TrackMaster

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Mar 15, 2001
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Ok well i have been told to seat bounce jumps for more distance/height. And as i understand you sit on the seat to compress (preload) the shock on the face of the jump, causing it to rebound and send you flying through the air.

I attempted to preload a tabletop at my local track, after not clearing it time after time (its right out of a corner) I watched my friend do it and it looks like it worked for him, but when i sat on the face and i went into the air, it threw me into a standing position (as i was expecting) but i instead went lower and the same distance. I was on the pipe about 3/4 throttle on my yz125. Do i need to keep it pinned to seat bounce or am i not doing it properly??
 

Jeff Gilbert

N. Texas SP
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Oct 20, 2000
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I'm not that experienced at it but the times I've done it I've had good luck. I've always stayed seated and accelerated pretty hard up the face and just before or right as I left the face I brought my butt off the seat. Typically I end up having to lean way over the bars to get the front down, I'n not too good at tapping the rear brake.
 

limitless

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Aug 11, 2002
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It is my understanding that you don't HAVE to sit to get the same effect.... Have you ever done a 'bunny hop' on a BMX bike? if so you know the type of thing I'm talking about.
I'll try to explain.

Jump on the pegs to preload the susp. (you don't want your feet to leave the pegs, just bounce kinda) and at the face/during lift off pull up and forward on the bars.
 

JTT

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Aug 25, 2000
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Trackmaster, I am no expert on them, but got reasonably proficient at them back a couple of years ago...basically you seem to have the technique down, but you must add large throttle going up the face. Think of it as trying to bottom the suspension on the face...the harder you hit, the higher you go. Take care though, if you hit it hard, without enough throttle, you'll be ejected over the bars (well, at least very nose low) by the rebound force of the shock.
 

TrackMaster

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Mar 15, 2001
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limitless - yes i know the technique you are talking about, but i have never used it on a jump like this. I only have used it on fast (4th+ gear) jumps for more distance and height.

I will try both methods again next time i hit the track.. Do you guys have any advice for clearing a double out of a corner? It is a pretty easy jump with a tabletop landing, but if you dont land on top or clear it it hurts! I cased the jump 3 times, and landed on top twice. The only problem i have with jumping it is there are huge acceleration bumps right out of the corner. So it is almost impossible to rail the corner and stay seated to seat bounce. I cant clear it in 3rd, so i have been avoiding the bumps and taking the inside line and fanning the clutch to clear it...

There were a few fast guys who were clearing it completely (i think its 60 ft) and 2 were on 250s and just pinning it on the inside, and the 125 was railing it with a lot of speed and it didnt look like the bumps bothered him any. Any suggestions?? I know i need more speed in the corner, but the accelleration bumps really hamper my speed. Thanks
 

Honda Rider

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Oct 1, 2001
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HEHE, I told ya, I was pinning it when I seat bounced on that table top, otherwise it doesn't really work, and as for the double, outside to inside on the corner and just pin it in 3rd, you'll clear it!
 

Faded

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Jan 7, 2003
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Originally posted by JTT
Take care though, if you hit it hard, without enough throttle, you'll be ejected over the bars (well, at least very nose low) by the rebound force of the shock.

I had the pleasure of watching someone illustrate this at the dunes last summer. It was a downhill that ended in an abrupt incline that was being used as the jump face. A kid on a KX500 came flying down the hill and threw his whole body into the bike as it hit the incline. The added compression and the change in direction (going up!) made him loose a lot of his momentum. As he crested the jump the rebound of the suspension bucked him off. That combined with the lost momentum of the bike caused him to land 20ft farther than where his bike landed.
 

AZMotoHound

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Dec 26, 2002
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Skills: The Essential Seat Bounce

Tuesday March 25, 2003
by Erick "Big E" Bartoldus
(This article originally appeared in the March 2003 issue of TWMX. Have you subscribed yet?)

A few years ago seat bouncing used to be a method that only a handful of experienced pros used. The technique was reserved for the skill levels of Supercross heroes like McGrath, Emig and Ward. These days, without a good seat bounce in a racer's bag of tricks there's no way that they could even be competitive, not to mention safe on today's increasingly technical Supercross tracks.

Mostly used on tighter courses with tons of jumps, the seat bounce is employed to propel a racer over an obstacle such as a double or triple jump when there is little room to muster up speed. By sitting on the seat and twisting the throttle, the rider loads the rear shock through a combination of his own weight and torque from the engine. The shock responds by using its coiled-up energy to bounce the rider up and over the obstacle that lies ahead.

This month, MotoworldRacing.com team rider Andrew Short rendered his services to the readers of TWMX. Andrew's a Colorado boy that began his racing career at the tender age of six. Now all grown-up and racing pro, Andrew will be contesting a 125cc Supercross title while racing selected 250cc events in this year's AMA/THQ Supercross Series. Our shoot was at the newly redesigned Suzuki test track in Corona, California. Be advised that this is an advanced move and beginner riders should work up to something as advanced as the seat bounce. Here are some of Andrew's tips …

Get Over It

"Though I will focus primarily on the 125cc class this year, today I will be on my RM250. Even with the extra power of the 250, I have my bike in first gear as I go over the roller preceding this double. As I go through the mechanics of the seat bounce, note that I have my finger on the clutch through the entire jump. This particular part of the track has a roller before the double I am seat bouncing. This adds a degree of difficulty because speed is limited for the jump.

"As I feel my rear wheel get over the roller I start to approach the take-off of the jump, adjusting my body to where it should be for maximum spring. On this jump, I sit in the middle of the seat. At this point I am grabbing the throttle and easing the clutch out at the same time.

Once in the air, I un-weight the seat and aim the front end where it needs it to go. As I am in the air, I am spotting the landing. Landing smooth when you're in a section with numerous obstacles is important because you need to keep your momentum moving forward. Now you're set to accomplish the next obstacle on the track."

Air Controls

"One thing you want to watch out for is throttling off the face of a jump. If you're not sitting back far enough on the seat, the bike will tend to take off with the front end high. By pulling in the clutch and tapping the rear brake, you can add weight to the front of the motorcycle by stopping the gyroscopic effect of the rear wheel; this should help to bring the nose down. On the other hand, if you're sitting too far back on the seat the bike will go into endo mode, where your front wheel drops on you. The way to correct this is to give the bike more throttle. The spinning weight of the rear wheel will pull the back end of the bike down."

Shift Your Weight

"The seat on a motocross bike acts like a pogo stick: The further back you sit, the higher your bike will spring you. The more forward you sit, the less spring you get. Be careful to adjust where you are sitting according to the speed you have going into the obstacle. Another rule is that the faster you are going, the further forward you will want to sit. The slower you go the further rearward you must sit. This will provide for additional leverage. Also, be aware that the higher you go the more airtime you get, and the additional time spent in the air will increase seconds on your lap times. The idea is to get the least amount of air while still getting over the jump clean. The more times you practice the technique the better of a feel you will get for it, and soon you'll be able to gauge your speed for the appropriate air time."
 

TrackMaster

Member
Mar 15, 2001
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los36 - its at bluff creek (old coal mine between oskaloosa and bussey, there are a couple practice tracks there that we like to ride on. There really arent any tracks close to us besides the sully Moto-X track, so we go to bluff creek a lot.
 

los36

~SPONSOR~
Feb 7, 2002
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Gotcha. Haven't been there (Sully or the practice tracks), but was at Riverside last weekend.

Anyway, when you seat bounce you need to be accelerating all the way up the face. If you just go at a constant speed, the shock is going to rebound before you leave the face of the jump, so that when you leave the face, you're not going to get any significant lift. Accelerating all the way off of the face keeps the shock compressed until the tire leaves the ground.

I only advise using the seat-bounce on jumps right out of turns or in tricky rythem sections. Don't try it on high speed stuff, the results might not be pretty :)
Good luck!
 

TrackMaster

Member
Mar 15, 2001
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Yeah I thought about going to Riverside, but I kind of wanted to get some practice in before i go and embarass myself infront of all the crowd. It was the first of the d22 races wasnt it? I have never been to Riverside, is it a fun track? How'd the races turn out?
 

los36

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Feb 7, 2002
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Riverside is pretty fun. There are a pair of rythem sections that can be tough but not really dangerous. The turns get pretty rutted and some pretty deep ruts develop in the low spots, usually at the base of jumps. There were about 400 entries...the races were over around 6:00.
I don't know how the track compares to others in the Iowa area. I just moved to Omaha from Texas (boy, do I miss the TX MX tracks!). Riverside's 10 times better than the track near Omaha, though. I'm going to the April 6th race. See you there.
 

Moto Squid

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Jul 22, 2002
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Don't try it on high speed stuff, the results might not be pretty

yep, I found that out the hard way on this tiny little 15-20 tabletop (bump)...seat bouncing was working great till I hit it way too fast and I got bucked off.
 
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