What is trials?

Observed trials events are comprised of a series of generally short courses over which the participants ride their motorcycles and are scored by observers according to how well they ride through the course. These short courses are known as "sections". Whenever the rider places his or her foot down, falls over, or accidentally leaves the outer boundaries of the section, they are given a penalty, called a "point". The maximum penalty per section is five points. If a rider completes a section without garnering any points, they have "cleaned" the section. The points the rider is given for each section are aggregated over the event. The winner of the event is the rider with the lowest score.

Trials originated in England in the early 1900's. The longest-running trials event is the very popular Scottish Six Days, held over a six-day period in May of each year, which began in the 1920's, interrupted only during the Second World War and the recent bout of mad-cow disease.

In the U.S., trials gained traction during the late 1950's and early 1960's, with the formation of trials clubs like the Pacific International Trials Society ("PITS") in California's bay area. An annual national trials series began in the 1970's, which was the hey-day of trials in the U.S. The United States even produced a World Trials Champion in the form of Bernie Schreiber during that period. Idaho had a very active trials scene in the mid-1970's and produced some very talented riders, including Keith Adams, who competed in the national series for years and continued to win National Championships in the age-banded classes up into the 1990's.

However, once the Japanese dropped production of their trials bikes toward the end of the 1970's, trials entered a dormant state across most of the U.S., with only a few areas continuing on with ongoing trials meet schedules. The World Trials Championship continued to receive FIM attention and several surviving manufacturers maintained teams to contest it. In the 1990's companies like Spain's Gas Gas and Montesa, along with France's Scorpa, and Italy's Aprilia and Beta, revolutionized their motorcycles, leading directly to the outstanding crop of trials bikes we have available today.

The new-era trials bikes are incredible. Light-weight (150-160 lbs.), excellently suspended, and powered by liquid-cooled motors, these bikes are both controllable and flickable with the power to allow you to scale impressive obstacles. They also make excellent trail and exploration bikes. They are very quiet, comfortable to ride, with high-traction, low-ground pressure tires.

Click on the icons at left to see the trials motorcycles available today.