Quick question about jumping

[jhendrix]

Well, when reading about jumping, I always see "Just keep a steady throttle up the jump and don't let off or you'll endo".
Well, I have a problem then, because if I keep throttle all the way up the face, I go really nose high. And, if I let off a little before, I stay nice and even.

Could it be my suspension, or maybe the faces of the jumps?

Any suggestions/tips?

Thanks.

[crfjedi393]

Throttle control is not the main thing I use to maintain a favorable bike position. Body position is one of the most important things when jumping. Experiment over and over on the same jump. Preferably a nice easy table top so you can short jump it. Experience will teach you where you should be on the bike. It may only take an inch or so of movement to make a difference. Eventually you will gain confidence and you'll know what to do on different faces.
It's hard to teach/learn jumping on a forum. There are lots of variables.

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

Throttle control is not the main thing I use to maintain a favorable bike position. Body position is one of the most important things when jumping. Experiment over and over on the same jump. Preferably a nice easy table top so you can short jump it. Experience will teach you where you should be on the bike. It may only take an inch or so of movement to make a difference. Eventually you will gain confidence and you'll know what to do on different faces.
It's hard to teach/learn jumping on a forum. There are lots of variables.

I'm definitely going to try that next time out. Thanks for the tips.

[Woody_393]

Though I agree with Jedi, I do not discount/ignore bike setup.

From the sounds of it, your rebound might be a little slow -- if you so choose, you could click 2 clicks on your shock rebound in the H direction (harder/stiffer/faster) to make it rebound just a tad faster, which will in turn will help level your bike out in the air while keeping the throttle steady.

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

Though I agree with Jedi, I do not discount/ignore bike setup.

From the sounds of it, your rebound might be a little slow -- if you so choose, you could click 2 clicks on your shock rebound in the H direction (harder/stiffer/faster) to make it rebound just a tad faster, which will in turn will help level your bike out in the air while keeping the throttle steady.

Awesome. Thanks! I was just reading up about adjusting suspension, so next time out i'm going to make adjustments and find what I like.

Thanks again!

[Woody_393]

the "What I like" is key here.

Also make sure when adjusting suspension that you only and I emphasize the ONLY adjust one setting at a time. It's also a good idea to know the original setting before you start clicking in case you royally mess it up you can just start over.

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

the "What I like" is key here.

Also make sure when adjusting suspension that you only and I emphasize the ONLY adjust one setting at a time. It's also a good idea to know the original setting before you start clicking in case you royally mess it up you can just start over.

Hmm, what do you mean by "adjust one setting at a time"?
Like...adjust front forks some, and only front forks..and then once I get that the way I like it..adjust rear shock?

Or, other way around? Or...what?

Thanks!!

[Shoei_391]

I think he means that when you go adjusting the clickers, do it one at a time?

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by Shoei_391

I think he means that when you go adjusting the clickers, do it one at a time?

Hmm..good point. I think that's what he may have been talking about.

[DRGSin393]

Theres also a 2 stroke-4 stroke difference. if you stay on the gas all the way thru the face on a 2 stroke the front end will go up. You need to stay on the gas all the way up for a 4 stroke so it wont endo.

[Woody_393]

Sorry, I mean if you change the rebound on the shock, don't change anything else suspension wise period until you ride it. You'll want to verify that the changes you make are what you want. IF you adjust the rebound and the compression on the shock and you hate it, you won't know for sure which change made it suck.

It's a lot easier to fine tune, and it's easier to not get confused.

[crfjedi393]

Suspension set up is very important. That's what I meant when I said "there are lots of variables". When you eventually get your suspension set where you want it, you will still need to pay attention to body position on jumps with different faces. Maybe just start with dialing in your suspension but eventually, you will need to consider all of it. High winds from different directions will add other factors.
Good advice in this thread.

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

Sorry, I mean if you change the rebound on the shock, don't change anything else suspension wise period until you ride it. You'll want to verify that the changes you make are what you want. IF you adjust the rebound and the compression on the shock and you hate it, you won't know for sure which change made it suck.

It's a lot easier to fine tune, and it's easier to not get confused.

Ahh. Got it! I'm definitely going to make some adjustments to suspension and work on body position. Thanks everyone!!

[Miles711]

Another thing to consider is the fact that the hold the throttle steady rule was made with big four strokes in mind. Your 125 smoker doesn’t have near the engine breaking as my 450f does, and that will contribute to you staying nose high while using the same technique I would on the thumper. If your hard on the gas all the way up the face you will want to bring your upper body forward during the middle part of your "hang time" to drop the front end. Its especially bad when you seat bounce something under full throttle, but body positioning in the air can fix just about anything. Eventually you can learn to use a brake tap, but I could concentrate on proper body positioning before moving on to that (I'm still working on my body position a lot as well).

Body position is something that’s hard to change by yourself, because your feeling of what you think your doing doesn't always match what your actually doing. I've had to do alot of work recently on staying in the attack position in the air.

Here is a picture of using body position to fix a really nose high bike (just to give you an idea of how far forward you can really get).



That jump kept sending me vary nose high with the way I was hitting it, so I had to really correct it with body position.

Here is one where it felt like I was getting far enough forward, but the front end of the bike never leveled. It took me awhile to get over that issue.



What you’re looking for is the nice attack position. That’s something I'm still working on to get consistent with it.



You don't necessarily have to get over the front fender, but at least get your center of mass over the bars and it will start to bring the front end down. The earlier in the jump you do it, the more your front end will drop. I have also found that right before you land if your coming in nose high you can push down with your arms to drop the front end a bit right before impact.

Everyone has different styles, and seat time to get comfortable with your body position is the key!

[jhendrix]

Awesome write up, Miles.

But, one thing I have a problem with, is once i'm in the air..it's like..I can't really do anything?
Like, once, I endo'd some, and my wrist couldn't even turn to panic rev? And, it's like...my body just goes where the bike/energy takes it. I don't know if it's something that just comes with getting comfortable on the bike, and comes with time, or what?
And, another time, it was a little muddy on the face of a double, and my back end slid out right as I was going over, and I couldn't move to fix that either..I just went with the bike, but luckily I didn't fall.

Anyway, thanks for the tips! I'm going to try and see if I can get comfortable with moving around on the bike little by little.


Oh!, sorry I couldn't make it out to Skeeter today, I called you back last night and left a message, but i'm not sure if you got it.

I was going to see if you wanted to go to Angleton next week one day? They're open on Monday and Thursday. It would be awesome if you could help me out a few laps.

[Shoei_391]

But, one thing I have a problem with, is once i'm in the air..it's like..I can't really do anything?
Like, once, I endo'd some, and my wrist couldn't even turn to panic rev? And, it's like...my body just goes where the bike/energy takes it. I don't know if it's something that just comes with getting comfortable on the bike, and comes with time, or what

I had the same thing going on for me. Like once I would get into the air, my body would like freeze and not be able to move. You will get over it with seat time Also, find a comfortable jump and just practice moving in the air on the bike. Im not talking about no footers or anything, but just shifting your weight. That helped me a lot

And, another time, it was a little muddy on the face of a double, and my back end slid out right as I was going over, and I couldn't move to fix that either..I just went with the bike, but luckily I didn't fall.

Squeeze the bike with your legs and ankles! By the looks of some of the pics your posted in the other thread, it looks like your getting the hang out of it!

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by Shoei_391

I had the same thing going on for me. Like once I would get into the air, my body would like freeze and not be able to move. You will get over it with seat time Also, find a comfortable jump and just practice moving in the air on the bike. Im not talking about no footers or anything, but just shifting your weight. That helped me a lot



Squeeze the bike with your legs and ankles! By the looks of some of the pics your posted in the other thread, it looks like your getting the hang out of it!

Yeah, that's what I plan on doing next time out.

And, I practiced that yesterday the whole time! My knees were sore at the end of the day from squeezing the whole time.

[crfjedi393]

Originally Posted by jhendrix

My knees were sore at the end of the day from squeezing the whole time.

Hopefully you have knee guards. They make the squeezing thing a non-issue when it comes to being sore.

[jhendrix]

Originally Posted by crfjedi393

Hopefully you have knee guards. They make the squeezing thing a non-issue when it comes to being sore.

Hmm. Nope, I don't. I might have to look into getting some though..

[Miles711]

I ended up not going to skeeters anyways. Sorry I didn't call you back, I got your message when I woke up and then went out to the garage this morning and got side tracked working on the bike.

The comfort to move around in the air really just comes with seat time. You have to get over that locked up feeling you have at first that makes you freeze. This was the biggest thing I struggled with, and I still am not as comfortable in the air as I would like. It's an on going thing.

The feeling you get in the air is far from a natural feeling, so I guess it takes time to make it feel natural. It also helps when you get to a point where you don't have that bit of fear on the jump your doing. For some jumps that happens faster than others. There are a few jumps out at 3P that I do, but have never really been completely comfortable with. Those are also the ones where my body position tends to be the worst. I guess you could say that your confidence really shows through body positioning.