Cut out lanyards for trials bikes

[Geoff Lewis]

Hi All, Looks like lanyard kill switch will become compulsory, much like the dreaded "Shark Fin" for the rear sprocket (Have you fitted yours yet?). Generally, starting the bloody thing is a problem ,not stopping it!
Regards Geoff.

[The Hell Team]

Hi
I totally agree with Kevin and his eloquently put summation of the new rule.
Just on a technical point the switches work exactly like the the regular kill button found on bikes now - they complete the circuit diverting the power to earth, rather than to the spark plug.
The lanyard kill switches most commonly found in Trials are Leonelli and come with a one eye connection (for the earth to frame) and one bullet connector. It is a direct replacement for a current kill switch and should only take a few minutes to swap over. At worst you may have to change the bullet connection for a spade, or the old cut, twist and tape!
Replacement lanyards can be purchased separately for the Leonelli units, but there is also lots of other brands and configurations. They are used extensively in ATV and Speedway competition, and are a distinct safety initiative protecting riders, minders, spectators and the bike.

[TerrY]

The wording of the rule has been carefully thought out. It says that the lanyard must be attached to the rider during operation.
People are fallible and they may not always attach the lanyard to their wrist ( or body part ). I remember the World Round in Victoria last year. A famous rider parted company with his bike at the top of a sheer rock valley but the motor was still running with the bike on it's side. The rider rested for a moment hanging onto his minder who was holding onto a long rope. He rested a moment too long as the vibration of the motor caused the bike to ever so slowly disappear down the 15m rocky valley to the bottom causing a lot of damage to the bike. The lanyard rule applied here but by human error the lanyard was not attached to the rider.
How will the rule be enforced? By the observer I guess. Another complication for the observer. What will be the penalty?? I guess this needs to be incorporated into the Mototrials rules before making final publication. The penatly should involve points (eg 5) so the observer can record the offence easily and the rider will take notice. Does anyone else have an idea on this?
I recently helped a Classic rider who had fallen in a section and he was under the bike uninjured. The bike had a problem which made it almost impossible to start. The rider had the clutch in and was keeping the engine running but was unable to move. He vigorously requested that we keep the engine runnig while we lifted the bike and he scrambled out. He was then able to resume the normal riding position and get the bike out of the very awkward position in the section. This would have not been possible with a lanyard.
Equally I have seen an expert rider crash in a stadium event and the bike fell to the floor with the throttle wfo and the rider elsewhere. The bike did about 3 rounds of the stadium on its side with many people scrambling to try to get it stopped. Hilarious now but a real danger to a lot of people at the time.
In balance, I agree that the rule is good rule with a clear definition of enforcement and the penalty required. I like David Lahey am not looking forward to the costs associated with fitting a number of bikes.
Food for thought.
Cheers,
TerrY

[Lloyd]

I've got one on my Gas Gas now, after an unfortunate complete brain fade from myself which resulted in far too many revs and melted piston rings. I really don't want that to happen again and neither does the bank balance. They're very cheap insurance, I don't think I'd have a bike now without one.
You'll soon learn to check if it's correctly in place after trying to start it with it still hanging from your wrist a few times.

[kevin_zar]

Terri,
Great that see you were watching closely at the world trial...there is a explanation for what you witnessed ( I saw it from the bottom of that rock...here comes the bike!)
At the time of our world round last year, the FIM rule was poorly written, in that it said a lanyard cutout had to be fitted to the bike....but it did not say it had to be attached to the rider.
The FIM had to issue a rule fix later in the year, after our world trial, that reads just like the proposed rule for Oz, where it must be attached to rider.
It was a little loop hole the riders used, that was later closed. The world riders initially found it easy to forget to put the lanyard on too, but now the observer does not let the rider into the section until they see the rider has the lanyard attached. This is how it is observed, and so far no rider has received a penalty for failing to have the lanyard attached..

Hope this helps,
Kevin Zarczynski.

[Buelligan]

Shame I didn't have one on my recently finished TY350R after it went skyward, on a hill climb, then over my shoulder and then landed on its wheels before shooting off downhill before launching off a drop off and landing square on its side and smashing the clutch cover and basket !!
Funny thing is I had a Leonelli magnetic lanyard kill switch in my spares box!!! Didn't do me any good in there eh !!

[oldslowcoach]

Thank you for the technical help, I hadn't grasped the fact that pulling the lanyard out makes rather than breaks the circuit. On another matter, I am just about to purchase an electric Osset type bike for my eight year old,
• Will mini bikes need a lanyard?
• Does an Osset type bike have one fitted as standard?
• Can one be fitted to its primary ignition circuit?

Moving forward, I will be interested to see how Bultacos go with the lanyards. Watching trials in the late seventies, no amount of pressing the kill button would stop a terminally revving Bulto on its side. It usually required a nearby rider wearing gloves to pull the plug cap off. Hopefully the lanyard will work better

osc

[David Lahey]

A major benefit of using a lanyard switch compared with a button switch is that it operates before the engine is in a runaway state, so is very likely to stop the motor, even on a Bultaco

My kids rode an OSET 16 for a couple of years when they were smaller and those bikes do need particular care with use, mainly because of some people's tendency to fiddle with the controls of other people's parked bikes. How many times have I seen people feel the action of a clutch lever or give the throttle a twist on someone else's parked bike? With an OSET, a throttle twist on a parked bike can give people quite a fright when the bike suddenly leaps into life. My kids had it drummed into them to only turn the underseat key on with their right hand, when they were seated on the bike, to avoid such dramas.
I'm pretty sure a lanyard switch could be put to use on an OSET. They have a power supply relay controlled by the keyswitch which could alternately be controlled by a lanyard switch that opened when the lanyard was pulled.

[TerrY]

Kevin,

Thank you for the explanation regarding the history of the rule.
In a World Trial there is a team of 4 Observers per section with 1 person as starter. It is easy for the starter to not let the rider into the section without the lanyard attached.
In our trials, there is only 1 observer if we are lucky. This observer is always at the end to mark the rider and is often unable to see if the rider has a lanyard attached before the rider enters. They will see at the end of the section but it could be too late then.
Does the International rule have a penalty attached for non compliance?
I just think this needs to be thought out before the rule is introduced so there is no confusion for officials and riders.

Cheers,
TerrY

[Samy]

I think they're a great idea. I have one which i will be fitting to my bike.

cheers