riding off road

[stuartt]

hi , i've been riding for years on road & i'm as good as the next guy , on my busa i feel safe at any speed although i know in the back of my mind if i get a puncture or if a bearing goes at high speed it may well be the end of me .

i recently bought a gas gas & find myself not having the bottle to go to fast partly due to my only real riding experience being 10 mins on a montesa 123 about 25 years ago !

i'm ok on dirt tracks & forestry tracks till i get to 30 mph then i think if anything goes wrong i'm getting hurt & slow down !

1 mile from my house theres a wee motocross track that i've gone on to a few times .

now my question is when going round a bend should my gas gas lean ok like a road bike going round a bend or is it likely to slide due to mud & wet grass & why on some films do people have a foot near the ground on some corners ?

thanks .

ps anymore tips would be good

stuart

[........................]

Look at how motocrossers turn the bike, it's different to road riding in that you sort of push the bike down and away from you. Also, sit well forward and try and stick your inside leg straight out in front of you, over the radiator shroud, not downwards.

Try looking up some youtube videos, there must be some stuff on there, if not just watch some general videos and see how they do it.

But really for general greenlaning stuff, I'd just stick to making sure you're standing up on the pegs, relaxing and letting the bike move about beneath you.

[Fladdem]

Cornering, your body wants to be parallel to the floor as possible.

Flat corner, crank the bike over, have outside corner of seat in between buttocks, inside leg out, elbows up, leaning forward. Push down with outside foot on foot peg.

Berm, lean with the bike, the berm then becomes the floor, remain parallel to it, inside leg out.

Off-camber, like a street bike, excessively over-lean.
If you are going fast enough, you don't need to stick a boot out.

KEEP ELBOWS UP!

The reason the boot goes out and forwards is to put extra weight over the front tyre while turning, give it a chance to bite, don't worry too much about the rear end, if it slides, just keep the power and and point with the front wheel. The boot also helps if it starts to wash out, you can stick it down and stand her up again. I hope you have MX boots, can do serious ankle twistage.

Mostly though, try not to grip the bars too hard, keep arms loose but elbows high. Stand up when not cornering, grip the tank/seat with your knees and frame with ankles/calves. If you look at older trail bikes or offroad bikes, the paint on the chassis is almost always worn away just above the pegs, or polished on an ali frame.

Try to set the levers so it follows the line of elbow/wrist/fingers. Mine are about 45degrees below the horizontal, when I get my bar risers, the angle could probably be reduced. Stand with head of bar pad, slight bend in knees with most body weight in the centre of the bike.

I get scared at about 40MPH on my bike offroad, I don't trust the suspension enough, it really slows down at that speed and gets flexy.

I am by no means an expert, just a beginner really. But I watch a lot of videos on youtube, watch faster riders, try to talk to other riders, if I'm at the track. However I have been mountain biking for years, most of the rules transfer over.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[clancy]

[Fladdem]

[stuartt]

thanks for the tips , i need to get full motocross gear .

at the mo i've been wearing soft mc boots , aldi jeans , arlen ness leather jacket & my flip reevu helmet so ALL THE WRONG GEAR !

the 1st thing i plan on buying is good boots then a helmet , i like the look of this one

https://www.dirtbikexpress.co.uk/helmets/motocross_helmets/o'neal_motocross_helmets/o'neal_sierra_adventure_helmets

then i'll buy body protection .

[Fladdem]

Nothing wrong with Aldi Jeans. I use em.

I wear Wulfsport GP boots. Alright but a bit clunky. I wear a moisture wicking underlayer, a MOTOGP body armour jacket thing, then my buffalo road jacket. For green laning.

If I race, I take off the textile jacket, make friends with someone and leave it in their van. In the summer, just a hoody over the armour and no under layer.
____________________
Current:1991 Honda MT50 (Soon to be a H100/MTX/MT5 hybrid), 1976 Honda Cub C70, 2005 Honda Varadero 125, 1993 Yamaha TTR250 Open Enduro , 2010 Road Legal Stomp YX140, 1994 Honda CRM 250 MK III, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 1992 Honda CB400 Super Four, Stomp T4 230, 1984 Honda H100s, 2009 Sym XS125K
Past:2003 Aprilia RS125, 1982 Kawasaki GPZ550(FREE BIKE!)
I'm having more fun than a well-oiled midget.

[KLR600]

From my limited experience off-roading and doing some MX I'd say the most important thing after a helmet is good boots. Others may disagree though. I've had quite a few spills and I'm always grateful for having good boots on. The last crash I had I was pinned under the bike by the ankle and would have definitely done some damage if it had not been for boots.

I'm no expert when it comes to riding fast off road but I would say just increase your speed gradually over time. If you're having fun at 30mph then there's no problem as far as I can see. Practise your riding techniques at a track, possibly get some instruction from someone who can see what you're doing and then just apply what you've learned to the trails.

Every time I ride MX I have a mate there who's been riding for years. He always gives me tips and I improve so much faster than If I was just riding around on my own. There's a lot to remember, especially with corners (in my opinion anyway), so there's no need to pressure yourself into going too fast too quickly - It's a sure fire way to get hurt!
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Now: '00 Kawasaki ZRX1100R - Past: '84 Yamaha DT125, '89 Kawasaki KLR600, '97 Yamaha XJ600N
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