While there are numerous junior riders displaying some great riding skills on their OSET's at all Trial events nowadays, I'm still the only adult in Australia using an electric drivetrain in serious competition. After 4 x years on my beautiful EM Sport bikes, I can say that I very much enjoy my riding which has translated into some good results on the days when i'm riding well. It is interesting to note that I get many people asking me questions about the EM at events. Questions like- 'what's the battery range for that thing?', I wish I had a dollar for every time I got that one. Justin Gough has figured how to effectively sledge me at events like mates do, asking me such questions, watching me twitch.
Any dedicated Trialista will tell you that Trial practice is the key to success in competition. So, the season began in December 2017 really. Out training for at least one day every weekend with my good mates Jason Cunliffe, Andrew McDonald-Smith and Aki Nagao, somewhere...on the rocks. We have all seen some improvement in our riding over the year.
Queensland Championships- Western Districts set some interesting sections at 'Rockatoo' for the event. Rain on Day 1 made the sections very slippery, I struggled to make a good decision as to what sections to try first and when as the rain was patchy. Was a bit dissapointed with my ride in A-grade. Day 2 was totally different, the sun was out, I was feeling much more confidant after having a good warm up in the practice area in the morning. Had some great rides on the day and drove home happy with 4th place.
New South Wales Championships- A healthy Qld. contingent attended the very well set and run event at Pacific Park. I rode the Masters grade and enjoyed the event despite my errors like missing arrows and breaking the tape with back tire knobs, you know what i'm talking about. The red lines looked brilliant. The green lines looked mental in some places but Kyle Middleton made neat work of negotiating them.
Victorian Championships- I had last won the A-grade title here in 1993 on my GasGas, which at the time were strange and new. The sections at Mt Bolton were of the classic Victorian variety- big grippy rocks. I promised my wife, Abi that it is sometimes cold and wet in Vicco. Day 1 did deliver on that, day 2 was again bathed in sunshine and picture perfect with the fields of golden canola in the background. The Qld contingent mustered up great spirit and collected many sashes at the presentation. I was surprised to win an A-grade title at age 49 years. 'Mate, how long does that thing take to charge up?' Alot of interest in the EM in technology savvy Victoria. Then there is the question- 'You can't stall that thing'. My response to that is- "I guess you could have a starter motor fitted to your petrol bike", "give us a break, i am zero emission".
Australian Championships- The rocks of Sedgwick were cleverly arrowed to make the class I rode, Trial 2 (red line) absolutely brilliant. The sections setters took us on a 'grand tour' of the property. Both Mitch Green and I agreed that we lost points in a random way in different sections. To string together one really good lap felt like an achievement. Again, drove home happy from the 'Aussies' with third to Mitch and Brad Bryant. We did 3 x laps of the course on both days, not like those pussy 'Green Line' riders doing 2 x laps. Only joking, the top experts which included Brent and Bruce from South Africa, were a pleasure to watch ride the Sedgwick lines.
The business of Electric Motion in Australia. There are 24 x known EM's here in Australia, I have a good relationship with the factory and maintain an inventory of EM spare parts. The French factory seek someone in Australia to continue with importing and distributing the bikes here. They have an exciting newTrial model called the 'E-pure' to be released in 2019. This is an opportunity for the forward-thinking business person to considder. I am very content maintaining my role as an EM rider here in Aus. My primary business (Tamborine Blinds and Awnings) keeps me very busy, happy to talk to anyone about the continuation of EM.
Richard Kent p-0405 631 655
e- tamborineblinds@bigpond.com
ps. Actual run/riding time for EM Sport is 160 minutes and it takes about 90 minutes to charge-up with the 10 amp charger.