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Posture
When riding Off Road, a motorcyclist will encounter many different
types of objects, obstacles and surfaces. Posture is an important factor
in stability and safety. Seat straight and keep your weight close
to the gas tank, feet on the foot pegs (straight forward), elbows
slightly bent outward, keep your head and eyes up.
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Turning
A. Look into the turn.
B. Weight the inside peg.
C . Immediately transfer your weight to the outside peg and shift your
your weight (to counterbalance the bike).
D. Keep your throttle setting steady, avoid rapid changes during the turn.
(do not accelerate or brake abruptly!)
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Protruding Obstacles
Particularly while trail riding, your feet could catch on rocks (auuch!)
roots or stumps protruding from the ground. Such objects could also
"deflect" your front wheel if you do not see them in time. Be
sure to maintain your concentration on the trail ahead of you, scanning
for obstacles protruding into your path. When riding on narrow trails,
keep the balls of your feet on the footrests so your toes do not hang
below the level of the motorcycle frame.
(VERY IMPORTANTE!)
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Climbing Hills
Remember: some hills are too steep for your abilities
some hills are too steep for your motorcycle.
When approaching a hill you should:
Keep both feet firmly in the footrests.
Shift into low gear and speed up BEFORE ascending the
hill.
For small hill shift your weight forward by sliding on
the seat.
For steep hills, stand on the footrests and lean well
over the front
wheel in order to shift as much weight forward as
possible.
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Traversing Hills Stand up with both feet firmly on the footrests. Concentrate body
weight on the outside (downhill) footrest while leaning the motorcycle in
toward the uphill slope....This forces the tires into the hill while
traversing.
Keep the body weight centered on the bike
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Descending Hills
When descending a hill you should:
Keep both feet firmly on the footrests.
Point the vehicle directly down hill.
Transfer your weight to the rear, in steep down hills bend forward
sharply at the waist so that your posterior is over the back
of the seat
Shift into low gear and descend with the throttle closed.
Apply brakes to reduce speed (caution with the front brakes!)
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Whoop-De-Doos
These are closely spaced bumps usually found in heavily used sections
of trail. They create a "roller coaster" effect when riding up
one bump and then down the next one. You can approach these
"whoops" in one of two ways.
Both should be done while standing
on the footrests.
Ride at a slow or moderate pace, keeping both wheels on the ground, Use
your legs and arms as shock absorbers, while keeping body weight directly
over the center of the motorcycle. Establish an appropriate speed and
rhythm over the bumps.
The other method is for more advanced riders and is performed by
rear-weighting the suspension. Accelerating through the "whoops"
while standing on the footrests and keeping your body weight rearward
allows the front wheel to skim over the bumps, smoothing out the otherwise
rough ride.
To avoid excessive jarring, remember to stand on the
footrests, with your knees and elbows slightly bent.
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Sand
When riding in sand, maintain a relaxed posture keeping your feet on
the footrests and your head and eyes up, looking ahead.
The cycle will waiver in its path slightly, this is normal. Keep the
throttle on and shift to a higher gear, enabling the motorcycle to gain
enough speed to rise to top of (or "plane") the sand.
Rolling off the throttle will effectively provide a braking action; the
motorcycle begins to "plow" back into the sand as speed
decreases.
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Obstacles
You may encounter obstacles ( rocks, roots, etc) when trail riding
and be unable to avoid them. The proper technique to ride over obstacles
that which you cannot or do not want to avoid is:
Approach obstacle at a proper angle (as close to 90o as possible)
Stand on pegs, knees and elbows slightly bent.
Adjust speed as necessary, maintain momentum!
Concentrate weight on pegs, not on bars.
Apply burst of throttle prior to the obstacle.
Important: For obstacles taller than the front wheel, compress suspension
priors to reaching the obstacle by applying front brake, followed by a
burst of throttle as front wheel as front wheel clears obstacle.
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