In Balance

On the edge

We all like to be just a little better than the opposition.

Many years ago I was offered some bits and pieces of advice by older and wiser competitors in my chosen motorcycle sport of trials riding. This advice was along the lines of: “Three things which will improve your riding are practice, practice and more practice.” This advice was a surprise to me as I was hoping for an insight into some ignition setting or fancy attachment to bolt on to my bike which would propel me to stardom… To be honest I’m still looking for such a gizmo though after 48 years of riding perhaps such help doesn’t exist. In common with many club riders we were always certain the works riders winning weekend in, weekend out had the edge over us because their factories were totally focused on their team riders winning and if only their secrets could be known… What we often conveniently ignored was that factories were in business to sell motorcycles and if their star performer was winning on an ultra-special machine which bore little relation to the showroom model then the showroom is likely where the model would remain. Equally glossed over is the ‘edge’ the top riders had at their disposal was often themselves and their dedication to the task in hand. There were slight deviations from the standard model ethos; in the case of the British industry such changes came as the factories faced falling sales and closure and machines they were offering weren’t wanted. This situation allowed a great deal of freedom to factory team members and some nice machines, albeit in the ‘one-off’ category, surfaced. We also understood those good enough to gain a factory ride would often be expected to have a hand in developing machines or testing ideas. What this brought was a situation where the team bikes could be different from the standard machine and press releases from whichever factory it was would be along the lines of ‘exciting new developments being tested and soon to be incorporated in production machines’. Some of these riders freely admitted their involvement was to ride what was given then provide feedback to the comp shop while others knew what to do and could do it. Sometimes, in the search for an edge, things could go too far and who can forget the pic of Joel Robert crossing the finish line with his Suzuki frame held together by the clutch cable, hope and little else. This particular incident was partly responsible for a change in rules to supposedly ensure safety but probably aimed at preventing wealthy factories building one-off machines with the sole purpose of winning a GP. If an event such as the ISDT, or ‘E’ if you’re a modernist, is looked at the situation becomes more interesting as the desire for international prestige quickly transformed the laudable aims of this event from a shop window for production machines to a need to be seen winning. In attempting to gain an edge for their country, much time would be spent poring over the rule books to see what was permissible and what wasn’t. Or perhaps what could be stretched to include some things not strictly catalogue but within sight of the spirit of the event. The British industry by and large played fair with these rules and while their team bikes would have some parts not UK spec, or even complete machines not for the UK market, it was suggested the parts or bikes could be ordered from the factory. The ultimate expression of this ‘edge’ was the bikes built by Triumph for the 1973 ISDT and based on stock motorcycles. With the disarmingly simple idea of drawing a bike full size on a board and adding bits to it, the team at Triumph’s Duarte HQ – with apparently little idea of what an enduro bike should look like – created a legend. Their gaining of an edge while stretching the concept to the limit was still way behind what the other factories in Eastern Europe were doing and producing bikes with only the name on the tank bearing any similarity to the stock machine. The surprise was how well it all worked when really it shouldn’t – but isn’t this the premise behind most ‘edge’ seeking enthusiasts? So, this meandering into the world of gaining an advantage over our competition must have some point and it does. As these words are being pored over a few days before the 2022 Classic Dirt Bike Show at the Telford International Centre I’m trawling through scraps of oily-fingerprinted paper on which are hastily scribbled notes detailing the bits and pieces I hope to find within the halls and will give me my own edge against the opposition. The biggest edge I’m looking for is to have rear dampers on my Bultaco which will go up and down rather than the current units with one damper rod at a jaunty angle after a slight incident in a trial last year.

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