Riding in MUD

[Jeff Gilbert]

The races were cancelled this weekend at the local track cause of rain and I was itching to ride. I headed out to some corps land where all the 4 wheelers ride thinking I can at least get a little time in, it was raining ever so slightly but no water was standing. I asked some of the people out there if it was muddy and the consensus not to bad. I geared up and rode about 100 yards but the ground was so tacky and slick that my bike wouldn't pull at all. I tried to sling it off but the ground was so slick I couldn't get traction or even stay up right. I have never ridden in stuff like this, I couldn't get the bike to even go any where close to the direction I was planning. When I finally got back to the truck and loaded up I headed to the house to clean up. I spent over 2 hours with a pressure washer trying to get all the mud off. Has anyone ever ridden in this kind of stuff? If so, how in the world do you do it?

 

[blackhawk468]

I've only ridden in the mud once and it was the day after it rained so it really wasn't THAT muddy, but it was muddy. Anyways, when I started to lose traction I would feather my clutch and that helped a lot. There were a few places where the water was standing, and I would look at it and go I don't want to go there, but went there anyways. When I feathered the clutch I would get through it pretty easily. HOwever, I did fall a few times (all in turns) and got covered from head to toe with mud. I would ride in the mud anyday, it is so fun. :confused:

 

[Psyco Diver 69]

I love mud I guess you have to grow up riding in it to really go fast at all though. You have to use balance and sit down alot to help keep your balance or at least sit as low as you can. Use your rear brake most of the time, front brake will usally cause a wash out (you don't want to face plant in thick heavy mud). Always be on the gas don't let up and if your engine bogs feather the clutch. The its mostly instinct and how good you know your bike in mud or slippery conditions.

 

[KXsteve]

aahhh mud!!

I love riding in the mud!! As i've learnt, keep loose on the bike, stand, and use your pegs to turn really helps. Keep the front end light when trying to go straight.

Oh yeah, if its really deep......DON'T STOP!!!! :eek:

Check out my bike the last time I was out in the mud....

Steve

 

[High Lord Gomer]

The most helpful thing I've learned about riding in mud is to follow the front tire.

What I mean by that is, don't fight the front end to try to make it go where you want. If it "decides" to wander off to the left...follow it. You can gently suggest and try to influence it's direction, but if it starts going, let it go and follow it.

If the front tire starts going left and you try to fight it and muscle it back to the right, it will likely keep going and you will be getting a much closer view of the mud. :)

As far as gear selection and throttle usage: I find it easier to control in very slick conditions to run a gear higher and use very slight throttle application to keep spinning down to a minimum. If the back tire is spinning, it sill pass you much quicker. :)

BTW, that KX looks clean. :o

Here is my 95 YZ at the first SpodeFest: www.mindspring.com/~mnyland/mud_1.jpg

 

[RM_guy]

Originally posted by High Lord Gomer
BTW, that KX looks clean. :o

Here is my 95 YZ at the first SpodeFest:

Hehehe...looks like a RM roosted ya:p

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Umm, actually it was MXTooner's RMX.. :think

 

[RM_guy]

Ah! Right again:p

 

[TrackMaster]

Gomers bike is what it looks like after youve truely ridin in MUD.:p I wish I had a picture of the time my brother and I went for a ride on the clay road by our house when we had 2 inches of rain and still raining. Clay sticks to everything, and we had so much clay on our motorcycles, the front tire would not move at all! It was packed full of clay, it looked like a big clay donut. You couldnt even tell what kind of bike it was. I seriously bet we had at least 50lbs of mud and clay on our bikes.

I go with my quad buddies all the time. Mud is a LOT easier to ride in than clay BTW. Gomer and Psyco Diver have explained it well, the only thing I can add is KEEP YOUR SPEED UP!!! This is the single best thing you can do in the mud. The faster you go, the cleaner your tires are, the cleaner the tires are, the more traction you get. Keep the back tire clean so you dont slide so much.

 

[nkg7]

The mud is fun.Easiest way for me to do stand up donuts:p

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

Not to sound like a whimp but . . .

this ain't no mud like I've ever ridden in before. As I walked across the ground my boots pulled about a half inch layer of some substance that resembled black peanut butter. My boots pulled this tacky stuff up and left a dry impression where the mud used to be on the ground, this is where I unloaded my bike. As I headed down the trail, the ground turned to a silt pool that was hard yet slick as owl grease slightly under the surface. I've ridden in mud before but not like this. The mud I'm used to is the kind that has water standing or wet enough that I can rut through by staying on the gas, this stuff had no traction at all. My brakes, chain & sprockets clogged with mud. In fact, the mud was so slick, yet sticky, that the mud build up on my front tire was rubbing the pipe. The faster I tried to go the more my front wheel tried to lock up causing the back end to want to pass. It was no fun at all! I enjoy riding in semi wet conditions but this was uncontrollable.

 

[KXsteve]

Jeff: Sorry i cant help you out then, I have only ridden in mud a couple of times now...but never stuff like that!! :o

Gomer: ROTFLMAO!! Well then you win!! i have only had my bike a couple of months now, but since it's winter over here atm, I will no doubt get it a bit muddier next time i'm out :p

 

[TrackMaster]

Sounds very similar to the clay we have here... It is very hard to ride in regaurdless of how good of a rider you are. Riding in this stuff is totally different riding than anything else Ive ever ridden in. The only thing you can really do is keep plowing through, keep your speed up as best as possible and dont stop. Stopping is the worst thing you can do in that kind of mud. You cant get takin off again, and when you do, your front end is just packed full of mud. Its amazing just how much and how fast it collects. It just takes practice I suppose. Im still not that great at it and Ive been ridding it for a couple years now.

 

[yzguy15]

Yea, Jeff, I know this mud of which you speak. My dad got into some of that the first time he ever rode his brand new 01 YZ 250. He was pretty mad. I think the only thing to do is keep your speed up. Normal mud I can handle, with that kind of mud, I typically won't ride much. It aint fun.

 

[kiwi_925]

HLG, your bike looks like it went through a dirty wash, or maybe the mud where u were riding isnt tacky. Where ive ridden the mud just stays stuck until you pull out the water blaster. The best way ive found is to use lower revs on the bike, if at all poss. or otherwise the other way is to sit back and enjoy the ride wide open. But try and have your weight about 3/4's on the back of the bike, you dont want all your weight there but enough to get ya through it. As for riding in mud(tacky only here).... its ok but i prefer racing in wet conditions, not so much where it sticks to the bike but falls off, and it looks as though its going to rain for this weekends MX :cool:

 

[Zoomer]

Like Gomer says, follow the front wheel, stay loose on the bike and stay back To much weight over the front and you'll loose it. Also the faster you go, the cleaner your tires will stay. I love mud (once I get the bike and me covered with it) :cool: Theres days its fun, and days it sucks:( worst part is cleaning after the ride.