April Club Night
Dave is a member of Trail Rides for
East Kent and brought along his well-
used XT225 trail bike to show us.
Trail riding kicked off in America and
then spread to the UK but, at that time,
off-road bikes were not being
manufactured and it was
basically converted road bikes
that were used. Even in
the early 60s there
were no real
purpose built
trail bikes. One
of the first
examples was the
BSA Bantam but
really we had to wait
until the Japanese
started to build real trail
bikes. It was not until the
late 60s that the Trail Rider
Fellowship was formed.
Nowadays, many bikes are
available - 4-stroke or 2-stroke –
there is no need for a large capacity
bike, 200-300cc will do as they are far
more manoeuvrable and easy to pick
up when you fall off (which you will).
Trail Rider kit is not made of leather as
textiles are easy to wash when you
finish covered in mud. Dave went
through all the kit needed from top to
toe.
Trail riders learn greater balance,
clutch and throttle control - all of which
enhances road riding enormously.
Trail riding is confined to legal
byways open to all traffic and
old country roads and also
“with permission” on private
land. There is still
considerable opposition
from ramblers and
horse riders so it is
advisable for your
bike not to have
a loud exhaust.
There is room
for all on the
legitimate byway
roads; it is those who
venture off these designated
routes, either on bike or 4x4, that
get all motorised off-road riding a
bad name.
Many thanks to Dave Rolfe for his
informative talk.
IL
Talk by Dave Rolfe
Club News
Fancy a go at off-roading?
After this month’s guest speaker had finished his talk a few members got
chatting to Dave Rolfe about having a go at off-road riding. Martin and Nigel
followed up the discussion, and after Dave had spoken to the TREK club, came
back to us with some ideas.
EKAM have been invited by TREK motorcycle club to firstly watch their
competitive event and later try off-road riding for ourselves on Sunday 2nd
August.
Trek will start their event at 0900 and finish around lunch time. This is a
competitive/fun event for TREK members.
During the afternoon EKAM members get the chance to have a go at off-
roading, starting at a basic level on
a open field and moving on to a slightly
more difficult wooded area when
capable.
The bikes will be on loan from TREK
members.
This whole event will be run on private
land.
Cost will be £10.
There will be a barbeque afterwards.
Only full EKAM members are eligible for
this event.
Register your interest with Martin Nash
as soon as possible:
