railing the big berms

[Moto Squid]

At the local track I race there are a handful of really nice, tall, sweeping berms...you know those "perfect" looking ones. Anyways I've become quite fast in the flat corner with rut(s) type of turn but still have difficulty with these big berms. The whole letting the throttle rip and having the rear end slide through the corners is difficult for me to figure out. I've tried sitting almost on the gas cap but then the front end becomes too responsive, I've also done just the opposite and sat way back. No luck...I'm still fairly slow and probably look stupid trying. Oh ya, the berms have loose dirt on the top and are rock solid on the bottom from the quads. Any help is appreciated :worship:

 

[muscle]

I think you are trying to have your cornering look a certain way rather than to try to ride through the corner smooth and fast. Forget how it looks and dont look behind you after leaving the corner to see if you were able to poof up a bunch of dirt in the air.

If you were to take a soup bowl and put a marble in it and then swirl it you will see that the marble goes higher in the bowl the faster you swirl. The same principle applies to the track and high 180 degree berms. The faster you are able to ride through them, the higher you will usually be in the berm. Sometimes railing or sweeping the rear tire in these types of corners is slower but necessary if the competition enters the corner with you.