Jumping.....

[sathumper]

Greetings O knowledgeable ones :D

Please could you advise on the correct method for jumping....it has been over 20 years since I raced MX (KX250 and XR200R - yes I know!!!!) and at that time things were waaay easy...just point and go and jump...no hassels BUT now ?...I keep getting the back wheel trying to drive my head into the ground and have already bought a piece of prime real estate at our local track ( I now own a nice 20 foot double... )

Please guys...what am i doing wrong and what should I be doing in order to get my jumps smooth, straight and most of all land them !!!!! What gear, position on bike ?...I just cant seem to get it right

Any help will be appreciated

Thanks in advance

[the426master]

when you jump yyou can't chop the throttle stay on the throttle

[cyclenut51]

Jumps have been my source of injury for all the titanium in my body. So, take it from a guy who either: 1) is nuts because he still jumps, or 2) has learned from his errors, and doesn't seek more surgeries.

To make it simple, remember this. You should leave every jump face on the gas. Period. You should land on the gas too.

Because these are four strokes, the engine braking will have the effect of hitting the rear brake, especially if you chop the throttle.

Like I instruct my wife (who comes up on three years riding March '04 ) aside from judging the speed you need to clear a jump, whatever you do, 'accelerate on the face.' Again, a lot of us use that wonderful engine braking to slow for corners as well as straights, and the newbie rider (like my wife) will have a tendency towards slowing down right before takeoff. So, when you combine the front brake application with the engine braking method, as you hit the jump in 'slowdown' mode, you are preparing for the infamous lawn dart maneuver (of which I am the master dart, or I was for awhile). Gassing the bike stiffens the rear suspension so that it doesn't compress easily, which would cause it to store energy to rebound quickly and shoot you over the bars/make the nose dive. Gassing it in the air will also help attitude adjustment if the front is low. Gassing it on the landing will again stiffen the suspension, helping the bike and you survive the landing and accelerate away. What I'm advocating is gassing it, not necessarily going 5th gear pinned.

Body position is important as well, specifically attack position. I still don't get how some people sit most of the way around a track, and survive. ? I'm not the master of this yet, as I was raised on 'old school' bikes, which had me riding over the rear fender instead of leading with the face. I can say this though. If you're not turning, you should be standing and gripping with your legs. This is crucial on jumps too.

I hope this helped. I haven't had a surgery in four years now, so I it must be working for me.

NUT

[sathumper]

Thanks for that guys I will try and remember these hints when i go riding again....now with regard to my position on the bike....I usually stand and get myself rather neutral..i.e..over what I think to be the centre point of the bike and then bend my legs slightly and grip with my knees....is that right or not? ?

[Jim_bo]

You can also slow down your rebound on your shock. This will slow the effect of the back wheel kicking up. However, don't slow it down to the point that you begin packing your shock on a series of bumps or whoops.

Jimbo

[oldbones]

Your suspension settings can be easily adjusted to help with this as well. I was experiencing the same thing with the stock clicker settings in the rear, even taking off with power.

Do you ever bottom out the rear shock? I wasn't, and I weigh 200#. Loosen your high and low compression settings by 2-3 clicks (1/2 turn) counterclockwise until you just bottom about once per lap, then maybe in one click.

At the same time, your rebound damping may be to loose, i.e., allowing the spring to extend too fast, and tossing you forward. Try tightening the rebound damping by 2-3 clicks until that kicking feeling goes away. This helped me immensely, and helps a lot in the whoops/choppy bumps as well, bike tracks much straighter now.

Just be sure to get out pad and paper, and establish a baseline before you start making changes. Find the stock settings in your book, then go check the actual settings on your bike, mine were all out of whack from the dealer. Then, keep a record of the changes you make, and the effects you feel on the handling of the bike. Soon, you can give me tips on finishing my set-up! ?

[cyclenut51]

There are volumes that can be and have been written on proper body position. I'm no expert, but from the instruction I have had this sounds like the best description.

To find the right feel for position, think of it as the 'basic sports stance.' A shortstop for example, is bent at the knees, his elbows bent, is 'standing small,' and is looking ahead, not down. Picture that position, but now bring the hands up to grasp the grips. The ankle-to-shin relationship should be straight up, for the most part. While in the attack position you should be able to look down and see the front of the number plate. This is what is meant by leading with the face. Ensure that you are squeezing the bike with your legs. By doing this, you free up your arms to work the controls and steer, not to hold on. While in this position, you can counter both positive and negative acceleration (on the gas, on the brakes) by leaning forward and back using the footpegs as your pivot while maintaining form.

I hope this helps. Like I said, I'm still getting it right as I unlearn my bad habits from the past. If all else fails, study the body position of the pros in either video or photos. I also highly recommend MX instruction. ?

[Math]

Check this out

same topic with answers in the general forum

HTH ?

[sathumper]

Thanks for all the advice guys...will give it a bash over the week-end...... :lol:bash ..most probably will be but hey look on the bright side I guess....will have stax of real estate for the kids to inherite...

Will let u know the out come...either from home, work or hospital..

? for now

Mark