Trials
8 things you didn’t know about Trial biking
A look at the most interesting facts from the world of Motorcycle Trial
Trial biking might not be as big as Formula One or MotoGP but it’s no less exciting either. The sport is known to challenge the laws of physics and push the envelope of what’s possible on two wheels. The sport has two formats – Indoor as well as Outdoor; where both the formats are run as separate championships.
As we get ready for the 2017 season of Trials Outdoor World Championship, let’s take a look at some of the most interesting facts about this interesting sport.
Who's the Boss?
The reigning TrialGP champion Antoni Bou aka Toni Bou is the most successful Trials athlete in the history of the sport. With 21 Trial championships (10 Outdoor and 11 Indoor) to his name, Bou has won the championship nine times more than the British Trial legend Dougie Lampkin. Lampkin, who recently created a record for wheeling around the Isle of Mann, has won 7 World Outdoor Trial and 5 World Indoor Trial Championships. For Dougie, it all runs in the family. His father, Martin Lampkin, was won the inaugural World Trial Championship in 1975.
Montesa-Honda remains the most successful team in the Trials history. With a roster that consisted of names like Dougie Lampkin, Takahisa Fujinami and Toni Bou; the team has won no less than 19 world titles since their first Trial Constructors’ Championship in 1980.
The bike weighs less than the rider
Tipping the scales at a mere 66kg, trial bikes are the welter weight champion of the motorsport world. Trial biking remains one of the only forms of motorsport where the vehicle weights less than the rider. It’s for this reason that the riders can throw the bikes in tight angles.
Trial bikes are ideal for wheelies
1 min
How to wheelie with Dougie Wheelie
Watch trials legend Dougie Lampkin's guide to executing the perfect wheelie.
Whether you’re an amateur or a pro, everyone loves popping a wheelie. Trial bikes are perfect for it. A trial bike has six gears; the first four gears are really short with high torque. A light bike with high torque results in the vehicle popping the front wheel off the tarmac with relative ease. For this reason, a trial bike was the weapon of choice for Dougie Lampkin when he wheelied for 37.7 miles across the Isle of Man.
A trial motorcycle is as almost as good as an Olympian
In 2005, France’s Adrian Vergnault registered his name in Guinness Book of World Records by jumping a distance of 7.7 mt on his trials motorcycle without a ramp. This jump was just a meter shorter than the 8.9 mt Olympic record set by American athlete Bob Beamon in 1968.
A trial bike can climb to roof of your house
Bou holds the record for the tallest trial jump
© Nathan Gallagher / Red Bull Content Pool
During Trial Championships, riders often scale 2-3 meter high obstacles with relative ease. Antoni Bou holds the Guinness World Record for having climbed a 3.24 mt high wall on his trial bike; that’s higher than an average single storey structure.
If you love cross country trips, trial biking is not for you
The 'L' shaped white component is the custom tank
© Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool
The trial bikes have a tiny 2.7 litre fuel tank, enough to barely get out of the city. When Dougie Lampkin performed his Isle of Man run, his bike had to be fitted with a special secondary fuel tank since the stock tank couldn’t hold enough fuel to take him around the island. While there are a few dual purpose trial bikes which come with headlight and wiring mounts to make them street legal, they still have a sub-70 km range with 100-120 kmph top speed.
It’s not an individual sport
Contrary to popular perception, trial biking is not an individual sport; there’s a nation as well as a sidecar format. Trial sidecar is one of the most technical forms of trial biking where the passenger uses his/her weight to keep the vehicle stable at all times and helps the rider scale otherwise impossible heights.
Everyone loves trial biking
Trial biking has fans of all shapes, sizes and professions; anyone who’s ever been close to sport has turned a lifelong fan. Athletes from other sports often practice on Trials bike as a way to cross train and gain a finer understanding of balance, throttle and vehicle control. Its fans include MotoGP riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, Ex-F1 driver and World Endurance Champion Mark Webber, World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb and MTB legend Danny MacAskill among others.
