downhills

[Jaybird]

OK, in summary....
when going downhill one wants to waaaAAAbbbbaaa, waaaAAAbbbaaa, a few times as opposed to wiiiiiiiinnnnngggggggggggg....all the way down, yes?

:)

btw...Wild Wabbit, I saw no disrespect at all 'cept maybe from you.
"Open Mouf...insert wabbits foot" :confused:

 

[80Husky]

What gear is best for a steep downhill? Is first gear best?

 

[SpeedyManiac]

It depends, how steep is the hill? On my XR200R, I try to stay in 2nd unless it is really steep so incase I get in trouble I can downshift and use the engine braking to slow me down. Two-strokes don't have this luxury.

 

[Fe_princess]

2 or 4

Hey 80Husky, do you ride a 2 or 4 stroke?
You will get better replies if you give specific info. :D

 

[80Husky]

I've got an '80 two stroke....

 

[Fe_princess]

Well, I'm no expert

but I'll give you my two cents worth.
I had a really hard time manuvering downhills on my two-stroke until SFO taught me how to use the rear brake to slide.
I learned this by putting in it in neutral and basically surfing the down the hill. When I start to get too sideways, I let off the rear and barely tap the front brake which allows me to straighten out. Eventually I used second gear when I felt comfortable going faster becasue using too much rear while the bike is in gear would cause the engine to die.
Hope this helps a little...Fe_p. :scream:

 

[80Husky]

Thanks Fe....I guess what I do is not bad then....I just pull in the clutch and basically also "surf" the hill using rear brake and first or second gear.

 

[Printgoon]

It comes down to pucker factor-ALWAYS. Technique is good-repitition is better. All the down hill posts have to do with technique questions. The truth is if the hill scares the crap out of you, you ain't gona practice this. It took this realization for me conquer downhill sections. Start on a moderate hill and do it over and over, when you feel you are going as fast as you can safetly-move to a new hill. For the guys who have been to Carnegie thay all know what a Double Diamond looks like-hills like that(single track, slick with drops and turns) a beginner with all the technique in the world will not ease the pucker factor-only time does.

 

[Dirtbike'n man]

Lean back farther back on biger don't go too slow but not to fast cause if u hit the ground going fast you may go over the bars

 

[darringer]

Carnegie is a great place to practice downhills! There is nothing like heading down a trail and finding the only way out is a nasty, steep downhill. Some with terrain that looks and feels like marbles on concrete. I prefer to sit, weight back on most downhills. I use the front brake to keep my momentum down, and the back brake to help "steer" by alternating between light braking and actually locking the back momentarily to slide the rear wheel in the direction I want to go. Also, it helps to look as far ahead as possible, looking where you want to go, not on possible obstacles. Because if you look at that rut in front of you, more than likely you'll end up in it!

 

[fundgh]

I bring this back to the top because I was scared sh%$less this weekend, by downhillls. At one point I sat on my bike at the top of a hill and swore to sell it when I got home. "Riding dirtbike is scary, and I don't get any fun out of it" was going through my head all day. I ride a KDX 220 (2 stoke) and don't have the luxury of compression breaking, and don't have the skills yet to manipulate all 6 controls at the same time. My friends kept bombing down these hills and I stuck picking my way down like some kind of trials rider. I know that speed helps, but I was scared and didn't know how to get over it. I crashed one time after another, and I kept trying to go slower and slower because I knew I was going to crash, and would rather crash going slow. I seemed to keep locking the front and washing out. By the end of the day, I had gone down enough easier down hills to gain some confidence, and I discoverd the rear brake. I would appreciate input on the technique I was using, as it was a survival tactic only. After stalling a number of times I determined that I should just pull in the clutch at the top and keep it there. I tried to get into 3rd so that when I hit the bottom of the hill I could let the clutch out and go. That eliminated the use of 2 controls (clutch, shifter). I would then try to carry a little speed (as I gained confidence) but brake like hell when traction was good. I would lock the rear brake (sometimes letting off to straighten the slide) because I don't feel like I can "feel" the brake pedal good enough to control the pressure. I would then use the front by tapping it lightly and trying to "feel" it. At the end of the day stomping on the rear brake was what kept me alive, and a little less scared. I no longer wish to sell my bike, although the 250Fs I was riding with were tempting me to change. This thread has helped alot, and I hope by bringing it back to the top I can get some more technique tips!

 

[tx246]

going downhill on a mountain bike will teach you the importance of momentem. on a bicycle, it is very very easy to stick a front tire into an obstacle that makes it stop. when that happens, the rider promptly goes over the bars no matter how far back on the bicycle. there is an exception to this rule and that is some hang so far back that if they do stick a front tire on something, they let go and fall off the back.

the key is to keep the bike moving fast enough that the bike will roll over the worst object on the downhill. worst case scenario is having the front tire of the motorcycle hitting an object in a manner that either stops the bike or causes it to bounce back and not over. that is where you endo or in windsurf lingo...........you get tommahawked.

i dead engine sometimes on a two stroke and havent had a problem but im not bombing down 100yrd hills either. i would think it would be hard to sieze one going down a hill if you had been on trails prior to the downhill as the oil/fuel ratio is mixed for worst case situation. ie full throttle and load. seems the engine would have enough for a downhill closed throttle. as far as on pavement goes, i would highly suggest pulling in the clutch and giving gentle revs as its easy to run 50mph on the pilot/low end of the needle which are at less than 1/4 throttle. this is usually a lot slower on dirt and not nearly as constant as you would be on pavement.