I rode today on a pretty technical track. The whoops section really kicked my butt bad. I couldn't get through it more than 5 MPH. What's the trick? How can I improve?

03 YZ250F
Sore Butt
Peg cut my knee when loading
Peg scraped my leg when unloading
Smooth landings on the doubles today
Butt still sore....

It all depends on the amount of space between them, the size and stuff, I hit most whoops in 3rd and just let your arms soak it up, and LEAN back, DO NOT let your front tire dip in or you'll be doing some serious soil sampling. Hold it wide open and skim accross them.

These are about 2 to 2.5 feet tall and about 4-5 feet peak to peak. Treacherous!

Maybe get into a two at a time rythem? Just treat them as a series of small doubles?

Mike 01WR250F

Suspension setup makes a huge difference. Most the tracks around here are groomed pretty well without many whoop sections. I thought my suspension was pretty good for me until I tried a gnarly section of stadium whoops. Ate me for lunch. Took my screwdriver to the clickers, less comp. more rebound, much faster. Before I made the adjustments, it would nearly rip the bars out of my hands.
Cyrus

First you have to decide if you're going to blitz them or if you're going to double/triple.

If you are going to blitz, apply a lot of pressure with your legs/knees, look towards the end of the whoops section, and try to keep your front wheel light, so that you only touch the top of each whoops. Usually approaching them in a gear higher than usual will give you more control.

If you decide to double/triple, it's all in the timing. Here you will try to compress the suspension everytime you land, and try to to use the rebound force to help you clear a few more.

Good luck and work your way gradually.

Are the settings for the suspension for both front and back? Could you be more specific on the settings? Will those settings effect landings off of jumps? I have my rear suspension set heavy on both high and low compressions with stock on rebound. Front is one click less than stock on comp. I'm afraid of the front tire dipping and the rear bouncing me off into grub worm territory.

Those Whoops sound a little rough,Try This,,,Get your butt way back over the back of the seat with your arms almost stretched out and give it some throttle..works for the smaller whoops! 2/1/2 and under,for me anyway!

I had someone teach me very different way to go through whoops. His theory is that if you move yourself to the pivot point for your bike and let it rip all you have to do is pump your arms as the bike rocks back and forth under you. The odd thing is that the pivot point is usually towards the front where typical wisdom is to move your weight back. If you can go fast enough to skip top to top I hang it off the back and go but if that isn't possible I have had good luck with the pivit point idea.

I'm 33 yrs young. I have a mortgage, 3 awsome kids, a beautiful wife, but also have a burning desire to fly high and go fast on my 03 250f!!!!!!!!!!! I'm just a little apprehensive on a few things. I remember my first double.......SWEET!!!! So smooth on the landing (backside of second jump was not steep and drawn out). I know this is a BIKE forum, but the Q's I'm asking are bike specific. I really appreciate all of the help! I just love to ride. My 7 year old daughter rides an 02 XR50. She loves it!

kkanracing,

Your enthusiasm is great. Keep it up.

I like to see technique discussed here too!

By the way, I feel most comfortable with doing the double double on whoops like that. They feel real smooth and fluid when I get it timed right. I think that it is slower than blitzing them but I don't feel like I'll land on my butt.

I know this is a BIKE forum, but the Q's I'm asking are bike specific

Nah, I've seen lots of off topic questions here, so ask away. But please at least try to keep the soiled diapers and what to do about them on the trail, questions to a minimum for those of us with weak stomachs.

My last bike was an RM125 1983. It didn't have the suspension my 03 250f has. I'm not sure about what's what. I'm hooking up great off the line, in corners, mud, hard pack, loam, and even grass. But I want it to be as forgiving as possible for the old bones, achy joints, and fear of a broken collar bone by gnarly whoops! I envision myself blitzing the whoops like a crazed, wicked, ruthless animal! But I also envision me clearing the first 3-5 whoops, then the front tire dipping to the bottom of backside 4-5 whoop and "OH SHT!" So....less rebound on the rear shock? Less rebound on the front? More?