Riding tips for anyone who wants to go faster

[whyzee]

Thought I would start a thread about helping new riders or racers who want to improve thier speed and shave many seconds off of your lap times.

1) Move forward on your bike ! your butt should be centered over the swingarm pivot bolt or above your footpegs. yes your balls will be in the gas tank. This is esp. true on the faster bikes, the 250R's etc. You cannot be forward enough on those bikes. Your head should be right over the handlebars

2) to make much sharper turns, use your front brake ALL the way through the turn !!!Do not let off the front brake until you are all the way through the turn and pointing in the direction you want to go.
You should be on the gas and on the front brake at the same time , your rearend will slide right around and you will wonder how you did it !! ( this technique DOES NOT apply for SAND !!!!!)

3) on tight right hand turns it is very hard to make them fast with a thumb throttle. To help with this problem reach over and under the handlebars and accelerate with your middle finger on the throttle while pulling up really hard on the handlebars to maintain proper body position and proper " elbows up and out) yes you have to forgo the front brake ( that is why some really fast guys use an MX style twist grip throttle)

4) never coast!!!!!! you should always be braking or on the gas, soemtimes you will be on both at the same time.

That's enough for now...these techniques take years to master, but practice them slow for the first few months and you will be out of the novice class and into the amatuers before you know it!

cheers guys

[beets442]

Lose weight, no cupcakes before the race:lol:

[SWIGIN]

My #1 piece of advice would be expect to wreck, at least at the beginning.

2. ride on the balls of your feet

3. If you are not scared your not going fast enough

[whyzee]

Everyone , add your favorite tip.
by riding on the balls of your feet you are effectivly adding about 4 inches of suspension to your bike. don't believe us, just go and try it on your trike and move up and down. Then look at your riding boots. find the area that it is most worn, chances are it will be right in the middle of your arch! The only time your pegs should be in the middle of your foot is on the landing of jumps! Move your body out there guys. Soon you will develop your own style and not look like a statue in your pictures

[dcreel]

Hang off the side of it.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w182/dcreel/Riding%20pics/trackpics049.jpg

If you are in a slide and it gets side bite and starts to high side don't get off the throttle.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w182/dcreel/Riding%20pics/trackpics044.jpg

When you are jumping if you jump nose down gas it and pull back. The rear wheels act as a gyro which will pull the front up. If you are nose high in a jump do the opposite by using your rear brakes to bring the nose down. Goose the throttle at the lip of the jump to keep the trike straighter in the air. At the base of the jump compress your suspension to propel you off the lip of the jump. If you are in a wheelie and feel like you are going over backward, tap your rear brake to bring the nose down.

You have all seen the sticker "when in doubt gas it" There is more truth to that than I can tell you.

[whyzee]

NICE Dcreel!!!!!

[KASEY]

now you see why i ride with low bend short bars,,, it automaticly keeps you further foward,, use alot of body english ,,, when you end up on 2 wheels in a corner you can either slide the one wheel on the ground to bring the other one down or gas it and spin it to bring it down,,, the rear of a trike likes to be loose more than a quad,,,

[Dirtcrasher]

Maybe not faster but hopefully you guys don't mind if we also talk about general technique. I personally have terrible balance, I trip on everything, fall off ladders and so on :lol: but I do ok as far as riding goes :D I swear I have a bit of vertigo because my balance seems to be getting worse with age.

Anyhow, When jumping (and I am still working on this years later) Many of us tend to "freeze up" or "statue like" in the air especially when in trouble! Then you land nearly at a 45 degree angle with just 2 tires touching down. At that point, the best thing you can do is loosen up a bit and NAIL THAT THROTTLE!! It really does get you out of bad situations, guys that get on it until they take off the top of a jump often endo, stay on that gas!

I find if I start leaning hard left, raise that leg off that sides peg and all your weight transfers to the right peg or where you want to help your weight go. Or do the opposite when your trike leans to the right in the middle of a big air jump and it will help correct you towards the left.

Unfortunately, when your in trouble, many of us tend to freeze up. I myself am guilty of this quite often! But I just keep trying to work on it and sometimes purposely go sideways and attempt to correct it.

Ever notice that nearly all the pro's raise one leg off the peg in almost any supercross event you watch?? I see it allot but I think for them it's more for overall balance and a habit for them, almost as if it's ingrained......... Many times they want to land angled to set up for the next corner while in the air.

[QCR77]

wow . great thread. keep em comin im just eatin this up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[whyzee]

want to add that to go really fast on rough tracks, do not be afraid to stand up and ride. Squeeze that gas tank with your knees, heap up looking forward, head over the handlebars, throttle wide open and let that trike dance around from underneath you just squeeze the daylight out of that tank with your knees.
A good way to test if you are squeezing your trike enough is to stand up on it, ( with it parked ) take your hands off of the handlebars and slide all the way back to where your butt is hanging off the seat, then slide all the way forward to where your head is over the handlebars, without having to hold onto the handlebars at anytime throughout that range of motion . That is how hard you should be squeezing that tank and seat.
Try it ! Oh yea, and that is also your full range of motion while riding....all the waay back to over the bars!!

[ctk]

Bringing this thread back up.

[SneakyATC250R]

Good read....I cant wait to try the front braking turns on my R. Never heard that before.

[Xpress]

What about us with suspensionless trikes and no front brakes?

I myself slow down, lean into the turn, and punch it as i come out.

[Thorpe]

When drag racing... DONT TURN!!!!

[SneakyATC250R]

When drag racing... DONT TURN!!!! LOL funny. i didnt relize that! On a serious note.... any drag tips from you fast straight line riders? launching, weight transfer, clutch technique etc?? My buddys got a stock raptor 700 with bald stock tires....in drag im beating him now but i want to keep the competiton tight when he gets fresh rear meats!

[hang&rattle]

You guys are awsome, get this; it's the same as riding buckin' bulls (I have for 17 fun years), here: 1. get a holt (hold, rodeo term) with you're feet (spurs) turn your toes out. 2. squeeze with you're knees (good bend in knees acts as a shock absorber). 3. lean forward with chest out (no 'c') in back, and ride over hump (tank). 4. reach for the front (horns, in this case handlebars). You cannot muscle a bull they are to powerful, you have to hustle and let em' buck and move with them. It's the same on a trike, losen up and let it go, use your balance to fallow, not muscle, i.e., my kids throw around their trikes like a dirt bike, it's enjoyable to watch. They don't fight em', use the trikes power and bounces to maneuver them. See my album no kidding, kids use the trikes characteristics, with it, to control an atc that out weighs them by 3 1/2 times, and they do it naturally as you men have described!

[Xpress]

When drag racing... DONT TURN!!!!

So THAT'S why I can't ever win :lol:

[Dirtcrasher]

What about us with suspensionless trikes and no front brakes?

I myself slow down, lean into the turn, and punch it as i come out.

I use my front brake all the time! It drops the front end right into a corner without taking too much speed off............

[theuglycamel]

Well I'm no racer and never intend to be. But there is one thing that hasn't really been covered here much, and that's your eyes. Never look into an obstacle or the edge of a turn as your riding. Your body is ingrained with the instinct to go where your eyes are looking. If you come upon an obstacle or rough turn and you concentrate on what you DON'T want to hit, you'll wind up digging your handlebars out of your crack and wondering why in the world you hit that stump you were just looking at it. Your eyes should never leave the path that you want to take. If you keep your head up and your eyes trained on your trail, you'll be amazed how your wheels seem to go exactly where you want them to without so much as a conscious thought to do so. Come into your turns with the approach and exit in your sights and you'll feel like you’re driving a slot car.
And not to beat a dead horse but I must agree with everyone else here that your second greatest skill you can develop as a rider is your weight distribution. Keep your legs locked on that tank and use that as your pivot point. Lean forward going uphill and back going down. Same with your turns, no matter how you brake your weight is going to determine where you end up at the end of the turn. Just don't be a trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotr ailpro like me and forget every so often that you’re on a trike, not a bike. If you want to throw a leg out for more weight, throw it up not down. Nothing more humiliating than watching your trike make that turn without you as you wipe the tread marks off your back.

[Chillian]

Nothing more humiliating than watching your trike make that turn without you as you wipe the tread marks off your back.

LOL!!! I actualy choked on that comment.. Seen it happen many times too.. But diffently struck me funny..

[theuglycamel]

What can I say, I was born and raised on two wheels so it's an instict that's hard to whip. Of course as much time as I've got on the tripod now I'm likely to fall over on my next bike ride due to forgetting to put my leg down at a stop.

[Xpress]

I use my front brake all the time! It drops the front end right into a corner without taking too much speed off............

I don't have a front brake... which is why I don't use it...

[Xpress]

Well I'm no racer and never intend to be. But there is one thing that hasn't really been covered here much, and that's your eyes. Never look into an obstacle or the edge of a turn as your riding. Your body is ingrained with the instinct to go where your eyes are looking. If you come upon an obstacle or rough turn and you concentrate on what you DON'T want to hit, you'll wind up digging your handlebars out of your crack and wondering why in the world you hit that stump you were just looking at it. Your eyes should never leave the path that you want to take. If you keep your head up and your eyes trained on your trail, you'll be amazed how your wheels seem to go exactly where you want them to without so much as a conscious thought to do so. Come into your turns with the approach and exit in your sights and you'll feel like you’re driving a slot car.
And not to beat a dead horse but I must agree with everyone else here that your second greatest skill you can develop as a rider is your weight distribution. Keep your legs locked on that tank and use that as your pivot point. Lean forward going uphill and back going down. Same with your turns, no matter how you brake your weight is going to determine where you end up at the end of the turn. Just don't be a trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotr ailpro like me and forget every so often that you’re on a trike, not a bike. If you want to throw a leg out for more weight, throw it up not down. Nothing more humiliating than watching your trike make that turn without you as you wipe the tread marks off your back.

I wouldn't necessarily say that's true for everyone. I myself tend to steer with what my brain tells my body to do, not what my eyes tell it to do.

[theuglycamel]

I wouldn't necessarily say that's true for everyone. I myself tend to steer with what my brain tells my body to do, not what my eyes tell it to do.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting anyone ride without using their brain. That's a pretty vital piece of equipment on any machine. But your noodle knows where to go by the information it receives from your eyeballs. So the best place for those eyeballs to be looking is where you want to go, not at where you don't.

[Xpress]

Peripherals work too :)

[Kintore]

Number one sign in my books of good riding, is worn stickers on rad shrouds. I wear though 2 sets a year.

That means you ride right into the trike and own that dirty whore.

Pretty much most have been covered, The panic rev has saved me more times than I can count.
Also, its better to overshoot a jump (doubles, tables is does not really matter) than to come up short and case it.

On a track, do a walk around/or ride slow first few laps. Look for lines, conditions of the faces of jumps, ruts etc.... Remember them! Also watch other classes of similar content, like quads. We ride the same style and watch there lines close!

[JayBone]

Great post!! This post is so you don't look like this guy. He did so many things wrong.

Never turn in a drag race. awesome!!

I hope he's not a member. If you are sorry it's just funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vye4Mjo-i18

[3wheelmecca]

Number one sign in my books of good riding, is worn stickers on rad shrouds. I wear though 2 sets a year.

That means you ride right into the trike and own that dirty whore.

Pretty much most have been covered, The panic rev has saved me more times than I can count.
Also, its better to overshoot a jump (doubles, tables is does not really matter) than to come up short and case it.

On a track, do a walk around/or ride slow first few laps. Look for lines, conditions of the faces of jumps, ruts etc.... Remember them! Also watch other classes of similar content, like quads. We ride the same style and watch there lines close!

That's what I do. I overshot a jump on my R by 20 feet and landed in a field. It always pays too look around so you can really rip when the time comes.

[UndefinedT]

Leg off and thrown sideways is how you do it! So awesome!!!
I'll post some pictures of me at full lock once I get my 200x back together...if you wanna see real sideways..you'll see a bike with a cut tank and cut stops at full lock :D


I've always learned to go faster, you gotta have someone in front of you...that someone will make you wanna push yourself more..to be faster..
You'll drive it harder into the corners, pitch it sideways faster and harder...it's all about that focus and motivation..the motivation of wanting to go see yourself in the front..wanting to pass that guy in front of you.

Again, I'm no pro racer..but I like going fast and that's what helps me the most^^

That's how I learned to go fast on 3 wheelers..even dirtbikes also.

[tri again]

sorry fellas, I'm w/ HRT

If anyone asks how 'fast can I go' or anything similar.

Social gatherings in particular

they do NOT ride my trikes

(i used to race motocross) is a dead giveaway.

They need to walk home and buy their own.

50 or so MPH for a 250?

Yea, go ahead

Why does no one ever ask where the brakes are?

they just wanna go.

These are the people who. put their feet down when they get scared

Ka CRUnCH!

Hey man

can I have a ride into town?

I think I need an x ray

How fast can you get me There?

[whyzee]

im too old for this s&*t

:lol::lol::lol:

[atc350xer]

Trikes are dangerous - never EVER do this :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmqzsYBw7PM&NR=1