How to Corner Faster on a Dirt Bike - 15 Tips

[Music] [Music] corners and turns are by far one of my absolute favorite obstacles to practice and the single most important obstacle for improvement if there is one thing i want you to continue practicing for the rest of your life it's turns my dad used to say you want to know the difference between the fast guys and the really fast guys one tenth of a second meaning one tenth of a second in each turn imagine what you could do if you shaved even just one tenth of a second off of each turn let alone a quarter of a second or more think of how many turns there are in a motocross track or in a special test or in an entire desert race there can be thousands of turns if you are able to save time in each one of those turns that will translate to minutes by the end of the race today i will be going over 15 of my favorite cornering tips i also will share a few of the most common mistakes and a few drills that will help you practice these tips tip number one break early gas early one of the hardest things to do when riding or racing is to let off the gas we all love going fast and we often get ourselves into trouble by playing throttle too long frequently we stay on the throttle until we are forced to let off a better method is to be aware of the terrain ahead and deliberately transition from throttle to braking by braking early we initiate the turning process sooner we allow ourselves to enter the corner at the speed we want to rather than at the speed we are going by the time we get there the cornering process is very deliberate and intentional by braking early you allow yourself to get on the throttle sooner although it may seem like breaking early is in opposition to going fast the benefits of braking early will often be reaped during the exit of the turn or the next turn let's compare this example example one shows me breaking too late missing my line disrupting my balance and regaining my speed on the exit example two shows me braking early hitting my line maintaining balance and carrying my speed notice how near the entrance of the turn i am close to or even maybe slightly ahead by breaking late however when exiting the turn example two proves to be much faster tip number two mentally prepare often we find ourselves in the middle of an obstacle or situation and we have a hard time remembering how we got there or why we did what we did the technique used to help eliminate this mistake is to mentally prepare by looking ahead and thinking about the turn before you get there when riding motocross you know where the turns are when racing off road you often don't know where the next turn will be for that reason it is crucial to be looking ahead and anticipating the upcoming terrain if you see any sign hinting that there may be a turn ahead prepare also as we discussed in the previous video about reading terrain look for patterns in the terrain that may help you anticipate an upcoming turn tip number three no coasting there are three things you can be doing when riding number one accelerating number two braking and number three coasting accelerating and braking are both used to go faster coasting is time wasted and therefore useless however we all do it strive to recognize moments in your riding where you are coasting and attempt to eliminate them a common area where coasting occurs is when entering a turn often we let off the gas early and coast for a few feet before we apply the brakes or begin accelerating any time spent coasting can be used to either accelerate or break early think of it like this accelerating and breaking are the meat of riding coasting is just flat or fluff try and eliminate the fat and get straight to the meat of riding tip number four body positioning like all obstacles correct body positioning allows for proper control and balance of the motorcycle apply the things we learned in the first section of motorcycle basics and technique start with riding in the attack position remember when entering a corner and braking to adjust your weight to the back of the motorcycle remember proper foot positioning throttle control and clutch control focus on standing up unless you're accelerating out of the corner tip number five transition from standing to sitting cornering often involves a transition from the standing position while breaking to the sitting position while accelerating focus on using this transition to your advantage compressing your suspension and distributing your weight through the motorcycle allows for better stability and traction use this transition opportunity to deliberately compress the suspension practice making this transition all one fluid motion beginning with standing and braking and transitioning to sitting and accelerating if you are not yet ready to accelerate don't sit down stay standing if there are large braking bumps practice staying standing longer near the apex of the turn transition to the sitting position and begin accelerating tip number six elbows up maintaining your elbows up during all types of terrain is a good practice to have because of the increased ability to absorb terrain and maneuver the motorcycle however there are increased benefits while doing so through a turn raising your outside elbow tilts your torso shoulder and head in the direction of the turn this will allow you to lean deeper into the turn and avoid causing the bike to stand up turning motorcycles involves leaning the bike motorcycles don't turn very well by simply turning the handlebars for that reason your ability to lean contributes to how successful your turns will be practice raising your elbows particularly your outside elbow tip number seven sit forward on the seat similar to the transition from standing to sitting we want to do all that we can to provide as much downward force on the motorcycle to provide strong stability and traction sitting forward on the motorcycle puts more weight on the front end of the motorcycle allowing for increased traction on the front of the bike every rider is different in the amount of trust they apply towards the front tire or the rear of the motorcycle depending on the type of turn you may need to apply more pressure to the front end or the rear end of the motorcycle deep ruts allow you to apply more pressure to the front soft sand turns or flat hard pack turns will require more neutral or rear weight distribution tip number eight point your leg with your toes slightly in pointing your inside foot and leg will allow you to lean the motorcycle into the turn even more it will also distribute more weight towards the front of the motorcycle practice pointing your leg straight out and not dragging your foot on the ground pointing your toe inward will help reduce catching your foot and allow you to lean farther into the corner tip number nine drag your front brake as with many of the cornering tips shared previously the purpose of dragging your front brake is to apply even more downward force on the front of the motorcycle and increase traction and stability you may have heard of setting the forks or setting into the turn both of these refer to compressing your forks and maintaining that pressure through the turn dragging the front brake helps maintain the forks in this position allowing you as a rider to sit farther forward on the motorcycle and trust the front end this is an advanced technique and does not always need to be used practice dragging the front brake in deep ruts if the terrain is soft or does not have a pre-established rut dragging your front brake will only cause you to wash out tip number 10 look through our front tire often goes where we are looking for that reason practice looking through the turn maintaining your gaze ahead looking at the terrain too close to your front tire will cause you to lose balance or stand the bike up focus on moving ahead when preparing for a turn you should be imagining or thinking about the turn ahead when braking focus on hitting your line and transitioning to the sitting or accelerating position once here you should now be looking at the exit of the turn tip number 11 smooth throttle depending on the compound of the dirt or terrain the importance of throttle control may vary however always being aware of traction can help reduce slide outs and increase acceleration often maintaining smooth throttle control will provide the greatest amount of traction when maneuvering through a rut or corner focus on placing your rear tire on the smoothest exit this will keep the tire planted to the ground and consistently deliver power often when trails or tracks get rough they develop braking and accelerating bumps a great area to save energy and time is avoiding large breaking and accelerating bumps as well as maintaining smooth throttle control tip number 12 lean into the turn earlier i mentioned how motorcycles turn by leaning rather than by steering with the handlebars your ability to lean into the turn will determine how successful you are at staying in the rut and carrying speed one of the weaknesses i have recently recognized in my riding is my hesitation to fully commit to a rut or turn i often find myself resisting the momentum of leaning my torso and upper body when i should actually be giving in to this motion by fully committing to the turn try to keep your body in line with the angle of the motorcycle this will allow you to maintain your balance notice in example one how caleb russell leans into the turn maintaining the same angle with the bike in example two you see how i hesitate to lean my upper body this causes me to lose balance and compensate by adjusting my legs and arms all of this combined causes me to lose traction and speed tip number 13 prioritize hitting your line often when riding we forget to focus on hitting our lines or being deliberate about breaking and accelerating if you're not being intentional about your movements you will find that you are riding reactively rather than proactively the consequences of doing so are often entering a corner with too much speed missing our line entirely and using the exit to regain balance and momentum rather than preparing for the next turn this often leads to us missing our line on the next turn and so on as you can see missing your line has compounding effects that often translate through the following two or three turns by becoming aware of these consequences you will prioritize hitting your line even more in 2015 when ryan sipes outright won the entire isd in slovakia he mentioned one of the most important things he focused on was hitting his lines tip number 14 weight your foot pegs another tip to provide more downforce to the frame and tires of the motorcycle is to weight the foot pegs while turning this will usually refer to the outside foot peg as your inside leg will be occupied pointing through the turn this is a great technique to use when navigating slippery hard packed turns by weighting the outside peg you will apply more force into the wheels again increasing traction and stability tip number 15 arc your turns one of the easiest and quickest ways to increase your corner speed is to start arcing your turns and taking the fastest line this technique applies more to flat turns or turns with a slight berm although depending on how aggressive your line choice this can still be applied to terms with ruts by arcing your turns i am referring to maximizing the space available and smoothing out the turning process often we limit ourselves to the main line or put artificial restrictions on our ability to utilize the full amount of terrain ahead let's look at formula one for an example examining this turn we can draw a few different lines representing possible routes through the turn notice how both lines stay within the track boundaries however the green line is not as tight of a turn allowing you to carry more speed through the turn this is fairly easy to recognize on the asphalt illustration however we seem to forget that there are many opportunities in our riding and racing to execute the same technique take for example this section of wash from a popular riding area in southern utah here we have an opportunity to widen the turn and carry more speed through the corner even if it is just a few feet it is still worth widening the turn to carry extra momentum and speed here are a few common mistakes when cornering one not looking ahead or preparing for the turn is one of the most common mistakes i see riders make your ability to follow through with any of the techniques mentioned above depends on whether or not you are preparing for and anticipating the turn ahead two breaking too late by braking too late you run the risk of missing your line entirely entering the corner with too much speed losing balance and affecting your preparation for the next turn to eliminate this mistake practice being aware of when you are braking and whether or not this is having an effect on your ability to properly navigate the turn three sitting down too early as discussed in the standing to sitting transition we want to practice timing this transition in unison with the transition from breaking to accelerating doing this will allow you to compress the motorcycle and maintain this posture through the accelerating process sitting down too early and not accelerating will cause the bike to load and then unload the suspension this will often result in the bike standing up which in turn interrupts the leaning process which determines whether or not you can even turn practice sitting down and beginning to accelerate at the same time four not arcing your turns the first step to going through a turn faster is to choose the fastest line although you may be practicing some of the other techniques mentioned above if you aren't taking the fastest line to begin with you will be missing out on additional speed start by being aware of what line you are taking through the turn once you become comfortable with recognizing the fastest line start practicing other techniques to navigate that line as fast as possible 5. coasting is one of the most common mistakes we all make practice recognizing areas where you are coasting and try to eliminate them by either staying on the throttle longer or initiating the braking process earlier here are a few of my favorite drills to practice cornering one turn tracks are by far one of the best areas to practice turns because the entire track focuses just on turns a turn track is essentially a small course you can build in an open riding area i like practicing turn tracks because even with only a few corners you often find a wide variety of turns on a turn track each corner will develop differently and require different skills to practice later in the course we will go over exactly how to build a turn track however here are a few quick tips make sure you are riding in an open recreational vehicle area start by laying out the track turn tracks do not have to be long rather than sharp 90 and 180 degree turns focused on making the turn sweeping this will mimic natural terrain more closely also for real intense practice make the turn track as awkward as possible adding off-camber turns ledges and unique obstacles two ovals or figure eights are great opportunities to practice basic techniques on a simplified level making simple easy turns really allows you to focus on proper technique and precise positioning three the no coasting drill selecting a single corner to practice on write it a few times and mark key locations such as where you begin breaking where you begin accelerating and if any coasting exists start first by attempting to eliminate any coasting once you have completed that next begin to focus on the exact point at which you begin accelerating practice moving this point forward in the turn or in other words accelerate earlier see how soon you can get on the gas if you are able to successfully begin accelerating even just a few feet earlier great job this is a very difficult drill number four no clutch or no brake drills by practicing eliminating the use of the brake or clutch you will be able to broaden your perspective as to how much speed you are actually able to carry through a turn practice riding through a turn track without touching the clutch practice riding through a turn track without using the brakes although this isn't correct technique for racing it allows you to become more precise in your ability to carry speed through a turn number five the stand-up only drill another unique drill to help diversify your skill set is riding a turn track and completing a full lap without sitting down stand up all the way through the turns this technique may come in handy when you are riding exceptionally rough terrain or sweeping sand whip turns you will become more comfortable with the turning sensation while standing corners are just one of many unique areas to make progress when riding which is why we put together ride with the night's online writing course to teach you all the skills you need to become a safer faster and more consistent writer if you'd like to learn more about our online writing school make sure to visit ridewiththenights.com to receive a free copy of our 10 off-road writing secrets by clicking over here those are my 15 tips for cornering now it's time to get out and practice take your time and do your best not to get discouraged cornering is exceptionally difficult and will take years of practice if you have any other questions regarding corners please feel free to ask and we will see you in the next video

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Id: gtzP5b4z4tc

Length: 15min 26sec (926 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 21 2020