Best way to improve Jumping Technique......

[Dynomite954]

hey five star you forgot to mention that you are the fastest pro in the world on that last one. and cooperland might make you good at table tops but i do the doubles.... third gear pinned.... haha j/k cooperland is good.

[russell3]

I want to get into MX this summer or next, depending on money. I have been riding my whole life, but only once at a track. I quickly got comfy jumping a 30 foot table, but nothing else. Doubles scare me a lot more for some reason. I have a few questions though...what does it mean to preload before you jump, and what does seat bouncing mean?

[Five Star Gold]

preload is simple when you go up a jump you force yourself into the bike at when your going up the face and the rebound from the suspension has an added lift that gives you extra ooomph i guess you could call it i dont have a fancy word for it at the moment and it basically gives you more air and believe me air is bad over a jump on the ground as soon as possible is what you want. seat bouncing is when you sit down on the face of the jump then throw your body back into the rear shock it basically changes the trajectory of your bike when you go off the face and rockets you into the air this move is used mainly when a difficult jump is located on the exit of a jump i think comeone had a you tube video that explain james doing some and was a good source of explanation if you need it.

[T-Doshi9]

really the best thing to do is to walk over to it and watch what the guys are doing that are clearing it. where they are at on the bike... (over the bars... seat bouncing it) make sure to watch the fast guys that have mastered the art of scrubbing the jump... they will be carrying way more speed than you will need to clear it. find someone that is your speed that clears it and talk to them... i know most people will help you and if you just ask do you mind if i follow you over this? i know i have done this for many people... i am at a point now where i don't even ask the guys if i have a jump 3 or big 2. i will just go watch and find someone i can stick to and just follow without asking but most guys will be more than happy to let you tuck in behind them...

when you do this make sure you stay kinda close to them so you are really pacing them on speed and don't ride directly behind them make sure you have a excape route if something goes wrong.

start on a table top as you can under shoot them. if you are alone on the track. pick the TABLE TOP you want to clear and roll it jumping about 5 to 10 feet out. so you can feel the take off. then just work your way further 25 ft. you will have a good idea on what it will take to clear it. just one word of caution... don't do it like this if the landing is steep. if you come up like 5 ft from the end you could endo off of the jump. it will come to you if you just keep jumping the 3/4 of the jump or even 1/2! if you are ever here in colorado springs. i will show you any jump you want to know about!

[JustinYZ250F]

the biggest help for me was riding with other people i know and trust. ive been riding dirt cycles since i was 4 years old. but never did the track thing. so on whoops im completely calm squirrely as hell, but big jumps... another story. last weekend i cleared my first 30 foot double and a 50-55 foot downhill. watch other people hit the jumps. listen to their bikes. squeeze the hell out of the bike with your legs. and above all other things never ever hit something at 80%.... you will eat shit...period. im all for hitting it slow a few times to get a feel for the face of the jump, but when you finally deside to clear it put all your fears aside and pin it. hope this helps a little

[gruberyz]

I'm 47 years old and I jump much bigger stuff now than when I was 24. Jumps when I was young were nothing like they are now. Big step ups that G-out the rear suspension on the face still scare me big time. Most doubles I learn by hitting them chasing a rider of my weight if I hit it like he does then I make it. Couple years back at Cooperland during a cross country race I jumped over the top off two guys in my class on last lap! Guys in old man class think I'm a dare devil but it's just learning what speed and what gear how your bike flies. One of the hardest things for me when I got back into racing was adjusting to modern bikes don't always work best if you stand up. You have to be able to committ in your mind to doing what it takes and not rolling. I am however still not 100% from broken wrist, arm and torn shoulder from hitting face of a double then smashing into ground on other side. I had made that jump dozens of times but hit it on new Bike and did not work the same.?

[wishihada150r]

be leaning slightly forward depending on how steep the lip is. roll the trottle on. the most important thing is to know what you are doing. make sure you know the size of the jump, if you and your bike are capible and what gear and body position to be in. if the front comes up to high quickly pull in the clutch and tap the back brake. this will bring the front back down. if the front end drops lean back and hit the gas hard until you land. (this happens because you are in too high of a gear or dont give it enough gas)

be carefull when jumping and always "scout out" the jumps before you hit them. if not, you can get yourself hurt

[Geneseo33]

Good Stuff.....I've not attempted any big jumping at all, but it all makes perfect sense. Small stuff yes, but i'm still trying to figure out table tops and just do it..... Question .... What is preloading?

[JustinYZ250F]

preloading is when u compress the suspension with your body weight when your going into a jump. think "getting really tall on the bike and then crouching really fast" to get weight transfer to compress the suspension. this will help you get more air on a flat jump that doesnt naturally pop the bike up

[Geneseo33]

Okay Cool ... I've done that already are smaller jumps.

Thx

[onto1wheel]

good stuff here guys...

I've been wanting to get to the next level (I'm at 25' tables), and wondering about the pull in the clutch/tap the rear brake technique. So far I haven't tried it (but i plan to).

Am I just asking for trouble by jumping 25' (or more) without mastering this correction technique?

thanks for any advice

[albertaguy]

if you're on a 4 stroke you hardly ever need the clutch, rear brake move (at least I don't) though it's nice to be comfortable with when you do. For me throttle control and body position do it all, rarely ever touch the rear brake, just let of the throttle at the right point (many will describe this as "chopping" the throttle, and the nose comes down. Still need more then slide up towards your tank or lean forward and push the bars down. A 25 foot jump hardly keeps you in the air long enough to practice much. I would find a 45 to 60 foot table (that's still quite small) and start playing with body position and throttle, then when it's all smooth start the rear brake thing. Be careful, if you're already starting to nose down I wouldn't get on the rear brake (depends how steep the landing is). Once you know how to go a bit nose high (hold the throttle a bit longer and/or keep your weight back a bit) then it's safer to bring the nose down a bit abruptly. Playing with throttle is safer at first. Honestly I ride most days at the track and never touch the rear brake in the air but that's just me, I ride 450's so if you're on a 2 stroke forget most of what I said.

[onto1wheel]

thanks for the info.

I ride a CRF250X, and have been experimenting with chopping the throttle a little, so i guess that's a good start.

I just don't want to try upping to 30', 40', etc if brake tapping is an essential tool. Seems like if you screw up w your bikes take-off "attitude", it would be nice to know how to correct it mid air.

sounds like it's not essential, though.

(and, uhm, you might have forgotten what it's like when you're at the 25' ability, you don't just go head over to the 45-60' jumps. well, I don't anyway... )

[stockjock]

Find a decent sized table top. You can case just about any tabletop without serious consequences so long as it doesn't have a sharp transition to the landing zone, so that should ease your mind a bit. Just look at it as a single with an elevated landing area. Then hit the table top at a relatively slow speed, steady on the throttle. Get a feel for the jump. Is it a smooth takeoff, does it have a bit of a kicker etc. Each time around take it a bit faster and go a bit farther. In a short time you'l know how hard you have to hit it on your bike with your jumping style, and you'l be hitting it perfect and with confidence.

[Centrespike]

thanks for the info.

I ride a CRF250X, and have been experimenting with chopping the throttle a little, so i guess that's a good start.

I just don't want to try upping to 30', 40', etc if brake tapping is an essential tool. Seems like if you screw up w your bikes take-off "attitude", it would be nice to know how to correct it mid air.

sounds like it's not essential, though.

(and, uhm, you might have forgotten what it's like when you're at the 25' ability, you don't just go head over to the 45-60' jumps. well, I don't anyway... )

A 25' jump is plenty to learn in-flight corrective techniques plus if you over correct you pretty much will land before endo'ing or looping out. Once you learn proper throttle control off a jump the corrective measures you take are typically caused by something going wrong on the jump face. Like hitting a rutted lip or bump which causes the bike to not take off properly. This happens often but once you learn the corrective techniques it becomes 2nd nature.

And if your riding a thumper, chopping the throttle on the jump face can be very dangerous. Your better off smooth throttle all the way up the face, unless your talking about chooping the throttle once your in the air.

[onto1wheel]

A 25' jump is plenty to learn in-flight corrective techniques plus if you over correct you pretty much will land before endo'ing or looping out. Once you learn proper throttle control off a jump the corrective measures you take are typically caused by something going wrong on the jump face. Like hitting a rutted lip or bump which causes the bike to not take off properly. This happens often but once you learn the corrective techniques it becomes 2nd nature.

And if your riding a thumper, chopping the throttle on the jump face can be very dangerous. Your better off smooth throttle all the way up the face, unless your talking about chooping the throttle once your in the air.

Thanks centrespike, that sounds like great advice.

even on my little 20' jump in the backyard, with my CRF150F, i had plenty of time to practice pulling in the clutch. I'll be tapping the brake next to see what really happens.

It sure seems like a "must know" technique to me if you plan to spend any time in the air (and really don't like crashing), i mean, James and Chad use this technique on nearly every jump, it seems (and boy would i like to ride like them! )

And yes, i've made the mistake of chopping the throttle at take-off and nearly endoed a few times. fortunately my buddy was watching and explained to me what i was doing, cause i wasn't figuring it out. doh!