jotagas JTG 300 Diary

These little things can be sorted out in the garage. If you are reading this Josep Pibernat and Paco Roldan from the Jotagas factory ( and i will make sure they see it ) , please correct these two things . Thank you :)