You guys are awsome! Rank beginner how-to?
  • bootworks
    Posts: 2
    Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 6:27 pm

    You guys are awsome! Rank beginner how-to?

    by bootworks » Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:11 pm

    Hey guys, I'm an old street-sports rider awed by the skills I see from dirt riders while carving twisties on the road! They seem so much looser and connected to their Motards or Sport-Touring sleds that I've decided to get back on the dirt to take my street riding to the next level.

    Got a '05 250x and gear, took a MSF dirt course at Metcalf from ranger Mike (yeah, a humbling experience!) and I've started riding almost daily at Carnegie trying to learn the Dark Art of dirt. Years and miles of street and track now seem to work against me, old habits to be un-learned!

    The Shane Watts videos (which are pretty advanced) are a daily watch now, and I'm reading everything I can get my hands on to try and learn from the 'pros'. Nah, no ambition to compete or to ride "fast", vertical trails deep mud or sand, just want to get good enough to be safe and learn enough skills to deal with trails in the woods, ruts, obstacles...

    So, say you've got an older family member with street riding experience, wanting to learn to ride dirt, what would you tell them?

    Thanks for any advice!
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    MattBennett23
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    by MattBennett23 » Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:01 am

    Just get out and ride. Dont think of it as riding a motorcycle, think of it as riding a dirt bike. Riding on the street is completely different than riding dirt.

    Treat it like a beginner would, since you are a beginner in the dirt. You wouldnt drive a rally car the same way as a street car or a formula 1 racer just because they are all cars, would you?

    Learn throttle control, how to carry momentum through corners, etc. I think the main thing dirt riding will help you with on the street is with reactions. In the dirt you have to learn how to react when you get loose and there is a tree in your path, a root jumps up at you, you go around a blind turn and find a tree down or a big obstacle. You will learn better reactions, how to control your throttle and brakes, how to use your body to control the bike, and how to recover your bike when it starts to get loose and out of control. Those skills will help you learn to control your street ride better, but it really is a whole different skill set...
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    crfsonly
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    by crfsonly » Sun Jan 20, 2013 10:15 am

    welcome to CRF's Only and congrats on your new ride and adventure!

    MattBennett23 gave some great advice. to add to it...learn to stand up. most street guys i've ridden with do not stand up as much as they should. if you can learn to stand up you will much more control over the bike beneath you and yourself. it will feel awkward at first and wont' feel like you have control. however, practice practice practice will make it feel more natural and in the end you will have more control over you and the bike.

    you are already doing one of the things i recommend and that is ride frequently. if you could only ride 8 hours a week it would be better from a muscle memory learning curve to ride four time for two hours each than once for eight hours. so, keep doing this.

    when riding find obstacles that you want to master. just try them over and and over again. go with just a few things you want to practice and practice them on these obstacles until they are second nature.

    remember object fixation. this transfers over from the street to dirt but remember in the dirt there are things all over you need to avoid. so, picking a good line is key in the dirt. you need to learn to scan ahead and see an object to avoid and then quickly determine the line around that obstacle or if that is not possible determine the best maneuver over it. if you fixate and do neither it will be bad for you.

    i could go on but won't. just have fun and ride. determine to learn something new each ride. then practice the things you have learned. challenge yourself when you ride to climb a hill that seems a bit out of your ability. ride a trail that is a bit tougher than you would like. just don't do anything that is way beyond your ability.

    lastly, make sure you have all the protective gear. protect yourself with riding boots, knee and elbow protection and a chest protector. gloves, helmet and goggles are must haves. riding pants and jersey too. you won't ride if you are injured so do all you can to protect yourself from injury.

    again, welcome and enjoy the ride!

    ken
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    riddler9
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    by riddler9 » Sun Jan 20, 2013 1:32 pm

    Try not to ride alone especially if you are out of cell range.

    Take Shane's advise on the hills and stand up! Learning to control the bike on hills transitions to more bike awareness on the flat stuff.

    I have taken a couple of guys the ride street to the dirt for their first off-road experience. Both had a very hard time until they increased their speed on the trails. You don't need to go fast, but you need to ride fast enough to let the suspension work or the wheels will deflect on everything making the ride very hard on you.

    When things get choppy squeeze the bike with your knees, not your hands. The bike will stay in line with your torso when you squeeze with your knees, which does wonders for keeping it straight on bumps. Get a stabilizer if you are having trouble with the front end or concerned about rocks and ruts that jump in front of you.

    Remember the seat is long enough to slide forward and back - lots of room to transition weight.

    Remember the clutch and back break are the rudder for tight turns. Both get the rear wheel to slide around quickly when you need it.
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  • bootworks
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    by bootworks » Sun Jan 20, 2013 6:08 pm

    Great advice! I'll be at Carnegie for the next 6 days -everyday- and I'll remember what you guys are saying!

    I am standing up -chin over bars- unless descending: Weighting pegs, shifting back descending and trying to weight rear wheel when traction breaks. Knees squeezing seat and tank, elbows up. Got to learn to trust the bike to do what it's designed to do: My instinct is to cut throttle when traction cuts loose instead of letting throttle be my friend.

    Using rear brake this much is totally foreign to me! Hope to work on wheelies and slides by Wednesday, I'm sure I'll be picking my sorry butt off the ground more than once before I get it!

    Thanks for the advice, keep it coming!

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