Step 6

Correct your bike while you're up in the air. The force of the jump will send you out of your seat. It's up to you to do what you can to make sure you control the trajectory of the jump as well as where you're going to land. Remember to keep your weight as centred over the bike as you can, adjusting forward and back as needed to maintain that balance.

Dirt Bike Jumping - Extra Tips

Pre Jumping

Pre-jumping your force bike when motocross jumping for maximum height is something that is very useful. This technique helps you to clear larger obstacles, even ones that you had been previously unable to jump. Here you'll learn how to apply the technique yourself.

Step 1

Put your energy into the rear shocks of your MX bike. This translates into a little extra "umph" as you're coming off the jump. This will send the bike up into the air a little more, enabling your MX bike to have more of a curved trajectory than a plateaued one.

Step 2

Pre-jump your MX bike when motocross jumping for maximum height by staying in your seat as you approach the jump, focusing on putting your weight down into the rear shock.  - it is almost as if you are compressing the seat into the tire.

Step 3

Leave your seat just before the jump in another method of pre-jumping your MX bike when motocross jumping. Leaving your seat at the very last moment also transfers your weight down into the rear suspension.

Step 4

Decide, according to the height of the jump and the approach, whether you would need to rise from your seat at the last minute of remain in your seat in order to pre-jump your MX bike when motocross jumping.

Step 5

Power through the jump as you are pre-jumping your MX bike when motocross jumping, for this compresses the bike into the jump, forcing it to release from the jump as it comes up. Newton's law comes to mind: to every action comes an equal and opposite reaction. By forcing the bike down before the jump, you are creating energy that will send the bike into the air once it comes off the landing.

Dirt Bike Jumping - What and What Not To Do

Dirt bike jumping can be one of the most amazing feelings in the world - or it can be one of the scariest things you've ever experienced.

Most of us know what it's like to hit a jump and go into a nose dive, pull an air-wheelie or even worse... miss the down ramp! It's definitely a gut wrenching feeling and often has bone breaking consequences.

Next time you're out hitting motocross jumps, step-ups or natural hill sides - think about these tips...

Most often it's best to be in the central standing position.

When approaching the jump it's important to choose a good line and the correct gear. You don't want to hit it at an odd angle which could kick the rear out or send you off to the side. And you want to have an even throttle, or slightly accelerating as you leave the up-ramp.

If you accelerate too much it can send you into an air-wheelie styled jump. If this happens, lean as far forward as you can, pull the clutch in and tap the rear brake to try pull the front of the bike down. Of course, if you're upside down already this won't work ;-).

If you back off the throttle when hitting the up ramp, this will send you into a nose dive. This one's scarier than the air-wheelie. To lift the front back up, you want to get the rear wheel spinning as fast as you can by accelerating in the air. These techniques do work, but only to a certain extent.

When landing, use your legs to help absorb the impact and remember to keep your shoulders, arms and wrists in line with the front forks. This spreads the pressure evenly through your arms, chest and shoulders, and won't damage your wrists.

Always accelerate just before landing. This not only makes you faster on the track, but directs the bike in a straight line (esp. important in rutted/uneven terrain).

If you cross it up (when the bike goes sideways in the air). Try not to panic, keep your body in line with the front suspension and accelerate on landing. You'll be surprised at what you can pull off by doing this.

If you come up short (or case out), stay on the bike. Use the bikes suspension to absorb the brunt of the impact - your legs can only take so much before they snap!

Most importantly... Check the jump and landing first! Ride next to it if you can or better yet, watch someone else jump it to get an idea of speed, entry line etc.

Remember if you're jumping the ridge of a hill, make sure you know there's no one else coming from the other side. Two experienced riders died a while back when they hit each other on their home track doing just this. Tragic.

Jumps