Wrecked today..need some advice

[rockymtnRM250]

First off, I'm a beginner to offroad bikes. Had a DRZ400E for a short time before someone wanted it more then me.. Came from quads and rode street bikes for many a year and think i may have a bad habit. I just bought a 06RM250,had the full gear on, speeds were ~20-25mph as i was not familiar with the trail i was on. Climbing a small hill bout 20 feet with a little grade, got to the top and there were riders sitting on both sides of the trail taking a break. The decent was mild with a little off camber, moist dirt surface, and the only thing i can think of my street bike ways of using the front brake must have occurred. Next thing i knew, bars were turned to the lock against the camber of hill, I hit the ground, bars dug in hard, bent bad, rear of bike stood straight up, and bike fell right down on my leg with the foot peg. Needless to say, i may need an xray tomorrow as the bugger hurts.

I am fully sure that may lack of experience caused this. I bought several motocross techniques DVD's from Gary Semics school to learn tips and practice but I need advice from you guys on front brake use. His videos suggest using both to slow the bike and i can see in the "right situation" that working, but I am sure off camber isn't a good idea as i found today :( The guy that helped me up suggested I remove the front lever to break the habit (if thats the case)and only break with the rear for a while. Does this make sense? I know the RM an advanced bike for a beginner, but I treat it with respect and don't ride outside my comfort level and sure this would have occurred on the DRZ if i was on it.
I love the bike, just need more seat time and plan to get back on the horse after getting some parts replaced..

Like to hear what your breaking styles are. Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading. David

 

[decade377]

Down hill off camber turns can be tricky. The problem may not have been just braking. What position was your body in?Sitting?Standing?Leaning forward or backwards? If you stand while making an off camber turn, putting your weight on the outside foot peg,you can increase your tires grip and decrease the reletive lean angle of the tires. That will lessen the chances of having your bike slide out. Of course throttle control is important too as is all control inputs. Don't make any sudden moves, stay smooth and remember to relax, let the bike move around under you.
Practice braking. I took private lessons from Jim Gibson and one of the things he had me doing was braking drills. We set up markers in an unused area of a local mx track. He had me accelerate full throttle up to a marker then get on the brakes as hard as I could and stop at the next marker,(using both brakes). By doing this you learn how hard you can brake and still be in control. You can develope a feel for how much traction you have to work with and how much braking force you can use without loosing control.(NOTE; We did this in a flat dirt parking area away from other riders and vehicals, then moved it to the track.). Good luck and remember-The more you ride,the better rider you will be :cool:

 

[trailqueen]

The guy that helped me up suggested I remove the front lever

That's just plain crazy! You need to focus when you ride offroad. If you cant control your mind to not use the front brake when practicing, you're going to be in trouble when you start riding the trails. Using the controls correctly needs to be second nature. You found out the hard way that sometimes there's no time to think.

I recently stepped up from a little Honda 150F to a KTM 200 XC-W and the first 2-3 hours were nothing but going around in circles sitting and standing, doing figure 8's and just getting a feel for the huge increase in power thie bike had. Boring as could be, but a necessary step. Like Gary Semics says - 'sometimes you need to go slow to go fast' or something like that. decade377 has good advice -

The more you ride,the better rider you will be

Good luck!! :ride:

 

[robwbright]

I suspect it was body position more than anything. Also check your front tire pressure - it can wreak havoc with cornering on soft/off camber areas.

I can't speak as to braking on trails, as I've never really thought about how I use the brakes on the trails when I ride them . . . I do mostly MX stuff now.

In MX you'll use the front a whole lot more than the back.

 

[XRpredator]

never give up on the front brake. I almost use it exclusively. The only favor that guy who helped you up did for you was helping you up.

 

[Ol'89r]

The guy that helped me up suggested I remove the front lever to break the habit (if thats the case)and only break with the rear for a while. Does this make sense? David

NOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :yikes:

Your front brake is your friend. Learn to use it. :nod:

Try using only one or two fingers on the front brake lever. This gives you three or four fingers to hold on to the grip. If you start to lock the front wheel, it makes it easier to release the brake lever. If you are using all of your fingers on the lever and you start to fall, you will only grip the brake lever tighter and it will be almost impossible to release the lever until after you hit the dirt.

If you only use one or two fingers, you can feather the front brake and feel the traction or lack of traction on the front tire. Practice locking up the front brake and releasing it while going in a straight line. Soon you will get the feel for the traction on the front tire, even in off-camber situations.

 

[rockymtnRM250]

Gents, reading through all of your replies, I realized as you said, my body position and weight on the bars are most likely what put me down.. I have a problem reminding myself to stand more, elbows up/out, and counter weight the pegs in off camber. The standing being the hardest coming off quads as i guess they make you lazy and end up sitting more except over whoops.

I'll live but feel like i lost a bar room fight today..once i fix the bike, think i will spend some time in a open lot practicing before venturing back to the trails. I'm 37 are darn convinced I will learn how to ride!! Thanks for the support and recommendations!! :cool:

 

[KX02]

That's the spirit! Your new bike is lightweight and has very strong stoppers. You need very little pressure on the front lever, you may have locked up the front wheel. One finger is plenty for alot of situations, two for more sudden stops. You'll get it, like you said, just practice, and wear your gear!

 

[76GMC1500]

If your front brakes are too grabby, consider using different pads. Sintered pads don't grab as hard and give you a little more control at the cost of a little extra effort to get maximum braking. I'd say they're better for mud and wet surfaces except that they don't work at all when wet.

 

[rockymtnRM250]

appreciate it! Thinking I may need to find someplace around Colorado Springs where I can get some MX lessons and go from there. I bought the bike early Dec and this was the first week we could actually ride as the snow has been worse the most years. Speaking of gear, i looked at it all today and man am I glad I bought this stuff last week.. nice deep gouges is knee/elbow pads and chest protector. Thanks again!

 

[whenfoxforks-ruled]

Try braking when the bike is perpendicular to the ground and the front wheel straight, at no other time,until you feel gamey! You attempted probably the most difficult downhill traverse on a mx racing bike! I would have been sitting on top of the hill watching too!!!

 

[just_a_rider]

I love my front brake! just try slowing down enough to make a tight turn using the back brake, you'll find your self slidding through it. Front brakes set you up for a corner so you can bust outa the thing. :cool:

 

[rockymtnRM250]

thanks all! hehe..whenfoxforks ruled, thats pretty funny! Yeah, in the middle of nowhere, here sit four riders taking a break and got nice show for free. While it was embarrassing, I glanced at their bikes as i got up and saw some battle scars as well so my pretty new RM has character now too. The crappy part was my Cycra guards crushed and took out the clutch lever. Got some good seat time heading home learning to trail ride without it so i guess something good came about.

 

[RMZRyder]

Practicing in an open area is fine and dandy but when you are out on trails the type of terrain is always changing thus changing you level of traction. I have been in the middle of braking hard when the dirt changed to a sandier consistancy. During a situation like this you will want to ease up on the front brake and get harder on the rear. Every braking situation will differ slightly, but it sounds like you have already got it figured out, seat time is your answer. O yeah, remember to always wear all of your gear, GOOD BOOTS!!!