Motorcycle trial
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A motorcycle trial (also referred to as "observed trials") is a non speed event on specialist motorcycles. The sport is most popular in the UK and Spain. The event is split into observed sections where the rider has to ride through a natural obstacle without touching the ground with their feet. In every section, the competitor is observed to see how many times he or she touches the ground with their foot. Each time a competitor touches the ground with a foot, they are penalized one point. The possible scores in each section consist of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 5. If a competitor makes their way through the section without touching the ground with their foot, they are given a score of 0 (called "cleaning the section"). If they touch the ground only once, they are given the score of 1. If they touch the ground twice, they are given the score of 2. If they touch the ground three times, they are given the score of 3. Once a competitor has touched the ground with their foot (called a "dab") three times, their score will remain at 3 as long as they complete their way through the section. In other words, even if they touch the ground 4 times, they will only be given a score of 3, provided that they make their way through the entire section. If the competitor fails to make their way through the section (by falling or stalling the motorcycle, for example), they are given the score of 5 for the section. The winner is the person with the least points at the end of the event. Some events are also timed.
There is a world indoor and outdoor championship, as well as indoor and outdoor "world cups" (Trials des Nations). The British rider Dougie Lampkin is notable for winning his 7th world outdoor title. As well as world championship events other major events exist, such as the Scottish Six Day trial (SSDT) and the Scott Trial.
Major current manufacturers are Gas Gas, Beta, Sherco, Montesa (Honda), and Scorpa (Yamaha). In the past there have been many manufacturers especially in Britain and Italy - see List of motorcycle manufacturers.
Classic classes for old bikes - typically British (pre 1965 or 1967) exist, as well as a twinshock (two shock absorbers for rear suspension, as opposed to the modern single, monoshock) class.de:Trial (Sport) fr:Trial ja:トライアル nl:Trial