This Is the Isdt
THIS IS THE ISDT
THE INTERNATIONAL Six Days Trial (ISDT) is a cross-country motorcycle event, similar to the Berkshire International Trial, which has been an annual mid-May event in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts for the past eight years.
While the Berkshire Trial was a twoday event (except for 1972, when it was expanded to a three-day, 500-mile route), the ISDT will be staged over a period of six days, September 17-22, with a total route of 1000 miles.
The purpose of the ISDT is first to tst the reliability of a motorcycle over e distance prescribed, using for repairs only the tools which are carried by the rider, with no outside assistance provided to help this rider maintain his machine. Since motorcycle reliability has improved over the past several years, the routes chosen for this event have become increasingly difficult to more completely test the abilities of both man and machine.
Routes for the 1973 ISDT, the first ever held in the United States, basically will include three loops, starting and ending at Dalton, Mass., with the riders covering one loop each day. This means that each loop will be used twice during the week, once in each direction. The length of each loop will be about 180 miles. Approximately 300 riders will be entered in this event, about 240 of them foreign nationals and the remaining 60 from the United States.
Current plans call for riders to present their machines to the organizers before the trial (Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 16) for inspection and the marking of the critical components. A daub of specially formulated paint is applied to gas tank, suspension units, engine cases and other vital parts, and then the appropriate riding number is inscribed in the still wet paint, to positively identify the part as being associated with that particular machine. Wire seals are used to seal engine to frame, cylinder head to cylinder, etc.
When this sealing and marking is completed, the machine is then parked by the organizers in a supervised enclosure, called the Parc Ferme, the official parking area. All machines remain in this area until the rider is scheduled to leave on the marked route of each day's run. He then claims his machine and is allowed 10 minutes in which to prepare it for the day's run. On the first day of the event, he should have no problem, as he should have previously done all of his homework, but each succeeding day of the ISDT will be increasingly demanding of these precious 10 minutes each morning, as the rigors of the route will begin to tell on a rider's machine and maintenance abilities.
The rider is not allowed to start his machine before bringing it to the starting line. At a signal from the official starter, he may then start his machine, and begin the day's route. Three riders leave each minute, each having one minute in which to start his machine. Failure to start in the prescribed time limit results in the assessment of 50 penalty points which affect his final score. On the route, official checkpoints have been established at intervals of about 15 miles to determine the progress of the riders on the marked route. Average speeds used for this type of event can vary from 20 to 30 mph. Each section (distance between checks) may carry a slightly different speed average, as the terrain challenge will vary. All riders are subject to the speed limits and driving responsibility of any motorist while on the public roads. This event will use approximately 80 percent public ways.
A rider may exceed the scheduled average speed; in fact, the average is generally quite liberal, as he must have some free time to perform preventive maintenance on his machine. However, he cannot be processed through a checkpoint before his scheduled arrival time, so that if he is early to the check, he must wait, usually using this free time to check his machine or refresh himself. At distances of about 40 miles apart on the route, official refueling stations are established by the organizers, and the rider's support crew is there to service him with food, drink and gasoline. If a driver arrives late at a checkpoint, he has a cushion of three minutes called a "late arrival allowance," allowing for any unusual circumstance the rider may have experienced. He may have been held up at a railroad crossing or stopped to assist an injured rider. If he is late beyond these three minutes, he loses one mark for each additional minute. His score card is a regular timecard which he carries in his riding suit. A back-up scoring system is also tabulated by the organizers in case a rider loses his card.
During the course of each day's route, a special test is scheduled wherein the rider's elapsed time over a particularly challenging section of terrain is taken. This special test is designed to try the rider's skill to the utmost and is located off the public roads, usually along a powerline section. This section must be at least three miles long, and is extremely demanding. Scores are calculated by engine size for team scores, with the fastest man in a class gaining 0 penalty points. Every other rider in his class is compared to his time, and gains 1 penalty point for each second over the fastest time that it took to run the special test. Individual scores employ total times by class. Another special test each day is an acceleration test which is a 200-meter (628-ft.) long test and which includes a decibel reading of the machine's muffler system. This noise test is a critical test and is equally important to the rider's score. The acceleration test is scored in seconds and then multiplied by five, to be more compatible with the terrain test. If the decibel reading of a motorcycle's exhaust system exceeds the established standards (92 dbA) 20 penalty points will be added to the rider's score each day.
At the conclusion of each day's run the riders return to the Parc Ferme and are processed through the final checkpoint of the day. The machine is then parked by the organizers in the supervised area where it remains until the rider returns the next morning and claims it 10 minutes before his scheduled time of departure. >
Team competition is the real challenge of the ISDT, and European countries, in particular, place an extremely high value on the success of their team effort. Each country is allowed a Trophy Team of six riders which compete for the top award, the Federation Internationale Motorcycliste World Trophy. Next on the list is the Silver Vase Award. Silver Vase competition includes "A" and "B" teams of four riders each. These Vase riders' abilities are usually rated slightly below the trophy teams' abilities, but are very important to the national effort. Manufacturers teams and club teams of three riders each also compete. While team competition is most closely followed, individual recognition is important also. There are three levels of achievement for each individual rider: gold, silver or bronze medals.
To earn a gold medal, a rider must not lose a single mark at the checkpoints (meaning he maintains the course average for all six days), and have a penalty point score at least 70 percent of the lowest penalty point level in his class. For a silver medal, he can lose no more than 25 marks at the checkpoints for all six days, and have a 50 percent level of bonus points in his class. For a bronze medal, a rider must finish the entire six-day route, be not more than 60 minutes late at any one checkpoint during the week, and compete in the special tests each day. World Trophy winners almost always are gold medalists. The trophy is won many times on the absence of penalty points, which is a measurement of the rider ability.
This year, 1973, is the 48th year that the ISDT has been staged. The Berkshire Hills area has been chosen as the site of this prestigious event because of the challenge offered the trail rider in these hills, and the acceptance which the Berkshire International Trial has enjoyed during the past eight years.
It is then with a great deal of pride and dedication that the New England Trail Riders have accepted the responsibility of establishing the route for the 48th ISDT and coordinating the related activities which will make this event the best trial ever staged.
The American Motorcycle Association is the sponsoring organization of this trial, and the many jobs which will make the organization work will be filled by numerous friends and associates of mine, several of them members of the New England Trail Rider Association, who have all helped in the past years to make the Berkshire International a success.
This is also the year of the environmentalist. Everyone is concerned with the preservation of our lands and wooded areas. Trail riders are concerned, too, and are doing something about it in many ways. Off-road areas which become rutted by motorcycle travel are being repaired by those of us who use them. We cannot grade these areas, but we can minimize the erosion by digging water channels, or water bars, which divert the flow of water off the trail, and allow the trail to stabilize under continued use. It should be pointed out that most trail riders do not go off through the woods where there is no road to follow. In the case of the Berkshire International and, of course, the International Six Days Trial, all off-road sections used will be what once were tracked road or a powerline section. By using this type of way, the roadbed is re-established because it was once a traveled road. The road builders put rocks in the base of that old road, and then covered this base with dirt or gravel. Motorcycle travel on this type of road does have its effect, of course, but the road will stabilize, and run-off of water can be controlled with a minimum effort on the part of the trail rider. By using this type of way, the advantages are equalized for all riders involved in a competition event such as the ISDT.
Power lines and buried cable lines are also used as terrain challenges for the Six Days event. Areas covered within state forests must first be approved by the Regional Supervisor of the D.N.R.
The markers used to indicate the route each day will have the number of the day on them, so that anyone can tell which one of the six days the marker represents. Some people who do not approve of the event or of motorcycles in general will probably register their disapproval by removing or in some way altering the markers, therefore causing riders to get lost or to temporarily lose the route. Because of this confusion, some riders will get upset, and may speed up and down a road, desperately trying to find the route. This naturally, causes much more confusion than necessary. It would be much better to leave the markers alone and let the event continue smoothly. The markers will b^^ removed by the organizers after thl^ event is completed.
I hope that this 48th ISDT will be as memorable and exciting an occasion for you as it will be for the motorcycling enthusiasts who will be coming from all over the United States to see the riders, to participate in the activities, and to sightsee in our beautiful New England Berkshires. For each rider, it is a personal experience. For each supporter, the ISDT offers a chance to meet others from many walks of life who all share one thing, the support of and contribution to the efforts of a rider. Each rider needs support. Sometimes it is gas and oil. Sometimes it is food. Sometimes it is just a pat on the back, reassuring him that you do care and support his effort.
Six days is a long time to ride a motorcycle, rain or shine, uphill an^^ down. A fella needs a friend. Ask or^^ who has done it!
Al Eames
ISDT Director
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Al Eames, based on his decade ^ experience in motorcycling activity and its relationship with conservation, has been chosen as Director of the Trial.
Al has organized and administered reliability events like the ISDT for eight consecutive years.
At the age of 45, he has been in the Berkshire Hills his whole life. He is a native of Becket, Mass., and has lived in Dalton for 12 years.
Motorcycling became a hobby for Al while he served with Crane and Company for 23 years. Recently, due to his responsibilities as Director of the Trial, he moved into the world of motorcycling on a fulltime basis as New England District Manager for the American Motorcycle Association.
As a staff member of the 200,000 member national organization th^k stands for responsible motorcycle usey Al maintains official liaison with local and state conservation and law enforcement officials.
