125 2 Stroke riding advice

[Will2409]

Hey everyone,

I recently got an 04 KTM 125SX and took it out on the MX Track. Just a few questions on how to ride it and general tips. 1) Im worried i will loop the bike if i go into power band just before leaving a jump, is this possible and how can i avoid it if so? 2) When riding it after accelerating it randomly pulls much harder when in decently high RPM is this the power band (almost feels like in a car when the turbos spool up), 3) should i get into power band before going up a jump or on the jump face? and lastly 4) Any general tips for getting the most out of it an having the most fun/building confidence up to try bigger and different things. I have all the knowledge to improve (do big jumps, up the speed and intensity etc) and technique i just need the confidence to actually do it. Any tips for manning up and trying stuff? 

Thanks! 

[Tahoe Gator]

Sounds like you’re on some of the same learning curve points I’m on.

I’m not the expert here but had similar questions as you, so I’ll share what I gleaned from my and others’ posts.

I rode 2-stroke dirt bikes as a teenager years ago in Florida, where the neighborhood MX tracks where more berms and whoops and the jumps nothing by today’s standards. To make matters worse, many of the tracks near me now only have all-or-nothing step-up jumps: make the gap or you might not be at work on Monday.

Seems the trick is even, predictable power. Some responders to my question about where on the powerband to be on the face of a jump said “full in the powerband” since that will be a constant. (I’ve found that too elusive / risky for me at this point.) Most seem to concur that just under the “hit” is the safest place to be while learning and indeed, I’ve found that if I run a gear high — lugging of sorts — I can be smooth off the jump face and reduce the risk of front wheel too high up (looping risk as you mention) or too far down. Basically, off of whatever feature I am just leaving, I run through whatever gears are appropriate to be at or build to the right speed, and then at that speed and a bit before the jump (bottom of face maybe?) I shift one gear up and hit that jump face at the lower rpm. I’ve found this let’s me focus on body positioning and so forth without having to be panicked about possibly being over powered on the jump face. (I’m on a 250 so maybe easier than a 125 to do that.)

One other tip I got and have used: find table top jumps to practice on. That’s harder to find where I am but definitely influences where I go ride. Why some places have only gap jumps confuses me: how are people supposed to learn and progress? Fortunately, one place I go has tracks that progress in difficulty. I’m going to wait until I can consistently properly clear the table tops before progressing to the gaps.

Lastly, search youtube. There are some decent videos.

[MaybeMe]

Ease into it slowly to say the least. No sense in hitting every big jump and risk getting hurt. 

The old saying it “Jump for show, corner for dough”

Don’t roll the jumps, but learn how to corner and track through a rut. When you come into a corner, put your foot out towards the inside of the corner, sit as close to the tank as possible, and power through it if you can. If your sag is set correctly, the rear wheel should track itself through the corner and you just steer.

When jumping, you want to hit the poweband and ride it at least to the top of the jump. You shouldn’t loop out if your weight is positioned right and you can eventually ride the powerband straight through the jump and maintain speed. Chop the throttle in the air, pull the clutch in, and get back on it when you are about to land.

If you let off before you hit a jump, you risk nose diving and eating some dirt. Try to land on the back wheel too.

[Will2409]

48 minutes ago, MaybeMe said:

Ease into it slowly to say the least. No sense in hitting every big jump and risk getting hurt. 

The old saying it “Jump for show, corner for dough”

Don’t roll the jumps, but learn how to corner and track through a rut. When you come into a corner, put your foot out towards the inside of the corner, sit as close to the tank as possible, and power through it if you can. If your sag is set correctly, the rear wheel should track itself through the corner and you just steer.

When jumping, you want to hit the poweband and ride it at least to the top of the jump. You shouldn’t loop out if your weight is positioned right and you can eventually ride the powerband straight through the jump and maintain speed. Chop the throttle in the air, pull the clutch in, and get back on it when you are about to land.

If you let off before you hit a jump, you risk nose diving and eating some dirt. Try to land on the back wheel too.

Thanks for the advice! Should have mentioned I have been riding a 125 4stroke for a good year and a half or so and have ridden 250 4stroke here and there so I definitely know the basics. As I said, I have what it takes just wanting to know how to handle jumps on a 125 2stroke compared to a 4stroke with the difference in power delivery.

[Will2409]

56 minutes ago, Tahoe Gator said:

Sounds like you’re on some of the same learning curve points I’m on.

I’m not the expert here but had similar questions as you, so I’ll share what I gleaned from my and others’ posts.

I rode 2-stroke dirt bikes as a teenager years ago in Florida, where the neighborhood MX tracks where more berms and whoops and the jumps nothing by today’s standards. To make matters worse, many of the tracks near me now only have all-or-nothing step-up jumps: make the gap or you might not be at work on Monday.

Seems the trick is even, predictable power. Some responders to my question about where on the powerband to be on the face of a jump said “full in the powerband” since that will be a constant. (I’ve found that too elusive / risky for me at this point.) Most seem to concur that just under the “hit” is the safest place to be while learning and indeed, I’ve found that if I run a gear high — lugging of sorts — I can be smooth off the jump face and reduce the risk of front wheel too high up (looping risk as you mention) or too far down. Basically, off of whatever feature I am just leaving, I run through whatever gears are appropriate to be at or build to the right speed, and then at that speed and a bit before the jump (bottom of face maybe?) I shift one gear up and hit that jump face at the lower rpm. I’ve found this let’s me focus on body positioning and so forth without having to be panicked about possibly being over powered on the jump face. (I’m on a 250 so maybe easier than a 125 to do that.)

One other tip I got and have used: find table top jumps to practice on. That’s harder to find where I am but definitely influences where I go ride. Why some places have only gap jumps confuses me: how are people supposed to learn and progress? Fortunately, one place I go has tracks that progress in difficulty. I’m going to wait until I can consistently properly clear the table tops before progressing to the gaps.

Lastly, search youtube. There are some decent videos.

Thanks for the advice! I totally agree with you on how people make all or nothing jumps, it kinda makes no sense. I know I can do most intermediate jumps etc on a track just mainly wanted some clarification on how the power delivers so I don’t do something bad on a big jump. 

[MaybeMe]

15 minutes ago, Will2409 said:

Thanks for the advice! Should have mentioned I have been riding a 125 4stroke for a good year and a half or so and have ridden 250 4stroke here and there so I definitely know the basics. As I said, I have what it takes just wanting to know how to handle jumps on a 125 2stroke compared to a 4stroke with the difference in power delivery.

Yeah, the main difference between 2 and 4 strokes is you have to ride the four stroke and keep the throttle all the way through the jump. Two strokes don’t suffer from engine braking so you can chop the throttle as you leave the face of the jump and won’t nose dive like a four stroke.

[Motox367]

Learn to ride it on the gas . Wfo thats how you ride a 125. Momentum momentum momentum ☺ when you're letting off at face of jumps and still clearing them then you got it ??

Edited May 21, 2018 by Motox367

[turbo dan]

You should always be on the pipe.  If you're coming up on a jump and you're not on the pipe you're probably not going to make the jump.  On a 125 you have to get on the power sooner to get over jumps and depending on the track you will likely use all of the room available to get up to speed.

I do agree that an inexperienced rider should not be going out and trying doubles and triples.  You need to work your way up on table tops and small jumps.  Do that until you can correct the bike in the air hen you get kicked sideways, nose down or nose up.  Once you have that under control you can work on bigger jumps.  There are plenty of videos on youtube of guys just getting on the bike and hitting jumps.  Lots of very bad crashes from easy things that could have been corrected in the air.  Between the throttle, rear brake, handlebars, your knees and body position you can straighten out a lot of things before the bike comes back down.

[Will2409]

19 hours ago, turbo dan said:

You should always be on the pipe.  If you're coming up on a jump and you're not on the pipe you're probably not going to make the jump.  On a 125 you have to get on the power sooner to get over jumps and depending on the track you will likely use all of the room available to get up to speed.

I do agree that an inexperienced rider should not be going out and trying doubles and triples.  You need to work your way up on table tops and small jumps.  Do that until you can correct the bike in the air hen you get kicked sideways, nose down or nose up.  Once you have that under control you can work on bigger jumps.  There are plenty of videos on youtube of guys just getting on the bike and hitting jumps.  Lots of very bad crashes from easy things that could have been corrected in the air.  Between the throttle, rear brake, handlebars, your knees and body position you can straighten out a lot of things before the bike comes back down.

Thanks for all the good advice!

[Will2409]

20 hours ago, Motox367 said:

Learn to ride it on the gas . Wfo thats how you ride a 125. Momentum momentum momentum ☺ when you're letting off at face of jumps and still clearing them then you got it ??

will do!! 

[motrock93b]

The clutch is very important for accurate power delivery, especially on a 125 2T. Once you learn how to properly feed your power with smooth clutch work, you’ll improve your speed and safety on the bike. Check out some 2T Youtube videos and you’ll notice good riders keep the engine singing at almost the same rpm as they exit corners and accelerate down the straight. Gary Semics has good videos on this, and old Gary Bailey videos focus on proper clutch “feed” for two strokes. Proper clutch use puts you in charge of the power, greatly reducing potentially painful surprises.

It’s rare to find a picture of a pro Motocross rider without a finger on the clutch. Even big, torquey 450s.

Good luck.