Kicking off our new forum with a place I've used in the past called Motocross 101.
1. Motocross riding tips for forearm pump.
Forearm pump is probably one of the main complaints I hear from riders. Forearm pump is caused by strenuous use of the muscles in your forearms, the muscles become engorged with blood and as they expand the blood can't flow effectively. This causes a loss of sensation and loss of strength (hanging onto the handlebars by your fingertips sound familiar?).Another factor is a build up of lactic acid in the muscles during and after they're exercised, which causes muscles to ache and become sore.
There's enough involved in overcoming forearm pump that it probably needs its own page.
Click here for some motocross riding tips to help beat the Popeye arm syndrome!
2. A firm front brake.
The night before your race meeting get a zip tie or something similar and tie your front brake lever on. The pressure from the brake being applied over a number of hours will force any air out of the fluid and will give you a firm feeling front brake instead of a spongy one. Just don't forget in the morning when it's dark and you can't figure out why the bike is so hard to push!
3. Pre-braking.
This is one of my favourite motocross riding tips because it can make slower riders like me look faster!
When racing on sandy and soft tracks the braking area into corners will get really rough and whooped out. Instead of trying to brake in the rough area, brake before the bumps and then accelerate over them into the corner.
You can brake more effectively in the smooth part of the entry into the corner and then when other riders are braking in the rough area you can make ground on them by accelerating over the braking bumps. Accelerating also unweights the front wheel making the bumps feel smoother.
4. Over-rev out of the gate.
Don't over-rev your bike off the start. I had a friend, who is quite a fast rider, point it out to me that I was over revving in each gear after my starts.
I was riding a 250 2 stroke at the time and it made a huge difference when I started changing up a gear earlier than I had been doing and keeping the bike in the broader part of the powerband.
How to pull a motocross holeshot is covered in more detail here.
5. Be aware of changing track conditions.
A track can change so much from race to race. I was racing at my home track when it rained halfway through the meeting. I had gone out to have a look at the track after my race when a corner marshall pointed out to me that nearly every rider was following one slippery line into a berm. I went out for my next race and took a higher line into the corner that had a lot more traction and made up ground on the riders in front of me every lap by being able to brake later and having a better entry line into the corner.
You may not always be able to get right up to the track between races but it pays big dividends to be aware of how the track changes through the day.
For more good stuff go to http://www.motocross-racing-tips.com/
1. Motocross riding tips for forearm pump.
Forearm pump is probably one of the main complaints I hear from riders. Forearm pump is caused by strenuous use of the muscles in your forearms, the muscles become engorged with blood and as they expand the blood can't flow effectively. This causes a loss of sensation and loss of strength (hanging onto the handlebars by your fingertips sound familiar?).Another factor is a build up of lactic acid in the muscles during and after they're exercised, which causes muscles to ache and become sore.
There's enough involved in overcoming forearm pump that it probably needs its own page.
Click here for some motocross riding tips to help beat the Popeye arm syndrome!
2. A firm front brake.
The night before your race meeting get a zip tie or something similar and tie your front brake lever on. The pressure from the brake being applied over a number of hours will force any air out of the fluid and will give you a firm feeling front brake instead of a spongy one. Just don't forget in the morning when it's dark and you can't figure out why the bike is so hard to push!
3. Pre-braking.
This is one of my favourite motocross riding tips because it can make slower riders like me look faster!
When racing on sandy and soft tracks the braking area into corners will get really rough and whooped out. Instead of trying to brake in the rough area, brake before the bumps and then accelerate over them into the corner.
You can brake more effectively in the smooth part of the entry into the corner and then when other riders are braking in the rough area you can make ground on them by accelerating over the braking bumps. Accelerating also unweights the front wheel making the bumps feel smoother.
4. Over-rev out of the gate.
Don't over-rev your bike off the start. I had a friend, who is quite a fast rider, point it out to me that I was over revving in each gear after my starts.
I was riding a 250 2 stroke at the time and it made a huge difference when I started changing up a gear earlier than I had been doing and keeping the bike in the broader part of the powerband.
How to pull a motocross holeshot is covered in more detail here.
5. Be aware of changing track conditions.
A track can change so much from race to race. I was racing at my home track when it rained halfway through the meeting. I had gone out to have a look at the track after my race when a corner marshall pointed out to me that nearly every rider was following one slippery line into a berm. I went out for my next race and took a higher line into the corner that had a lot more traction and made up ground on the riders in front of me every lap by being able to brake later and having a better entry line into the corner.
You may not always be able to get right up to the track between races but it pays big dividends to be aware of how the track changes through the day.
For more good stuff go to http://www.motocross-racing-tips.com/