VOLUME 57 ISSUE 45 NOVEMBER 10, 2020 P93
shock providing 6.9 inches in the rear.
This combo allowed even a beginner like
myself to pogo the bike around and nego-
tiate tougher sections with relative ease.
Up next was the TXT300, the same
bike ridden by GasGas pro Daniel Blanc-
Gonnet. This 300cc machine looks nearly
identical to the 125 and 250 models from
the outside, as all three bikes feature the
same chassis and bodywork. The power,
however, was much different. The low-end
grunt on the 300 was much stronger than
the 250 and allowed me to easily tackle
that technical climb that Murphy and
Beckett challenged me to earlier. Unfor-
tunately for me, they weren't watching this
time and are surely saying "pictures or it
didn't happen!" All joking aside, the 300
is a beast of a machine and also a blast to
ride. It packs a serious punch in a com-
pact design that's easy to handle yet able
to conquer any obstacle in its way.
After boosting my confidence on what
were certainly the most beginner sec-
tions, I called it a day and headed over to
watch the pros do their thing. This week-
end's event was a double header, hosting
rounds two and three of the SoCal Trials
Association's Moto-Trial Championship on
Saturday and Sunday, respectively. More
than 100 entries spanned the two-day
event, with four pros on hand for Satur-
day's round. I had never seen a trials event
in person and was certainly in for a treat.
It's a quiet environment. Riders come
up to a section and are allowed to first
walk it before taking their "race run." The
walk-through gives them the chance to
pick their lines and assess the difficulty
of the obstacles. They then fire up their
(Left) Karl Davis
defies gravity with
lots of torque,
power and
traction—not to
mention a little
bit of skill! (Right)
Participants were
treated to an
actual observed
trials competition,
which included
some of the
sports' best, such
as (L-R) Karl Davis,
Josh Roper and
winner Daniel
Blanc-Gonnet.
