Riding on gravel

[DEATH_INC.]

Does running wide and finishing up in the watertable still upright and sitting on the bike count as an off? Nah, not when no one saw it

No, I've used the watertable to get around corners I've hit too fast plenty of times

[Crasherfromwayback]

Probably not very easy once the bike is down on gravel but


If you do it like the vid, make sure your stand is down!

I've gotta say mate...in my opinion that is the worst way you could EVER try and life your bike up! It amazes me how many so called 'experts' recommend that. But there aren't many people that've had to 'right' bikes more often than me, and I'm only a lil fella. Both hands through the end of the bars is the ONLY way to do it.

[steve_t]

I've gotta say mate...in my opinion that is the worst way you could EVER try and life your bike up! It amazes me how many so called 'experts' recommend that. But there aren't many people that've had to 'right' bikes more often than me, and I'm only a lil fella. Both hands through the end of the bars is the ONLY way to do it.

You may be right, though I don't know how little you are. The above technique is the only way my missus can pick up a bike. She's 5'2" ish and about 45kg. I'd say if you can lift a bike by the bars, do it that way. Most small females seem to have relatively poor upper body strength

[bogan]

You may be right, though I don't know how little you are. The above technique is the only way my missus can pick up a bike. She's 5'2" ish and about 45kg. I'd say if you can lift a bike by the bars, do it that way. Most small females seem to have relatively poor upper body strength

that just means she's closer to it to start off with easier that way init?

once watched a guy pick his up from the high side, just yanking on the grip. Had a good laugh then was pretty surprised when he got it.

[steve_t]

that just means she's closer to it to start off with easier that way init?

once watched a guy pick his up from the high side, just yanking on the grip. Had a good laugh then was pretty surprised when he got it.

Yeah, I always tell her she has the advantage of being closer to the ground and also having a lower centre of gravity

LOL. That dude must have been massive!

[Crasherfromwayback]

You may be right, though I don't know how little you are. The above technique is the only way my missus can pick up a bike. She's 5'2" ish and about 45kg. I'd say if you can lift a bike by the bars, do it that way. Most small females seem to have relatively poor upper body strength

5'11" and 85kgs. But regardless...through the end of the bars is the only way mate!

I hade to (more often that I care to admit) pick up 255kgs worth of 883 Harley race bike, and it's easy done correctly.

[BMWST?]

I actually lost the front on the other side of the bridge, and with incredible skill managed to slide it over the bridge (you can see the skid marks on the bridge).....I was busy standing up looking over the handrail at the river when it happened so I reckon it had nothing to do with me!



If you reckon that's bad, you should have seen the highside later in the day.....and yes, you can get enough traction to highside in gravel!

i starting to see why you felt like you would be better off without 90 odd hp

[bart]

Both hands on lower bar. Swing it toward the tank, then lift like shit. By getting the bar to full lock, the front wheel acts as a lever against the ground, and does half the work for you.

My 2 c. Has worked for me on dirt and sports bikes. I'm only 5 foot FA. Never had to lift a Harley though.

[buellbabe]

OK so what do you do if the relatively nice gravelly dirt suddenly changes to a pit slightly longer than your bike and you have just sunk into it ...then given it a bit of herb to stop the bike wallowing and falling over and exited the other side of the pit with a full tank slap while still on gravel???

This actually happened to me recently.

Is it best to try and ride out the tank slap? Or would it be better to gently come to halt (if thats possible without getting spat off) ????

Really curious as to what a profficient gravel/stone/dirt rider would do in this situation.

[Motu]

Apply throttle,or use the rear brake as a sea anchor.

[DEATH_INC.]

Let it sort itself out, it will, as soon as you stop trying to make it. RELAX!

[Crisis management]

A bit of what the last two said.....apply throttle (progressively), hang on with your legs and core, loose on the bars and let it settle down. Generally my front end is waving all over the place on gravel so it sounds about normal but if it's a full blown tank slapper I imagine the first thing you really know is that your sitting on the side of the road wondering what happened.
So, how did it work out?

[That looks like fun]

Here's my contribution.......

They said "look at the falls" not "fall on ya balls" Mokau falls bridge?

[Motu]

One of the reasons modern bikes don't do so well in thick gravel (apart from the tyres) is what happens to the contact patch....it moves forwards,and reduces trail,maybe even turning it negative.Modern bikes (sportsbikes) have much less trail than they used to,less than dirt bikes these days...all for quick steering,so reducing trail is not good for stability.My old Airhead has a shit load of trial,120mm...so it's super stable in thick stuff,even with road tyres.

[oldrider]

I've ridden on gravel plenty of times before without problems, but I ran into big loose gravel which threw me off, literally. I've always had trouble with with large loose gravel.

You appear to have surrendered to gravel, you should not be intimidated by the various surfaces you are challenged with!

Change your attitude, make gravel your friend, look for and practice riding your bike on every type of surface that you think you may one day be required to negotiate!

If you avoid this you will not become an accomplished and confident bike rider, whereas if you conquer your fears and these seemingly insurmountable hazards, you will feel better about yourself, your bike and enjoy your riding more!

Go for it, the least you will get is practice at picking up your bike!