In need of help of Doubles

MY SVT · Mar 2, 2004

My question is i need advice for doubles. I want to start pulling off doubles but when i get there i lay off and jump only half. My nerve kicks in and i cant do. My nerve just wont let me do. Any advice on it. Im concered about not jumping for enough and smacking into the jump or over jumping it and not landing. Is there any advice for just doing it perfect. Other guys make it look so easy. Even younger kids make it look easy. And me half jumping or rolling over makes me feel not so good, when 12 year old kids on a 80cc could do them and im on a 125 and 23 year old. But any advice would be THANKFUL. THANK YOU>

Philip · Mar 2, 2004

The only way to get like them is to do it. It is always better to overjump than come up short. Never be afraid to get someone to help you at the track. Find out what gear they are in. I know how you feel I do the same thing. When I hit the bottom I start to let off.
Keep trying.

joereitman · Mar 2, 2004

Start small, practice them lots, carefully read all the jumping threads in this sub-forum, you will do fine!

MXP1MP · Mar 2, 2004

I think the biggest misconception to jumping is whenever your starting out you look at those 20 foot gaps and think damn I need to hit it in 3rd. When in fact the right way is to hit it in 2nd gear wide open. I have cleared some decent size gaps in 2nd gear wide open that I would of thought never possible. Practice on a smaller double and work up from there.

Jeff Gilbert · Mar 2, 2004

I know what you're going through, I'm easily intimidated by a lot of jumps. The only way I've ever gotten one down is to just do it, that's a no brainer I guess. I can tell you that "just following someone" through a jump doesn't always work, I've hit plenty of jumps at the same speed as the person next to me or right in front of me where they made it & I didn't. I think the most important thing to do is build confidence by working on a safer tabletop. You can come up short on one of those & it doesn't matter. After you are clearing it try hitting it in different gears and engine rpm's. Try taking short run approaches aggressively and see how far you go and what kind of reaction your bike gives. Only after completely mastering a tabletop would I then move to something as unforgiving as a double where it's possible to face plant into the face of another jump.

Wraith · Mar 2, 2004

Find the best/fastest pro on the track and watch him while he practices. Or just go talk to him, and see if he'll help you on jumping doubles. Just remember, just because some little kid on a 80 is doing it, doesn't really mean it's all that easy :laugh: Your 23, they are 8-15, they are thinking about Transformers or whatever toy it is, they play with, ya know!

A few years back during a race, I thought this small 30-40ft double was no biggie. Well, the jump before the double, blew out my rear shock (of course I didn't know). So when I hit that double my back end goes flying skyhigh, and pile drives my front wheel into the backside of the double :aj: . Luckily all I ended up with was a broken back. And I do mean luckily, because when I came to a stop I couldn't feel my legs for about 30seconds, and the break was clean and I was back to work in 6 weeks.
But anyway, my point is. There is no perfect way, only your way. The way that is going to make you feel the safest. Take in everyones ideas and go from there. I say, stay in a high gear where your motor is mid throttle (mabey less), always look pass the end of the double on the first attempt. Never look at it :) .
I quit racing MX for about 2 years after that crash. Then I bought this bike, gave up the woods, and the the very first attempt at a double in 2 years faceplanted me into the ground :aj: It then took me 4 months to try a double. I'd hit everything else thrown at me, but not a double.
So yeah, I feel your pain. We've all been there. But I say, find your local fast guy, or track owner, tell them your problem. And I would bet you $20, they will help you out. Let us know how it goes :thumb:

va_yzrider · Mar 3, 2004

I would find a double to a tabletop with about a 15 - 20 ft. gap to practice on. Once you get used to jumping over a small gap it will build your confidence and give you an idea of how fast you have to hit the jump to go a certain distance. It will also help you to read the jump face and know how your suspension is going to react. The tabletop will also help you because you can overjump it safely. The first time I hit a new jump, I make sure to overjump it slightly. Its always better to overjump than underjump.

LawDog101 · Mar 3, 2004

Nobody mentioned this but if you are hesitant then that probably means that your skills are not up to speed to be doing that jump. Find something else and work on it. Also work on all of your skills. Improving your corners, whoops, etc. will help you with doubles as well. Remeber, if you are real hesitant, then there is a reason for it.

James

SpectraSVT · Mar 3, 2004

I think Lawdog is spot on. If you have any doubts or you are afraid, take it easy. It doesn't hurt to be a squid out there. I hit 100's of tabletops before I felt comfortable with doubles. I got to the point where I would know exactly how much throttle was needed and how fast I would need to go to clear that table top. After that doubles were easy. Now I'm working on the really really long doubles and some triples. If I miss it a couple times, I can tell right away if its above my skill level or if I just need a lil more throttle. If its above my skill level, I usually back off.

Moto Squid · Mar 4, 2004

When I was less of a squid :think: I would always try to shadow a rider that was easily doing that jump. I'd go either right behind and slam on the brakes or go beside them if I could. Then one pass I'd suddenly be airing it out :yeehaw: Usually I'd jump in a gear too high for a while then when I got more comfortable shift down. Heck one jump I've started in 3rd and way later on, for giggles, have been able to clear the same jump in 1st.

tedkxkdx · Mar 5, 2004

What I have learned by having my own supercross style track that has had almost all the 11 jumps made progressively longer.. is that you have to have confidence in knowing what speed is going to put you over and how the bike is going to react on that particular ramp. The gear after a while becomes second nature, ie second or third will do but fourth does not have enough umpf for the short distance. A lot of people are saying practice table tops because that is safe and you can do so much experimentation on those where on doubles they can cause serious injury.

Confidence in your ability to make sound decisions not confidence in your willingness to successfully jump.

The negative/hindering thing about some tracks is that you have to circulate the entire course and it is best if you can find a way to repeatedly jump to train your natural movements and thought processess for the jump you are doing.
You will look the bigger fool for going for the jump and crashing than the one who practices and masters every situation the jump may throw at you.
23 is still young. Learning has made me have more fun than just flinging around the track, thinking I was fast or styling.

brianfr · Mar 6, 2004

I'm a pretty good rider, having ridden woods for years, but I'm just getting into raceing and jumping bigger jumps. Some of the tracks I ride on have doubles where the face of the secound mound is not very steeply sloped. You can actually jump a little further every lap until you clear it. I've found that it is acutally less of an impact to almost clear a jump like this than to drop flat into the center. That is of course provided that you can keep the front end up a little bit. I also like table tops and jumps onto table tops to pratice.

jcraig · Mar 9, 2004

The thing that made the most difference for me is having an excellent suspension shop tailor my suspension to my needs and getting wide footpegs. It sounds dumb I know, but wide pegs disperse a lot more of the force of landing short along with suspension. There have been a few times where I was unsure about a jump and came up short only to think, "hey if that's the worst that can happen I have nothing to worry about." It's 90% mental, basically knowing your limits, pushing them a little at a time when you feel you are ready and having confidence in your equipment. I used to hate it when guys I would ride with would start challenging me to jump things that I wasn't comfortable with, so much so that I now try to help people who are just getting used to jumping progress as comfortably as possible.

dirty_dangler · Mar 16, 2004

law dog has hit the spot! but those others are kinda off the spot. If its any sort of a jump at all you most certianly don't want to case it, or over shoot it. both will result in many broken parts, body and bike. Look at "Seth E."

Z0RR0 · Mar 31, 2004

I'll say it too. It's not "jump and don't think", you have to know your bike enough to be able to judge what speed you will need to clear it. Knowing what gear others are in is worthless to me. A buddy has a 250KX (mine is a 250CR) and some jumps he clears in 2nd, while I'm in 5th and clear them the same (agreed, our engines have totally different powerbands).

On the bright side, coming up short isn't as bad as it sounds (as long as you have the right protective gear). I cased a 50ft ramp jump (frame landed just on the top of the landing) and while it was like "uuuugh" at the time, I didn't break anything. So, it's not all that terrible.

maxkiks77 · Apr 6, 2004

ZoRRO, what do you mean by the right protectrive gear? jsut like boots or what?? cuzz casing a 50 footer would seem like it would hurt a little. Has anyone her ever slammed into the face of a double? If you do come short and are about to slam into the face, should you try get your front end up? or what to do??

High Lord Gomer · Apr 6, 2004

If I am coming up short on a double, I try to get both tires to land at the same time. You and the bike are going to bounce, so I'd rather have both ends bounce at the same time. If you land front wheel first, you have a tendency to go over the bars. Rear wheel first and it slams the front down and you still go over the bars.

Going out to bars == Good
Going over the bars == Bad

OKKX'er · Apr 6, 2004

Going out to bars == Good
Going over the bars == Bad[/QUOTE]

HLG removes all doubt, this is the best site for advice, bar none!

joereitman · Apr 6, 2004

In almost all cases, overjumping is much better than coming up short. The exceptions that come to mind are are overjumping a double into the face of the last jump of a triple, or overjumping into a corner too fast to make the turn, or overjumping into a very rough part of the track, such as ruts or whoops. So, don't learn to double in those circumstances.

That being said, if you are serious about jumping doubles, you should learn power on flat landings first. That way if you do overshoot, no biggie, just gas it on the landing and go. In that case, you need to land with front wheel slightly higher than rear, standing forward in attack position, on the gas hard enough to roost, and absorb some of the landing shock with arms but particularly legs, since legs should be supporting the vast majority of your bodyweight.

Flat landing a jump should not be a problem. If it is, go back and learn that basic fundamental skill before moving up to doubles. Be able to intentionally land front high, front low and level at will, before trying big jumps. Plus, be able to change bike position mid-air with brake tap and bar push down, before trying steep launch ramp or big jumps.

Good luck. :)

TrackMaster · Apr 7, 2004

Hey maxkiks, I think ZORRO is talking about standard gear (boots/helmet/cp). I wont tell you that it doenst hurt to case a jump cuz it does! I cased a 50 ft double, but it wasnt a nasty peaked double, more of a step up double. If you know youre almost over, pull up your front end to wheel tap, and you should be ok. If youre going to flat out case it land level w/ the landing (which will be front end high) like HLG says because when you bounce, chances are youll get sideways, and thats easier to handle if your not pointing at the dirt/sky. :)

njkx · May 3, 2004

i agree with some of the others that say if your really nervous, its good to wait. when you are nervous you are over thinking and that's not good. keep practicing table tops until you are clearing different sized ones every time perfect. then go back to the double. i speak from experience having gone over the bars more than once coming up short....try finding a small double.

kx134 · May 13, 2004

I found that riding with my friend who is basically the same speed really encouraged me because he was dropping down the other side of the first hit and I saw a passing chance. 3/4-WO in 3rd(back on my 250) for a sec or two, squeeze the bike nice and tight and enjoy the view of the top of my buddies helmet. That was all the motivation I needed. Don't start up the jump and hesitate, the time for thinking about it is in the past, flying up a double and hitting the brakes is a recipe for casing hard.

little doubles in the 15-20 foot range are now easy for me. The monsters still scare me for good reason, since I am not a kid anymore.

In need of help of Doubles

MY SVT

Philip

Dirtweek Junkie

joereitman

MXP1MP

Jeff Gilbert

Wraith

Do the impossible its fun

va_yzrider

LawDog101

SpectraSVT

Moto Squid

tedkxkdx

brianfr

jcraig

dirty_dangler

Z0RR0

maxkiks77

High Lord Gomer

Poked with Sticks

OKKX'er

joereitman

TrackMaster

njkx

kx134

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In need of help of Doubles

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