How to learn...??? riding???

[cheese]

Hey are there any good tutorials on riding techniques? Like a book or a site? I'm sure some of the things I do wrong would be easily corrected if nudged in the right way.....

Otherwise I'll just carry on going out there and falling off and learning the hard way.... lol

[bugjuice]

you're already reading probably one of the best local resources you'll ever come across. Search on the things you think you need to brush up on, or change, and if you don't find what you're looking for, then post it up. Or even organise a small quiet ride with some more experianced riders and ask for some tips..

There are plenty of websites and books on riding too. Some swear by particular ones. Best form of learning is to just get on the bike and ride tho. Only so much you can be told.

[Colapop]

Hey are there any good tutorials on riding techniques? Like a book or a site? I'm sure some of the things I do wrong would be easily corrected if nudged in the right way.....

Otherwise I'll just carry on going out there and falling off and learning the hard way.... lol

Have you done your Basic Skills Handling Certificate?
It's only a couple of hours but you can usually get the idea and it bit of good tutoring on bikes that don't care too much if they get (falled down) dropped (many on this site can testify to having done that)

[Jabez]

A big (damp) grass paddock..great for learning how to handle a bike on a low traction surface (with little chance of bike damage).....

[Colapop]

Dóh dumbass (me) just realised this is an offroad thread!! As Jabez sez - big grass padock. Don't be afraid to take things easy and graduate slowly. The worst thing you can do is think you can blat around at 100k and do X games tricks immediately. Incidentally they hurt (X games tricks) and take time & doctor fees to learn.

[bugjuice]

ditto wiv Colapop.. but all the same, learn from others

[Motu]

I presume you mean off road - I'm no expert,it's 10 yrs since I last rode fast off road,and I don't think I'll be doing those speeds ever again.I prefer to stand up,but I see the trend these days is to sit down most of the time,I would only sit down for a tight turn.Elbows out,and move well forward in the turns,inside foot up by the axle...this keeps weight on the front as you slide the rear around,if you don't move forward you'll push the front right out from under,or you'll wheelstand uncontrolably coming out of the turn.Stand on the pegs and let the bike float under you,no weight on the bars,move your body forward or back to shift weight.

Pick your lines well in advance,don't sit at the bottom of a hill looking up - get it sorted before you get there and hit it hard,picking as straight a line as possible,the momenteum will take you halfway up before you have to start working hard for traction.Mud and sand,lean well back and use lots of throttle,pull as tall gear as you can,rocks pull a gear down and keep the revs up,you can snag a stall at lower engine speeds if you get into trouble.

Just keep at it,a step at a time,learn from your mistakes - falling off is one of the things you laugh about off road,it's a good thing....not a serious issue like on the road.

[cheese]

I laugh ever time I fall off so it's ok, I just want tips on how to jump properly and how to tackle lumps and bumps, etc....

Cheers for that write up Motu, that made some things a bit more clear!!

[cheese]

Oh yes I mean off road too.

[Motu]

Jumps were never my thing - in our day we landed rear wheel first with plenty of power on and let the wheel come down slowly...these days that appears to be a no no,they want you to land front wheel first to stop the front slamming into the deck,never happened to me as I always landed power on leaning back - but hey,one metre was a huge jump to me! Bumps...take the bike into you as you hit,unweighting it's called...remove your weight from the bike and help it absorb the bump.Power on as you go over will lift the front,throttle off will drop it - as for air time tricks,I have no idea,never been there!

[cowboyz]

Riding on dirt is fun. I kinda given it up on account of not having a dirt bike anymore but it is more about letting the bike do what it want to and you are there for the ride. Don't force the bike onto a line that it doesn't want to be on. Don't fight where the bike wants to go. I am another who likes to stand up all the time and shift my weight around on the bike but the general idea is to "float" on the bike and go with the wind.
If you are into hill climbs then commitment is the word of the day. Never give up, keep you revs high and front on the ground (as much as possible anyway). We used to trial ride on farms all the time and it is a liitle unnerving when the front comes up to meet you when you hit cow tracks on the side of a hill. Bailing will hurt more than trying to ride out of it. You never know when your going to make it.

Jumps were never my thing - in our day we landed rear wheel first with plenty of power on and let the wheel come down slowly...these days that appears to be a no no,they want you to land front wheel first to stop the front slamming into the deck,never happened to me as I always landed power on leaning back - but hey,one metre was a huge jump to me! Bumps...take the bike into you as you hit,unweighting it's called...remove your weight from the bike and help it absorb the bump.Power on as you go over will lift the front,throttle off will drop it - as for air time tricks,I have no idea,never been there!

Jumping. I always thought the rule was if you were landing on a downhill then land on the front, if you are landing on a uphill or flat then land on the rear. If you are new to jumping then find a small hill (1m or so) and run up to it in 2nd or something at full throttle and let the throttle off about 1m before the jump and let the bike run over the jump. When you start learning how to balance the bike in the air and have it come down nicely you can start putting a bit more power behind bigger jumps. I wasn't that big on jumping myself cause I never had a decent ramp but getting air off some hillsides is fun too.