Throttle control on jumps. THIS IS NEW QUESTION

maxkiks77

Member
Sep 23, 2002
107
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Okay so like i hear mos to fyou guys talikng about giving throttle on the takeoff jump. So how do i get myself to the point of giving gas on the takeoff instead of being a sissy and letting off, her is an example: rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr --------- rrrrrrrrrrrr. how do i make it a constant rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. HOW do I tell me self to stay on the gas, this is a small jump it is only 4 feet tall. Thank you so much for the help.
 

ktmboy

~SPONSOR~
Apr 1, 2001
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Try clicking it up a gear so you're not on the gas as hard while carrying the same speed you would have in the lower gear. In your mind the lower RPMs' will psych you into believing you're not going as fast and the bike won't react violently when you get on it on the face of the jump.
(Advice from another jump sissie!)
 

jboomer

~SPONSOR~
Jan 5, 2002
1,420
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That's good advice. The sound of the bike has a lot to do with how you ride it. It's really a mental game. If it sounds fast, your mind thinks it really is. Something else you can try: wear earplugs. This will deaden the sound a little and help you to overcome this (as well as protect your hearing).
 

tedkxkdx

LIFETIME SPONSOR
Feb 6, 2003
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At times the reason people let off is because they do not know how the bike is going to react at the speed/acceleration they are hitting the jump, so they back off and reapply throttle making the sound or feel of the engine something they are accustomed to. Some jumps will throw you over the bars if you are in a gear higher if you hit the ramp and your speed is dropped because you don't have the torque to maintain acceleration up the ramp. Some jumps require a pre-jump and many beginner riders do this via the throttle. Some jumps with big enough faces, say 15ft of face, can be hit with just a slight amount of acceleration occuring but you are either in the bottom of the power band or near the top.
It all boils down to knowing what your engine is going to do ie overrev or sputter. Also how your bike reacts on different steepness and length of the ramp. Very short ramps require a hard acceleration to get the suspension to react to it. Or if your a pro a lot of speed and finesse to jump 50ft from a 3ft high ramp barely 6-7 ft in ramp length. If the speed is not there they just won't make it that far.
So not a concrete answer for all jumps, just a lot of general thoughts.
What is the jump face like you are having troubles with and what is the fear that is making you back off momentarily?
 

merlinnn

~SPONSOR~
Nov 30, 2002
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I'm still learning too, and have found that leaving the bike in a higher gear with a steady throttle helps, maybe quarter throttle. This keeps the bike from entering into the powerband to quickly. Obviously this technique doesn't work on all jumps, but it seems very comfortable on small table tops. Once I feel comfortable on a particular jump i then start to slowly roll the throttle on just before the up ramp.

The only way to get rid of that fear is to practice something to you become comfortable with it and begin to enjoy the jump instead of being apprehensive about it. Then you have to move up to the next challenge and start the proccess again.
 

Jeff Gilbert

N. Texas SP
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Oct 20, 2000
2,969
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Speed is only a part of it. For instance, last year I was on a track with a long run at a short double / stepup combo. Just after the landing was a 90 right hander in a berm. I had been hitting the jump in forth but letting off in plenty of time to only make it up on the face of the stepup for fear of over jumping and not making the turn. As the night went on I found myself alone on the track and this is where it got fun. Where I had been taking a long / fast run at the jump and letting off only to not clear it, I began seeing just how short of a run I could take and make the same distance. To my surprise the lees of a run I had at it, the more closer to clearing it I got. Finanlly I started about 10 ft from the face and hit the jump just as I hit 2nd gear and on the gas hard, I was clearing the jump perfectly but only going a fraction of the speed. The momentum of a hard accelleration is the key.

I've learned since that I can control a jump more than I realized by how aggressive I am on the face of the jump. I guess it's like shooting a gun. As the bullet leaves the gun, it's with a lot of force, the same as when you are aggressive on a jump. By letting off and basically coasting a jump you loose momentum quickly just the same as the bullet would after it is in the air a while. (probably a bad scenario :confused: )
 

joereitman

Member
Jul 2, 2003
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Originally posted by tedkxkdx
Some jumps with big enough faces, say 15ft of face, can be hit with just a slight amount of acceleration occuring but you are either in the bottom of the power band or near the top. Very short ramps require a hard acceleration to get the suspension to react to it. Or if your a pro a lot of speed and finesse to jump 50ft from a 3ft high ramp barely 6-7 ft in ramp length. If the speed is not there they just won't make it that far.

This is very true. My practice track has steep jumps with short ramps, 6-8'. I tend to treat these as accelearation or combo accel/velocity jumps, but the big ramp jumps at many tracks are less technical, have an easy transition from flat to ramp, can be jumped with velocity only with a slight blip at takeoff, no hard acceleration, and are more beginner friendly. I found that the key to aggressive acceleration jumps is working up to it, as mentioned above. I used to blip over my easiest double, now I am hard on it in 3rd, which seems easier than high rpm's in 2nd. It is more in the powerband in 3rd and too wound out in 2nd. I find a gear higher is better in most cases, as long as you are not going too fast and bottoming on the ramp, which can cause uncontrolled rebound, not good as you are taking off on a big jump. On the jumps where I need more distance but can't get enough speed I compensate by gassing it harder on the ramp, and in some situations seat bounce too. The best thing has been a lot of practice. I will jump the same one 50+ times in a row to ingrain the body position and throttle position into my riding technique so it comes naturally. Then the next time I see a similar jump it all comes naturally.
 

linusb

~SPONSOR~
Apr 20, 2002
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That was a good explanation Jeff. Gomer was basically showing me the same thing at a practice table top at TNT. He was able to clear a 40-50' tabletop in first gear, with a very short run where I was having trouble in 3rd with a long approach.

I have the same basic dilemma as MaxKliks...letting off before the face. I have a fear of looping out in the air which is why I do it. I just need more practice accelerating harder up the face so I can figure out how to position my body so I don't loop out.
 

linusb

~SPONSOR~
Apr 20, 2002
276
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Now you sound like my wife, circa 1993.

Seriously, I just don't have the confidence. Yesterday for example, I was trying to do the set of jumps that are the second from the back row (the one where I crashed last time). Several times, I came out of the turn, tried to accelerate hard and on that first little jump ended up coming down almost vertical with my front wheel straight up in the air. I thought for sure I was going to crash on my back. It's foul up's like that which keep me from commiting any more. I thought it was my body positioning so the next time I did it I made sure to be far forward but the front end still came up on me. I was in 2nd gear, maybe I should have tried 3rd. Are you sure you aren't chopping the throttle at all just as you leave the lip of the jump?
 

Jeff Gilbert

N. Texas SP
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Oct 20, 2000
2,969
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I find that on some of the smaller jumps (shorter) it's easier for me to remain seated up the face and stand with head over bars just as the front wheel leaves the ground. I gotta warn you that it'll bring the front end down rather quickly so I recommend taking it easy at 1st.
 

joereitman

Member
Jul 2, 2003
540
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Yes, the seat bounce or variations can put you on your head fast, with the extra rear suspension rebound affect.

Try gripping a little more with the legs on takeoff, and rowing the bars toward your chest on the takeoff ramp, which keeps your body vertical, then push down on the bars upon takeoff. This should get the front end down even if you are hard on it at takeoff.
 

High Lord Gomer

Poked with Sticks
Sep 26, 1999
11,790
34
Originally posted by linusb
Several times, I came out of the turn, tried to accelerate hard and on that first little jump ended up coming down almost vertical with my front wheel straight up in the air.
The same thing happens to me on that one.  I stay on the seat for that one (in 2nd) to get the rear to rebound a little more.  Even then it still often lands with the front up.

The thing you really have to be careful of when staying on the seat is that you have to stay on the gas hard.  If you back off the gas a hair while still on the seat, it is pretty much guaranteed to land you on the front fender.

That jump has gotten kind of worn down and it would probably be best to swing as wide as possible beforehand, and you're right, 3rd would keep the front lower, too.
 

High Lord Gomer

Poked with Sticks
Sep 26, 1999
11,790
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The deafening silence of a dead engine in the air is made even worse if you know you're on a KTM620 with too much compression to bump start even if 4 of your closest friends were with you!
 

ktmboy

~SPONSOR~
Apr 1, 2001
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My son and I were sitting here discussing that very same scenario while reading the 'dead motor airborne' post. I'm very thankful in those cases to be on an easily bump-started 2-smoke!
 

joereitman

Member
Jul 2, 2003
540
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Originally posted by ktmboy
My son and I were sitting here discussing that very same scenario while reading the 'dead motor airborne' post. I'm very thankful in those cases to be on an easily bump-started 2-smoke!

3 cheers for our 2 smokers. :D

But I still don't want a midair stall. Rather do body english corrections... Or just take off right in the first place. :D
 
Feb 29, 2004
9
0
Ok, im only 13 years old but you might want to take this from me. when your going around a corners pull the clutch in and SHIFT UP. WELL ITS the same for the jumps your just upshift and keep that throttle pinned until you go right off the lip of the jump.
And feel confident enough for the jump you should also feel comfortable with the sound you should here a constant BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP until your off that jump GOOOOOOD LUCK MANNN and remember HAVE FUN
 

LawDog101

Member
Sep 24, 2002
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I think the most important thing here is BODY POSITION. If you jump and the front end comes wayyy up, then you were too far back on the takeoff (assuming a properly setup bike). If you simply hold the throttle on all the way up you will most likely end up on your head. The bike will kick on the face (two strokes only here as the four strokes don't have this tendency).

1. Make sure that you have proper body position. It will depend on the jump but on most jumps you need to be standing up in the middle of the bike, head up, knees gripping the side of the bike.

2. You need to look at the face of the jump. Does it have a low pitch. If so, then you can pin it over it to get whatever distance you need. If the jump has a steep face and you go WFO all the way up it will kick the rear violently. Keep in mind your body position.

3. As far as seat bouncing, you might want to leave that up to people that are more experienced for now. An improperly executed seat bounce is a quick way to really hurt yourself.

4. Have someone watch you and see what they say. Hitting jumps is not a matter of holding it wide open all the way up the face.

James
 

brianfr

Member
Jan 23, 2004
17
0
As your approaching a jump you'll never remember all these things, and be able to do them in the milliseconds that you have to do them. Just start small and work you way up until you're doing it by feel.

I'm learning my self and getting to where I can approach a jump and know how the bikes going to kick and subequently fly off a jump, and then being able to control how it flies. I can tell you that I am not thinking that I have to consider this and do that with this control. It's almost all intuitive, and judging by the fact that the original post was in January, you're probably getting much better already.
 

maxkiks77

Member
Sep 23, 2002
107
0
brianfr said:
It's almost all intuitive, and judging by the fact that the original post was in January, you're probably getting much better already.

Actually, BRIANF, i have not practiced, for it has been terrible weather herea, and i need to get a new bike, for my 80cc is too small!!
 
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