Whoops?

[mxer120]

I had my first race on a new bike yesterday.

I ride a yamaha yz250f, and I am having trouble with whoops.

I can ride them good, it is just that I am not confident enough. I go at a good speed, but my front end is always dropping when I am hammering the throttle and I ride the first 3 and drop after that.

If I hold the throttle and wheelie I feel like I am losing control of the bike.

Any suggestions as of riding style wise, or throttle control?

[Woody_393]

without actually seeing what happens suspension wise, I would suggest turning your rebound clicker 2 clicks clock-wise (harder) so it rebounds faster. My thoughts are that the rear suspension might be packing (meaning it doesn't rebound fast enough to give you more suspension travel for the next hit).

I would start there and see how you fare.

[mxer120]

Ok I am a light rider so I made the suspension softer (the bike was sprung for a 180 rider).

I will try something, Oh and thanks for the name change!

[okierebel]

Start with your sag, and work from there. There are many threads and links here that give you all you will need to know to set it correctly. With the bike being set up for someone much heavier than you just hope they didn't change springs on ya!

[mxer120]

The guy I bought it from said it was stock springs so I can rule that out.

[Grieby54]

I think it might be technique too...

Grab a gear higher, weight back, and on the throttle smooth.

[pjg351]

This should help you with technique, my son finds the squeezing with the legs makes him almost feel he can let go of the handle bars, so he's not using excess energy through the top half of his body, if that makes sense. And don't hang off the back of the bike, like i see a lot of guys do, your legs should be covering the air box and your head is still over the bars.

A. When you're entering the whoops, look ahead to pick the best line that will link you up the fastest with the next section of the track. The right gear is also super-important. You always want to be a gear higher to keep the rear wheel driving forward rather than spinning. Body position plays a big role here. You need to transfer your weight to the back of the bike, placing the balls of your feet in a neutral position on the pegs. This helps keep your front wheel light; if too much weight is moved forward, there is a good chance you will tuck the front wheel.

B. When you're blitzing whoops, things can go wrong quickly (like the front dropping down). Make sure you are going as straight as possible. Even though your weight is on the back of the bike, try to keep your body position centered. Use your legs and squeeze tightly; this will help the bike stay upright and allow you to use less effort with your upper body.

C. Throttle control is a must when tearing through whoops; smooth is the name of the game. The smoother you are with the throttle, the easier it will be to keep the bike straight. As you go through, you want to pick up momentum.

D. When practicing, be creative and let the bike take the hit in the whoops. If you're leaned back and your body position is right, the bike will do most of the work. The higher you can stay through a whoop section, the smoother it will be and the more energy you will conserve.

E. Exiting with speed is crucial. As you exit, transfer your weight forward to help get a good drive out and to get traction. Keep squeezing with your legs; you may get a bit of wheelspin while exiting. Keep looking ahead and stay aggressive all the way out.

[mxer120]

Ok that helped, but one problem is that I can not exit with speed because the whoops are a close section, with a turn exactly after the whoops. When I lose control at times, I drop and try to recover, and I almost overshoot the berm.

Any suggestions?

[livetoridecr77]

first of all i think you need to go practice your wheelies on a trail because to me it sounds like your a litlle scared of the bike and you cant be scared of the bike you have to learn to control it in every aspect personally i love my cr250 because it floats all the way across a woop sectionbut my suggestion is to take your bike out do a weekend trip and practice on all kinds of terrian and you will be supprised what you can do on your bike afterwards

[mxer120]

I am definitely not afraid of the bike. I can wheelie from 1st to 5th and be fine.

I mostly ride on trails anyways (where I live its just plain redneck forests.)

This whoops thing doesn't matter anymore. It was the track and I am never going there again, due to misfair treatment to my friend/another rider. They did not give him his points because he block passed the leader and took first. Block passing is legal in AMA standards.

[Freak]

Originally Posted by mxer120

I am definitely not afraid of the bike. I can wheelie from 1st to 5th and be fine.

I mostly ride on trails anyways (where I live its just plain redneck forests.)

This whoops thing doesn't matter anymore. It was the track and I am never going there again, due to misfair treatment to my friend/another rider. They did not give him his points because he block passed the leader and took first. Block passing is legal in AMA standards.

I need to learn how to wheelie

[Woody_393]

Me too!

[Blitz393]

Originally Posted by Woody_393

Me too!

on what?


Rob

[mossy]

Originally Posted by Freak

I need to learn how to wheelie

Freak you wheelie great especialy on a pushie, do this on your mx at a higher level and a lower speed, then do it over terrain keeping you shoulders on the same plain, as this is where lifting the front wheel skills can help.
To train stutters put your front wheel down into the face and concentrate on not lifting the front or turning the throttle off. Start with a little throttle while you perfect technic and strenght then aim the front wheel higher into the face and continue this process, once you have technic down pat work on your vision to look further thru until you can look to the last one. If there is run off room pretend there is one more stutter. Hope this helps if not PM me.

[mxer120]

I just ease on the throttle and pull up, and after that I shift gears until I am at the end.+

[DRGSin393]

Originally Posted by Blitz393

on what?


Rob

[crowmoto]

They didn't give your friend points because he block passed? That makes me mad. Thats racing. What track was this at?

[mxer120]

Mesquite Hills Mx Park, Abilene, Texas.

[lucahemi]

try shifting up a gear. it ill make it more balanced

[ktm_cody_199]

Make sure you arent revvng the bike out to much,you want to be right in the middle of the power band,and stiffen your fork some,maybe lower the sag in the rear and you will be blitzing like a seasoned rider O and dont always be hanging completely off the back of the bike,if the whoops are small and close together the bike will wheelie up so on th smaller whoops you want to be more towards the middle of the bike,and on the bigger ones you want to lean just far enough back to keep the front wheel from hitting the face,you want the front to glide and the back to drop down a little.Hope this helpsPractice makes perfect.