Ok things have been kinda cranky around here lately so let's lighten it up. The other night on the way to a moto my son told me he would give me $500 cash money if I would do a heel clicker during a race. Of course he's 11 years old so he doesn't have $500 but I figure I can put it on his tab. (maybe he's tired of watching the old man come in with the back pack??? hmmm...) Anyway, it looks fairly easy as tricks go, but could some of you SXer's give me any tips? And remember I'm on a 426 so I can't be in 4th gear, can't be going slow or my pipe will glow red, and the manuever can't involve the clutch in any way since I'm still stock. Oh yeah and my boots can't come near the gas tank or it'll crack hehehe... BTW I am one who hammers mine every weekend and mine hasn't hickupped (yet)... bummer, I am knocking on wood as I write...

Mike

Sounds to me like the kid’s got his eye on an early inheritance.

Be careful.

I can barely walk up a flight of stairs, let alone do any tricks. You didn't say if you had to be in the air, so maybe you could do a heel clicker on a straight. With a 500$ debt owing to you, it looks like you'd have free landscaping service for quite some time.

Mike,

Well...as a freestyle wanna-be, here's what I can offer.

First and most importantly, you just don't go out and perform a stunt or a trick. It takes skill, not courage.

The best thing to do is to take it one step at a time.

The first step is to get real good at doing nothing but jumping the bike. So good that you can hit the same jump over and over again and consistently get the same results. This means you get a perfect even "float" from the bike each time. Expect about 50 to 100 jumps before it really starts to feel right.

In the process of this, you'll need to get the feel of when the bike is still rising, and when it's falling. Same thing with your body. You'll want to make sure you can judge the up and down energy of you and the bike. If not, you may not be able to get back on the pegs before your landing. Not a prettty picture.

Your next step would be to start lifting one leg at a time. Jump, lift the right leg out, return, and land. Same for the other leg. Then you can advance to two legs at the same time. Try it sitting down, and try it standing up. This may take another 50 to 100 jumps.

Then you can advance your skills by simply getting your body and legs higher and higher in the air.

You'll notice that the real good FMXers are very smooth with their bikes. This gives them the foundation and confidence to extend far from their bikes and be able to get back home before they land.

One other tip is to almost always try and stay with the bike. Many people don't realize that when they toss the bike coming off a bad jump, that they are still 20 to 30 feet in the air. And even if you land out of control, at least the bike's suspension and soft seat will help dramatically soften the blow. And when you learn to stay with it, you'll also learn better recovery methods.

So be patient, and wear plenty of protection.

Good luck!

DaveJ

MikeOk:

I tried doing a "heel clicker" while the bike was still tied down to the trailer.
I couldn't even get my heels over bars, let alone click.