David Kilgore(Motocross Instuctor) & Gary(#5) Having some fun on his school track
April Tip- Shifting Techniques
David Kilgore(Motocross Instuctor) & Gary(#5) Having some
fun on his school track
April Tip-
Shifting Techniques
Anyone who rides a motorcycle can shift but not everyone can always be in the right gear at the right time, shift from every body position on the bike, shift before they over rev, up shift and downshift with the clutch and power shift. I've found that having the shifter adjusted about the same height or just a hair higher than the foot peg works best for starters. Then if you're in the forward body position both sitting or standing you'll need to lift your entire leg to shift. That means your foot will come up off the foot peg. But if you're in the middle or back position you can pivot your foot on the foot peg from the arch to shift.
Short shifting is a great technique to know because it enables you to shift before you get into the rev limiter. Once the bike hits the rev limiter it stops making power. It may sound like your going fast but you're not. And over revving is very hard on the engine, especially 4 strokes. Using a higher gear and knowing how and when to nip the clutch in order to start the power just how you want will make a huge difference.
My 3 newest DVDs just became available. The 2nd DVD (Clutch, Throttle and Shifting Control) will show all the details and how to practice them in order to make them become an automatic reflex reaction ingrained into your nervous system. That's when you know you're good at it. You can see free previews and order online at my new redesigned website at; www.garysemics.com.
May
Tip-Brake Slide to Power Slide
Brake slide to power slide is a great
technique to use in order to square off a corner. This quick, set up your line
technique is usually performed in second or third gear. It's the fastest way
around corners when there is no berm to hook up into. The important part is that
you are at least half way around the corner when you go from brake slide to
power slide.Most beginners don't enter the corner fast enough and therefore
finish their brake slide too early. This causes them to start power sliding too
early and that makes them go wide out of the corner. Go in a little deeper and
by the time you're ready to get off the brakes and onto the clutch and throttle
you'll be pointed more in the right direction for a fast exit. This will allow
you to hit your exit line just right. It's a great way to make a past. Set it up
and make it happen. For more free riding tips, free Technique DVD Previews, my
MX School Schedule and more visit; www.garysemics.com
June Tip- Cornering in soft cushion berms or sand
A soft cushion berm is a berm made of loose dirt. You'll find these nice soft berms a lot on sand tracks but they can also appear anywhere loose dirt creates a soft cushion berm. If the dirt is not too dry and loose these type berms will really hold you. This means you can come into them really fast, lean the bike way over and give it all the berries (all the power). But if they are on the dry, loose side you have to hit them lightly to keep from breaking through them.
Let's think about a medium type cushion berm, not too dry and loose and not too soft and muddy but just right. These are my favorite type berms because I can really come into them fast, lay the bike way over and give it all the berries early. These berms actually slow you down when you hit them. Because of this you have to get onto the power just before your front wheel plows into the berm. If not the front wheel is likely to fold and tuck under you, causing the bike to fall to the inside. Make sure your inside foot is up high and out far so you can lay the bike way over without your inside leg getting in the way. If you are lucky you'll find some nice cushion berms. If you do take advantage of them and practice them a lot. When you get the correct techniques down you'll see why they are a favorite of many motocross riders.
I'm currently producing 3 new DVDs that will be the 4th, 5th and 6th DVDs in my new 9 part Volume 3 Series. The 5th DVD is Berms. All these DVDs are coming together nicely. If you haven't already purchased the first 3 in this new series you can see free previews and order online at; www.garysemics.com
I have posted a free 34 minute video of my last school on You Tube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtxS4et3aA
July Tip- Passing
When the rider you're trying to pass is about the same speed as you are you're going to have to be patient, smart and set him up for the pass. The main thing to remember is to look pass him or at least beside him and not at him. Don't focus your vision on him or worst yet at his rear tire.
On the parts of the track that are one line you'll have to follow him but when you can take a different line take it. This way if he makes a mistake you'll make the pass and even if he doesn't you'll have a much better chance of making that pass and stop eating his roost. You can't pass if you're focusing on him and following.
If you're still having a hard time learn what part of the track you have the best chance of passing him and go for it there. The most common place to pass is in corners and the most common technique to pass is what's called "Outside - Inside". This means to set him up entering the corner from the outside line. Then as you enter the corner you go from outside to inside as you cut under him and make the pass as you begin to exit the corner. It's the most common and easiest way to pass.
I hope this helps get you by those hard to pass riders. See more free riding tips, Technique DVD previews, order online and much more at; www.garysemics.com
\October Tip- Smoother Landings
If you're landing on flat ground, while you're in the air you should be standing with your body position stretched out tall over the front of the bike, then as you land row down and back with your body movement. This will smooth out the landing dramatically. Land with either the front or rear wheel first, not both wheels at the same time. Landing with body wheels at the same time is okay on a nice smooth downside but otherwise it's not good. It can cause you to land harder, bounce up more and get sideways. Definitely land with the throttle on. Now this doesn't mean panic rev the entire time you're in the air like many of the gun hoe young riders who don't pay for their bike and parts do. Get on the throttle just before you land and your bike will like you for it. These landing techniques will not only smooth things out but also be faster, straighter and a lot easier on your body.
Like any of the 55 Absolute Techniques of Motocross you have to practice it long enough for it to become natural and automatic and that WILL Make You A Better Rider.
Motocross Clutch Techniques- Dec Tip
It’s easy for a seasoned pro to use the clutch anytime they need to and in motocross that's a lot. You shouldn't use the clutch when skimming the whoops but other than that you should pretty much always have a finger or two on the clutch, ready to nip it like a trigger in order to have better control. For instance, when jumping through the whoops he proper use of the clutch will allow you to have better timing and control at delivering just the right amount of power to the rear wheel when it compresses into the troughs of the whoops. This will give you better jumping control out of the whoop so you can land just where you want from there and so on. In order to do this properly you have to be able to hold onto the grip and use the clutch independently. Many pro riders will hold onto the grip with two fingers and use the clutch with two fingers. Many other pros will hold onto the grip with three fingers and use the clutch with one finger. I like this way better because I have more strength holding onto the grip with three fingers. I use my index finger. Whatever combinations of fingers you prefer is up to you but this technique is a must for any serious motocrosser or off-road rider.
This very same clutch technique should also be used while riding most of the track. You should use it exiting corners and on jumps where you have a short approach. It’s also beneficial when landing from a jump in order to get more power to the rear wheel and accelerate faster. When using the clutch as mentioned in all the above it’s used more like a trigger, you don’t slip it, you nip it like a trigger.
Being able to hold onto the grips and use not only the clutch but also the front brake is a much do for any serious motocrosser or off-road competitor. These and more clutch techniques are shown and explained in the Volume 3 Technique DVD #3 (Clutch, Throttle and Shifting Techniques). See a free preview and/or order online at; http://wp.gsmxs.com/dvd-3-clutch-throttle-clutch-control/
Weighting the outside or inside Foot Peg. - Jan Tip
While sliding through a corner with the inside foot out for the corner you should be weighting the outside peg. How much weighting? I call it pressure down on the outside peg. Not so much that you hardly have any weight on the seat but enough pressure that it's comfortable for you. Just 20 pounds of pressure makes a big difference. Taking 20 pound of pressure off the seat and bars (high center of gravity CG) and putting that 20 pounds to a low CG, big difference for bike and body related handling and traction.
When you are cornering through a fast slick corner and have both feet on the pegs (sitting or standing) you can get an even lower CG by weighing the inside peg. Just be sure you’re not going to have to put that inside foot out for the corner. It’s not important to weight either peg when cornering through a berm (rutted corner) because the berm will hold the tires from sliding out.
Develop success from failure. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. No other elements can do so much for a man if he is willing to study and make capital out of them.
How to stay motivated- Feb Tip
This could be a deep subject. It would take a novel to explain all the details but I’ll try to give you a good outline of some practical things most everyone can apply. Try looking at it this way, Everything us humans do in life comes down to our need to avoid pain and our desire to gain pleasure, both are biologically driven and constitute the controlling force in our lives. Can you prove that this pain and pleasure theory is not true? Try to think of any other reason that causes people to act and you’ll find that the bottom line comes down to our need to avoid pain and our desire to gain pleasure. We will do far more to avoid pain than we will to gain pleasure, pain is the greater motivator.
Once you understand and accept these facts the point here is to take control over these two powerful motivating factors and use them to motivate yourself to get what you really want in life and not let them randomly motivate you in the wrong direction.
This is more complicated then it may at first seem. We’re not just talking about the simple immediate things that would obviously cause a person to experience pain or pleasure. Like putting your hand on a hot stove or having the pleasure of being on the receiving end of a relaxing message by a favorable partner. There are some other important factors that come into play like focus and belief, and the differences between instant gratification and longer term pleasures and pains.
This example will get my point across more clearly. Let’s say that a certain pro is doing pretty well in the Nationals for his first year, say consistent top 20 finishes. Let’s say he has the typical problem of not being in good enough shape. He could be doing better but he gets tired after the half way point and fades. Obviously he needs a better diet and training habits, but during the week when he should be training he focuses on how training is painful. In his gut feelings he believes that training is painful. This guy needs to change what he is focusing his attention on and what he is allowing himself to believe. Instead of focusing his attention on how training at that moment will be painful, he should be focusing his attention on how not training will be way more painful. He should reprogram his beliefs to truly believe that training at that moment will bring him a lot of pleasure and help him to avoid pain by focusing his attention on how painful it will be when he gets tired and fades behind in the races. How getting tried and being in not good enough shape will cause him to not have good sponsors and be paid lots of money to race, loose his ride and have to go to work doing something that he hates to do and so on. This is just one simple, quick example on how changing your focus and beliefs will cause you to use the two greatest motivators of pain and pleasure to motive you in a positive direction instead of letting pain and pleasure motive you down the wrong path.
Beware of the instant gratifiers. Keep your focus and beliefs aimed down the road, toward the long run. When you have the erg to have a nice big bowl of ice cream, don’t focus and believe on how eating that ice cream is going to give you instant pleasure. Instead focus and believe on how eating that ice cream is going to overload your body with sugar and make you tried and out of shape. How it’s going to make it more difficult for you to reach your ultimate goals. When you truly focus on and believe this you won’t even want the ice cream. But if you don’t focus on and believe this it’s already too late. You’re going to want the ice cream and it’s just going to be a matter of time before the ice cream wins out. Hey, by the way, I’m not down on ice cream. It’s okay once in a while. I’m just using this example for diet which applies to all good and bad foods that you should or should not be eating. The same goes for all motivating and non-motivating factors in your life. The point is to control your focus and beliefs. Keep them on the major things that are really worth wild and don’t get side tracked into the minor things that are here and gone in an instant.
Remember that you can reach any realistic goals that you really, really want. If you want it bad enough, you’re willing to do whatever it takes, and you apply yourself 100%, you can do it. Remember this saying. A truly strong desire is like the desire that a drowning man has for a breath of air or like the desert lost man has for a drink of water. One thing that you may have to learn to do well in order to reach your ultimate goals is to take control and use your own mind more effectively. Wow, that was almost a novel I hope it helps.
Squaring off corners- March 2012 Tip
Squaring off corners takes a technique called; Brake Slide/Power Slide (BSPS). This is an advanced technique but with understanding and practice it can be added to your arsenal. First you have to be able to do all the regular cornering techniques perfectly. Then with the proper timing and precision of your body movements and the controls of the M/C (in this case the front and rear brakes and the clutch and throttle) you’ll get this technique nailed down. You can make up a lot of time in certain corners by smoothly going from backing it in with the brakes to power sliding it out with the clutch and throttle. It's also an excellent passing move.
How to; Keep the throttle on until the last millisecond where you can still make the corner. As soon as you shut off the throttle you should be braking with both rear and front brakes, with the clutch out, as hard as possible without killing the engine. This should put the bike in a bit of a drift slide. Control the brakes keeping it in the drift slide until the transition part of the corner. At this point you need to pull in the clutch and lock up the rear wheel, putting it into a brake slide. Then before you stop the brake slide you need to go to the power slide with the clutch and throttle. This way the rear of the bike goes from brake slide to power slide in one fluid motion. It will not work in berms. It works best in tighter corners that don’t have much traction.
If the corner is really tight this can be done in one place in the corner. In other words you would pivot the bike in one spot in the corner and go; squaring it up from that point and exiting the corner. On corners that are a little wider you would pivot the bike through the corner on an arch; pivoting it though a section of the corner instead of in one spot. The BSPS is always done at the Transition part of the corner (where you go from braking to accelerating).
With the correct type of practice you’ll be doing it too and passing your competition while they are still off the gas.
Staying low on jumps.- April 2012 Tip
Are you getting pulled by faster riders over jumps? Many jumps are easy to clear. If you don't know how to absorb the take off part of the jump and stay low you're going to loose a lot of yardage. Most beginner riders only know one way to hit a jump. They will approach the jump with the right amount of speed and use the one jumping technique they know to clear the jump. This is usually a little blip of the throttle on take off. Many times this limited technique will cause you to have to actually slow down a little before you hit the jump so you can use your one man horse technique of blipping the throttle upon takeoff. This is actually a technique to get more height and distance. So not only are you slowing down before you hit the jump you are also going higher and spending more time in the air. Does that sound like a fast way to race over an easy to clear jump?
The faster riders would hit this type jump and absorb the rebound as they take off. They are able to carry more speed into the jump, stay lower in the air and get back on the ground faster. This all adds up to pulling yardage on the old horse technique. This takes some practice but you have to stand fairly tall on the compression part of the jump and then flex in your knees and elbows and let the bike come up under you the instant it starts to rebound. If you’re off the throttle as you do this you also have to row down and back (as you’re absorbing the rebound) so you don’t endo. Watch the pros do it and you’ll see how it’s done, although they are probably scrubbing at the same time. This is even more of an advance technique so work on the first one first. After you get it down you can start learning how to scrub.