First off-road day

Richy
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7/3/2022 1:15am Edited Date/Time 7/5/2022 3:32pm
I haven't gotten the chance to ride much since getting my 350, and a friend of mine gave me a shout about an off road / GNCC-ish kinda practice day coming up locally.

It's basically a 6 mile loop with a little moto section thrown in and an optional woods section and the rest seems to be an enduro / hare scramble loop, from what I can gather. Sounds like maximum seat time for good money, so reckon it's a winner?

Never done anything besides Motocross tracks before, so is there anything worth knowing / considering or vastly different? Thank you 👍
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BikePilot
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7/3/2022 4:09am
Go do it, off road is awesome. Don’t run out of gas Smile
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Richy
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7/3/2022 4:31am
BikePilot wrote:
Go do it, off road is awesome. Don’t run out of gas Smile
Haha thanks man, no danger of that, the 4 Stroke does better on fuel than anything I've ever owned I reckon 😂
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austin_bo
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7/3/2022 8:19am
Hand guards, a USWE, and Roll offs (most off-road events don’t allow tear offs). I’ve been an off-road convert for a couple of years now and the seat time trumps that of a track day tenfold. Have fun!
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devotid
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7/3/2022 8:29am Edited Date/Time 7/3/2022 8:29am
Get some Bark busters....Any brand. There isnt too many trees on a moto track. Wink

Stay on the pegs and steer with your weight through the trees. Grip the bike with your legs to save energy.

HAVE FUN! You will be doing more of them before you know it.
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The Shop

1983YZ125
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7/3/2022 8:40am Edited Date/Time 7/3/2022 8:40am
Hand guards & hydration pack are the 2 key things.

For handguards; I run the Cycra Pro bends on all my bikes; you will have to cut the end of your throttle tube so if you plan to not keep them on permanently, you might buy a spare tube while youre ordering parts.

Water pack; I use one of Klim's water packs (if you're staying on a small loop and close to the truck, get a slimmer pack like some of the USWEs mentioned above). There are cheap ones at most sporting good stores if you don't want to spend $80+ for a 1 time thing.

Depending on the terrain, you might consider a skid plate if you don't normally run one to protect your cases.

Not sure if a spark arrestor is required in the UK, but something to consider if you don't currently have one.


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Richy
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7/3/2022 8:43am
Thank you guys, pretty sure I've got some regular Moto hand guards but I'll probably give the woods a swerve for the most part, I can't be trusted haha, I'm sketchy enough on a MTB in the woods 😂

Appreciate the replies and advice, thanks, not sure how it'll be but riding something different can only be a good thing, cheers 👍
murph783
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7/3/2022 9:16am
Soften your suspension up, I run my stuff pretty damn stiff for moto, does not translate well for small chatter for rocks and roots in the woods. Bear in mind I’m also east coast US so your mileage may vary. I don’t ride a ton of woods but I’m on the mtb constantly. I basically run that stuff as soft as I can where I’m not bottoming it out. Really smoothes things out.
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mvd61
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7/3/2022 11:30am
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands enough. Wrap arounds will send your ass to the ground in a hurry. The flags flex and you slip by.
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suspensionguy
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7/3/2022 11:36am
There’s no way you won’t fun. If your on a mx set up open the clickers up but expect lots of deflection.

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Traskrider
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7/3/2022 11:58am
mvd61 wrote:
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands...
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands enough. Wrap arounds will send your ass to the ground in a hurry. The flags flex and you slip by.
.

I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!?

Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures in both hands without decent wrap around hand guards. I also run the Cycra Pros on my woods bike
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2
7/4/2022 4:53am
It blows my mind that people never rode woods before only tracks, growing up we'd always ride trails to the sand pit or local spots or like have a woods loop at the pit, its a blast have fun the trees don't move
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Richy
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7/4/2022 5:40am Edited Date/Time 7/4/2022 5:41am
In the UK, if you ride woods your bike gets crushed haha.

Of course we do have limited woods loops as part of enduros / veey few practice "tracks", but public woodland to ride is non-existent here as far as I know as are OHV parks or just open public land which is legal to ride on as I see in the US on YouTube etc.

We get a few seriously short trails or dirt roads ("green lanes", "byways", etc) which are legal to ride on *BUT* only if the bike is road registered and you have insurance and all the other BS, so you can't even just pull your kids PW 50 out of the truck and let them ride without concerns of some prick calling the Police... Who won't turn up to a burglary but will damn sure turn up to take another person's bike for riding it somewhere public and out of the way.

One of the things I envy most about the US when I see someone ride 20 miles of uninterrupted trails or desert that they're allowed to be on (as they should be!), enjoy it guys and never allow the po-po, the home developers and the assholes push you out 👍
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Spergen
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7/4/2022 6:48am
Richy wrote:
In the UK, if you ride woods your bike gets crushed haha. Of course we do have limited woods loops as part of enduros / veey...
In the UK, if you ride woods your bike gets crushed haha.

Of course we do have limited woods loops as part of enduros / veey few practice "tracks", but public woodland to ride is non-existent here as far as I know as are OHV parks or just open public land which is legal to ride on as I see in the US on YouTube etc.

We get a few seriously short trails or dirt roads ("green lanes", "byways", etc) which are legal to ride on *BUT* only if the bike is road registered and you have insurance and all the other BS, so you can't even just pull your kids PW 50 out of the truck and let them ride without concerns of some prick calling the Police... Who won't turn up to a burglary but will damn sure turn up to take another person's bike for riding it somewhere public and out of the way.

One of the things I envy most about the US when I see someone ride 20 miles of uninterrupted trails or desert that they're allowed to be on (as they should be!), enjoy it guys and never allow the po-po, the home developers and the assholes push you out 👍
Oh I wouldn't be to sure about that, we have a few 1000acre wood near by and as long as your not a prick the forestry commission lads turn a blind eye. But then again I do live out in the sticks, Lincolnshire so not many bikes go in. Only 3 of us, great riding the tracks after the big machines have been in churned it up and left all the side branches as a technical carpet as such.
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Spergen
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7/4/2022 6:49am
Oh and watch out for the stags in rutting season lol
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suspensionguy
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7/4/2022 11:37pm
mvd61 wrote:
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands...
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands enough. Wrap arounds will send your ass to the ground in a hurry. The flags flex and you slip by.
Traskrider wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/07/03/557799/s1200_DB2EF433_1BA6_4B8F_98D5_6E3F67400C78.jpg[/img]. I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!? Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures...
.

I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!?

Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures in both hands without decent wrap around hand guards. I also run the Cycra Pros on my woods bike
Naw. Full wraps aren’t legal for FIM racing. Wrist breakers. Go to any off-road race and you’ll see more flag style guards then full wraps.
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Richy
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7/4/2022 11:45pm
Richy wrote:
In the UK, if you ride woods your bike gets crushed haha. Of course we do have limited woods loops as part of enduros / veey...
In the UK, if you ride woods your bike gets crushed haha.

Of course we do have limited woods loops as part of enduros / veey few practice "tracks", but public woodland to ride is non-existent here as far as I know as are OHV parks or just open public land which is legal to ride on as I see in the US on YouTube etc.

We get a few seriously short trails or dirt roads ("green lanes", "byways", etc) which are legal to ride on *BUT* only if the bike is road registered and you have insurance and all the other BS, so you can't even just pull your kids PW 50 out of the truck and let them ride without concerns of some prick calling the Police... Who won't turn up to a burglary but will damn sure turn up to take another person's bike for riding it somewhere public and out of the way.

One of the things I envy most about the US when I see someone ride 20 miles of uninterrupted trails or desert that they're allowed to be on (as they should be!), enjoy it guys and never allow the po-po, the home developers and the assholes push you out 👍
Spergen wrote:
Oh I wouldn't be to sure about that, we have a few 1000acre wood near by and as long as your not a prick the forestry...
Oh I wouldn't be to sure about that, we have a few 1000acre wood near by and as long as your not a prick the forestry commission lads turn a blind eye. But then again I do live out in the sticks, Lincolnshire so not many bikes go in. Only 3 of us, great riding the tracks after the big machines have been in churned it up and left all the side branches as a technical carpet as such.
Sounds good, and long may it it continue, but it's certainly an exception and faaaar from the norm. I'm down in a Somerset which used to be pretty backwoods / middle of nowhere and nowadays you're lucky to even find a farmer who'll let your kid rip a stubble field for cash / cider like you could when I was a kid 25 years back, very disappointing.

Even Salisbury, acres of public land, besides from the farming and military land, but unless you're road legal you won't last there and they'll probably recycle your bike.
Mouse153
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7/5/2022 6:42am
austin_bo wrote:
Hand guards, a USWE, and Roll offs (most off-road events don’t allow tear offs). I’ve been an off-road convert for a couple of years now and...
Hand guards, a USWE, and Roll offs (most off-road events don’t allow tear offs). I’ve been an off-road convert for a couple of years now and the seat time trumps that of a track day tenfold. Have fun!
I agree with Austin. Handguards and USWE are great (I don't use roll offs) and getting 90-120 minutes of seat time is way better than moto's 3 laps of practice and 4 lap motos. I started doing sprint enduros this spring and I'm hooked!
LungButter
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7/5/2022 7:47am
Naw. Full wraps aren’t legal for FIM racing. Wrist breakers. Go to any off-road race and you’ll see more flag style guards then full wraps.
Yep, full wraps cause more injuries than they prevent I think.

If you want something that is still sturdy enough to knock down brush etc. and take a decent hit from a tree without smashing your hands then check out the SXS Burly Guards.
1
Traskrider
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7/5/2022 8:00am
mvd61 wrote:
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands...
Ditch the wrap around hand guards. All you need is flag style. I prefer the G2 Ergo with the flags doubled up. They protect your hands enough. Wrap arounds will send your ass to the ground in a hurry. The flags flex and you slip by.
Traskrider wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/07/03/557799/s1200_DB2EF433_1BA6_4B8F_98D5_6E3F67400C78.jpg[/img]. I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!? Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures...
.

I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!?

Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures in both hands without decent wrap around hand guards. I also run the Cycra Pros on my woods bike
Naw. Full wraps aren’t legal for FIM racing. Wrist breakers. Go to any off-road race and you’ll see more flag style guards then full wraps.
Thanks for info on wrap around hand guards not permitted by the FIM- didn’t know that. You guys have me wondering if I should ditch my full wrap arounds for a flag style hand guard. I guess the danger is that your wrist/forearm can go between the bars and hand guard on a crash or hard impact and well…the bones would break before the bars or hand guards would.

Having said that, after 35 years of riding and racing it’s never happened to me or any riding buddies. At any race (ISDE, hare scramble, CC, GP etc) that I had been in the Northwest - at least 75% of the guys are running full wrap around hand guards.

I do like the Burley SXS guards though- good comprise of both flag and wrap around.
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rbm33
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7/5/2022 9:14am
Traskrider wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2022/07/03/557799/s1200_DB2EF433_1BA6_4B8F_98D5_6E3F67400C78.jpg[/img]. I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!? Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures...
.

I see a lot of Euro off road guys run flag hand guards!?!?

Here where we ride (Oregon) I would have had multiple broken bones/fractures in both hands without decent wrap around hand guards. I also run the Cycra Pros on my woods bike
Naw. Full wraps aren’t legal for FIM racing. Wrist breakers. Go to any off-road race and you’ll see more flag style guards then full wraps.
Traskrider wrote:
Thanks for info on wrap around hand guards not permitted by the FIM- didn’t know that. You guys have me wondering if I should ditch my...
Thanks for info on wrap around hand guards not permitted by the FIM- didn’t know that. You guys have me wondering if I should ditch my full wrap arounds for a flag style hand guard. I guess the danger is that your wrist/forearm can go between the bars and hand guard on a crash or hard impact and well…the bones would break before the bars or hand guards would.

Having said that, after 35 years of riding and racing it’s never happened to me or any riding buddies. At any race (ISDE, hare scramble, CC, GP etc) that I had been in the Northwest - at least 75% of the guys are running full wrap around hand guards.

I do like the Burley SXS guards though- good comprise of both flag and wrap around.
I hear that all the time too, usually from people who don't ride single track. in my 45 years of racing i have NEVER seen an arm get broken from the handguards. I guess it could happen but its about as like as your fingers getting rolled up in the chain and sprocket.
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LungButter
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7/5/2022 9:31am
rbm33 wrote:
I hear that all the time too, usually from people who don't ride single track. in my 45 years of racing i have NEVER seen an...
I hear that all the time too, usually from people who don't ride single track. in my 45 years of racing i have NEVER seen an arm get broken from the handguards. I guess it could happen but its about as like as your fingers getting rolled up in the chain and sprocket.
I've seen it happen twice. One guy broke his arm/wrist so bad he never got to ride again.

And yes....I ride PLENTY of single track.

What is the benefit of a full wrap that a sturdy flag style doesn't provide?

I can tell you the negatives of a full wrap....dangerous, heavy and they make your bars wider.
Stuntman949
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7/5/2022 10:05am
Full wraps are for Supermoto and broken wrists
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McG194
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Palm Coast, FL US
7/5/2022 1:02pm
I currently have a set of Enduro Engineering full wraps on my KTM 350 and I am going back to their aluminum open ended deflectors.

Discounting the safety factor of they can break wrists etc. I'm going back because I notice with full wraps I have more solid contact with the trees that wants to yank the bars out of my hand where the wraps have a bit of give and they will help you glance off the trees. Trust me when I give this advise, I'm a AA tree hitter guy. haha
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LungButter
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7/5/2022 1:25pm
McG194 wrote:
I currently have a set of Enduro Engineering full wraps on my KTM 350 and I am going back to their aluminum open ended deflectors. Discounting...
I currently have a set of Enduro Engineering full wraps on my KTM 350 and I am going back to their aluminum open ended deflectors.

Discounting the safety factor of they can break wrists etc. I'm going back because I notice with full wraps I have more solid contact with the trees that wants to yank the bars out of my hand where the wraps have a bit of give and they will help you glance off the trees. Trust me when I give this advise, I'm a AA tree hitter guy. haha
You're not wrong.
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wrc777
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7/5/2022 2:36pm
rbm33 wrote:
I hear that all the time too, usually from people who don't ride single track. in my 45 years of racing i have NEVER seen an...
I hear that all the time too, usually from people who don't ride single track. in my 45 years of racing i have NEVER seen an arm get broken from the handguards. I guess it could happen but its about as like as your fingers getting rolled up in the chain and sprocket.
LungButter wrote:
I've seen it happen twice. One guy broke his arm/wrist so bad he never got to ride again. And yes....I ride PLENTY of single track. What...
I've seen it happen twice. One guy broke his arm/wrist so bad he never got to ride again.

And yes....I ride PLENTY of single track.

What is the benefit of a full wrap that a sturdy flag style doesn't provide?

I can tell you the negatives of a full wrap....dangerous, heavy and they make your bars wider.
You left out they make your bars stiffer.

I had an endo with KTM flag guards and my hand hurt bad enough where it contacted the flag I am pretty sure I would have broken it with full wraps. My pinky fingers do occasionally get smashed a little, but the better I get at riding the less of an issue that seems to be.
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LungButter
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7/5/2022 3:03pm
wrc777 wrote:
You left out they make your bars stiffer. I had an endo with KTM flag guards and my hand hurt bad enough where it contacted the...
You left out they make your bars stiffer.

I had an endo with KTM flag guards and my hand hurt bad enough where it contacted the flag I am pretty sure I would have broken it with full wraps. My pinky fingers do occasionally get smashed a little, but the better I get at riding the less of an issue that seems to be.
You're correct. They also make your bars more prone to breaking in a crash if you use the kind that clamp around the bars.
Munson'd
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7/5/2022 3:32pm
This thread has made me change from full wrap handguards to flag style. I like buying dirt bike parts, so thanks fellas.
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