How to Ride a Big-Bore, Dual-Sport Motorcycle Off
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
How To Ride A Motorcycle Off Road Riding Techniques for Large Dual-Purpose Bikes By David Petersen ( aka Mr. BestRest ) Reading this Article won’t make you an expert Off Road rider, but it might teach you a few things. It might give you a few pointers, and it might help you improve whatever Off Road skills you now have. This Article covers the Basics. It’s not a substitute for expert instructors who can take you to the field and give you 1-on-1, hands-on instruction. Why Did I Write This Article? (Some now call it a “book”) I wrote it because I want to raise YOUR understanding of what it takes to ride Off Road. I want to educate you and empower you so that you’ll be able ride to the places I ride, and do things that I enjoy doing. My purpose is not to sell you BestRest gear http://www.bestrestproducts.com. (By way of full disclosure you should know that I own the company). Yes, I make or sell gear that’s mentioned in these pages but I’ll try to avoid turning this Article into a sales pitch. If you choose to buy some of my Company’s gear that’s great, but that's not my motivation for writing. Every day I talk to customers who call my shop to place an order. During our conversations they ask my opinion about gear they’ll need for Off Road riding. They also ask me to describe riding techniques, help them with trip preparation, and more. I share what I can, time permitting. I concluded I could do a better job if I put my ideas down on paper so that others could benefit from my riding expertise (or lack thereof). My own expensive and painful lessons learned over the years can be your classroom. What makes me qualified to write this Article? Some might say I’m clearly NOT qualified, since I hold no racing titles or other prestigious awards that publicly proclaim my competency. Point taken, I’m not offended. Others might say I’m possibly qualified because I’ve ridden a variety of bikes for fifty-plus years, and because I’ve ridden a few noteworthy adventure routes. Others might say the mere fact that I’ve survived that many years aboard 2 wheels makes me eminently qualified. Read the entire Article then you decide whether I’m qualified. During the process you might learn a few things you didn’t know, or you’ll be reminded of things once learned, but forgotten. A special thanks to my long time riding buddy Steve Irby. We’ve ridden together for several years and we’ve taken some pretty memorable trips on our BMW’s. Steve provided some of the photos in this Article. Page 1 of 111 Version 02/28/2013 1:08 PM 2012 David Petersen http://www.bestrestproducts.com/ Table Of Contents The number to the left of the Topic Line refers to the approximate line of text within this Article. Line numbers are helpful when referring back to a particular topic and for finding your place on the page. RED underlines indicate significant changes or additions to that section since the last version of the Article. 1. Introduction and Overview 419. Bike Setup 31. Why Ride Off Road? 577. Selecting Tires and Wheels 62. Feedback from Readers 657. Tire Pressure 77. Sharing This Article w/Others 724. Riding Gear 86. Article Updates 808. Physical Conditioning 93. Disclaimer 835. Equipment to Carry On the Bike 117. Other Off Road Riding Resources 948. Camping Gear 139. Reading A Manual VS Field Exercises 1098. Emergency Gear 175. Will You Get Hurt Riding Off Road? 1154. Loading Gear On the Bike 188. Will You Damage Your Bike? 1210. Gear You Should Carry On Your Person 219. Rider Competency Matrix 1252. Tools To Carry On the Bike 261. My Off Road Riding Credentials 1351. Tire Repair Tools 342. Selecting a Motorcycle 1430. Repairs On The Trail 353. Rules of Thumb for Off Road Riding 1534. Tire Repairs 397. Common Myth-Conceptions About OR Riding 1561. Tire Changes 1602. Off Road Riding Techniques 2545. Anti-Lock Braking Systems 1629. Standing On The Pegs 2573. Off-Camber Surfaces 1687. Five Off Road Riding Positions 2612. Terrain Identification 1731. Foot Position & Shift Lever / Brake Pedal 2670. Crossing Water Obstacles 1773. Turning the Bike 2733. Riding on Gravel 1824. Throttle Control 2790. Riding In Sand 1839. Gripping the Bars – Both Hands 2932. Riding In Snow 1870. Gripping the Bars – Right Hand 2956. Riding In Mud 1904. Gripping the Bars – Left Hand 2997. Riding a Forest Road 1948. Braking – Front Brake 3036. Riding a Single Track Trail 1972. Braking – Rear Brake 3061. Riding In Ruts 2022. Braking – Bike and Body Position 3168. Jumps and Whoops 2076. Using the Clutch 3222. Crossing Logs and Other Obstacles 2109. Shifting Gears 3256. Turning Around On a Narrow Road or Trail 2133. What To Do When You Fall Down 3396. Riding With Other Motorcycles 2257. Climbing a Hill 3443. Towing a Disabled Bike 2337. Getting Stuck on A Hill 3581. Jump Starting a Bike 2409. Going Down A Hill Steep Hill 3630. Bump Starting a Bike 2518. Look Where You Want the Bike To Go 3669. Exceptions to These Techniques 3708. Field Exercises You Can Practice 3908. Turning Around On A Hill 3721. Five Riding Positions 3982. Figure 8’s and Slalom 3753. Front and Rear Wheel Placement 4082. Static Balance Drills 3771. Braking – Rear Brake Only 4148. Off Camber 3806. Skid Steering 4191. Sand and Mud 3837. Braking – Front and Rear 4228. Swing-A-Leg Drill 3864. Clutch and Front Brake 4264. Conclusion 3887. Starting Out On A Hill Page 2 of 111 Version 02/28/2013 1:08 PM 2012 David Petersen http://www.bestrestproducts.com/ Addendums: Check the last page of this Article for recent updates. When I have time I blend them into the article. Until that happens, any recent changes are posted on the last lines of the Article. 1 Introduction and Overview 2 3 What’s "Off-Road” riding? For this Article it means riding away from the pavement, on surfaces that include gravel 4 roads, unimproved dirt roads, wide trails, and the occasional cross-field excursion. This Article is NOT about hard- 5 core off roading, not about single-track alpine trails, not about enduro riding, or not about motocross riding. You 6 might see photos of some small displacement trail bikes, but that’s only because a photographer was along for a 7 ride that particular day. 8 9 This Article is written for the average guy or gal who rides a big-bore dual-purpose motorcycle like a BMW F800GS, 10 R1150GS, R1200GS, Suzuki V-Strom, Wee-Strom, Kawasaki KLR, KTM 950/990 etc. etc. etc. These are the 11 types of bikes I normally ride. Big ones. I must be compensating for something – short legs. 12 13 In the Article I’ll refer to the reader/rider as a Guy, but this also applies to any Gal who reads these pages. 14 15 Reading this Article will NOT make you an expert off road rider, but it might give you some tips that improve 16 whatever off road skills you possess. If you don’t already have off road skills, it might inspire you to get some 17 professional training that will get you started in the world of adventure riding. 18 19 In this Article I’ll be using the abbreviations “OR” or “OR’ing”. Either term means Off Road Riding. 20 21 As with most learning disciplines, there’s some classroom time you’ve got to serve before you get to part where I 22 describe field exercises. That’s where I’ll talk about the actual skills and techniques of OR’ing. Be patient and 23 wade thru these pages. You’ll want to have a full understanding of the foundations. Don’t try to run before you 24 learn how to walk. 25 26 My apologies if I go into too much detail about a specific riding technique… I’m trying to communicate complicated 27 processes to readers who may not understand. Absorb what you can, skip over the rest. Come back later and see 28 if those words have “sunk in” and make sense at a later time. 29 30 31 Why Ride Off Road ??? 32 33 Why would you want to ride OR? Ninety percent of the world’s roads are unpaved. If you limit your travels to the 34 pavement, you’re missing out on a lot of fun. There’s a new world of adventure and 2-wheeled excitement that 35 begins as soon as the pavement ends. You can be part of it. All you need are some helpful tips, some educational 36 materials, a few accessories, perhaps some training classes, and soon you’ll be ready to ride your bike OR. 37 38 One reason people don’t ride OR is that they’re afraid they might damage their bike, or injure themselves, or get 39 into a situation they can’t handle. My goal is to cut those Boogie Men down to size and help the average rider step 40 out of his comfort zone. The rewards are substantial. Its not possible to fully describe them on paper. 41 42 Riding Off-Road is FUN. You see places most people never see. You visit places most people have never even 43 heard of. You’ll have riding experiences and create memories that stay with you for a lifetime.