Learning to fly

[rebelpacket]

Went to Blue Diamond MX park in PA this past weekend. Took the boat-anchor around the track a bit, and even managed to clear the step-up and one of the table-tops. I got pretty comfortable adjusting the bike in the air with the throttle, but I'm still having a hard time stabbing for the brake lever mid-air.



The question I have is, how do ya'll hit the jumps? Standing up, stiffed legged? Tips? Tricks? Anything I can learn from. I think its time to hit up Crow Hill too and learn from Clinton and Paul.

[Tricky Mike]

What the?
Since when is a 520SX a boat anchor?

[rebelpacket]

I'm kidding of course. For a 520, its pretty fricken nimble, even on the tight stuff!

[Tricky Mike]

Yeah, and there's little need to worry about having enough oomph to clear pretty much anything around here. Braaaaaaaap.

[SSearchVT]

Hitting the rear brake mid air will bring the front end down pretty quick. Work your way up to it by playing with body position first. If the front end is a little high, move forward. When you are really comfortable with this, stand soft knee'd in the middle of the bike and just tap the rear brake. Work slowly to the point where you can lock the rear wheel. Then - time it so you open the throttle right before you touch down.

A tabletop works best for practice (the penalty for coming up short isn't as high as a double). If you can - find one with a nice straight run to it and just loop back to take just that jump - don't run the whole track. To get more air - at the base of the jump cut the throttle back, and then open it back up quick. It's the acceleration, not the speed that will give you the height (play with coming in a gear lower and a gear higher to find the sweet spot). The rest will fall into place with experience. Good luck, start small...

[Paul_E_D]

Jumping

[Kitt]

I ride standing obviously, I usually have my legs stiff when I preload, but bend them as the bike rebounds and throughout the jump to the landing.

[978chris]

I ride standing obviously, I usually have my legs stiff when I preload, but bend them as the bike rebounds and throughout the jump to the landing.

pretty much what he said, standing up as you approach the face of the jump right at the transition push down with your legs to compress and pogo stick off your suspension as you gas it off the lip

i want to get a dirt bike again

[a13x]

Nice, I went to Blue Diamond for a Red Bull visit ages ago, didn't have bike with me thou. Pretty sweet job learning to fly the friendly skies.

No two jumps are the same. Some you stand up and preload, some you seat bounce, some you just pin it and hold the fuck on. Key is to be relaxed and in the attack postion.

Don't Be:
-Stiff
-'In the backseat' (unless pushing front down for a landing)
-Locked legged

Be:
-Like water
-Smooth
-Relaxed
-In the Command position


BRAAAP.

[Paul_E_D]

Hey Alex. Riding with you was always a blast. I've gotten a lot faster since getting my KTM and would love to chase you around the track again.

As for jumping, what I've learned is momentum plus power are what's needed to clear big obstacles on most tracks. It usually means being able to carry corner speed and accelerate hard from the apex out to the top of the ramp.

It's strange, but you can have the rolling speed the same as the next guy, but if you're not in the power, you won't fly nearly as far....