An Introduction to Motorcycle Trials Riding and Competition

This year has started off really well for the Dirt Rider team with lots of bike tests as well as new experiences for some of the crew, one being the 2024 Beta Trials Press Challenge. The last time the event was held was in 2018, which fellow test rider Evan Allen and staff photographer Jeff Allen participated in. Both returned this year with Evan as a rider and Jeff shooting photos, and I was asked to join as a rider too. It would be my first time riding and competing on a trials motorcycle, and one of only a handful of times Evan had swung a leg over one.

The Beta Trials Press Challenge was once again hosted at MotoVentures and consisted of several media outlets in teams of two, who share a Beta trials bike and take turns riding five sections over the course of two loops—similar to a regular trials competition but shorter. I was admittedly a little nervous as my 20 years of riding experience up until then was strictly motocross riding and racing, and some light trail and OHV riding.

Knowing better than to assume I was going to be great out of the gate, I even told the Beta USA crew I was ready to be humbled. Nevertheless, I was excited to take this opportunity, learn from some experienced riders in the sport, and most importantly, have fun trying a whole different type of off-road motorcycle riding.

Related: 2024 Beta Evo Trials Bikes First Look

After the morning’s riders meeting, we got acquainted with our 2024 Beta Evo Factory 200 putting roughly an hour and a half of footpeg time on it prior to trying any official sections. With literally zero trials riding experience, I knew I had to make the most of the time to practice basic techniques and get used to riding over obstacles.

The feel of a trials bike is soft overall with its suspension setup and gummy tires. Of course, they’re super lightweight compared to a dirt bike, and power delivery is quite surprising too. Even with a small-displacement carbureted liquid-cooled two-stroke 195cc single-cylinder engine, the Evo Factory 200 offers pretty decent torque. Its hydraulic clutch pull is very smooth and easy to modulate, which is crucial for such finesse riding.

We began working on some smaller log and rock obstacles and EnduroCross-style concrete tubes near the pit area. I’m not kidding when I say, as a rider, never before had I looked at a rock or stack of logs with the idea of launching over it, so naturally I was slightly nervous but wasted no time and started committing to hitting these obstacles. Evan and I pushed each other to figure them out, and had plenty of assistance and guidance from talented individuals such as advanced rider Chris Cullins and Beta USA trials team manager Ray Peters.

It wasn’t long before the Liqui Moly Beta USA trials team pro rider duo of Alex Niederer and Cole Cullins rode over to put on a show of their awesome skills. I still can’t wrap my head around some of the stuff they were able to do on their Evo Factory 300s. They all offered a lot of useful knowledge that really helped us avoid making beginner-type mistakes, and our progression was really starting to show not long into our practice session. Roughly an hour into my first time on a trials bike, I felt comfortable getting over a triple stack of logs—something I never saw myself being able to do before.

Related: How Much Power Does A Trials Bike Make?

One great perk of being on Team Dirt Rider is we had a secret weapon. It just so happens our team leader Andrew Oldar is quite the experienced trials rider himself and spent a lot of years in the sport at the National level. He advised not to focus entirely on hitting obstacles as you have to make a lot of tight turns in trials events. We appreciated Andrew’s idea to warm up on some practice sections before we got into the observed sections.

After about 30 minutes of working through our little pit-area course, again seeing improvement, we were as ready as we could get before we rode between the official section tape for the first time. With how focused we were on practice, we actually missed lunch. The time went by very quickly because trials is fun to practice and learn! With some experience under our belt, we grabbed our loop cards (which the observers punch holes in to indicate how many, if any, points riders get in each section) and went out on the loop to section 1.

Trials events have different gates that determine which class rides where and over what obstacles. There’s also tape on each side of the section that dictates the outer parts of the course (kind of like Tuff Blox in AMA Supercross and the yellow track markers in Pro Motocross). Beta USA’s sections had two classes with an easier B line and a more advanced A line. Right away, Evan and I decided to ride through the A gates. I wanted to get better by the end of the day and knew challenging myself would be the best way to do so.

Andrew, Evan, and I walked the first section and developed a game plan on line selection and the best way to approach the more challenging parts. Surprisingly, I wasn’t too nervous to get started in the competition despite wanting to do the best I could, progress, and see improvement. I quickly found out I liked riding each section after everyone else as it allowed time to watch how others were (or weren’t) getting through sections and the opportunity to try to learn from their success or mistakes.

Coming into it with too much intensity, I scored a 3 in my first go at section 1. As far as scoring, a 3 is given to anyone who puts their feet down three or more times in a section before reaching the exit. There’s no such thing as a 4 in trials—just 0, 1, 2, 3, or 5. Lowest score at the end of the day wins, similar to a round of golf. Stoked to get through the first section without the maximum penalty of 5, little did I know the sections would become even more challenging.

Related: Dunlop Geomax Trial TL01 First Look

My scores in sections 2–5 were pretty much all 5 points apiece on the first loop as there were many tight corners and large obstacles that proved to be quite difficult. Section 4 was especially tough with a series of supertight turns at the end, which I think every media rider scored a 3 or 5 in. It literally didn’t look possible to get through that part of the zone without going out of bounds (which results in a 5). Evan and I struggled quite a bit in that part of the section, then watched Andrew ride through it with ease. I just smiled knowing how green I was to this game.

I wanted a better loop on the second go-around, and after giving thought to what I was struggling with, I realized it was too much speed in most areas and stopping in turns that was costing me a lot of points. Maintaining proper body position was something else to keep in mind, as balance is crucial in trials. Putting too much weight on one leg or arm can completely throw off your balance.

In being more controlled on the bike, and focusing on the body position and techniques everyone was helping me with, an improvement on the second loop was entirely possible. My only concern was that I was admittedly becoming pretty gassed, as standing up the entire time you’re on a trials bike really wears you out. Not to mention all the pushing and pulling of the bike one has to do when dabbing their way to the end of a section. After cruising back to the car to get some water, I proceeded to make my way over to section 1 once again to start the second loop.

If there was a section to score a 0 (or clean) in, this was it. Section 1 wasn’t super technical, so all I had to do was stay balanced and controlled. I badly wanted to get at least one clean ride for the day, so focus was extra high here. I got some wheelspin going up a hill, which caused me to put a foot down, but managed to stay on the pegs the rest of the way to score a 1. Despite being a little bummed, 1 point is better than the 3 scored the first time.

At this point in the trial, I felt way more relaxed and focused on riding the sections slowly rather than rushing. Navigating through the tricky parts of section 2, just one foot down yielded another score of 1 on the loop card. Fresh off getting through the first two sections drastically better than my first time around, I came into section 3 happy, but knew there were challenges ahead. So I sharpened my focus and went for it. Section 3 brought a score of 3, with admittedly more dabs (feet on the ground) than that!

With the remaining two zones being the most difficult, I wanted no worse than a 3 in each of them. The first half of section 4 went much better than before, but those wickedly tight turns at the end got me again. I was well beyond three dabs and just trying to walk the bike through to the end, but stalled the engine for the first time all day!

If a rider stalls their bike in a section, keeps their feet up (as in not touching the ground), and kickstarts the bike back to life, they’re still on whatever score they were before the engine stopped running. However, in the case of a stall and then putting one’s foot down, that’s a 5, which is what happened to me and what I scored in section 4. It was my first maximum score on that loop, which was a bummer because it was a silly one.

Section 5 on the second loop was the final observed ride of the day, and the goal of getting through with a 3 had me highly motivated to make it to the end gates. After reaching the halfway point without many mistakes, the second half with tight corners and big rocks going uphill held me up. Once unstuck, I was on a 3 and just needed to get to the exit. Unfortunately, I missed the last gate and that resulted in another score of 5. Just like that, my trials career was over before it began, but it was an amazing time!

With Evan’s and my loop cards turned in and reflecting on the day afterward, I can’t emphasize to readers how much fun I had riding trials with Beta! They’re a stand-up group of motorcycle enthusiasts who are passionate about all things trials, off-road, supercross, and motocross. It was awesome to get peg time with not only Beta USA’s pro riders, but also the staff that work for the Paso Robles, California–based organization. They suited up and rode with us, and lent us every bit of advice and experience they could. I had never been to or participated in an event with a company being so hands-on with us. I truly appreciate the opportunity to try trials, and learned so much from it.

I showed up a little nervous because I’ve seen people do some wild things on trials bikes, but it offered a great opportunity to push my boundaries, learn, and have that same level of newness and fun from when I started riding dirt bikes two decades ago. It was very safe, not just from my dirt bike riding experience but also having Beta out there giving us crucial pointers on technique. That’s all stuff that will stick with me forever. Not to mention the skills learned on a trials bike help a rider become well rounded, which makes me even more glad I came out for it.

During the entire drive home, I was just smiling from ear to ear about the experience. Remembering when I used to work at MotoVentures several years ago with the late founder and owner Gary LaPlante, he always told me how much fun trials riding is and that if I had a chance to ride a trials motorcycle, I should. He was right.

In just a day, I gained a whole new level of respect for trials riders. The time they put into their craft shows, especially when a new rider to the sport like myself goes and tries it. You can see their experience and how much you don’t know if you’ve never done it before or are new to it. I hope to find myself owning a trials motorcycle someday, just for the sole thrill of going out and finding cool lines to ride as well as improving my skills in the fine art of trials riding.

Helmet: SMK Allterra Fulmine

Jacket: Alpinestars Session Race

Jersey: Alpinestars Fluid Lurv

Gloves: Alpinestars Radar

Pants: Alpinestars Fluid Lurv

Boots: Alpinestars Tech 10

Helmet: Arai VX-Pro4

Jacket: Fly Racing Patrol

Jersey: Fly Racing Kinetic Kore

Gloves: Fly Racing Pro Lite

Pants: Fly Racing Kinetic Kore

Boots: Sidi Atojo SRS