little changes

[theothersean]

more of an aha moment .
I always knew that in a dirt corner that you wanted to get up on the tank and get weight on the front wheel , and apply pressure to the outside peg, but I was always leaning into the corner with the bike, often washing the front wheel or drifting to the outside of the corner .
I just recently started to slide one cheek off the bike to the outside of the corner , sitting upright and letting the bike lean under me , I have been able to speed up in the corners and it feels a lot more stabil and smoother .

I have found this to help on the KLR on dirt roads as well . It is amazing how a small change in body position can make big differences in stability and speed .

[sandman]

Yes it does, now weight the peg and push the tank with you knee.

You'll really like it when the front end washes out for a foot or more and you don't loos it.

The trick is switching back and forth when changing from dirt to pavement

[TTD]

I just recently started to slide one cheek off the bike to the outside of the corner , sitting upright and letting the bike lean under me , I have been able to speed up in the corners and it feels a lot more stabil and smoother .

Crap... now I have no hope of ever keeping up with you!

Is it that field course you set up that helped you learn this? That is definitely where it would come into play.

[duc106]

This came into play when Leah was showing him a laundry list of mistakes he was making.

[theothersean]

actually we were sitting around a camp fire at an ADV event and I overheard someone talking about applying this ice riding technique to the dirt so I tried it the next day and it was a small change that lead to a dramatic improvement .


it also works well in slow speed pavement manuvers where you need to take a tight radius corner like in a parking lot, making a u turn in the middle of the road , etc.

[maxim_X]

I always wash out and ride high on sand turns. I was told more throttle was going to keep me on the line but it seems to just make me run wider. I'll have to try getting my ass off the outside and see how that does. Good tip!

[Kurlon]

Played with this a bit Sunday, suddenly berms start to make sense. Only issue I have now is one sandy corner at MX207... tends to develop two deep ruts and 50% of the time the bike just wants to ignore the rut and ride up and out... towards the spectator wall. I entertained some folks blowing that turn and cursing a few times.

[Awesome]

It works well really push your shoulders and arms out to put the bike down, When you have the bike really leaned over, like in ice riding, I find myself pushing toward the ground, like onto the frame with my boots more than really weighting the outside peg.

[Paul_E_D]

Makes the bike grip like velcro! You can lean in (neutral with the bike) when there is a berm to prevent you fro drifting/washing the front.

[theothersean]

I played with it myself (dirty ) this weekend, 45-50 mph on the klr in corners on a dirt road that I used to drift wide at 35 mph . now I am just railing the corner .

[Paul_E_D]

Wirelessly posted

Were!

[theothersean]

back roads out near wendell headed towards greenfield and on out to rt2 west of charlemont

[Paul_E_D]

Haha, My phone corrected a "Weeee!"

That's my stomping grounds!

[gregp]

I am usually way too tired to move around that much on my bike. It definitely takes energy. Being older and out of shape is no fun. I do remember doing something like this on the ice, though that was many years ago...

[Paul_E_D]

Wow, The energy saved from this technique outweighs the energy expended. Not having to save the front over and over again really keeps the heart rate down.

[Woodcraft]

If any of you have ever looked into American Supercamp, it teaches this technique very well. In order to have control, you need to sit on top of the bike with your torso fairly upright. Dirt bikes do not have anywhere near the lateral grip that street bikes do, so the whole "moving the CG" thing that works on the street just causes lowsides in the dirt. Sit on the outside of the seat, get up on the gas cap, and elbows out (this is another big one) is a good start for most people. The next thing is to stand up as long as you can into a corner (sit just as gas is re-applied). All it takes is enough energy, and we all know how that fades with more laps.....

[Kurlon]

So... when does Dirty Penguin start accepting signups?

[breakdirt916]

where's the video?