Riding technique

mxracer591
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Midland, MI US
9/24/2017 6:19pm Edited Date/Time 9/29/2017 10:31am
Hey guys...noob here. Smile had a friend of mine take a few videos of me riding out at our local track. I've been riding off and on for quite awhile but decided this year to try and take it serious. Anyway... without having any formal training I'm just looking for some advice/criticism etc on my technique.

Thanks!.

https://youtu.be/3VUz42WtMyI

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ktm-5
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9/24/2017 6:58pm Edited Date/Time 9/25/2017 1:43am
OK well I've definitely seen a lot worse. First thing is u want your body core center of the bike and in attack mode. Your head and shoulders should be ovet the bars. Your legs should be straight in line up from your footpegs, u don't want your legs forward when going down straight's and jumps. Bend at the hips keep your core center
For corners u want to sit at the apex of each corner, which can be different for each corner depending on berm or ruts or flat. I always taught that when entering a corner first u start rolling on the throttle, then u sit and put your leg out towards the front axle to transfer weight to the front wheel. That's the order to do it in but also at the same time...lol sounds confusing but when u roll on the throttle your bike starts to settle then when u sit u settle the bike more keeping the bike hooked to the ground. Best way to learn this is by doing slow drills.
Also balancing drills are extremely important, that is how u become "one" with your bike. For instance you want to work up to being able to ride one legged and one handed doing figure 8s with complete control. Doing all of this starting out slow and progressing as it gets easier. For instance start by doing one handers or one leggers and increase speed and make it harder as u get used to it.
Hopefully this helps and gets you started, don't cheat cause u only cheat yourself. You want to make all of this a memory muscle, if u have to think about what to do then u will not go as fast. It took my son a year of doing this 2-3 times a week. Good luck braaaap
Also another couple things is practice riding with 1 or 2 fingers on the clutch and front brake and squeeze the bike with your knees, if your not wearing out gear and graphics each year your not squeezing enough
kzizok
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Fantasy
1859th
9/24/2017 8:12pm
Much ty
YZfan1230
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CA
9/25/2017 7:43am
The biggest issue I think you should start dressing is body positioning. In the video you posted, I noticed when you stand you're standing straight rather than in an attack position. Keep your head over the bars, keep your elbows high and squeeze the bike with your knees while bending at the hips. For corners your best bet is to brake before entering, sit down, put your leg out and get on the gas ASAP. But you're definitely starting out well! Have fun and be safe!
mxracer591
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Midland, MI US
9/25/2017 7:10pm
Thanks guys! I had a good feeling my standing position was a bit off. I know I've worked on improving bending at the hip but it always just seems to feel more natural to stand more straight up. Maybe doing some drills like you've mentioned will help a little bit

The Shop

ktm-5
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9/25/2017 8:44pm
With most people I've trained of all ages it feels weird and uncomfortable for about 2 weeks then it starts to become natural
9/26/2017 6:58am
I use to stand straight up all the time took one bad crash off a jumpnthat was caused by my poor body position to change that real quick, and after that crash I would just ride around one of our fields in the attack position till it felt natural ,once it become a habit of riding in that position I went back to the track and noticed a huge difference in my riding , when jumping the bike was alot more stable coming into corners or down straights the bike was more neutral, learning to stand in attack and use more leg then arms to control the bike was so much better and arm pump pretty much went away ,obviously still got arm pump but not as soon and not as often
mxracer591
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Midland, MI US
9/27/2017 7:03am
I'm going to head out to the track tomorrow for a few hours so I'll probably be focusing on this pretty hard. Maybe spin a few laps through the grass just making sure I'm in the perfect attack position.
RyanLester761
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El Dorado Hills, CA US
9/29/2017 10:07am
This topic reminds me of a race I did a couple weeks back. In the picture, I'm on the yz125 and about to pass my buddy on his crf450. He got tired and his body positioning got all out of whack. You can see I'm in more of an attack position. I'm a bit tall so it helps me to keep my feet on the ball of my foot rather than in the arch.

Have fun. Let us know how you do!



mxracer591
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Midland, MI US
9/29/2017 10:13am
Well, last night at the track went pretty decent. I can tell that I'm going to have to really work on squeezing the bike and relaxing my arms more. I could tell in general though that being in a more aggressive attack position made the bike react a lot more predictably off of jumps and through braking/acceleration, etc.

The only issue I had was a bit of lower back soreness when I was first starting out. I'm sure this is normal at first but is there anything to help a little with this? With me being kind of tall (6'1"), would bar risers help a bit?
RyanLester761
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El Dorado Hills, CA US
9/29/2017 10:30am Edited Date/Time 9/29/2017 10:31am
I get lower back pain too. I found that I try to sit (and squeeze the bike) when accelerating whenever possible- depending on the track and situation, of course.

Also, I try to keep my arms horizontal and inline with the top of my wrists and let the bike kind of drag me behind if that makes sense. That way, I use more upper back/shoulders and forearms, rather than depending so much on my lower back. See the picture and compare my arms with the guy on the Honda.

Keeping your feet back on the pegs and bending at your hips, as previously mentioned, helps too.
ktm-5
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9/29/2017 3:56pm
Yes I forgot one MAJOR important thing to riding is to be on the balls of your feet. Being on the balls of your feet help with control and body positioning and it helps act as a pivot. For instance if you case or flatland a jump and you are not on the balls of your feet it sends all of the energy up your legs and that's why a lot of people break their ankles and/or legs. Being on the balls of your feet will allow your feet to pivot and act more like suspension by allowing you to pivot and leave the force on the bike and not in your ankles...I hope that makes sense?? Easier to explain in person lol. Other than that for your lower back pain it will get better because your not used to that position and/or you could strengthen your lower back up. Like I said it takes a couple of weeks to adjust to the new position......braaaaap

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