The first day you ride your dirt bike is an exciting time! But before you take a tour, take a moment to read these safety tips. Not only will they help you move safely, but they will ensure an exciting performance!
Steps
Step 1. Put on your helmet
Other protections can be considered optional, such as boots, gloves and padding, but the helmet is essential (as well as mandatory by law).
Step 2. Get into the correct position
Check it out by sitting in the saddle. If you have chosen the right size bike, your feet should touch the ground. Now check where you are sitting on the saddle. If you're just starting out, chances are you've sat too far back. While driving, you have to repeat like a mantra: "Move forward … move forward …".
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The saddle of a dirt bike has a natural recess where it joins the tank. This is where you need to rest your pelvis. Don't worry, you can't slide any further just because there is a tank. It is vital that you resist the temptation to sit like in a chair or on a road bike.
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Put both feet on the footpegs and try to stand up without forcing on the handlebars. If you are sitting correctly right above the footpegs, it shouldn't be difficult. If, on the other hand, your pelvis is too far back from the footpegs, you will feel the need to slide forward and pivot on the handlebar.
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Step 3. Familiarize yourself and try to "feel" the guide
Now that you are seated correctly you can start driving. The goal of this first lap is to get used to the bike and feel how it moves and reacts to dirt. If you usually ride street bikes, this could leave you a little uncomfortable, because the uneven ground makes the bike "sway" under you. This is completely normal. Also, as a novice driver, you will sway even more as you drive slowly. As you progress and reach higher speeds, you will notice that the rear wheel will "float" a little more, instead of following any roughness of the ground. Whether you are on a trail or in a field, go back and forth for 20 minutes. At each step, try to increase the speed until the bike begins to "sway".
Step 4. While driving and without moving your head and eyes, try to understand if you can see the front fender with peripheral vision
If so, it means that you are staring at a point in front of you too close to the front wheel.
Step 5. Master acceleration
When you kick the gas, you naturally feel a push back. Some beginners sit too far back in the saddle and counteract this force by pulling on the handlebars. That's exactly what you don't have to do. If you are sitting correctly, your hips are exactly above the footplates and your torso is tilted forward. With this posture you can counteract inertia by pushing on the footrests and bending a little more forward. If you do it right, you should be able to take your left hand off the handlebars and accelerate without the bike losing its straight direction.
Step 6. Shift gears quickly and smoothly
Although you have to control three devices (gas, clutch and gearbox), they are three independent movements. In the end it will become a unique and natural gesture: simultaneously you will remove the gas, pull the clutch and squeeze / lift the gear lever. Likewise, once you are in gear, you will release the clutch and give the gas. Keep practicing until you can shift at least three gears quickly and smoothly.
Step 7. Brake
Just as the force of acceleration pushes you back, braking pushes you forward. Again, do not transmit the thrust to the handlebar. If you do this, you will have trouble using the handlebar controls and will have a tendency to stiffen your arms resulting in difficulty absorbing the roughness of the ground. The sitting position, even now, is essential: the tank must be between your thighs. As soon as you start braking, press your legs onto the tank to keep your body in place.
Step 8. At first do some simple acceleration from third to fourth gear and then brake until you stop
Remember that while you are braking, you need to downshift so that you are ready to go straight away.
Step 9. Learn to "feel" when the gum is locking up
If you can feel it, don't increase the braking force. Ideally you should apply maximum braking pressure to the lever without locking the wheel.
Step 10. Try to remember how ground conditions affect braking and acceleration
For example, if you are on a road with many bumps, you cannot brake very hard before starting to skid. You have the ability to hold the clutch when you stop.
Advice
- Use both brakes at the same time.
- Keep your knees tight to the bike.
- As you improve and feel more confident, some of these tips can be applied with less rigor. However, when you are a beginner, try to respect them.
- Use only two or three fingers for the clutch lever.
- If the engine makes a low noise and "knocks on its head" when exiting a bend, release the accelerator, shift down a gear and listen again: if the noise is the same, shift to another gear. When exiting a corner, do not open the throttle to full, or the front wheel will tend to rise. Keep practicing until you learn how to measure acceleration when cornering.
- For the front brake lever use only one or two fingers.
- Do not press on the front brake pedal while moving your ankle. Physically lift your foot off the platform and apply the brake.
- The seating position affects driving, especially when cornering. If you are too far back, the shock will be more compressed than the forks and the angle of the frame will look like that of a "chopper". This relieves the front wheel too much, which will be unstable when cornering with loss of grip and a very large radius of curvature.
- By practicing braking and acceleration, you will gain confidence and skill. When doing these exercises it is important to challenge yourself; every time he tries to accelerate and brake more vigorously. You have to get used to "feeling" the bike. The rear tire will most likely burn out, meaning it will spin faster than you are moving. This is normal, and you can control the phenomenon with gas and body movements.
