Take off help

[Hudson Charlton]

Hey fellow dirt riders, I am having a lot of trouble mastering take offs. I have a cr 250 '02 and of course it has a lot of power right away. I just can't seem to hold my front end down.

 

I have my head right over the bars, and I am as far up on the seat as possible.

I know you are supposed to lock your feat in the pegs, but I find that very awkward.

I also find that I put my feat up on the pegs really soon to help hang on. I've heard you are supposed to switch to 3rd first?

 

Are whole shot devices that important?

[thetinkerer]

Hey fellow dirt riders, I am having a lot of trouble mastering take offs. I have a cr 250 '02 and of course it has a lot of power right away. I just can't seem to hold my front end down.
 
I have my head right over the bars, and I am as far up on the seat as possible.
I know you are supposed to lock your feat in the pegs, but I find that very awkward.
I also find that I put my feat up on the pegs really soon to help hang on. I've heard you are supposed to switch to 3rd first?
 
Are whole shot devices that important?

I personally don't ride with a hole shot device, but I am pretty sure it is what keep those little 150 lbs 5"6 professional riders front wheel down.

What gear are you starting on? On small bore bikes (50's-125's) you usually start in first. On big bores (250's-whatever huge bore you can think of) you should start in second. This should also help keep that front wheel down as well. I haven't heard of the 3rd gear thing before?

Someone with more experience should be able to give you more help. Just my 0.02$

[BOAB]

11 minutes ago, thetinkerer said:

 

 

I personally don't ride with a hole shot device, but I am pretty sure it is what keep those little 150 lbs 5"6 professional riders front wheel down.

What gear are you starting on? On small bore bikes (50's-125's) you usually start in first. On big bores (250's-whatever huge bore you can think of) you should start in second. This should also help keep that front wheel down as well. I haven't heard of the 3rd gear thing before?

Someone with more experience should be able to give you more help. Just my 0.02$

 

 

Some pros on 450s start in 3rd.

[76xtdrvr]

Are you using the clutch to control power to the rear wheel?

[Hudson Charlton]

Are you using the clutch to control power to the rear wheel?

No. explain?

[Hudson Charlton]

I personally don't ride with a hole shot device, but I am pretty sure it is what keep those little 150 lbs 5"6 professional riders front wheel down.

What gear are you starting on? On small bore bikes (50's-125's) you usually start in first. On big bores (250's-whatever huge bore you can think of) you should start in second. This should also help keep that front wheel down as well. I haven't heard of the 3rd gear thing before?

Someone with more experience should be able to give you more help. Just my 0.02$

I am about 5' 6" 150lbs. I actually find it hard to touch the ground when being so far up front.
I start in second.

So I heard that generally you switch from second to third before you put your feet on the pegs. That way your legs give a bit of stability.

[EmpireofDerp]

I am about 5' 6" 150lbs. I actually find it hard to touch the ground when being so far up front.
I start in second.

So I heard that generally you switch from second to third before you put your feet on the pegs. That way your legs give a bit of stability.

that's bullshit, I hear an see that all the time, practice on a street bike or all day on your dirt bike, practice holding the throttle at steady rpm and throwing the clutch, eventually you'll find the right combination of clutch, gear and rpm. I make up 7-8 places every start in road races with drag experience. I start with left foot under the shifter and right foot down. Stability lol.

Sent from my SM-G935V using ThumperTalk mobile app

[EmpireofDerp]

http://www.dragbike.com/the-starting-line-the-launch-dump-or-ride-the-clutch/

 

Here's a few different takes from folks who live by 60 foot times.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using ThumperTalk mobile app

 

I Do what Jerry does, equal clutch and throttle movements. Whether I'm launching my zx10 road racer, Hayabusa drag bike or yz250.

 

 

[76xtdrvr]

11 hours ago, Hudson Charlton said:

No. explain?

You can maintain full throttle off the gate if you get a feel for using the clutch to control too much wheel spin or too much traction (wheelie) off the start until you upshift. You also can then experiment with starting in a higher gear as others have noted. It's hard on the clutch, but that's racing.

[Hudson Charlton]

I don't use full throttle when I'm practicing. Full throttle just makes me cringe at how fast that piston is buzzing around. Maybe that's my problem?

[Hudson Charlton]

I shouldn't say it like that: once my clutch is out I hold it. It's screaming the engine when not under load that I don't like.

[Doc_speeder]

It really depends on available traction, specific gear ratios, and engine power characteristics.  Practice practice practice.  Experiment, don't be afraid to let it rev, they're built for it.

[Motox367]

On 9/3/2017 at 5:00 PM, Hudson Charlton said:

 

Hey fellow dirt riders, I am having a lot of trouble mastering take offs. I have a cr 250 '02 and of course it has a lot of power right away. I just can't seem to hold my front end down.

 

I have my head right over the bars, and I am as far up on the seat as possible.

I know you are supposed to lock your feat in the pegs, but I find that very awkward.

I also find that I put my feat up on the pegs really soon to help hang on. I've heard you are supposed to switch to 3rd first?

 

Are whole shot devices that important?

 

Your head over bars doesn't do crap and lock your feet on pegs what? ??  We talking mx start here? Dirt start? First get your balls on the gas cap 2nd gear keep both feet down but just enough to hold ya up. 3/4 throttle use your clutch to control front end then you don't have to let off = holeshot  holeshot device works but more mental than anything really.  If you can't start without one you won't start with one . Practice weight forward not your head and two feet down lots of throttle ? at the races there will be a rut so you should be able to touch . Holding front brake at same time keeps bike from lurching forward and getting stuck in gate. Best thing is to keep racing 

Edited September 8, 2017 by Motox367

[GoneDirtBikeN]

On 9/3/2017 at 2:00 PM, Hudson Charlton said:

 

Hey fellow dirt riders, I am having a lot of trouble mastering take offs. I have a cr 250 '02 and of course it has a lot of power right away. I just can't seem to hold my front end down.

 

I have my head right over the bars, and I am as far up on the seat as possible.

I know you are supposed to lock your feat in the pegs, but I find that very awkward.

I also find that I put my feat up on the pegs really soon to help hang on. I've heard you are supposed to switch to 3rd first?

 

Are whole shot devices that important?

 

Good video on starts:

Yes, I like to lock myself in place on the start by putting the boots in front of the foot pegs; that helps keep you from slipping back on the seat during the start. I find that my feet naturally go on to the foot pegs - they are always there by the time I hit the first corner. LoL. But seriously I get on the foot pegs quickly for the control.

Your going to have to find the spots on the clutch and throttle that work for you. When I went to the 450, I don't rev the engine as high as I did with the 250. Both 4Ts though. Then I'm able to do a very controlled (but quick) release of both the clutch and throttle. When I do it right I'm hitting it as hard as I can but - not having the front wheel lift. If I get the front wheel lifting that much, I use the clutch a little to drop it. Seems like the more I have to use the clutch to stop a wheelie the slower my start is.

Edited September 10, 2017 by GoneDirtBikeN

[asian195]

Holeshot devices do help. But as said above, if you don't have proper technique it won't help as much.
The amount of throttle you launch with will vary depending on track conditions. Some tracks have less traction than others. And you don't necessarily just dump the clutch, you gotta feather it out. For the most part, you should be wide open throttle by the time your rear tire passes the gate and use the clutch to keep the front end down if needed. Practice this as often as you can.

As far as feet position. That's a personal preference i feel. Some like 1 foot up some both feet down. I have short legs and have tried both ways. I found that with my left foot up i tend to lean to my right. So when the gate drops i launch to the right.
So i start with both feet down, i practically set my balls on my gas cap and lean very far forward with my upper body. Keeping as much weight forward as possible. Throttle is at 3/4 mostly and when the gate drops i open it up to full, then slip the clutch as little as possible to keep the forward drive and not up. 2nd gear start and i shift to 3rd about 10 feet out of the gate. I keep my feet down until i shift and in 1 fluid motion i do 3 things; I lift my feet, shift to 3rd and slide my butt back to the middle of my seat all at the sane time. This takes patience and practice.
My last race, labor day weekend, i actually short shifted 3rd to 4th while everyone else just wrung 3rd out and used the torque of the bike to get the holeshot. And that was from the far outside gate.

Once you got this down, buy a holeshot device and you'll be able to launch even harder. But technique must be learned first. Otherwise you'll just be masking bad form.

This is for dirt starts. Concrete starts i sit more neutral on my seat and stay more upright with my upper body. This puts more weight on the rear tire for traction on the slippery concrete. Also use less throttle and more clutch to eliminate just spinning your tire.

Sent from my SM-G920P using ThumperTalk mobile app

[Hudson Charlton]

Thanks guys for all the help. I really do appreciate it. I found that it's a must to hold it wide open. As soon as I started doing that, I could take off perfectly! My mx 52 is looking bald. [emoji30]