Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126300
"This is the wrong stance for rough tracks. Never sit down." " The crouched position gives you thebest control. Use your knees:' " Alw ay s keep the gas on. Drag the rear brake to control wheel hop." " M ud requires a different technique. Don't f ig ht it. but stay loose." How to ride like the Hurricane - Part six Bumps, rough stuff, out of shape and saving it , II! By Bob Hanna h as t old to J im Gianatsis "It's im portant to have a good riding style if you expect to get across whoops and bumps at any kind of speed without getting killed. The worst thing you can do is sit down on the bike, especially up tow ards the front by the tank and have your back . s t raight up and d own ' an .. . I sta nd up all the time. I 8 stand up a nd crouch over the fro nt of th e bike, keeping m y kn ees slightly bent all the tim e. If you let the bike work arou nd undernea th you , you 'll find it's rea lly smooth . Keep your knees up tight on th e tank . That 's how you c o ntro l t h e mo vemen t and direction of the bike underneath you, is with you r knees . It kinda feels like . . . you .re sWlngmg your hi on a Pivot as IpS the bike dances a round . You really won't be using the handlebars hardly at a ll, but just cont ro lling every th ing with your knees. Don 't forge t abou t balancing yourself on the foot pegs wit h you r toes a nd not th e ins tep of your foot . "O nce you have the proper style for handling the bumps, learning how to control the throttle and picking your way over a rough section becomes much easier. Of course you shou ld try and find smooth lines during practice , but usually the fastest line during a race is full throttle right up the middle of the tra ck. Everybody usually avoids the m iddle and th a t's wh y it ends up th e best line . Also , if you can go faster than anyone else you r rhythm will be much smoother than the rhy thm of the bumps. "T he on e th ing to remember is to keep the gas on . And even if you get out of shape , th e only thing th at can save you is th e gas. ' If th e bike ge lS a little crooked , keep the gas on , but tap the rear brake and the bike will straighten right up. " If th e bike is really out of shape y~u can either bail off or turn the th rottle wide open. That's what I do : T;'rn ' the throttle wide open. Then as the back e nd is kicking around ~'n d touches ground at some point , the rear wheel will break loose and straight en the bike up. You have to have the throttle wide open though , and you ha ve to be holding onto th e handlebars as tight as you can. Keep your knees tight on the tank as well: you can't sit on the bike 100se'1 "1t sounds scary, but I get out of shape a ll th e tim e and that's how I save it. Sometimes I'm ha nging off th e bike , b ut that's how I save it and I hav en 't ._ been pitched off yet. " (Next Week: Passing other riders.)