Free Riding Tips

Tip #34 - "Clutch In or Out While Braking"

The rule of the track here is to leave the clutch out while braking so the engine helps slow you down and helps control the braking process.  It’s kind of like anti lock brakes.  The best stopping power is just before the rear wheel locks up and that’s just what leaving the clutch out will help you with.  This is done when you’re still carrying some speed into the corner.  If it’s a tight corner where you’re going to be slowing down to a slow speed in the middle of the corner and/or if you’re going to do a brake slide than you have to pull the clutch in so you don’t kill the engine. 

I’ve seen this technique of leaving the clutch out while braking misused and abused by a lot of beginner riders.  Every time they apply the back brake they put the clutch in.   They do this because they don’t have good braking control and by stabbing the rear brake on they would stall the engine.  Sometimes making it stall even easier by being in too high of a gear. 

It’s really the same technique for 2 strokes and 4 strokes.  It’s also the same when exiting a corner with 2 or 4 strokes.  The 2 stroke does depend on the clutch more than the 4 stroke but if you’re pulling a high gear out of the corner even the torquey 4 strokes can use a little help from the clutch. 

A good rider can make his bike drift slide into a corner real pretty like by leaving that low end lever out (the clutch).  When a rider pulls the clutch in while braking at speed he’s taking a chance of sliding out too much, then his automatic reaction is to let up on the rear brake too much.  This causes the bike to straiten up and then he hits the rear brake again and so on and so on.  This is especially the case on a high speed slippery approach to a corner.  Learn to feather those controls or lock them up and every thing between.  It takes a fine feel to go fast. 

Concentration - "Every great man has become great; every successful man has succeeded, in proportion as he has confined his powers to one particular channel".

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Tip #33 - "The Art of Cornering;"

 

	Back Cover Exit Corner Wheelie	Back Cover Exit Slide

Cornering is an art form.  To get really good at it you have to have a lot of talent, know all the techniques inside and out and then practice it frequently in many ways over a long period of time. 

There’s much more to cornering than just leaning over and going through the turn.  There are things like the angle of the corners, whether they’re banked or off-camber, sharp or sweeping, and the conditions of the track. Then there are the techniques of cornering between the rider and motorcycle. There are even techniques that affect the handling of the motorcycle in the corner. These techniques make the motorcycle either hold the track or brake loose and pivot, slide through the corner. 

In order to do a corner fast you need to carry as much speed as possible and as long as possible into the corner, slow yourself down just enough to still have control at the exit dex, (the exit dex is where you go from braking to accelerating) and then get on the gas as soon and as hard as possible. In order to carry a lot of speed into the corners, you need to have a fast and late approach dex (the approach dex is where you go from accelerating to braking).  With this in mind, we can understand that a very important part of cornering is braking. To be good at cornering, you have to be good at braking.

Of course, all through the corner, you have to maintain complete relaxed control. Tightness and mistakes will only make you tired and slow you down, if not make you crash. Remember, you can only try as hard, and go as fast, as you can do the basic techniques correctly and maintain relaxed control. So, if you’re tight or making mistakes, you will benefit by slowing down, which in turn will allow you to learn how to go faster.

In others words, it takes much more finesse than just charging into the turns at full speed and hoping you’ll be able to make it when you get in there. You have to constantly anticipate exactly what is going to happen just before it happens. You have to know the exact line that you want to be on. That line should take you to the best possible traction for the exit dex. You see, it’s very important to know exactly where your front tire is going, so you can find the best traction at the most critical part of the turn. This is where you’re going to be turning the most, at the exit dex. Again, make sure your front tire is going exactly where you want it to go. If you’re doing the techniques correctly, the back tire will also go exactly where you want it to go.  For much more in-depth cornering info check out my DVD #7 (All about Cornering).  (Link to DVD # 7).

Concentration - "It is a process of diverting one's scattered forces into one powerful channel".  (James Allen)

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Tip #32 - "Fast on the Straights"

Straights are usually the easiest but because of the speed you can really crash hard.  Of course most of it depends on the soil condition and the room you have for mistakes.  If you’re speeding through the trees over rocks, tree roots, ruts and mud you better keep her under control the entire time.  Another straight condition may be over big uneven bumps.  Whatever the condition are following are some key points.

1. Scan the ground as you’re going along and see all the details.  At the same time keep your focus out far enough ahead of you that you are ready for what’s coming up.  This takes the kind of concentration to light a news paper with a magnifying glass in the sun.
2. If it is at all rough you should be standing on the pegs in the central body position and make the bike go exactly where you want it to go.  The thing that is most likely to through you off course is hitting something with your front wheel that you didn’t see. 
3. Stay in the right gear (in the meat of the power) and if it’s really technical keep your foot on the rear brake, not just to slow down fast but to give you more control.  Think about it; the only control you have over the M/C is body movement and the five controls (front and rear brakes, clutch and throttle and the gear shift).  What else could there be?  But there are 47 Absolute Techniques that go into these two categories.  Check out my Motocross Practice Manual for all of them. 

Going fast on the straights is kind of like jumping doubles.  You don’t jump distances you don’t have control over and you shouldn’t do speeds over rough ground that you don’t have control over.  If the fear is there it’s most likely there for a good reason.  When you get enough seat time and confidence the control will be there and the fear will not.  In the mean time you may consider paying attention to that fear, it’s a survival instinct. 

Courage - "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear".  (Mark Twain)

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Tip #31 - “Riding on the Balls of the Feet”

 

	Arch of Foot Placement	Ball of Foot Placement

I’ll tell you right up front that being comfortable riding on the balls of the feet takes a lot of practice.  But when a rider does become comfortable with this technique there are three benefits to it. # 1 you have more body travel, #2 you won’t hit the shifter or rear brake by accident and #3 you won’t get your feet ripped off the foot pegs from your toe hitting the dirt.  As I said, for this technique to become natural its takes a lot of the correct type of practice.  So don’t throw it out the window if you really want to learn the correct way. 

It’s kind of like down hill skiing.  It’s easier to keep your feet farther apart when you are a beginner but the pros keep their skis closer together.  One place the pros are always on the balls of their feet is through the whoops.  If it can be done through the whoops it can be done anywhere on the track. 

The only exception is if you're going to land hard from a jump or even case a jump.  In this case you would want to be on the arches of your feet so you don't sprain your ankles.  Just make sure you have your toes pointed out a little so you don't hit the shifter or rear brake by accident.  It all comes with knowing the correct techniques and a lot of quality practice time.  For all the correct techniques in an affordable easy to understand format check out my Motocross Practice Manual on the DVD ordering page of my website or Vol I DVD # 1 (All the Techniques for All the Conditions).    

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