Honiton scramble 2011.

[dave higgins]

Hi all, the classic scramble at honiton on sunday, features twinshock races & a quad class, now i have never seen quad bikes racing, so i`m looking forward to that, but i`m just wondering if quads rip up the track more than sidecar outfits or are they kinder to the track because of the tyre width.
I imagine the track would be on the wider side as well, like i say, i have no knowledge of quad racing, so this is going to be a first for me. dave.

[Brian Catt]

I can't get on with quads, every time I've ridden one, I've ended up in a ditch. They are the worst of both worlds, a 4 wheeler with handlebars.

[tony]

It is all in the technique

I am not that good on a quad, but my son has a Honda fuel injected 700 which he can do amazing things and go places I would shudder to go. It is all about the skill - and you want to see it rip through the snow. I reckon I will get one when I can't hold up the bike

[Brian Catt]

The problem I've found is that the skills you learn on a solo go against you on the quad. I always try to lean it into a bend instead of steering it. That lightens the important outside wheels which then loose traction and steering! Come to think of it, I gave up trying to drive a sidecar as well!If it gets so bad I can't ride a solo, I will have to get a Kawasaki Mule.

[John-Boy]

I shall be spectating at Honiton on Sunday and riding the Challenger at Maylandsea next Sunday.

Dave (Higgins) and I rode in the Dorset Classic Scramble last Sunday, he on his Griffon and me on the Challenger - the only two Greeves there. A very fast course (flat-out in third gear on one bit and pretty fast in top gear on another) no jumps or mudholes.

The track was soon pot-holed by the many 'Twinshocks' and the topsoil was worn away on the corners leaving a very slippery chalk surface. A few drizzly showers but mostly dry and sunny. The aches and pains have almost gone!

[dave higgins]

Hi john, thanks for not mentioning the crash!!, i think i got away with that one..., ( gravity hurts.. ).
Dorset was a fast track though, yet for a twinshock it was probably a walk in the park, the club runs an excellent event, but does tend to use very fast courses to cater for the t/shocks.
i`m hoping honiton will be a bit more twisty, tight corners & jumps etc, but anything will do, as its the last one of the year, ( for me anyhow ).
Either way, with such a varying range of machines, its going to be interesting.. dave.

[dave higgins]

Well, i thought the new devon mcc track was excellent, very well rutted on the uphill climbs, but twists, turns, uphill jumps, everything really, i hope it was popular all round, so this can be a regular fixture.
The track definately got better as the afternoon went on, the t/shocks as usual putting the ruts in, with the quads going round after levelling it off.
Very impressed with the quads though, they certainly don`t hang about, there was one young lad that was flying, i think he was probably made of elastic the way he was all over the bike.
But thats the last scramble in the s/west this year, so best wishes to all the lads riding in the m/sea finally this w/end, hope you all have a good day & the weather lasts. dave

[Brian Catt]

I think the Maylandsea track needs a bit of rain on it before the weekend. The ground in the SouthEast is extremely dry and hard at present. I know, I'm trying to dig a tree out at present.

[Colin Sparrow]

Thoroughly endorse that! Don't want to get my camera dusty!

[ADickerson]

Yep, I'll second that Colin. I reckon if there's no rain before the weekend we'll all be disappearing down the cracks in the baked out clay down there! I was speaking to Greg Radley at the Copdock Bike show this last Sunday and he tells me that the Farmer has a bowser already for the Club to use. Apparently Greg built it for him! Good on yer Greg, could be a life, or at least, a camera saver then.