Why do i suck a dirtbiking so bad?

[BassMan]

My child, you may some day reach a level of being my unworthy servant. Until then, accept your role, for there to be average, there has to be those who are below average. For there the be bad riders, there have to be terrible riders. I know this is hard to understand for someone like you.

[MTmoto]

I don't motocross, only trail ride with an occaisional road to connect trail segments, so the following describes singletracking-tracking...

 

MTB'd for 30+ years before I got a moto.  I got a skills book(How to ride offroad motorcycles by Gary LaPlante) and went to the easy trails and practiced, A LOT!  I did this by myself so I could take the time and redo stuff that felt awkward, weird or if I just ate sh!t!  I figure I did 20+ hours of this type of I have a couple of good mentors and neither one of them is into the 'babying' style of tips/instruction or riding.  I guess they figured eatin' it and picking the bike back up 10+ times per ride would be good training!  I didn't really notice the MTB part helping until a season of riding the moto.  Now I notice it almost every ride.  I continue to learn that the throttle, clutch feathering and standing as much as possible helps me keep the rubber side down and the trails hella more enjoyable. 

 

The little bullet list below is something I keep at the front of my 'mind' when on the way to the trail and when on the bike(and probably a bit too much when I am not even riding!!) ..

*Breathing and relaxing when at all possible helps us both mentally and physically. 

*When in doubt, roll up the throttle and just feather your way out

*Challenge yourself regularly, you need to move beyond your comfort zone<-not all think this way but to me this is the funnest part.

[2PLY]

Riding the MTB has given you the basic skills that will transfer ONCE you become more COMFORTABLE and familiar with the Moto.  The one big adjustment you have to deal with is that you have a much more powerful accelerator than you did on the MTB so it's one more force to adjust to.  Otherwise, the way you moved your MTB under you while you stayed over your line is the same on the Moto...  just a little heavier too.   Try to pick a steady speed where you are not hitting the throttle or brakes often and then see if you can ride it like your bicycle.

 

You can flick the Moto around as you did the MTB, ..  It's just a lot bigger and has the ability to leave you behind if you are not careful.  The braking and turning are the same.  Just focus on staying on the bike without clamping yourself to it.  Pay attention to your hands.  If they are tense, some other part of your body suspension is not working correctly..  Allow the handle bars to move all over, side to side and up and down WITHOUT pushing your upper body out of position..    There are some good videos of top Enduro Riders such as Cody Webb where they have a GoPro on their helmet..   Watch how the camera stays relatively still while the handle bars and front wheels are all over in the video...

 

Try to ride as light as you can on the bars but DO NOT clamp your boots to the frame..  Your ankles and knees are the most important part of your total suspension..   If you lock them to the  bike, you've lost 3/4 of your suspension and then you'll have to bob your head up and down while your waist tries to take over the job your ankles and knees are supposed to be doing.. Don't expect the bike's suspension to do all the work because it won't.  Good Luck and enjoy !! 

Edited January 2, 2015 by 2PLY

[sixsixty8]

There are a lot of good points on this topic... I believe we all think we suck to a certain degree..That is why most of us do it...We all have goals and ambitions and that's what drives us to ride.. I don't know any riders that are just content with showing up and not challenging themselves in some way or another... Talent or no talent we all have to practice to get better....I know some top  pro xc guys that can work the hell out of any bike..Suspension not dialed in /Bald tire/ bent bars/ you name it when you have talent you can make anything work for you... But they didn't get all that talent sittin at home playing xbox.... So get out and do what you love and ride... take babysteps...you don't get good overnight, and neither did the top pros out there... Oh and if you don't have a jump or track to practice on then go find an open field and practice doing a slow catwalk with your fender dragging the ground... You can do that anywhere, and you want to talk about sick skills...That will impress the socks off anyone... That's my 2cents 

[writebrian]

If you really want to advance, take a lesson before bad habits become ingrained. One guy who rode for 10 years before taking a lesson said "I thought I had 10 years motorcycle riding experience. What I really had was 1 year repeated 10 times." 

 

If you never learn how to do it right no matter how many years you are on the bike, it's just wrong repeated over and over. That's not progress. Spend a weekend learning proper technique from a local Pro, a book or even Youtube and repeat THAT for the next 10 years. 

[2PLY]

If you really want to advance, take a lesson before bad habits become ingrained. One guy who rode for 10 years before taking a lesson said "I thought I had 10 years motorcycle riding experience. What I really had was 1 year repeated 10 times." 

 

If you never learn how to do it right no matter how many years you are on the bike, it's just wrong repeated over and over. That's not progress. Spend a weekend learning proper technique from a local Pro, a book or even Youtube and repeat THAT for the next 10 years. 

Exactly what I discovered after 10 years of riding...   See my post #57 in this thread....     And in response to another thread where people said to ride with "better riders", The following is in support of this post: 

 

Riding with other people that are better than you is very helpful.  However and this is a big one...  It's difficult when you're starting out to be sure the people you are riding with REALLY do know what they are doing or talking about..  Quite often, I find that many beginners are riding with others that are just better at the same bad habits that YOU are now learning.

 

If you have any chance of getting some training and sound fundamentals from professional instructors, schools or seminars that focus on the BASICS and NOT on racing you will be MUCH Better off and can avoid learning bad habits that will have to be broken much later.  Put  your first MOD dollars into YOU and not the bike.

 

Riders that are truly "Better" than you will probably take the time to give you some some good tips instead of just letting you chase them around at high speed.