Archive for the ‘Riding Techniques’ Category:
Block Pass Breakdown
If you haven’t looked already, my previous post went over passing opportunities. To recap the article, you don’t want to follow because if you are copying the guy in front of you, you are just going to stay behind him. As far as the mental aspect, you can rev your engine and make as much noise as you can to break the concentration of your competitor, but use sparingly. Today I really want to go over the block pass to complete the whole passing idea. It is pretty simple concept, but requires a lot of bike control.
Below is a video of an epic battle between Chad Reed and Kevin Windham. You can use it as a visual aid and it is a great race to watch as well. A great example of a block pass is at 6:55.
Before you even get to the corner, you want to set up in the section prior to it. You want to set it up so you can be on the inside of the other rider. You can see Chad Reed is right behind and on the inside of Windham. If you notice, Reed sets up for the corner the same time as Kevin which ensures that he can cut inside while Windham goes wide.
When the two are in the corner, they are even and Reed has complete control of where Windham goes. One thing Reed could have done is drift out wide, but he kept to the inside which allowed Kevin to keep that 450’s momentum up. That allowed Windham to make a pretty easy pass on the next straight.
As I said earlier, this requires a lot of control over the bike. In the section before the corner, you want to make sure that you are squeezing the bike with your lower body and your elbows are up. When your elbows are up in the corner, there is less of a chance of your handle bars coming together. This is somewhat of a tricky technique, so take it slow and when you feel comfortable with it, try in a race situation.
Passing 101
Unless you are Mike Alessi (on a 450) and holeshot almost every race, you have to make some passes to win. So, if you want to save your tear offs, you will have to get creative and find a way around your competitors. At the amateur level, concentration and mentality play a big part. However, line selection and commitment will make or break your pass.
Like I said, at the amateur level, racing is a little frantic. If you are behind someone, you can rev the hell out of your engine, scream in corners or anything that breaks their concentration. When they aren’t concentrating on the track ahead of them, they are going to make mistakes. Now, this really isn’t something you want to do every race, just as a last resort. Sometimes, just pressuring the rider in front of you will force a mistake on their part. Again, this is more for the amateur level because professionals are just that, pros. They are used to the mind games.
As far as line selection, you never want to follow the person in front of you. How do you expect to get around someone if you are doing the exact same thing they are? If they go wide, try to slip in on the inside and vise versa. On race day, the main line around the track may not be the best place to make passes because it gets beat up. Searching for smoother lines at the end of the day will also help you conserve energy and also keep your speed up to make a pass.
Being that the amateur races are generally shorter in duration, it is better to make passes at the beginning of the race when everyone is still close to each other. If you are going to make a pass, you need to commit to it. The longer you stay behind someone and eating dirt, the less time you have to move up in position. So if you are going try to get around someone, do it quick and do it cleanly. There’s no sense in taking out the both of you.
Tomorrow, I will go through block passing, so stay tuned!
Navigating Flat Corners
One of the great things about riding on soil is that the riders have the ability to shape the race course. Sure, this means that the track can get rough, but berms can definitely help us out. However, when we don’t have the convenience of a rut or berm, things tend to get tricky. With nothing to help catch the weight of you and your bike, a steady right hand and a little balancing act is required to get through flat corners effectively.
Because you don’t have anything to help you lean, your approach needs to be a little different. A good idea is to take a wider approach than you normally would. If you have ever watched road racing, their lines through corners are usually wide arcs. When you are still upright before the turn, this is the point where your braking should be done; your weight is vertical and your tires have the most available traction. You want to stand through the braking bumps so you ensure that your entrance into the corner is nice and smooth.
So, when you get your braking done and sit down, you want to sit right up on the gas cap. That way, you put as much weight on the front wheel as possible for optimal traction. The way in which you lean the bike over is crucial here, as well. The best way is to sit on the outside edge of the seat. This keeps your weight centered and straight down, rather than out and away.
Like always, keep weight on the outside foot peg and the outside elbow up put additional weight on the front wheel. As I mentioned earlier, a steady throttle hand is the biggest part. Slipping the clutch and getting the rear wheel rotating too quickly will just spin you out. So, you want a steady roll on of the throttle to make sure the rear has plenty of traction
Drifting out too wide can leave the door open for a pass. Keeping your elbow up and weight on the outside peg gives you the traction to power through the turn and avoid drifting out. Unlike riding through a wide arc, squaring up flat turns robs momentum and drive. It is time consuming and a waste of energy. Once you find that balance between leaning and twisting the throttle, these corners become excellent passing opportunities.
Slick and Muddy Conditions
High point was pretty crazy this past weekend. Both classes are shaping up to be epic classics and the conditions are ensuring this. The previous round at Freestone was absolutely brutal with scorching temperatures and now Mount Morris provided us with a slick, muddy track. As a Florida boy, I dread slippery conditions. The main lines were slick and as the rain fell, the course deteriorated. However, racing in these conditions aren’t as bad as you think.
One quote, that is truly an oxymoron, can be applied to these circumstances says to go slow to go fast. That couldn’t be any truer. Bombing into corners and sliding in does not work. If you do that in every corner, you need to look through this site on cornering techniques immediately. When lines get beat down and harden up, traction is scarce. Therefore, controlled braking between both the front and rear brakes is essential to ensure a smooth entrance to any corner. Chattering your rear brake helps conserve your forward drive and doesn’t lock it up. In both slick and muddy conditions, you want your corners to smooth arcs with steady throttle application. And if you are still having trouble, you can drag your rear brake when exiting corners. This will help weigh down the rear and force the wheel into the ground.
Getting on the gas is just as important as the braking. Avoid stabbing the clutch when you are leaned over or anything like that. The excessive wheel spin will spin you out and potentially send you to the dirt. So, a steady right hand in any situation will keep you upright. Another aspect that plays a role in smooth drive is your gearing. Not so much sprocket rations but the gear you are actually in makes a difference in traction. If you are too high a gear, the rear does not hook up as well. So, making sure you in a higher gear will help you get a solid, chug out of your bike will help avoid any wheel spin issues.
One important thing is stay loose. Riding tight only leads to arm pump and mistakes. When you are loosened up, you will be able to react and flow through everything rather than fight the track. Working against the course in the conditions like High Point will not work. And most important, keep it fun!
Headshake Solutions
When I first started riding big bikes, I was so stoked to finally have all of the power I wanted. However, with great power, comes great responsibility…courtesy of Uncle Ben from Spiderman. Sometimes, we can get ahead of ourselves on a rougher track and the braking bumps fight back. Most of the time, the chop and speed result in head shake. This uncontrollable shaking can be thwarted with a few adjustments.
One of the most common reasons for head shake is fatigue. When you are fatigued, your form goes out the window and it gets worse as the moto progresses. Your elbows drop and you cannot get enough leverage to keep the bars straight. As you get more and more head shake, you begin to grip harder with your hands and the forearms pump up to bricks. Sound about right? When your upper body feels like rubber, the need to grip with your legs becomes even greater. Again, the quadriceps and hamstrings are a much larger muscle group that can support greater loads of stress for longer periods of times. Start the moto out with a conscience effort of using your legs more than your arms and you will be better off.
Another problem is RPM range. The relationship between the motor and suspension is pretty crazy when you really think about it. When you hear pros run through whoops and moguls, they are running a higher gear. The RPMs are lower and take some of the load off of the forks and shock. They travel smoother and won’t bind, which gives you that bouncing effect through the rough stuff. If you shift down AFTER the braking bumps, you allow your suspension to ride with you, instead of against you. The forks will travel through the entire stroke and do their job; soak up the terrain. When you ride in too low of a gear, the fork don’t travel all the way through the stroke and rebound too fast.
Weight distribution is also important. Maintaining your attack position through the rough chop will help keep your elbows up and in good form. This attack position will place your weight evenly over the bike, allowing you to make changes if need be. As I have said before, riding on the balls of your feet will give you some extra “suspension” and forces you to grip the bike with your legs.
By throwing good form and the right gear together, head shake will be a thing of the past. Of course, making sure your sag is set on the shock and your clickers are dialed is important, but the rider can make a big difference. As always, remember the basics and keep it fun.
2011 KTM’s….
KTM will have linkage in 2011. The new SX350F info was officially debuted and it looks good. It should be interesting to see how the shootouts new year will end up.
Here’s the info.
I’ll have another post up tomorrow, so be sure to check back.
