Greetings

Hope this won't be a 3 steps forward, 2 steps back kind of job. Was at it for 8 hours today, replaced a broken clutch pedal, then found that the clutch master cylinder is also broken and looks quite odd (not original) so I decided to replace that with a 328 one from a spare E36. Hope this will solve my clutch problems, the car has never declutched properly. It's got a 328 5 speed gearbox, clutch and slave but the master cylinder was probably from an M3. Obviously the different master cylinder was not plug and play, had to replace the clutch hose too which was easy to remove since it was made of rubber. However, the one I took off the 328 was a solid piece of pipe. Took 3 hours to get into position, there's no room for anything in that car. Annoyingly it would be dead easy if the car wasn't modified. Everything that gets in the way is a modification of some sort. So they do actually design these things with easy maintenance in mind which is a comforting thought. Put the cables back in (well, sort of). Plugged most of the sockets into the instruments/modules and the car runs! No immobiliser problems or other issues I can't find one socket for the instrument cluster, if it's where I think it is, this will set me back a few hours Anyway, with the engine running and the ABS probably being a matter of soldering a few cables this is looking fairly promising. Will finally have a nice view of the pedals for the GoPro and might just have solved my clutch problems too.

How else do you apply it? I've only really seen 1 person use this on a comp back in 2003, he used a rag soaked in thinner which he'd rub against the resin and then onto the rim. Thought that was the standard procedure. My friend used to put small pieces of resin into his disc rotor and drag it through the caliper. Improved braking performance but that was back in 2002 when there weren't any powerful brakes for stock double disc bikes. Not sure there would be any point in doing that now. Edit: resin isn't really a substitute for tar, it is for a grind (well, kind of). A coat of resin will give you braking performance (and sound) comparable to tar even when you're standing in water.

Been using this for years. You can dissolve it in nitro thinner and carry a small bottle around with you. Better even if you find a small applicator like for eye drops but which the thinner will not dissolve. Few drops on the rim, ride around dragging brake - done.

That's exactly what I had in mind writing that the timing could have been worse, it could have happened on his 350 mile long journey home and I'd end up having to collect the car with a trailer somewhere along the motorway He's still interested in the car once we sort it though.

Almost sold the M5 today. Almost, because it packed up after we agreed to head to my place and sign all the documents. That said the timing could have been worse but why did it have to break down in the first place when it's been trouble free since I've had it ?

The moment has come where: a ) My brain can no longer comprehend what went where and there's only a faint idea of how to put this back together b ) There is no mental capacity left to continue removing sockets and cables (1 harness left and I was staring at it for 20 minutes, then decided to call it a day) c ) Chances this will actually work once done are not high d ) I want to kick the guy responsible for creating this mess in the face. My main goal is to get the cables over the steering column rather than have them hang above my feet. Already cut two ABS cables by accident, it's so nice BMW decided to make them EXACTLY the same as the driver and passenger airbag harnesses. I'd love to sit down and remove the unnecessary bits from the loom but there is such a mess there that tracking each cable would take ages. There are a few cables which can definitely go but focusing on that at this stage will cause my brain to overload. A general idea of where things go is still there but I feel it's disappearing every time I move my head more violently.

I see it as something you buy if you have a lot of money to spend on your bike. In the long run it won't benefit your riding but it's a nice thing to have if you can afford it

On a quest to get the wiring loom sorted in the M. It's such an incredible mess chiefly because the car was being finished in a rush. After the clutch actuating mechanism fell apart I realized how absolutely awful the mess was under the dash. Need to get everything above the steering column and into protective pipes. Then hopefully I'll also have a good view of the pedals which I've wanted to film for ages. Dash is almost out, can't wait to actually clear things up

Really nasty that. Driver was released from hospital the following day with no injuries. Seems like getting air time could have saved the driver from more serious injury considering he didn't lose all his speed on that tyre wall.

Had an epic time during a Youngtimer party at the local track. Competition was really easy so despite not having a clutch pedal for half of the runs I still managed to win. Had to use road tyres this time - never again. And my personal favourite:

Nope. Don't think he's been on here that long.

Who was that member from ca. 2005 who worked for Nasa, made his own odd looking trials frames, worked for Intel, had a computer way ahead of it's time and kept bragging on about how amazing he was?

Haha in the last clip I love how that guy tries to maintain composure even when he's already crashing and manages to do so until the very last moment. Must be a lord of some sort.

Tower, too much valuable porn data to lose.

My guess is that it's a Mielec with some "new", fancy dropouts.

Definitely not an Adamant.

Couldn't be arsed to ride Haven't been on my bike for close to 7 weeks now. A definite "never thought this would ever happen" moment was 2 weeks ago when me and my missus went to a mountain resort I visit every year since 2005 with the best riding spots in the country. Was there for a week, didn't take the bike out from the car. Instead went sightseeing and the best memories I have from that week of riding is getting the munchies and going to an epic restaurant every day. Maybe a change in the bike could help, I've been riding the same frame for over 3 years now. Thinking about an Ozonis Cannibal, lower bb could be more interesting. Still got a month of riding left till it gets cold...

Rowan definitely gets me. What do you guys think would make comps more appealing? I've always been a fan of speed trials because there's a lot going on and you're constantly switching your attention between one rider and the other. After watching a "race" I always find myself wanting more. Perhaps easier sections, which can be completed with more flow are the way to go? This would force the more able riders to compete against the clock as they would not be getting points along the way. Having a pro complete an easy section can be equally boring as seeing him set up for a jump for ages, therefore more needs to be done in order to turn a trials section into a flowy experience, much like dirt or pump tracks which you can't pass quickly without getting a rhythm going.

Absolutely love those MX5 races. They look like so much fun, chiefly because the cars seem to be equal making it a drivers' challenge. Having watched that, I wanted to look up another video which went viral a few months ago, it was an incredibly dirty race in some kind of hatchbacks. Any link? Can't find it on youtube. Tis indeed Centre bit broke off completely.

Can't stop laughing at this. My head hurts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-mFkuSXds4 Starts roughly 1:24.

So glad TRA still releases videos. Brings me back to the days I loved riding. Riding huge as always.

Need some pictures in this thread so.... short photostory. Sometimes post updates about one of my favourite drivers ever - a fellow friend and his tatty Subaru. To me the most amusing man/car combination ever. He keeps braking things as seen on the pic below (look closely). He ended up finishing the event after all but on the last run much of the turbo came out the exhaust. Then his wife's car, the Mondeo or whatever that thing is in the pic packed up completely so rather than drive that home, it ended up on the car carrier (looking ridiculous among rally cars) and he was forced to drive that Scooby 200 miles home on rally tyres and with bits of his turbo falling out. Got to love his car, it's getting better every month. How he passes MOT's is completely beyond me, perhaps they don't pay attention to the bodywork. I know he painted that front left wing before the MOT but he ran out of paint half way through. Put some stickers on to make it look less obvious. I'm sure they didn't notice. What you wouldn't expect is that this chap is the CEO of a leading ERP solutions company. He buys new cars (usually Bimmers) and drives them until they fall apart. His 120d looked like this Subaru, except mostly in 1 colour and without stickers. Now he's bought himself a new Z4... what the car will look like in 4 years time is something everyone who knows him is looking forward to.

Amazing sight reading and rather a fun tune too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhRBGCS8mlc

Bare with me on this one. I think there's a decline in popularity of this sport everywhere. In my opinion, the chief reason for this is that trials is becoming boring. Why? Because since day one, most of us strive to jump as high as possible. There's nothing wrong with that, after all we want to clear more and more obstacles which is what this sport is about. 8-9 years ago, high bb stock frames started appearing and many people realized that these frames make it a lot easier to achieve their main goal. Nothing wrong with that either. However, high bb frames make it much more difficult to perform other, more interesting moves from a viewer's (potential trials rider's) perspective. Hence, the sport becomes less attractive and fewer people will join in. Riders who prefer to take the oldschool route now have little choice when it comes to frames. Fast forward a couple of years from the release of high bb frames and Inspired comes along with Danny, offering pretty much the same riding experience as the sport of bike trials did 10-15 years ago. Except now it's called street-trials. The evolution of street-trials bikes is going in a funny direction, like a tape playing backrwards. The bb's are lower, wheelbase is shorter and head tube angle steeper. Sounds familiar? That's the evolution of bike trials in reverse. As a result of Inspired and heavy marketing from Danny and other top riders, bike trials has evolved into two different sports - the oldschool trials (now called street-trials) and modern trials, which seems to be losing supporters because it's all about going big (even in comps) and not much else. Not having a versatile bike anymore - a mix of the two - makes newcomers less likely to chose trials because of what this sport now stands for. I've spoken to a number of people over the past months who are not affiliated with trials and almost all of them think the sport is pretty boring. Would it not be, that trials was the most fun when it was actually a blend of the two disciplines that have spawned from the oldschool riding style?