How in the hell do people do 80kph down trails?

[brentn]

Just blows my mind.

My brothers own 125cc and 250cc two stroke yammys and they're just flying down the side of roads, and straight trails at crazy speeds. They're going so damn fast that it seems like if they hit an unexpectant bump, rut, or ****ing rock they're going to crash hard.

I've wiped out pretty bad on my bike, 3 times now. 1st time I tried to do a jump over a driveway on the side of the road, landed, lost control and crashed into a barb wire fence. Had road rash on my side, cracked rib, and deep lacerations on my leg and hand. I was out of comission for a month before I felt like riding again.
Second time, i was going down a trail going faster than normal in 3rd/4th and dodged a deep puddle so I wouldn't hydro plane, well I misjudged how well my bike could handle the turn and I went off the trail. I was in a ditch full of rocks doing 60 it felt like and crashed into a fallen tree, cracked my rib again and crushed my ankle under the bike. It almost snapped in half and I couldn't get the bike off!!!
Third time I was going down a steep hill and the back tire locked up and I started sliding sideways, the peg landed on my foot and I was wearing just leather boots, my foot was like a giant melon for a week...

Point being here is that it's scared me, and now when I start cruising I worry too much about an obstical that I can't see and don't react fast enough too. I'm too worried about getting hurt, yet my bro's are always far far ahead and end up waiting for me.

So the first question I have, is how in the hell do I break this fear that I'm developing? Maybe I need some better gear to boost my confidence in not getting hurt?

Secondly, my bike is a POS chinese copy of the honda trail bike.. yea yea I know, but at the time it was all I could afford and I have some money saved up for a nice bike which I'm going to pick up soon enough. Is the suspension, handeling, and control that much better on the japanese bikes that you can handle trails doing decent speeds and not lose control so easily?

I appreciate your advice

 

[RM85rider123]

everything is better on the jap bikes.

 

[TRexRacing]

Yeah I'd have to say you've got an equipment problem.Slow down and save up some cash.

 

[Okiewan]

Secondly, my bike is a POS chinese copy of the honda trail bike.. yea yea I know, but at the time it was all I could afford and I have some money saved up for a nice bike which I'm going to pick up soon enough. Is the suspension, handeling, and control that much better on the japanese bikes that you can handle trails doing decent speeds and not lose control so easily?

You answered your own question. Have fun on what you've got, save-up for a real bike.

 

[helio lucas]

Yeah I'd have to say you've got an equipment problem.Slow down and save up some cash.

:nod:

one thing i found is track riding really helps your concentration, skills, reaction, control and instint on the bike. start slow... i prefer to be the last one than to be the fallen one.

 

[cujet]

My buddy was riding Ocala National Forest at about 80MPH on his KTM 525EXC when he crashed. We found him lying face down about 70 feet from the trail. The only reason we found him was the track in the dirt.

He had had a fatal heart attack while riding straight down the dirt road.

We did CPR for about 5 minutes and brought him back to life. He recovered and is still roaming the earth. However, he no longer rides.

My point is that he went into the woods at some speed slightly below 80MPH. He missed all the trees and bushes and simply fell straight down.

That, my friend is the only way you will survive a high speed crash into the woods. By missing everything. Good luck planning that one.

 

[RM_guy]

So the first question I have, is how in the hell do I break this fear that I'm developing?

Since you have already identified that the bike is probably most, if not all of your problem, slow down and work on the basics. Balance, clutch and throttle control, brake technique, etc are all things that you can work on with any bike and transfer those skills to a newer, better bike when you can afford one. If you can master these things on a POS bike then you will be amazed at how well you'll be on a good bike. Know what the limitations of your bike are and don't exceed them as it sounds like you have on more than one occasion.

Don't try to keep up with your buddies if they have better equipment. You are just going to get hurt.

 

[T_Bois]

Sounds like you may need to find someone else to ride with if your buddies keep leaving you behind.

First, you better learn a bit of self control. If you get a better bike, that means you will be able to go faster. If you keep riding beyond your skill level to keep up with someone that rides faster, it's only a matter of time before you really get hurt or worse.

Second, it's a lot more fun to ride with someone closer to your level of skill and you won't be pushing your luck every time you go riding. You'll be able to enjoy riding at a comfortable level and be able to be out front instead of killing yourself trying to keep up.

Third, it cost a lot of money to keep fxing your bike and your body. Go to a track if you want learn how to turn some fast times. There, you will start to get to know the jumps, the turns, etc, and the track will be safer because the obstacles are not trees, barb wire, ditches filled with rocks, fence posts, etc. You can still get hurt (or worse), but you should be able to start learning what to do and what not to do as you start learning the track. Plus, there will be slow riders as well as fast riders.

Last and most important, don't forget what riding is about. Slow down and just have some fun.

 

[Mfillhart13]

What you need to do is get all high quality gear then take a small fall. When i got my first real set of gear i fell and it wasn't the same. This will also increase your confidence a lot and most likely allow you to keep up with your buddies. You also need to fall without getting seriously injured. If i took all the injuries you have i would be scared to. You don't need a bigger or better bike because you don't think about your bike while riding.