Riding rutted tracks.... going where @$%# 4x4s have been before...

[AlpinePossum]

Ok, so the tar and then the gravel has run out... and then there are only ruts left by the damn 4x4'ers.

That's sort of OK. Aim for the grass in the middle and all is happy.

Then you get really eroded ruts.

Typically you'll find the two old one's have been dug out down a good few inches, so they aim for the grass in the middle and dig that down a foot or so, and then they aim between the left and the middle....

So now you have a devils choice.... Ride in the old deep ruts... but if you lean a teensy bit left or right (or the track turns), the front wheel keeps going on straight and you keep going over. SPLAT! You have to catch the full weight of a rapidly moving 650 on one leg.

Or you can ride in the newer higher ruts... and unless you very very careful... you wobble and end up in the deep ruts and SPLAT again!

One way of playing it safe is to aim for the deep ruts and then go slowly with legs out on each side and "walk" it.

...it just, seems so, so, UNDIGNIFIED!

So question... how do you learn to ride precisely on a single car tyre wide strip (without _ever_ wobbling).

[BoristheBiter]

Ok, so the tar and then the gravel has run out... and then there are only ruts left by the damn 4x4'ers.

That's sort of OK. Aim for the grass in the middle and all is happy.

Then you get really eroded ruts.

Typically you'll find the two old one's have been dug out down a good few inches, so they aim for the grass in the middle and dig that down a foot or so, and then they aim between the left and the middle....

So now you have a devils choice.... Ride in the old deep ruts... but if you lean a teensy bit left or right (or the track turns), the front wheel keeps going on straight and you keep going over. SPLAT! You have to catch the full weight of a rapidly moving 650 on one leg.

Or you can ride in the newer higher ruts... and unless you very very careful... you wobble and end up in the deep ruts and SPLAT again!

One way of playing it safe is to aim for the deep ruts and then go slowly with legs out on each side and "walk" it.

...it just, seems so, so, UNDIGNIFIED!

So question... how do you learn to ride precisely on a single car tyre wide strip (without _ever_ wobbling).

Ride faster.

If you look further ahead and not at the rut in front of you, you will find that you are more stable and it will be easyier to stay on the top. it is the old saying "you go where you look".
if you look at the rut you will end up in it but there are times when the rut is the best choice (safer).

[Eddieb]

And stand up for better balance if you aren't already.

[Phreaky Phil]

Ok, so the tar and then the gravel has run out... and then there are only ruts left by the damn 4x4'ers.

That's sort of OK. Aim for the grass in the middle and all is happy.

Then you get really eroded ruts.

Typically you'll find the two old one's have been dug out down a good few inches, so they aim for the grass in the middle and dig that down a foot or so, and then they aim between the left and the middle....

So now you have a devils choice.... Ride in the old deep ruts... but if you lean a teensy bit left or right (or the track turns), the front wheel keeps going on straight and you keep going over. SPLAT! You have to catch the full weight of a rapidly moving 650 on one leg.

Or you can ride in the newer higher ruts... and unless you very very careful... you wobble and end up in the deep ruts and SPLAT again!

One way of playing it safe is to aim for the deep ruts and then go slowly with legs out on each side and "walk" it.

...it just, seems so, so, UNDIGNIFIED!

So question... how do you learn to ride precisely on a single car tyre wide strip (without _ever_ wobbling).
Try that with a pillion and 50kg of luggage ( on the way into and out of the Serpintine Church )
Standing up helps with balance but it will also come down to how slippery things are and how much grip you have

[zeRax]

look ahead and dont over think it, go with the flow!

[george formby]

As stated above look well ahead & anticipate or, buy a 2 stroke or a trials bike so you don't need a front wheel. I learned to ride or more accurately crash safely on the moors in the north of England. The terrain is tussock grass, bracken & heather. The ground is riddled with "sykes & gyles", grooves from a couple of inches wide & deep to 10 feet across, caused by heavy rain run off & melting snow. Most of them are covered with grass so your first warning is the family jewels slapping over the handlebar cross brace as the bike stops dead. Weapons of choice were anything that would wheelie at a twist of the throttle with a light, obedient front end.
We always looked well ahead to plan our route & would weave all over the place to avoid getting "rutted". When it was really ugly, stopping & walking through was the only way to pick a rideable line, followed by mucho concentration & commitment.
Geez, i miss having a trail bike.

[Motu]

I can't do it on a big bike...but on a small bike you just nail it and leap up and down,crossing over the ruts to find the best line,it's all good fun.On a big bike the weight overpowers the grip of the tyres,and being puny I can't control the weight of the bike - the front won't climb the rut,slides and down I go.The rear slithers out,it won't push the heavy bike where it needs to go,one wheel in each rut and down I go.I don't take big bikes off road anymore,it's not fun,but 2 strokes or bikes under 250cc or good fun in nasty stuff.

[dino3310]

I don't take big bikes off road anymore,it's not fun,but 2 strokes or bikes under 250cc or good fun in nasty stuff.
gotta agree, the likes of the RM125 in the real shitty stuff is a shit bucket load of fun, even better when its muddy

[Crisis management]

At the end of the day you need to learn to ride ruts, any mid sized adventure bike won't keep the front light enough to use speed unless you are a very good rider so you are stuck with getting both wheels in the rut and riding along it. As others have said, stand on the pegs if you can (or paddle with your feet), look well ahead and pick a reasonable speed for the rut. I don't have one answer to ruts, some days I can just breeze through them other days I spend a lot of time picking the bike up.
If you have the chance, learn on a smaller bike, once the skills are embedded they are easier to transfer to a larger bike.

To assist your education invest in suspension tuning / upgrades and good tyres, traction and controll are your best friends.

[bart]

I often just go into the biggest rut and ride through it. You're going to end up in there anyway. Keep the back wheel turning (without over-reving). Tractor your way through.

But hey.....don't listen to me. I fall off lots. Especially on the slow technical stuff. I blame duck disease, but it's more likely that I just ride like an idiot.

[XF650]

I can relate to the original post, after binning the XF twice while trying to avoid the ruts on the Serpintine Rd during the Dusty Butt this year.
So then I tried looking further ahead, riding "through" the ruts & bingo, no more off's.
Same old story - avoid "target fixation"

[Woodman]

On the serpentine I was behind Alane and he was riding real steady and picking his lines around the ruts obviously looking well ahead. Myself on the other hand was just riding on through them whether they had water or not and that was fine too until near the church where there is one that looks shallow but actually has a ledge under the water that the bike just suddenly dropped into and the water was over the starter motor deep. So beware of dirty puddles in ruts.

personally don't like the middle route betwen the ruts as they are often bloody slippery.

[Underground]

I often just go into the biggest rut and ride through it. You're going to end up in there anyway. Keep the back wheel turning (without over-reving). Tractor your way through.


I agree with this theory for big bikes and particularly 2 up ,
If the biggest rut is at all rideable ...ride it.
I work on the theory that if you are already in it , you cant fall into it.
(works for a lot of things)

[CookMySock]

Get better suspension!

Steve

[clint640]

I work on the theory that if you are already in it , you cant fall into it.
(works for a lot of things)

Hmmm... Depends on the situation but I usually go by the theory that it's lots easier to drop into a rut if that's where you need to go, than to climb out of one if you come around the corner & find it's the wrong line. In a normal 2 rut 4x4 track I'll usually try & stay on the centre hump if possible then I can easily drop down either side if needed.

As above, the best advice is stand up & look well ahead. Practice riding in & out of ruts as you go down a straight dry track to build confidence that you can change direction if needed. Keep your toes tucked in when in ruts too, it's real easy to twist an ankle if you catch a foot on the side.

...& before you curse the 4x4ers too much, remember that bikers don't often carry chainsaws & shovels to keep the tracks open & the ruts on tracks that have only been used by motorbikes can be way worse than what the 4x4s leave behind.

Cheers
Clint

[gav24]

Just to add my 0.000002 cents worth:-
1. look ahead where you want to go - target fixation again!
2. If you have a choice between 2 ruts, the one on the uphill side (furthest from the drop, closest to the hill) is usually the shallowest when they get shitty. Theory is that water runs downhill and collects in the rut nearest the hill and it gets wetter and hence dug out more by 4wds and other bikes. Sometimes this can put you on the right side instead of the left, and can be a problem if stuff is coming the other way - so not always an option, but seems a good rule of thumb.

[junkmanjoe]

Mate go hard bro,,,hang on like a hairy chicken on heat...:shit:........................yea...Ha..:bl ink:
about then i fall off.................:shutup:

JMJ

[monchopper]

Try to keep relaxed, tense arms are no good.
Also a fork brace on bikes with conventional forks helps when you need to get out of a rut as it makes the front stiffer with less flex and the front is more likely to go where you point it.
When you need to get out of a rut and the front wheel is out but you've got the back wheel stuck in the rut pull the clutch momentarily in to free wheel out of it (if that makes sense)

[thepom]

woodsman spot on...I followed alane through some parts of the serpentine and I just followed him,you can,t beat years of skill and experience...cheers alane ....

[cooneyr]

...If you look further ahead and not at the rut in front of you, you will find that you are more stable and it will be easyier to stay on the top. it is the old saying "you go where you look".
if you look at the rut you will end up in it but there are times when the rut is the best choice (safer).


And stand up for better balance if you aren't already.

+1 on both of these but I'd add one thing further - when you stand up learn how to lean the bike to recentre the bike in the rut if you get a bit too one side. I dont use the bars to control direction but rather lean the bike. The best way to do this is when standing with the knees not clamping the bike tight.

The other way to do this for short sections of ruts is to sit with one foot off its peg and hanging out the side of the bike for the duration. Simply by lifting or dropping your foot rapidly you can control the lean of the bike and hence the position in the rut.

A way to pratice the stand up but lean the bike technique is to try and ride as tight a figure 8 as possible as slowly as possible. Put two stones/cones etc about 5m appart to start off and ride around them as slowly as possble. Do this on a hard surface first i.e. concrete/hotmix etc. You should be able to get the cones to within about 3m of each other eventualluy. Slip the clutch for speed control. This is extremly good for learning how to balance the bike. This is the sort of thing that Charlie and Ewan were praticing when they were in Wales at the start of the Long Way Around.

Cheers R

[pampa]

...This is the sort of thing that Charlie and Ewan were praticing when they were in Wales at the start of the Long Way Around.

Cheers R

Note that you can do this alone without the two 4wd with 3 people each following you

[cooneyr]

Note that you can do this alone without the two 4wd with 3 people each following you

Ha ha - good call.

[Box'a'bits]

Note that you can do this alone without the two 4wd with 3 people each following you
But how am I going to fund my trips if I don't have the film crew along? :blink:

[cromagnon]

But how am I going to fund my trips if I don't have the film crew along? :blink:

Start writing books about every trip!

[tri boy]

What are ruts??


Two rats rooting.

[Woodman]

woodsman spot on...I followed alane through some parts of the serpentine and I just followed him,you can,t beat years of skill and experience...cheers alane ....

Actually he said it was from years of riding the farm bike round the farm.