Mechanics of Jumping???

Travace

Travace

i have never had the chance to really ride with someone who is into jumping dirt bikes but back in my day i was a huge BMX dirt jumper.

I dont really know all the mechanics of jumping a dirt bike right. with BMX you coast and use body weight to do what you want and pumping in between sets to get speed. As far as dirtbikes tho all i really know is back brake will pitch your front wheel down and gas will pitch it up. What about clutch and front brake tho ?

what should i be doing to get better and jumping... what should i be thinking about on take off.. i always thought you need to gas it off the lip ?.

is bigger jumps actually easier but more of a dire consequence when you **** up like with BMX ?

teach me the ways of jumping wise ones
 
James

James

Staff member
The way I learned was by hitting a small table top. Start out slow and only jump about halfway then gradually increase the distance until you clear it.

You're correct on what the brake and gas does in the air. Just don't forget to pull the clutch in if you have to use the rear brake in the air, you'll stall if you don't.

Keep your body position neutral and the throttle smooth.

Good Luck :ride:
 
rajobigguy

rajobigguy

James give good advice but honestly I wouldn't try to learn how to jump by researching the internet. The best hing you can do is to go to the track and watch how it's being executed, then ride with someone accustomed to making jumps and familiar with that particular track. Don't ride side by side with him initially but rather hang back about 30' and pace him on the approach. Some of the big 2 strokes can launch up a ramp with a very short run up where a 4 stroke might need a little speed on the approach. Like James said , don't try and clear a double on first try, get comfortable just popping up on top of the table without overshooting it. When you're ready to try clearing a single, do it on a single because splitting a double and coming down in the middle of them is a whole different ball game.
 
Pr1malr8ge

Pr1malr8ge

Agreed. Jumping any gapped jumps with out having air time under your belt is not a wise move. The nice thing about 4 strokes is they can grunt over jumps which means it's not needed to be reved out to make jumps. When reving out on a jump you will pitch the bike High and need to pitch back level. The flip side to this with the compression is that if you jump with throttle off you will pitch down and most of the time panic rev will not help alot. Constant throttle is key in jumping. You need to get aclamated on being able to judge what speed you need to be at when clearing jumps especialy gapped jumps. This in part is the realization of right before a jump you will not have the speed to make the jump which hopefully you can brake to a slow enough speed not to jump or case. I have never been a person to be able to match someones speed nor am I someone to follow suit. I have a tendancy to either go to fast when aproaching a jump and slow down or not be going fast enough and goose it over at the last second. The best thing is to find a safe track with good size jumps that are considered safe table tops that you can work your way up to clearing them. Learning bike control before during and after a jump requires time so don't be discouraged that you're not clearing stuff.
As far as when you will be able to clear gapped jumps that just depends on you and the jump thats gapped. hitting a gapped 20ft double with a long lead way is nothing compared to a 40-60ft double/tripple with minimal lead up.

So practice on tables get acustomed to jumping and have fun. BTW proper suspension setup helps with this alot also.
 
Travace

Travace

thanks for all the advice... i guess i should throw it out there that i have tried doing a little jumping when i was out in ocotillo at shell reef and pumpkin patch on natural terrain that is kinda like table tops but nothing as big as what ive seen at tracks. When we went out i jumped and it didnt even feel like i left the ground but PBK was watching and said i was about 2 feet off the ground and i flew prolly 5 to 8 feet in distance... :lol:

I would love to go out with someone who jumps but i dont know anyone IRL that does that kinda thing... One of these days im gonna go to lake parris or one of the other tracks and practice on the table tops... no way in hell am i even thinking about doing doubles yet. BTW my bike is a KTM 525 SX and it has that torque and get up like my buddys 250 2 stroke. Not exactly the same but feels similar to me.
 
Travace

Travace

today was my first time out to a MX track Barona Oaks MX -- Home of Champions and i was trying to keep everything you guys said in mind. There was a couple BIG jumps that i didnt even attempt to really jump but there is some nice table tops a few mellow step up type jumps and some mellow doubles. I started off just getting a little air on the table tops but the landing is tough on my cause im too fat right now. after about my 4th lap (not all at once :P) i set my eyes on these Doube, Double, Double that are all in a row. I guess you could call them a rhythm section? they were not very big... maybe 7 feet or so maybe 5 im not sure but they were mellow enough to where you could case them and not get tossed over the bar. So the thing that i learned very fast is its rough and a lot harder to NOT clear the doubles :lol: so i went a little faster. First run at em i didnt make the first one cleared the 2nd one and cased the last one. Then the next lap i gave it a little more gas cleared the first cleared the 2nd and cleared the thrid. :banana: :banana: I use to dirt jump in BMX and getting that feeling of FlOWING is something i reall missed and i got it back today on that small rythm section. Holy shit i think im hooked cause now i want to be able to "flow" on more of the track as well. IM still really noob but i got that feeling a little and its a a whole new beast of an addiction.

some things i really need to work on is remembering to use my legs more. a few times when i was jumping right after the peak i felt like the bike wanted to just drop out from under me... once or twice when the front wheel went down i even had my feet come off the peg a little and i landed on my shifter.

BTW i met someone who rides tracks weekly and he was able to clear every jump out there so hes a lot better then me which is a good thing for me.
 
Tokwan

Tokwan

Go to the tracks or trail..and practice with someone who knows . The person shud watch you jump and tell u when to accelerate as you hit the ramp or ledge.

There are many jumps...
we have drop offs or jumping from a ledge (the ground is level and suddenly it drops down). \
table top...(a higher plateau like...with a ramp like run up and a a ramp like run off)
Ramp type of jump (half a hill like..it only has a ramp like and the other half is gone)..
Round type of ramp...looks like half a log on the flatside..
Double ramps and etc...

Most techniques are the same...with very minor changes..some jumps u wanna land with the rear wheel slightly earlier than tyhe front wheel...with the front wheel up in the air..some jumps u need to land with the both wheel hitting the ground together..

Learn with half a meter height first, then increse gradually.

I started on 2 strokes and then moved on to four strokes bike...they differ and u need to adjust a bit..

Good luck dude.
 
D

Dirt Addict

i don't think anyone mentioned : DO NOT GRAB THE FRONT BRAKE IN THE AIR! .... bad things can happen quickly. there are times when it works but that is in the advanced class...
 
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