DSMRA Riding Tips & Tricks
Riding Tips
This is where we teach you all the Riding Tips and tricks that we know of.
These tips have been taken from experienced riders who go out into the bush and have fun. They are practical, easy to do and should give you more riding time on the trails and reduce the amount of time you experience breakdowns and problems. As always go riding in a group and never by yourself. It dangerous riding solo plus there's no one around to help when you have problems.
Advanced Riding Tips
This is where we teach you all the advanced stuff, stoppies, wheelies etc. Its for all those who want the most out of their abilities and bike. So we have put some riding tips in to teach or explain some of the harder skills to master. This is as far as we go though, if you want to learn competition motocross or supercross techniques then we suggest you enrol with one of the offroad schools.
FITNESS
In order to ride a bike to the best of your ability you need to be fit. Even those who compete on a professional level just can't count on their natural ability, the fitter they are, the better they ride. Those that are the fittest also have the best mental toughness, the two go hand in hand. So in order to get the best out of yourself and your bike you need train and eat for it.
There are many ways of training ie practicing on a motocross track, mountain bike riding or working out at the Gym. Of course nutrition goes hand in hand with your exercise routines, if you eat the right foods you will be able to supply your body with energy all day. If you have bacon, eggs, sausage, hash browns, fried mushrooms and grilled tomatoes with cheese on them with well buttered toast, followed by pancakes, cream and coffee you'll be stuffed before you start.
For the best advice we recommend you see a personal trainer and dietician.
REALLY BIG HILLS
Having read the intermediate section you now already know the skills to get up hills. To help you get up really big hills you must practice on smaller ones to build up your confidence and skill set.
Mental toughness and fitness helps, as already discussed, and the next most important thing is gear selection and momentum. The best gear for a nasty up hill sections is second gear as first gear may be too low and could result in loss of traction due to excessive wheel spin. So use second gear, keep the power constant and the momentum up, if you get it right you will scale that monster hill and be a hero to all your friends.
Remember for big hills get as far forward as you can to keep the weight over the front of the bike and the traction to the rear.
If you get stuck on a hill then the best approach is to go down and retry, its much easier than trying to restart where you left off slipping and sliding all over the place. Another indicator is second gear, if you can't restart going up the hill in second gear you're going to have problems.
Tyre pressure also helps, reducing the tyre pressure down to 12 PSI or less (maybe as low as 8 PSI) increases your traction too. Just make sure that when you get up the hill you pump up your tyres to the normal level. We recommend fitting ultra heavy duty tubes to your bike as they are more puncture resistant (although they are not puncture proof you will get a lot less punctures), you can use less pressure and get better traction.
REALLY BIG DOWNHILLS
Pretty much the same as discussed in the Intermediate section except just more of the same but on a higher intensity.Keep focusing on your braking and your line of descent, control your descent by applying the braking as evenly as possible and don't lock the wheels up. Keep your weight baised towards the back of the bike and allow yourself to have some momentum so you can keep balance.
You can practice by finding short but very steep sections of varying terrain and play pretend trials riding. This will help a great deal towards building up your skills. Some very steep downhill sections may include drop offs, leaving yourself and the bike to the forces of gravity can be daunting and does require a leap of faith on your part. Approach the drop off with a little speed so that bottom of your bike clears the ledge, lean back as much as you can when the bike descends and be ready with the controls to slow your descent as soon as you touchdown.
One again don't be afraid to stop and check your line (thats of course if you can), and there is always the option of walking your bike down the hill.
LARGE and HUMONGOUS LOGS
To be honest big logs and rocks are daunting to the average trail rider so option number 1 is to find a way around them. No doubt you have been on a trail ride on a track you know well only to come across a large log that wasn't there last time. Do you go over it? Of course not, you hope and pray that you are not the first person to come across this obstacle and that someone has already made a track around it for you. If there is no track then you do the trailblazing and make one, right?
The other way is to go over the log, the way to do this is as follows: Come to a stop near the base of the log but not touching. Do a mini wheelie to lift the front end up and forwards. Pull the clutch in and let the forwards momentum take the rear wheel over the log. As your front wheel clears the log lean back and keep the weight bias towards the back of the bike. After that the rear of the bike clears the log, you succesfully negotiate the small drop off thats the last bit and all is sweet. easy huh?
The fact is its not easy and requires a lot of practice and you can get awfully hurt if its done incorrectly. So know the limits of your skill set and you can always get someone to help lift the bike over the log or rock if there is no other way.
And don't worry about that girl that just traversed the log as if it wasn't there, shes on the Australian enduro team and has come along to practice with you. Well at least thats what you'll be saying to yourself.
WASHING OFF SPEED
So you're going too fast, theres a corner or a log or just something thats there but shouldn't be and why its there you really don't know. You start seeing pictures of home, maybe a hospital bed or something worse, its time to wash off speed and your not wearing red & blue tights and a cape. What do you do, pray?
No, what you need to do is use the front brakes, rear brakes and clutch to maximum advantage so that your wheels are almost at the point of losing traction. You can then oversteer the front end in the direction of the corner just a little bit and also tap the rear brake just that little bit more, this will cause the front end to come loose and dip into the corner while the rear end flips out and you are now in a two wheel slide going sideways down the road.
If this all done correctly the bike will be perpendicular to the road, both wheels sliding with you at about 35% to the road surface, much like the sliding stops you see snow skiers make at the end of their ski jumps. If you get it right you'll look like a pro, get it wrong and both you and the bike will go sliding down the road. As with all these techniques its not easy and requires a lot of practice and the learning curve can literally be painfull.
WHEELIES
Wheelies look impressive but they are also a usefull skill. They can be used to jump logs, jump puddles & keep you dry, show off, help going downhill, traverse whoops & get over ditches.
The wheelies we learn will be moving ones, however you can still practice them from standing starts, but for now we will start with a constant speed in 2nd gear (you can experiment with different gears later).
Now pull the clutch in, rev the bike a little, lean back slightly & drop the clutch, you will lurch forward & maybe lift the front wheel.
Or (also maintaining a constant speed).
Push the front end down with your arms on the bars, then pullback on the supension rebound, throttle and lean back, again you will lurch forward and maybe lift the front wheel.
Keep trying the method you like until you can regularly lift the front wheel 1 foot in the air. After that keep practicing until you can continuously get the front wheel about 2 feet in the air.
Now we introduce the rear brake, when you lift the front end gently touch the rear brake & the front wheel will immediately come down. Practice this until you can get the front wheel up and down at will.
Next is the balance point, this is where the front wheel will stop coming down but rather go up over your head and flip the bike. So practice bringing up the front wheel and aim at getting a little higher each time confident in the knowledge that you can tap the rear brake & bring the bike down. When you finally reach the balance point you can keep the bike there with minor adjustments to the throttle and rear brake, practice makes perfect.
Also when doing wheelies it helps to sit further back, so practice to find out the best seat position for yourself.
LAST THING. Its absolutely important that you use the rear brake, if you don't then your wheelies wont be well controlled and you can flip your bike, believe me, it hurts and could also result in damage to both you and the bike.
STOPPIES
As one American once said "the buck stoppies here", well at least this section does. So the question is what skills do they teach, firstly there is brake control which gives you more confidence as a rider to control the front brake, especially when braking from high speed. Secondly its a cool trick to show off with.
So look for the correct surface, doing stoppies dusty sandy ground only results in you doing a front wheel slide (good for counter steering though). You need a surface that has good consistent traction, also be aware that brand new tyres aren't real good for doing them either.
As always start slowly, get a feel for the front brake, look ahead, move to the front bike (somewhere between the handle bars and the front of the seat) and firmly and evenly apply the brakes. As you practice you will soon get a feel for the locking point of the front wheel and where you need to be postioned to lift the back wheel. If you sit to far back you will never do a stoppie but you will consistently produce front wheel slides.
As always practice, practice, practice and be aware of the balance point and don't do endo (crash by flipping over the front end of the bike).
Most important thing to remember is the front brake is your friend, if you get into trouble let the front brake go, especially if you at or near the balance point. Oh by way thats me doing a stoppie.
Intermediate Riding Tips
This is where we teach you all the Tips and tricks, soo hold on......
These Tips will help when you are out riding the trails, read them and put them into practice next time you go out
UPHILLS
Going up hills is all about balance control and traction, the important thing is to keep your weight up front so don't sit at the back of the bike, if you do the front will get light, steering will become loose and you could even flip your precious bike.
So get your weight over the front wheel of the bike, this will help you to control the bike much better. The steeper the hill the more you need to get the weight over the front wheel. You can do this sitting or standing up, generally standing makes it easier. If you are sitting down its important to pull yurself forward and aim to get your head over the handle bars and over the front wheel.
Keep your momentum up, find the balance between going to slow or to fast. If you go too slow you will lose speed and will get stuck, don't be afraid to try and go a little faster, but not too fast. If you go too fast you could lose control and wander all over the place and possibly crash.
If the front wheel lifts, throttle off just a bit and get your weight more forward to give you more control.
Keep your sideways balance and continually check your side to side movements, you will have to counter balance to the other side to keep your traction maximised. If you find yourself in ever increasing sideways motions with the back end stepping out then slow down a bit and try to regain control.
Always look ahead so you can see where you want to go and not where the front wheel is going. Don't focus on ruts, logs or rocks, if you do then you will surely hit them.
Don't forget gear selection, choose the gear the gives you the best response and remember if you lose speed try slipping the clutch before trying to change gear.
DOWNHILLS
Going down hills is all about balance control and traction too. But this time you need keep your weight at the back of the bike, also keep your arms out slightly bent and lean back a bit. The whole idea is to move the weight bias towards the back of the bike to maintain traction. Failure to do this will make the front of the bike harder to steer and control, you may even go over the handlebars.
Keep your fingers on the clutch and front brake and also make sure your foot is over the rear brake lever. This is where your ability to control the brakes and clutch comes in here. Use the clutch, rear brake and front brake to slow you down, use more of the same if you are going too fast or need to wash off speed. Please note too much front brake can cause you to crash or allow to back of the bike to overtake the front.
Choose a line that allows you to descend as slowly and comfortably as you like and try not to lock the wheels up. The right gear selection along with delicate clutch control helps tremendously.
And dont forget your counter balancing skills that you learnt during your slow speed excercises in Beginners Tips .
Blurp the throttle a bit when you need to negotiate step downs, ledges or rocks and maintain your momentum, its your friend and will help keep you balanced.
If its all too much there's still another way. Turn the bike off, put it in first gear get off your bike, pull the clutch in and walk the bike down the hill using the clutch and front brake. Sometimes when the hill is too steep its the best way and you and your bike will get down in one piece. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.
Remember always look ahead so you can see where you want to go and not where the front wheel is going. Same as going uphills, don't focus on ruts, logs or rocks, if you do then you will hit them.
LOGS
We will cover small and medium sized logs here, large ones will be covered in the advanced section. Dont forget you must approach logs straight on so if the log is on an angle you need to line it up. You can do this by either brake sliding or going wide to line the log up. Many a time a small wet log that a rider has considered inconsequential has brought them undone.
Small logs are easy, just approach the log straight on at whatever speed you consider safe, load up the front end a little, accelerate a bit and lean back. You should scale the log nicely, don't forget to keep the throttle constant. Dont accelerate as you go over and if you let off the throttle then the back wheel could get kicked up and put you out of shape or you could even get stuck on the log.
Medium logs are a bit harder, you need to slow down a lot more, then tap the log with your front wheel use a little throttle and you and the bike will scale the log. The other way is to lift the front end as you approach the log and just power over it and continue, takes a little practice, its quicker and looks good. However if you dont line up correctly or the log is wet and dont get the throttle control quite right then good will turn ugly and you probably will end up in a close examination of the ground for your efforts.
When you front wheel can no longer naturally roll up and over the log and just gets jammed against the base of the log, you have reached large log territory. This is covered in the advanced section.
CREEKS
You will get very wet, its the fear of riding over something that you cant see but could spit you into the drink in an instant.
If the water is too deep don't even try, just get off the bike and walk it across, that way you shouldn't take in any water into the airbox or down the exhaust pipe. If there are a few of you then you can use a good strong tree branch to help you carry the bike across.
If you want to ride then try to keep your feet on the pegs (better to stay balanced than drop the bike and drown the engine). Sit in the middle of the seat, go slowly with a steady throttle, look forward and hope for the best.
Creek crossings generally mean mud and rocks and this is where your counter steering exercises will help. If you haven't already done any counter steering exercises you can find them in the Beginners Tips section.
ROCKS
The key to riding with rocks is to stand up, pick your line, take it steady and of course, look ahead. Keep a firm but relaxed grip on the handlebars and be ready with the clutch and brakes. Also make sure your bike is in the right gear for the terrain giving you the best traction and response to throttle control.
The worst thing about rocks is you fixating on them which means you will then hit them and maybe drop the bike. If they are in the way then keep your momentum up and hit them square on using the same techniques as you would with logs.
Beware, wet rocks can be just as slippery as logs and you need to maintain your sideways balance negotiating rocky sections. If the rocky section is particularly nasty you may also want to consider sitting down, at least until you become more comfortable with rocks. If you really get off balance dont be afraid to put your feet down.
MUD AND SLIPPERY CONDITIONS
Tips for riding in mud. First sit further back and balance your weight towards the back end of the bike rather than the front, this will take the weight off the front end a bit (which you need for mud). Be relaxed and don't stiffen up, the bike will feel loose in the mud and you need to be loose too. Use rear brake and clutch more so than the front brake, a fist full of front brake will see you going down like a sack of potatoes.
Mud techniques are a lot like down hill ones plus the front end will tend to float over the mud surface and your steering will feel loose. You may need a bit of counter steer here and there (especially if you lock up the front brake) so once again counter steering practice helps.
Oh did I say front brake?.Once again be very careful with the front brake, in mud its much easier to lock the front wheel and become a missile and then continue in a straight line until your momentum dies.
Too much throttle means loss of traction, the rear end may want to overtake the front and could get very scary, so if your bike has an ignition setting for mud use it. Once again counter steering techniques come into play again, very usefull in mud as the tyres can become mud clogged. The bike will move under you a lot but you will get used to it. Riding in the mud requires a fine balance between traction, sliding and counter steering.
So got all that, go cautiously at first, remember all of the above and as you go you will find your balance point, become more accustomed to mud and after a while start riding like a pro. But remember, nothing beats practice.
Beginners Riding Tips
These pages are design to help the beginner rider. We will introduce you to basic skills and lessons that will help you to become a better rider.
Take your time to learn these skills and try keep your practice sessions down to about half and hour then have a break and come back refreshed ready to do more. Its best to practice with the help of a friend, that way if something does go wrong you will have someone to help you.
RIDING POSITION
When you first get your bike the most important thing is how you sit on it. The correct sitting position affects everything, accelerating, turning and braking. You should be able to sit comfortably in the natural indentation where the seat meets the petrol tank. Your feet should at least just be able to touch the ground and you also should be able to stand flat footed when just sitting off to the side of the bike. Its important to remember this, remember the further back you sit the harder it will be to control your bike.
To test your position try to stand up as you ride slowly, if you can do this without pulling on the bars you are in the right position, so keep practicing this until you find the sweet spot, which generally means moving forward until there is no pressure on your arms.
STANDING V SITTING
The experts say Standing is the best way to ride a dirt bike, it gives you most control and flexibility. You can position your body more effectively and are better prepared to deal with obstacles. However if your not as fit as you used to be, have problems with gammy legs and knees or don't feel comfortable standing up then you sitting down is ok. Even some of the best riders sit down a lot.
However there are times when you should stand, one of those is going over jumps, sitting down just doesn't do it and it actually makes it more dangerous. So pick your times when you want to stand or sit and find the balance you like best.
The standing position should be feet on the pegs, knees gripping the thinest part of the tank, legs bent slightly and positioned forward (picture 5 mins past 5 on an analogue clock, head straight almost over the speedo, arms slightly bent and inline with the bars and your waist positioned over the join between the tank and seat. Never stand straight and always lean forward in an attack position.
FINGER PLACEMENT
When you ride a road bike you are generally taught to hold the handle bars with your whole hand and use all your fingers for the clutch and brakes. However riding a dirt bike you need to have more control of the handle bars so try to keep the first two fingers on each hand (thumbside) for the levers and keep the other two firmly around the handlebars. This will allow you to keep a good grip on the handlebars when going over rough terrain, rocks and logs etc. The first two fingers can swap between the levers and handle bar as you require them to.
LOOK FORWARD & KEEP YOUR HEAD UP
If you are looking correctly you probably won't be seeing very much of your bike. This is good because that means your bike will go where you are looking, so if you come around a corner just that little too fast and saw a big log in the way then the chances are you will hit it because you fixated on it and the bike just go wherever you were looking.
So look forward and let your peripheral vision do the work, it will pick up objects as you ride, you just need to learn to trust it.
Beginners Riding Exercise's
EXERCISE #1, STRAIGHT LINES
Now that you are on your bike just ride as slowly as you can in a straight line. Use the clutch and throttle (accelerator) to regulate your speed, pick two points that you can ride between. As you go between the points keep your feet on the pegs and try to go as slow as you can. The goal here is to be able to go in a straight line at half walking pace with both feet on the ground for at least 30 metres. This first exercise will teach you balance which will help you in all other exercises, as long as you can maintain momentum you will have balance.
EXERCISE #2, FRONT BRAKE STOPPING
Keep going between the two points and slow down from about 15-20k/hr to 0. Brake using your front brake only until you can feel the momentum shift to the front of the bike and then keep the pressure on the braking until you come to a complete stop. Keep your feet on the pegs for as long as possible. What will happen after a while is that you will learn the balance required to sit on your bike with feet on the pegs while the bike is stationary. Once you can stop and hold the bike up for 1 second with your feet on the pegs then you have mastered this exercise.
EXERCISE #3, SLOW CIRCLES
Now you have mastered the art of slow riding its time to go round in circles. Go as slow as you can but this time start going round in a wide circle. Narrow the circle as you go until the circle is as tight as you can get it. The goal is to do a full lock circle (where the handle bars are fully turned) and the tighter you get the more counter balancing you will do. Once you have mastered one direction go the other.
EXERCISE #4, FIGURE EIGHTS
Same as above but go from one left hand full lock to one right hand full lock and back again.
EXERCISE #5, LIFT THE FRONT END
The idea here is to lift the front end in order to go over obstacles like logs etc. Please note we are not going to teach wheel stands here and we certainly don't want you to flip your bike but more so we want you to learn a skill that you can use when riding. So lets go back to straight line exercise maintaining a speed of about 10k/hr and do the following (in quick succession).
Clutch in, Push on handle bars, Pull back, release clutch, and a lttle extra throttle (just a bit to start with). You will lurch forward a bit and maybe if your lucky the front wheel will lift off the ground. Keep practicing, the goal here is the get the front wheel up about a foot in the air.
if you get into any problems (in order) let throttle off, pull the clutch in and put the back brakes on.
EXERCISE #6, MORE FRONT BRAKE STOPPING
Most of the time you will use the front brake more than anything so we will do some front braking skills. Go back to your straight lines, increase speed to 20k/hr (go up to 40k/hr as you get mre confident). Slowly pull on the front brake untill you stop, keep practising untill you can do it from 40k/hr to a dead stop with just a little bit of front wheel slide (right at the end). This will teach you to stop quickly using the front brakes and also introduce you to the concept counter steering
EXERCISE #7, COUNTER STEERING
OK back to the straight line exercise, clamp the front brake on and keep it on. Sit in normal position (maybe just a little back from it) and accelerate using clutch and thottle control untill the front wheel starts sliding (remember front brakes are still on). Try to do this for 10 metres. This will teach you how to counter steer the bike when the front wheel locks up. If you get into trouble let go of throttle and then the front brake.
EXERCISE #8, REAR BRAKE STOPPING
Back to straight lines, acclerate to 20km/hr put the back brake on progressively until the back starts sliding, when it does let the brake pressure of a little bit so that you get maximum braking without sliding to a complete stop. Keep doing this untill you can stop from 40km/hr without losing the back end.
EXERCISE #9, REAR BRAKE SLIDING
Using back brake sliding helps you to position your bike when going over obstacles like slippery wet logs. Warning here, slippery wet logs are nasty, dangerous and more hazardous to health than smoking. You should never go over them except from straight on, any deviation to a straight line could bring you down as the wheels of the bike will slide on the log in the angle of the direction you were going in. Be warned. So to fix this start at about 20km and going in a straight line, put your back brakes on so the back wheel locks up and starts sliding and then using your waist and hips move the bike to the left or right. Once you get to a 45 degree slide or more your execrcise is complete.
EXERCISE #10, CLUTCH BRAKING
Going in a straight line in 3rd gear at about 30km/hr only use the gear to slow you down. Pull in clutch go to 2nd release clutch and you will slow down, when you are ready go to 1st gear to complete the exercise. Practise this one untill you can slow down using the clutch and gears from 40km/hr.
EXERCISE #11, COMPLETE BRAKING
Now that you have learnt all three braking techniques try this out. From a given point mark how long it takes to slow down using the front brake, using the back brake and also using the clutch. Once you have done that use all 3(clutch, front & rear breakes) in various different combinations to slow you down. You will soon find that a combination of all 3 gives you the best effective stopping power.
Make This Area Your Riding Bible
This can be one of your main reference areas for dirt biking, its where you can find out about things you don't know. Its also a contribution area, if you know things that can be added please let us know by emailing webmaster@dsmra.asn.au with your suggestions. DSMRA will add them to web and acknowledge your contribution.
Motorcycle Tips
Gear Ratios
Gear Ratios, whats it all about?
Do you know the correct gear ratios for your bike, put simply a gear ratio is the amount of times one gear must turn for one complete turn of another. Think of your front and read sprocket as gears that are connected by a chain. Low gear ratios allow you to accelerate quickly but have a low top speed whilst a high gear ration has a slower acceleration but a faster top speed.
Lets look at an example based on a speed of 100 KM hr for a gear ratio at a constant rev.
Front Sprocket | Rear Sprocket | Gear Ratio | Top Speed | Good For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
13 Tooth | 52 Tooth | 4.00 to 1 | 100.00 km/hr | Single Track |
14 Tooth | 52 Tooth | 3.71 to 1 | 107.70 km/hr | Single Track & General Trail |
14 Tooth | 48 Tooth | 3.43 to 1 | 116.67 km/hr | General Trail & Fire Trail |
14 Tooth | 46 Tooth | 3.29 to 1 | 121.75 km/hr | Fire Trail & Open Stuff (like desert) |
Higher gear ratios need more clutch, which is definitely a consideration when doing single track and uphill work. If your bike isn't geared correctly then its possible to burn your clutch out.
The stuff above is just an example but does highlight what gear ratios can do for your bike and its rideability. It gives you an indication of how your bike will perform with different size front and rear sprockets. Now you can go to your local dealer and argue gearing selections.
Rim Locks
RIMLOCKS Always use good quality ones.
For some reason a lot of motorcycle manufacturers use cheap quality rim locks which can (over a short period of time) lose their rubberised coating and cause punctures. One of the main purpose of rim lock is to ensure that the tyre does not slip on the rim, ie it locks the tyre to the rim. Rim Locks usually have a metal inner and a rubber coated outside.
One some of the cheaper ones the rubber gets peeled off leaving the metal inner which can have some sharp edges and cause punctures. (its happened to me at least twice. This happens because the tyre sometimes moves about due to acceleration and braking and slowly rotates arounf the rim, this motion can also turn the tube eventually rip off the valve stem from the inner tube.
So when you get your new bike check you rim locks, if need be replace them and ensure that the are securely set up and lock the rear tyre into place as they are designed to.
Ultra Heavy Duty Tubes
Its a safe bet that somewhere along the way you will get a puncture. But you can reduce that possibility by using Ultra Heavy Duty Tubes, they feel about 4 times as thick as a standard tube, have extra rigidity and allow you to run a lower tyre pressure (15lbs or less) which is great for traction.
They are a pain to put in which is why its a good idea to let the bike shop install them and because they are much bigger you should carry along a normal tube as your spare. The bridgestone UHD tube is an excellent non synthetic rubber with a long life.
They will last up to 3 or more tyre changes before they need changing.
Like any tube, you will get punctures but the frequency of it happening will be much less.
On the occasion that you do get a flat and no-one has a replacement you can run with them flat due to their extra thickness. Of course its not recommended but if there is no real choice what have you got. I had a pucture in a front one once and had to ride the bike out, it was possible to run at speeds of 60km/hr and it took about an hour to do 30km back to the car.
If you really get stuck you can always stuff your tyre with small twigs and tree debris, no joke, it does work.
Valve Stem
Dont tighten the valve stem up to the rim instead lock the valve nut against the valve cap which is in the opposite direction to the rim. This makes sure your cap doesn't come off but it also releases the pressure on the valve stem and allows it to move, this in turn reduces the likelyhood of the valve stem ripping of the tube.
Believe it or not valve stems getting ripped off the innner tube happens a lot, especially where the tyres are not sufficiently locked to the wheels. Also try to get metal valve caps that double up as a valve remover tool, always handy when suspect leaky valves are in queation.
Tech Tips
Carrying Gear
CARRYING STUFF When going trail riding it is necessary to carry some useful stuff with you. Everyone should carry water to manage dehydration and sufficient tools to repair a puncture and undertake any minor repairs that can happen after a spill, both to bike and body. No one should assume that someone else on the ride will take responsibility for them and carry their spares and tools without prior arrangement.
Kelly Leather Version
So, what to carry with you on a ride and how best to carry it? HOW TO CARRY IT? An old favourite is a 'bum' bag that is attached to you with a waist strap/belt. This Kelly leather version has also had a couple of shoulder straps attached to stop it sliding down. You can also hang things like tubes and leatherman off the belt and some riders like to wear them as navel bags rather than bum bags. It'll probably do less damage if you land on it on your soft stomach rather than the base of your spine.
Scott Bag
This picture is a of a Scott bag that is made of nylon rather than the leather of the Kelly. Not as durable, but not as expensive either.
Camelbak
Another option that can be combined with a bum bag is a Camelbak. Camelbak is a brand name of a good quality product priced at the higher end of the market. There are many versions of these now available, often generically referred to as Camelbaks, but perhaps more accurately referred to as hydration packs. Not only can you carry some stuff with you, but you can have a bladder carrying water, or some other fluid to keep you hydrated through the day. Bladders range in size from 1.5 to 3 litres and packs range in size to suit. The one on the left in the picture contains a 2l bladder and not much else, the one on the right has a 3l bladder and has a number of pockets and an expandable section to allow you to carry things like a rain jacket, food and other good stuff.
Blackburn Pack
This picture is of a Blackburn pack that has provision for two 3l bladders as well as pockets and room enough for an overnight. Backpacks can move around a bit when riding, and the more stuff you load them with, the more they can annoy.
Ogio Flight Vest
My current preferred option is the Ogio Flight vest. It has numerous pockets and when sitting over body armour doesn't move around. It also distributes the weight about more evenly too, and is hardly noticed when riding. The view below is from the rear, you can see the bladder pocket in the middle, which can expand to take two 3L bladders and two side pockets for stuff. If its not big enough on the occasional ride, it is still possible to wear a back pack over the top too.
Below is the front, chest, view, showing a few more pockets and a bag that attaches to the chest straps for even more carrying capacity.
Tool Bag Bolted onto the Rear Guard
Another popular choice is a tool bag bolted onto the rear guard. This works well for heavier stuff, but can annoy some riders when getting on and off a tall bike, and can interfere with a rider's bum bag or backpack at times too when riding.
You can also attach stuff to the bike which is often preferable to attaching it to the rider. A fender bag can carry a tube on the front or rear guard. On the front guard, they can effect the steering noticeably if heavily loaded
What to Carry
Vest Front Right Pockets
Vest front right pockets contain some trail snacks, a roll of electrical tape, an emergency whistle, a rag, a headband LED torch and some water proof matches.
Vest Front Left
Vest front left pockets contain a mobile phone, an old film container (remember those?) with magnesium pills for cramp management, lip balm, a UHF radio, a leatherman, a big screwdriver and a folding allen key set.
Vest Rear Right
Vest rear right pocket contains a tool roll with some tools including ring/open end spanners, tyre gauge, vice grips, socket set, rag, a paint brush for cleaning stuff, and some zip ties and tie wire for emergency repairs.
Tool Bag on the Bike
The tool bag on the bike has, from left to right, a rag, a mountain bike pump, tow strap for Hondas, tyre levers, axle spanner, spark plug socket, some bike specific spanners including one to remove the float bowel drain, spare levers, spark plug and a 21" tube that'll be OK to get you home in the rear tyre too.
Below is some/most of the same stuff when in the bum bag, the first aid kit and the leatherman hang off the waist belt in this case
Other Storage
You can also carry stuff elsewhere on the bike, in this case spare clutch and throttle cables zip ties to the frame under the seat. You can also run them parallel to the existing ones for a quick swap over.
How To's
This is where we tell you how to do things, running repairs, change tubes etc
What we have in here should help you out were you're in the bush with problems. Anyway these How To's should help you to get home and overcome the problems that you may encounter.
How To Fix A Puncture
For this you should have at least 3 tyre levers, some lubricant (oil) or dishwashing liquid concentrate, a bike pump, and the tools to remove and put back the wheel. You also need to find a clean place to do this, some people even carry around a mini tarp for these kind of problems.
Part 1 Removing The Tyre.
Remove wheel, then remove the valve stem nut and rim lock nut
Un bead the tyre from the rim (press the tyre walls in until they are loose) you can use the heel of your boot for this, do it on both sides making sure you leave the wheel disk side up.
Push the rimlock in a bit to ensure it is not holding the tyre, make sure don't push the rim lock inside the rim.
Start anywhere you want and insert a tyre lever between the tyre and rim pushing it until you feel it slide over the bead of the tyre. Insert the next tyre lever 4-5 inches away from the first using the same method and then insert the third tyre lever. NOTE:Don't start removing the tyre until all levers are in place.
Starting at the outside lever, lift the tyre up and over the rim, do the same with the middle lever and the finally the last one. Now take out the middle tyre lever and reinsert it again 6-8 inches to the side one of the outer tyre levers and lift the tyre off the rim. Keep repeating this until you can pull the rest of the tyre over the rim by hand.
Pull out the tube, check the inside and outside of the tyre to ensure whatever punctured the tyre is not around any more, also check the rim for protruding spokes and that the rim tape is OK and undamaged.
Get your new tube and put a bit of air in it, just enough so that you can see the tube start to inflate. At this point we are ready to put the new tube in and put everything back together.
Part 2 Putting It Back Together.
Get your new tube and put a bit of air in it, just enough so that you can see the tube start to inflate. Now you are ready to put the new tube in and put everything back together.
Put the tube inside the tyre and line up the valve stem with the hole in the rim. Make sure the tube goes in straight and don't twist it, it also needs to fit over the rimlock. Also attach the lock nuts to the valve stem and the rim locks, this stops them from going back into the rim.
Coat the inside and outside of the tyre bead and rim with slippery stuff, ie dishwashing concentrate or spare oil, this helps putting the tyre back on.
Insert a tyre lever 2-3 inches either side of the valve stem thats now inside the rim. The tyre levers only have to go in as far as the lip of the rim as they will get purchase when you lever the tyre on. Don't put lever in too far as it can pinch your tube. Now insert the third tyre lever 6-8 inches away from the last one. All three tyre levers are now inserted and ready to lift the tyre on.
Push the valve stem in and lever the tyre over the rim either at side of the valve stem, You should be able to push the stem in and out of the rim freely.
Lift the last tyre lever over the rim, all the time checking to ensure the tube is not pinched. All 3 levers are now holding the tyre inside the rim. Pull out the middle lever and place it 6-8 inches inches to the right of the outer lever again checking the innner tube for pinches. Then lever the tyre on. Keep repeating until the tyre is all on.
When you come to the rimlock you need to push it in before you lever the tyre on so that it freely moves inside the tyre, this allows you to lock the rim lock over the tyre.
When you get to the last bit of tyre it will be noticeably harder to get the tyre on, you can apply a bit more lube and lever it on using smaller space increments between the levers or you can kick (with your heel) the tyre wall over the rim to coax it on. Be carefull not to kick the rim.
Once the tyre's on bounce it around a bit to loosen it up, apply more lube to the tyre bead and inner rim on each side of the wheel, this will help to pop the bead.
Pump up the wheel until the bead pops, then let the pressure down to normal tyre pressure. Sometimes you can go as 70-100 ponds pressure in order to pop the bead. If the bead does not pop then put the wheel back on and ride at a bit and the bead should pop, then let the pressure down, caution do not continually ride with over inflated tyres.
What To Do About Broken Levers
When Dirt Bikes are new they generally come with fixed brake and clutch levers, there are at least three strategies you can employ:
Carry Spares.
Carry spares with you that you can replace in times of emergency. Part of your spares kit that you carry with you should have a set of replacement clutch and brake levers so when you hit the dirt and brake a lever at least you can replace it.
Replace your levers with pivot levers.
These levers will replace your original ones and will bend forward and sideways so the chance of actually breaking a lever is greatly reduced. See you local Bike shop and get advice. Having a set of pivot levers is almost essential
Install Bark Busters.
You can also fit a good set of barkbusters as the barkbusters usually will take the punishment instead of your levers.
Another way to avoid broken levers is to ensure that the clutch and brake perches are not rigidly attached to the bars, just loosen them enough to ensure that they move if hit, this absorbs the impact better and could just save or maybe bend it instead of snapping it off.
De-Water Or Fix A Drowned Bike
So, there you are, sitting in the middle of the river with water up to the petrol tank, bike drowned and you wet up to the waist. Next thing to do is to get the bike to dry land so we can de-water and un-drown it.
Never try to start a four stroke without taking steps to ensure that all the water has been removed, water does not compress like air so if there is water where there should be air you could get bent valves and other things breaking.
Steps to un-drown a bike:
Turn the petrol off.
Remove seat and check air filter (see clean and replace air filter "How To", in a pinch you can use petrol to clean the air filter)
Remove spark plug and kick the engine over until nothing comes out of the top of the cylinder.
Tip the bike to the left and right and drain as much water as you can, if possible turn the bike upside down.
Remove the exhaust pipe and muffler, drain the water out of each.
Lift bike vertically on front wheel with the rear wheel facing shyward, shake it around a bit and wait till all the water stops coming out. Once drained shake it abit more to be sure.
Do the same thing on the back wheel, this makes sure that both front and back have been de-watered as much as possible.
Turn the bike upside dowm, kick or turn over the engine to make sure no water is still in the engine cylinder
Drain the carby to endure any residual water is removed (turn petrol on first).
Check the oil, if its milky and not black then its contaminated with water. If you can Change oil do it immediately otherwise change it as soon as you get home, in either case drain the oil, then do a secondary flush and finally fill a third time and check all the levels and indicators as mentioned in your bike service manual. Engine components will go rusty if kept in contact with contaminated engine oil.
After all that, reassemble your bike and it should start up. otherwise go back and work through all the points discussed here, you could also check that your electricals are not shorted out in the contacts and switches.
Stop Nuts And Bolts Getting Loose Loctite Everything
Literally stops things from vibrating loose on a ride, barkbusters, levers and controls, just about anything that is bolted on can come off due to the vibrations that todays dirt bikes make. Now don't go overboard and soak your nut or bolt in Loctite, only a small amount is required and you really only need medium strength Loctite. (Loctite 243)
Clean And Replace Your Air Filter
You should look at cleaning your air filter after every ride, after cleaning your bike check the air filter to see if needs cleaning. Generally if you can't see the original colour of your filter or even the writing on it then its dirty and needs replacing.
Remove the filter from the bike, if the filter has inner and outer filters then separate them.
Wash each filter in Air Filter cleaner or Kerosene. Do not use petrol, it will do a great job of cleaning but will also dissolve to glue holding the filter together.
Squeeze or compress the filter to remove excess cleaner, do not try to wring it dry as this can tear the filter.
Now wash the filter in warm soapy water, removing all additional dirt. Then rinse in warm clean water and squeeze it to remove all excess water.
Inspect for tears or cracks, replace the elements if damaged otherwise hang the filter elements to dry.
When dry re-oil each element. I have a bucket that contains air filter oil so I immerse the filter completely in the oil then squeeze as much excess oild out of the filter as I can.
Now apply a thin coat of grease to the sealing surface of the air filter box, put the grease where the filter seals against the box.
Re-assemble to Air Filter into the Air Box.
How To Wash Your Bike Properly
After every ride you should wash your bike and maintain the chain, clutch, brake levers and control cables. Keeping it clean stops the dirt form staining and soiling the platics and metal bits.
You can use a pressure wash or do it by hand, its up to you, but if you do use a pressure wash make sure that you stay at least 12 inches away from lube points like axles, swingarm, and head stems as you can flush out the grease and then everything rusts and needs replacing.
After cleaning you can use a silicon spray to put some of the oils back into the plastics and make everything look clean and new.
Check & Replace Your Wheel Bearings
Your wheel bearings are critical to your bikes running, they can get clogged up with mud, sand and dirt in the normal course of a ride and this combined with the grease in them can turn into a really good cutting compound, so rule #1 is keep them clean, greased and free of pollutants.
You should check your wheel bearings on a regular basis in order to minimise wheel and axle damage. Your bearing should fit tightly into the center of the hub. The outside of the bearing should turn with wheel hub and the inside will be fixed, non moving and aligned with the axle, ie nothing should turn except the ball bearings.
If there is any side to side freeplay then the bearings need replacing. If the bearing is loose in the wheel hub then it has "spun" and the hub will need to be replaced or sleeved and a new bearing installed. A good engineering firm can sleeve your wheel hub, make sure you provide them with the new bearing so they can measure it all up.
The most important thing though is that the bearing needs to fit in the wheel hub and on the axle with no other movement except for the ball bearings turning, there should be no up and down or side to side movements.if you have any kind of these or you are not sure about the bearings then get your mechanic to check it out for you.
When you get your bike serviced make sure the wheel bearings get checked along with the brakes and brake pads.
