Buliding corner track

I have no advice on how to build it , but maybe make it a figure eight so he can practice going both directions. That would also give you a little bit longer straights too with what space you have.

You'll want to build a combo of tight and sweeping corners (in each direction) I would think. Watch out for chicanes that will turn one-lined. Don't worry about squaring off corners. (Sometimes that's the fast line.)

Perhaps a mix of flat and berm corners as well, alternating between ripping it deep and hard pack. This give you a variety of corner types.

In order to get good ruts, rip those parts of your track deep. Not just corners but some straightaways as well. Then water the hell our of it. Get that moisture nice a deep. Water the night before and it should be pretty good the next morning. You're in TN so it should do a good enough job of holding moisture.

Finally, start burning in a figure 8 turn track. Best way to work on cornering technique.

Thanks! I've thought of a figure 8 but was worried he would get board. I like the idea of of alternating corners, and maybe I could put a smaller figure 8 in the middle or something, and let him drill it for 10 mins at a time or something

I built 7 of them. No equipment. Just used tires (to indicate the turn) and rode it. I rode after rain days. May not be the best way, but it was the way I did mine. I have a big figure 8 track with rollers and berms I practice on. However, ruts and flat corners are what I worry the most about

I have a turn track just to try improve my speed threw them. Best way I did the corners(with no equipment) was when the ground was pretty wet. If you go round it slow the first couple of laps and get a few lines dug in then it might stop your kid from squaring off all the time.

Thanks guys keep'em coming. Figure 8 with rollers and berms sounds interesting. And putting a few lines in might stop him for a bit.

DerickYZ wrote:

I built 7 of them. No equipment. Just used tires (to indicate the turn) and rode it. I rode after rain days. May not be the best way, but it was the way I did mine. I have a big figure 8 track with rollers and berms I practice on. However, ruts and flat corners are what I worry the most about

Burms come from riding the shit out of it! This is how we always made our turns too. Mark out the track and ride - ride - ride! They will form. For our flat-track we used a mattress without the fabric tied behind our tractor (and sometimes my bike lol) but yea that was just to smooth it out.

We have fields all around us so typically before my track would dry up from snow or spring showers I would go out in the field (before it was planted) and just make a track with my bike. Just rip on it and then vary some lines so one replicates an inside tight corner, another wide sweeping, and maybe one that cuts across and flips around.

If you are trying to get good at cornering in a race situation replicate the corners your local tracks have. Most of our tracks were loamy and tilled up tracks...they were dry hard pack which was totally different. We were lucky to have a rut. In most cases I would find some kind of edge and aim towards it and bounce out of it or just carry momentum and practice throttle control.

Most of the tracks we race at rut up Fairly nice. We go to Muddy Creek quite a bit, now we are trying to venture out, this year we are going to try and hit South of the Border, and possibly Gatorback, we've been to Mill Creek a few times, and Fast Farms, ect.

Yeah corners are where it's at, and we have just a small 2 acres maybe 2.5, I have some friends with private tracks, but we don't get to go there that offen, so I want somewhere we can go like once or twice a week for a few hrs. The field is on our family farm, and is all I got right now, later I may be able to talk them into letting us use a little more, but this is better than nothing. And it's about 10 mins away.

We have done cones and stuff but naturally he wants the square them off, and currently my bike is in pieces, so untill I get it up and running again it may be some time before I can run in some lines for him
So this afternoon I'm going to take the tractor and sort of drag it out, like I said I seem to make things a little tight, so I wasn't sure if there was like an angle or technique. Like I said and any and all responses are appreciated, thanks!

If it's just you and your kid riding and you are careful not to run into each other you can overlap the track so you basically have a tight track and a long sweeping track in the same land that might Cross each other sometimes or use shared features. If you plan it out well you can make it so you can run one or the other or both.

Do a snake track.
Back and forth S turns with a straight stretch connecting the ends.

Walk something that feels right for the area and take some stakes with you. Mark out left turns and right turns with specific color ribbon. Tie that ribbon to the stakes. Ride it a few times to see how it flows on the bike. Make changes if you want then repeat.

Then once you've figured out what layout suits your terrain use the tractor to rip it in. Depending on how hard your soil is, hitting it with a disc or chisel tooth harrow a few times to turn it over then finish it with a drag harrow.

If it's a clear open field like the tire options. I had about that much land and mowed a turn track trying to get a bunch of corners. Turns out I was trying to fit too many in and it didn't flow. I cut it back to not as many and it was more fun to ride. Just be out there with him and emphasis we are working on technique not always what feels like may be faster so arc the corners. Here's a pic from Googlemaps of it...

yak651 wrote:

If it's a clear open field like the tire options. I had about that much land and mowed a turn track trying to get a bunch of corners. Turns out I was trying to fit too many in and it didn't flow. I cut it back to not as many and it was more fun to ride. Just be out there with him and emphasis we are working on technique not always what feels like may be faster so arc the corners. Here's a pic from Googlemaps of it...

I only worked up the corners and left the rest sod, cuts down on dust

Wow dude, you really snuck in alot for the area

Dude, that looks pretty dang awesome, this is making me feel a little better, I've been pretty worried about the limited space

pezwattley wrote:

Dude, that looks pretty dang awesome, this is making me feel a little better, I've been pretty worried about the limited space

Thanks, here's a helmet cam of it

Very nice!

Man I'm jealous of all you guys with your own tracks! I live in Hawaii and grew up riding as a kid and teenager then gave it up but I have a kid on the way now and would like to start riding again in the next few years. It's so crazy expensive to live here though and our yards are tiny. I'd love to move to the continental US if I can convince my wife. Anyways rant over lol. Very nice track Yak651 and good luck with your track Pez!

Thanks bro! We had some tractor issues today, so I may have finish it next weekend. We think maybe some water was in the gas, if you ever get the the states, and are in Tennessee, just let me know.

Probably not possible on your property but the best corner track I ever rode was on the side of a hill. A gully kicker in the middle of each 50 yard straight. The option of railing the berm or squaring up the downhill off camber was gold for practice. Learning to carry speed through the uphill turn was great. The gully was good as well. The naturally formed braking/acceleration bumps were awesome. I'd ride 1 hour clockwise and another hour counter....good for body and skill.

That sounds like a really interesting track, sounds fun and like it would wear you out, but yeah what we got is just flat

Corner tracks are better when they're skinny, pretty much one tire track width is all you need. What we did on one is make one corner have a tight inside and then a longer sweeping outside. The guy in first place has to take the outside and the guy behind him can take the inside. That keeps it so you can pass but it's still challenging. That setup wouldn't be effective if you had two riders with way different skill sets but you get the idea.

yak651 wrote:

If it's a clear open field like the tire options. I had about that much land and mowed a turn track trying to get a bunch of corners. Turns out I was trying to fit too many in and it didn't flow. I cut it back to not as many and it was more fun to ride. Just be out there with him and emphasis we are working on technique not always what feels like may be faster so arc the corners. Here's a pic from Googlemaps of it...

yak651 wrote:

I only worked up the corners and left the rest sod, cuts down on dust

Same thing I did ours is just mowed in. Ride it a few times when it's somewhat wet and you have some ruts. Re-mow and change every spring. Easy to make changes if some parts need to be wider.

When i make mine in the sand ill do a few laps to build the layout i want and then go through and do a burnout through the turns and dig a nice smooth 'arc'ed rut in . Its hard on the clutch/motor so I'll do one at a time then let it cool down. Usually turns out pretty good and I've never burnt a clutch out doing it, just gotta be smart and not get the bike too hot.

PS- we dont have nice dirt like above in NV so i cant just wait for the ruts to burn in naturally.

pezwattley wrote:

Thanks bro! We had some tractor issues today, so I may have finish it next weekend. We think maybe some water was in the gas, if you ever get the the states, and are in Tennessee, just let me know.

Right on I appreciate it!

Thanks for all the input and ideas, like the idea of making changes season to season, that way we don't get tiered of it, I've got another week to plan now, after seeing some pics I'm getting excited, thanks , I know he'll be stoked, we do plan on inviting some others, to encourage passing

Have 2 turns the same but a variety of 10 different turns. So a total of 20 turns on your track.