Newish* riding style

I think what you are seeing is just a generational "monkey see monkey do" situation. Most of the riding styles that people aim to copy in hopes that it might make them just as fast were developed from the originator based on what worked for them while they were racing. As they got faster and started winning, people took notice and now you have a generation trying to mimic the same riding style ultimately resulting in a generational "style" that is tied to said rider. Now are there wrong ways to ride a motorcycle? Ohh, for sure! Ryan Hughes' techniques for the best practices to control the motorcycle are some of the best techniques a rider can practice and engrave into their mind as a foundation for how to ride a motorcycle. But ultimately it is up to the rider to find out what works and what doesn't work for them to be able to ride the motorcycle fast and efficiently. Tomac and Evarts both stand up through rutted turns. People see that and then start to mimic it. James Stewart started scrubbing. Now you have a whole generation that scrubs everything. As far as the fingers on the brake and clutch. Some riders do it and other's don't. Again, I think this is a generational thing where in the past it was more crucial to keep the revs up on the two stroke bikes, but with four stroke bikes, even 250fs, they have so much torque you can keep your hands off the clutch. Because I've ridden two strokes for so long, I naturally have a finger on my clutch and front brake at all times (see pic below). Just feels natural to me. Same with standing up. I feel if I sit down too much I get lazy and my elbows drop. Standing up I stay more in the attack position and have more control over the bike. But to summarize, I think what you're seeing is just a generational thing of "ohh he's going fast I am going to copy his style" more than anything. Right now Jett is the guy to watch and also the reason why Renthal 827 Fat Bars are out of stock everywhere. My personal mantra is find what works best for YOU and do that. Don't just blindly copy someone else thinking the same is going to work for you. Most people blindly copy what's popular and don't take the time to figure out what they actually like and what works for them.

Speaking of, is there anyone at LL right now that looks like Jett on a bike, hopping over everything, standing, higher gear? I've watched a few of the classes and don't see anyone's style that stands out, but maybe I missed it. 

Can't recall anyone specific but at the end of the sand turn before the finish is an area where you can spot some riders hopping over the bumps, vs the majority just pounding through the last two rollers. 

I don’t think you’ll see any US kids riding like that, most of them have that “Training facility” style of just hammering the fastest line IMO. 

A few really stood out to me to the point where I actually was like damn they are trying to copy Jett lol. 

Enzo Temmerman in 250B was hopping over all the bumps and using outside lines, Gavin Towers was doing the same and standing into the corners there is a vurb video I think that shows him doing it.

Now that you say it I remember watching Temmerman craft his way around the track pretty good, I remember Mason Gonzalez was pretty good at hopping the bumps a couple years ago. 

The new wave 

My question: Is there a proper riding style? (There are proper techniques)

Jett and Tomac both have vastly different styles. ET3 attacks and bulldogs it around the track, hits everything hard. Then Jett hops over everything and rides as smooth as possible, his body barely moves. 

And yet, they are both fast hell.

Not everyone can muscle a bike like Eli and Herlings...not everyone can finesse a bike like Jett and Sexton. Many people that think Jett has invented a new technique never saw Stefen Everts or Marty Tripes ride...Style is individualistic while technique is not.

I always thought Reynard and Windham had a "not even trying" looking style, similar to Jett. 

I'm thinking Christophe Pourcel.  I watch Jett ride and all I can see is that he is riding like Christophe Pourcel with less creative line selections.  

I think some are way over thinking this stuff. 

I am not sure jetts style is faster.  I do think however that he is saving alot of energy which allows him to push really hard when needed. Sometimes he hangs back a little then lets everyone get a little tired and he comes flying through.  

One kid who I think is worth watching for such great style is William Barrett, I saw him riding at the SE Regional and he looks so smooth and takes totally different lines to everyone else. He is at Lorettas in the C Class, but is a rider I think could go far.

But without the consistent elite speed

My method is try and pinch with the knees and try and keep elbows up, stay towards the balls of my feet. 

I usually have a pointer on each lever. 

I'm also a back of the pack c rider and mostly riding woods lol

Older guy in me coming out.  Once we started riding lighter flywheel 2 strokes we stated using the clutch a lot more.  The old school CZ’s and Maico’s were heavy fly wheel.  I recall seeing 400 CZ riders on the staring line at 59th and Douglas in OKC in the 70’s without a clutch lever.  As we switched to YZ’s in the 80’s we started using the clutch a lot more.  I doubt I could ride my 2023 Honda CRF 250R with out using the clutch at times.  Not because I need to but I’m not always in the right gear.  

…or JMB. 

Pourcel doesn't get the credit he deserves. Dude was a badass, mad skills and great line selection.

This. Dude is obviously smart AF and used his broken body downtime to work out how to optimize his energy use and line selection.

-More racers could do this in injury time - if they had a brain

Those Frenchies know how to live

I agree for the most part, maybe I'm reading it too literally so no hard feelings haha, but a lot of riders do say they spend a good bit of time watching tape and so on when they're out of action. I don't reckon there are many lazy bastards floating around in the pro ranks, but maybe I'm off base 🤣👍

I went through 2 Gary Bailey riding schools back in the '70s. Both schools he stressed standing as much as possible. I practiced what he preached and stood as much as possible and still do. It has served me well over the years in moto and off-road and I've gotten many questions about why I  rarely sit down. When I  started watching Jett I noticed his standing right away. It just gives a much better sense of balance and readiness for unexpected hazards. I  wish I could utilize it at his level though,  lol. But it's been around a long time.

Interesting points. I’ve been thinking a lot about this the past couple of years - with the addition of Chase & Jett’s style being displayed. My theory is the bikes these kids grew up on. Older riders spent their childhood & at least some of their teenage/adult years muscle-ing a 2 stroke around. Remember RC hanging off the back of his bike? Eli still to this day rear wheel steering the bike? Same with the bullet. The younger generation - mostly came from 4 strokes…which benefit from a smooth throttle & that tractor lug. 
 

EH?

Exersizes to produce style, I gave Hunter and Jet everything from Manuel to bounce and from fromt to back and from balls to arches and no clutch while breaking to use it for higher exit  rev for early gear change and so much more, Hunter did more and Jet got to play then copy. So Hunter a little more as the learning and Jet a little more flow.

Side note, Jet was SO small and I made him stand all the time so to stand he was stuck dead central in the middle of the bike for the first two yrs before he was tall enough to move.

Reynard more so than windham, kevin sat a lot, especially on the 450. 

Southwick 2000 is a good reynard example, both moto's really.

DV was also behind him I believe in Minneapolis 2000, and he was doing the standing thing even there, which is cool to watch.  He wasn't healthy yet though and his arms blew up in a few laps.

There are some personal stuffs into the riding style (agressive, or smooth cause the budget was very limited so benting a radiator was a no go), but some fast riders also grew up with the wrong foundations. Hammering a prep'd track is not the same as finding a flow on a nasty one. Finger on the clutch is for sure an automatism for people who rode 2 strokes from an early age, finger on the brake too, but what I think is important is to stand up more, it helps a lot for safety. When you sit, you are quite a passenger and things can go wrong really fast. And even when you stand up a lot, big crashes can happen too from a bad lip, kicker or bad rut that formed from previous motos, so limiting/controlling the risk is key from my standpoint.

Jet rode from 4 to 15yr old on 2stroke only