Tackling dirt bike jumpsWhen approaching dirt bike jumps you should be standing up on the bike in a crouched position gripping the bike with your legs. This will help keep the bike in line and not allow it to step out sideways if it hits a bump on the upramp (a particularly scary feeling!). Pick your line on the up ramp and keep an even throttle as you approach. As you hit the upramp, if the jump has a 'kicker' or small ledge on the top lip you'll need to blip the throttle to stop the rear wheel kicking up as you go over it. Some dirt bike jumps like tabletops or gap jumps need to be hit at a certain speed to clear them, so try to have your speed up before you get to them, then you won't have to be accelerating hard up the upramp which can cause problems if the bike hits a bump and becomes unsettled but will also allow you to coast over the lip of the jump, making for a flatter and faster trajectory through the air. This isn't always possible, sometimes a jump is straight after a corner and you have to accelerate hard to get sufficient speed up to clear it. Once you're in the air, look to where you'll land. If you're landing on the flat you want to land with the rear wheel down first so pull up on the bars just before you land. If you're landing on a down ramp then you want the bike to land at the same angle as the down ramp. If the front wheel is too high, you can lower it by pulling in the clutch and dabbing the rear brake. This will lock the rear wheel and lift the rear of the bike up. If the front wheel is too low, let the clutch out and give the motor a rev (also known as a panic rev!), the force of the rear wheel spinning will pull the rear of the bike down. Pull up on the bars at the same time. Get on the throttle just before you land, this will help the rear suspension absorb the landing and give you good drive away from the jump. Confidence is a big thing when conquering dirt bike jumps so practise at your own pace and build your confidence gradually. Click here for some techniques on how to stay low over jumps. Click here for tips on pre-jumping to get extra height and distance over obstacles. Click here for techniques on how to handle stutters and whoops. Got those dirt bike jumps mastered? Click here to go back to our home page.
|
