Posts
113
Joined
1/3/2016
Location
San Marcos, CA
US
Edited Date/Time
1/12/2016 8:29pm
I am a tall rider (6 foot 4 inches). I have had trouble since I started riding getting comfortable on any bike I have ridden.
I own a 2005 Yz250, and realized early on that I hated the forks, so I swapped them for SSS forks off an 07.
Then I put some Renthal RC high bend bars on it, felt a LITTLE more comfortable... So I tried some bar risers, now I feel like the bike will not turn, at all. It is very annoying, I am slightly more comfortable but at the cost of not being able to turn, I need to be able to do that lol!
So I decided to get a Yz125 after riding my buddies. It is all stock, in terms of ergonomics. The bike turns way better (stock bars). But I feel super awkward standing up. I am knees bent, super crouched over looking like the hunchback of Notre Damn.
So now I mainly feel like it is really hard for me to comfortable stand into a jump and it is hard for me to utilize the rear brake unless I am super far on the back of the bike. I also feel that my arms are pointed down when standing.
I like how the tall bars and risers feel standing but in a corner they make the bike feel atrocious!
I have only been riding for less than a year, and I started riding motocross in July. I ride all the SoCal tracks and have talked to a few taller guys I have seen but they weren't all that helpful in terms of proper technique.
So, my question is, how can I change my riding style/technique or learn the proper ways and get comfortable on my bike. I know that if I can feel more comfortable I would be able to ride way better, or at the least think I was! I want to improve, I need to be able to utilize my rear brake without taking my foot off the peg and loosing control of the bike. I need to be able to stand into and off jumps. This is a sport that I know I need to be standing a majority of the time and I want to make good habits and feel comfortable so that I can learn the proper techniques.
All help is appreciated!
I own a 2005 Yz250, and realized early on that I hated the forks, so I swapped them for SSS forks off an 07.
Then I put some Renthal RC high bend bars on it, felt a LITTLE more comfortable... So I tried some bar risers, now I feel like the bike will not turn, at all. It is very annoying, I am slightly more comfortable but at the cost of not being able to turn, I need to be able to do that lol!
So I decided to get a Yz125 after riding my buddies. It is all stock, in terms of ergonomics. The bike turns way better (stock bars). But I feel super awkward standing up. I am knees bent, super crouched over looking like the hunchback of Notre Damn.
So now I mainly feel like it is really hard for me to comfortable stand into a jump and it is hard for me to utilize the rear brake unless I am super far on the back of the bike. I also feel that my arms are pointed down when standing.
I like how the tall bars and risers feel standing but in a corner they make the bike feel atrocious!
I have only been riding for less than a year, and I started riding motocross in July. I ride all the SoCal tracks and have talked to a few taller guys I have seen but they weren't all that helpful in terms of proper technique.
So, my question is, how can I change my riding style/technique or learn the proper ways and get comfortable on my bike. I know that if I can feel more comfortable I would be able to ride way better, or at the least think I was! I want to improve, I need to be able to utilize my rear brake without taking my foot off the peg and loosing control of the bike. I need to be able to stand into and off jumps. This is a sport that I know I need to be standing a majority of the time and I want to make good habits and feel comfortable so that I can learn the proper techniques.
All help is appreciated!
Travis agreed, as he's tried about everything under the rainbow. He agreed that extremely tall bars and seats may make it more comfortable to stand and sit on, but really ruins the riding experience. His best advice was to run the straightest-wide bar possible (to open up the room for your arms) and set the bar at a neutral level to the forks. He agreed with me that going too far forward really happens entering corners because of where it places your body position. He also advised against tall seats. Unless the bike has a pocket you get stuck in, which he said just tall enough to flatten out the seat was acceptable.
His biggest recommendation was to get the farthest back and lowest pegs you could manage, without ripping your feet off in ruts. This will move you on the bike to a position that should be much more natural. He did end with the fact that no matter what, a big guy is always going to feel a bit cramped.
His comments to the negativity behind very tall bars/risers and tall seats were what I've heard from many tall pros, it ruins how you corner the bike.
Take Kyle Partridge for example, he's 6'7"! In his QNA on the forum recently, he also advised against tall seats and bar risers.
The Shop
I was contemplating getting an upper triple clamp that would allow me to move the bars into a forward position to see if I liked it. I am not even sure what bars are on my 125 (125 is my track bike, 250 is for desert/sand now) they appear to be stock.
I wish I could just have a tall rider watch and coach me.
Consensus thus far, tall bars/risers: loss of cornering ability/comfort. Which I NEED, this sport is about corners, it is, for me, the hardest part of the sport, railing corners...
I do prefer stock seat height. I felt worse riding with a higher seat, cornering and overall. I have tried the Fastway lowboy pegs and honestly I like the stock Yami pegs better.
If your bike won't corner, raise the forks in the clamps. Easiest thing to do, for free, is alter the geometry of your bike. I run Windham bend bars on mine, because they showed the highest rise in the catalogue. Also have an inch or two riser underneath them, and it works nicely. I ran an old set of mounts that I'd had for years, but they were too tall, and it felt like I couldn't get up over the front end, when I was seated. Funny thing is, I ran those for years, and liked them. Wondering how much riding I threw away, by running those for so long. Then again, I was a lot younger, so I probably had an easier time compensating for them. Good luck finding a better setup.
I will go set them close to level and try that out the next time I get to ride!
It feels better standing, I ride a 125 so I pretty much always have a finger on the clutch.
I found it corners best at 5mm up in the clamps and stock bars or similar, stock seat.
Is the Windham bar higher then I would presume? I see Ryno at Pala every once in awhile and he was training a kid that was near my height. They gave me a few minutes of their time and they advised that I try to run a very standard/common bar like a 998 and just force myself to adapt to how the bike is setup from the factory. Other than small alterations like fork height, etc....
Helps me corner better and keep my elbows out.
Pit Row
A guy in my local friend group reached out to me after posting this, he has an 06 yz260 with aftermarket upper triple that he has the bar mounts moved forward in with Windahm bars. He is going to let me ride his bike to let me see if that helps me be more comfortable at all while retaining the ability to corner.
Thanks again guys, all have been helpful and I look forward to developing good and proper riding techniques. I am 22 now and would like to be a mid pack/fast local B rider by the age of 25. I am putting in the work, on and off the bike and I hope that I can do it.
I'm an offroad guy, so I run a GPR stabilizer and I do so under the bars, this raises by handle bars by, I think 12-15mm's. I honestly didn't feel much of a difference in handling over stock, doing that...I tried a 30mm bar riser once on a buddies bike, and it negatively affected the handling.
Here is my solution: run a short bar riser. Get a wide handlebar. And then drop the foot pegs as far as you can. As an offroad guy, I don't have to worry about ruts (just rocks...lol), so I can be a bit more aggressive than a moto guy on this...but the lower pegs don't affect the handling, so its the way I would go.
Also, don't be afraid to really bend at the waist, and straighten your back and poke your butt out over the rear fender...
I will try and focus on that, when my buddy was teaching me to seat bounce he made me sit so far back to where it felt like I was going to fall off.
I also need to get my physical fitness back to where it needs to be (been off for over a month due to an injury).
Most tall riders-myself included-when standing ride with the hunched back, and do the "suspension legs"...back hunched, and when absorbing bumps they basically squat up and down over and over again (their legs act as suspension, they bend at the ankle and knee...so as they ride their knees are sliding back and forth on the tank/seat).
The right way is to straighten your back, and when standing, bend at the knee and hip...as much as needed to make sure you are gripping the seat (not the tank) with your knees. Also when you ride, your knees-where they are gripping the seat-don't move, but you bend at the knee in such a way that your butt goes backwards-toward the rear fender.
This is wrong (his head is to far forward, if he'd slide his knees back to the side of the seat, and bend at the waste more he would look like he's kind of humping his handle bars):
And here is another one I found online:
This is better (knees at the seat, butt back over the rear fender):
Can you see the difference between the two? I was the first guy for a very long time...never felt comfortable on the bike, always thinking it was handlebars, or bar risers, or seat or whatever, then I took a one on one riding class with a pro desert racer (who is 6'3"), and that was the first thing he made me change. And it was probably the single biggest improvement I've ever made in riding. (This might be getting a bit off topic...from your bike set up, but proper technique will make whatever set up you run, work better.)
I don't think it is off topic. I feel that with proper technique comes comfort!
Levers are now pointed almost straight forward whereas before they were almost straight down.
It helped a TON. I think the levers forced me to get my butt over the rear seat and fender, I felt a lot better braking into a corner, and my transition from standing braking to seated corner my buddy pointed out was a lot better, and most of all it felt more natural.
Meeting up with a guy Saturday to ride Cahuilla Creek, he has an upper triple with the bars in the forward position, and Windham bend bars. Will report back.
As of now though I think I need to focus on technique.
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