The correct way to jump.

[Bigdogdaddy69]

Well i have been riding dirt bikes my whole life. I ride just about every day, some reason after all those years of riding im still not comfortable with jumping. I have the problem of having the front end to high and sometimes going side ways. The sideways problem is kinda my fault, i used to ride alot of bmx and id always throw the bmx bike sideways. I guess i want to know how to hit a jump and kinda compare it to what im doing.

hope you can understand what im asking. :coocoo: :bang:

 

[RM85rider123]

there are tons of threads on this subject. oh yeah, what's your seat position?

 

[Bigdogdaddy69]

center.

 

[_JOE_]

How long has it been since the suspension has been serviced? A problem with the supension or it's tuning can make a bike very unruly to jump.

You should try to be steady on the throttle up the face of the jump while standing and leaning forward over the bars. Try that and see how she flies. You can try playing with the rebound on the shock to tune the attitude off the jump.

 

[RM85rider123]

I had the same problem too. But I've learned to overcome it.

 

[High Lord Gomer]

It is common for those that have trouble jumping to position themselves too far back (to stay farther away from the expected crash), resulting in flying with the front too high and, quite possibly, causing the crash they were trying to avoid.

You want to land with both wheels at the same time or, if anything, your front wheel touching down just before the rear. On a down-sloped landing, that means flying with your front wheel lower that the rear...not a comfortable position at first, but very natural once you get the hang of it.

I would suggest working on landing a little on the front wheel (and on the gas). Once you get comfortable with that on small jumps, then work your way up.

The single best thing to keep from getting kicked sideways in the air is to squeeze the bike with your lower legs and knees all the way up the jump and into the air.

 

[Bigdogdaddy69]

thanks for the advise. Ive been riding every day trying to figure out my issues.

 

[whizzit]

If you can, get a friend to take some snap shots of you mid air. Me and a friend were out just taking some "action" photos this summer. And for me it was a good visual aid of how I was jumping.