First go on a motocross track!

[Flynn]

Right guys, I have wanted to do motocross since I was aware of the sport, which was since I was maybe about 9 or 10. Eventually in 2005 I persuaded my parents to take me to the local track and my mom missed the point and viewed it as a "day out" rather than an indication that I wanted a motocross bike. My pops was all for it but my mom put a stop to it by moaning about stuff.

Fast forward 11 years and since I got my husky (which is also my first bike) in December I have researched this track on the internet and found that sadly it had closed down. However, that is the official word.

There is some local wasteland nearby that people take their bikes on and I got talking to some of the guys there and they said that the farmer who owns the track allows bookings of up to three bikes at a time with a fee of £10 per bike to use it all day.

The track is surrounded by fields so no neighbours to complain about noise but to get to it you have to drive through a small village and I can only imagine that the NIMBYS in the village (not in my back yarders) complained about the traffic going through the village every fortnight on a Sunday.

Here are a couple of pics of my bike there, unfortunately it was only me there so no videos or any pics of me on the bike.



And here's the Google earth view



Unfortunately I only got 30 minutes there before my footpeg bolts worked loose and snapped off leaving me without a right hand foot peg. My quad muscle is still aching from having to hold my leg up on the 5 mile ride back home!

The brief time that I did have though highlighted that although I felt pretty handy from doing lanes and fields, cornering on a loose surface does not come naturally yet.

I know all the theory, but the muscle memory hasn't developed. A lot of the time I was not going fast enough to use the brakes before the corner and thus not getting the weight transfer to make the front wheel grip.

My biggest problem were flat corners and getting the bike leaned over without feeling like it will lowside, the bermed corners felt alright after a few goes.

I got some air on the jumps but was approaching them cautiously, no where near at full throttle like you are supposed to. It takes me awhile to get setup before the jumps, a couple of times I rushed it and came down front wheel first, not good!

I am eager to see how the 610 holds up to several hours of abuse. Hopefully it will be okay but I know it was not built for this type of thing, it's about 50 kilos too heavy which will put strain on all the components.

 

[justintendo]

take your time and build your talent up. long as you arent missing shifts or over revving the bike, i doubt you are capable of "abusing" the bike! its a tough machine and with time you will learn the maintenance part of it as well. hopefully you can find another rider nearby that could help set up your suspension, as this will speed up your learning curve.

 

[ghte]

Good advice Justintendo

 

[Flynn]

take your time and build your talent up. long as you arent missing shifts or over revving the bike, i doubt you are capable of "abusing" the bike! its a tough machine and with time you will learn the maintenance part of it as well. hopefully you can find another rider nearby that could help set up your suspension, as this will speed up your learning curve.

Great advice thank you! By over revving what do you mean because I think bikes have rev limiters don't they?

Yes I really want to get to a decent level where I can string a few fast laps together.

At the moment it takes so much concentration, I love the challenge.

 

[justintendo]

Great advice thank you! By over revving what do you mean because I think bikes have rev limiters don't they?

Yes I really want to get to a decent level where I can string a few fast laps together.

At the moment it takes so much concentration, I love the challenge.

they do but you dont want to rely on that. with the big 610, you want to work the mid-range...not bounce it off the rev limiter. motor will not last doing that, and it wont make you faster.

 

[Flynn]

No worries justintendo, I didn't get anywhere near the rev limiter even on the jumps as it is too narrow and tight for that. The 610 is great hauling out of corners in second, in fact I think I left it in second all the way around, just slipping the clutch when necessary. The sweet spot is definitely the low to mid range on this motor, I just wanted clarification on whether bikes had rev limiters or not since you mentioned over revving.


I had my first proper go today, got way more confident on corners and started going a bit more on jumps.

There where a couple of guys who agreed to photograph me on the jump, I wanted some cool cornering shots as well but didn't want to ask them to do that as well.

As such I have some cool jump pics to share:



Not my biggest jumps of the day (was trying the seat bounce and nailed it a few times but not when these photos were taken) but still nice none the less.

Gotta say this bike has been really good to me, it runs like a champ considering how heavily it gets used. I don't do a lot of miles but when I do use it I use it hard and it runs like a champ.

 

[justintendo]

those jumps look pretty good to me! looks like you are off to a great start, just keep up on the maintenance and im sure she will last fine

 

[Bigbill]

Nice track looks like fun. Four stroke just up shift and let the torque flow. Have you thought about a sprocket ratio change for the mx track?

Next bike? Older left kicker 2t husky. Best of both worlds. I had both.

 

[Theo]

It looks good to me! It just seems that your elbows are a little low.
Since you're starting, I think that it's better if you start with the right technique. You know, basketball players, swimmers and many other sportsmen have a basic technique; the same holds good for motocross!
I'm not a fast dirt rider at all; I just have some experience with my 610 SM and with a YZ 250 (mx, not sm) I purchased some months ago. I'd like to give you some pieces of advice anyway.
Some years ago I lukily managed to join a free of charge course about supermotos in the dirt with two professionals and, although I was a super beginner with that heavy, unproper bike, they thaught me the same basic technique they taught to guys who were way faster than me. Here are the two tips I consider the most important:
-in ideal conditions, you should use your arms only to turn the handlebar, because you are supposed to squeeze the bike with your legs, especially while standing, and to use your legs to apply force to the bike. In the pictures it seems that you do that
-while entering a corner, if, like it often happens, you have to brake, do that while standing and keeping your weight on the back, like this:

even if the ground is flat and it doesn't seem to be a reason to stand.
So you have to learn how to use the brake lever with the balls of your feet while the heel supports your body.
Then, as soon as you release the brakes and start opening the throttle, you sit down in the center of the seat. I notice that at this point fast riders don't hang their leg: they keep it aside the air scoop, like this:

 

[Flynn]

Yes I am familiar with the fundamental techniques but thanks for the recap. Regardless, I prefer to do what feels natural to me rather than what the textbook technique is. My philosophy is that if you need a particular technique then you will use it, if you aren't then you don't at that particular stage Otherwise it just over complicates the whole thing unnecessarily.

Re my elbows being low, yes, I have long arms and can't seem to get in a comfortable position with regards to that. Although I know that high elbows give good leverage for steering but I can't seem to get them up there.

 

[Theo]

Your opinion makes sense. I just wanted to make sure that you knew the basics.
Have fun!

 

[duggoey]

Blue sky's 2 days in a row! Not a bad run!

 

[Flynn]

Yeah for England it really is quite a rarity! I figure it's the norm in Aus though. Trying to make the most of the summer, it's been like autumn all the way up to late July here and now finally in August we are having decent weather. It's interesting how much more positive the nice weather makes you feel about life. It'll be a good memory for the memory banks that's for sure.

 

[justintendo]

just remember, you dont enjoy the nice weather if not for the bad weather too

 

[duggoey]

Yeah for England it really is quite a rarity! I figure it's the norm in Aus though. Trying to make the most of the summer, it's been like autumn all the way up to late July here and now finally in August we are having decent weather. It's interesting how much more positive the nice weather makes you feel about life. It'll be a good memory for the memory banks that's for sure.

Yep. It can be painful here in the summer. You really can get sick of >30C for months on end believe it or not. Our late winter has been nice. A lot of clear 20C days with some rain to keep the dust away

 

[Flynn]

Oh yeah definitely I am not a fan of the heat, my favourite days are clear skies with a nice cool breeze, endless grey clouds are what make me feel rather dull.

 

[Huskynoobee]

One of the best ways to get your elbows up with long arms is to raise them. Some simple risers around 20mm under the bar clamps can make a big difference.

 

[Flynn]

I find my forearm is too long, would risers still help?

 

[Huskynoobee]

That and rolling the bars forward some.

 

[Flynn]

I actually had the bars set way forwards awhile ago but then I read that if they are set more forward than the suspension tubes it doesn't handle as well? It felt like it turned quicker though. Same if you go on a bicycle and lean over the front, feels mad twitchy though.