Well I bought a Honda....

[Bigturbomax]

Still have my FZ07 of course. I sold my Ninja 250 and Royal Enfield Himalayan to buy the CRF250 rally and so far I'm more than impressed and having a great time! Sorry for the long absence, been a lot going on in my little world.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Bigturbomax
Forgot something

[Bigturbomax]

I got into Moto camping a bit last year and bought a Royal Enfield Himalayan for my back road trips and to learn some light trail riding. It was a fun and comfortable bike, but real heavy off-road and proved to be damned unreliable. Lost my butt a bit on my trade in and had to sell my Ninja 250 but was WELL worth it. 

[Bigturbomax]

Between my Himalayan (now gone) and my new to me Honda I've got about 8 or 9 hours of off-road experience. 5 hours were at an off-road park on novice trails and some small loose rock up hills (with the Himalayan and an experienced friend on a KTM feeding tips through intercom) and 3 or 4 hours with the Honda alone on some hard pack/gravel and hilly wet grass with BIG FUN dips. I've been having a TON of fun but know I've got a lot to learn. Does anyone have any tips or book recommendations? I learned a lot from Total Control about street riding. Anything comprehensive like that for non-competitive dirt riding?

I know we have some experienced off road riders here, @shinyribs maybe?

Edited January 19, 2022 by Bigturbomax

[firstyammerha]

Riding on the dirt will greatly improve your street riding skills from my experience. Especially if you can get your dirt bike speed up going through turns in low traction situations. Constantly gaining and losing traction will tune your balance and reflexes.  

[bornagainbiker]

Congrats on your new ride--I know you'll have a blast playing in the dirt. 

[shinyribs]

Very cool! Congrats man! 

 

There's swarms of videos about riding techniques and I've watched guys who were very good riders struggle with their riding after deciding to " implement new techniques" they saw online. I'm not saying it's all bogus, just take it all with a grain of salt. Motorcycles have been around a long time and physics has been around even longer. They work how they work and no amount of content creating can change that. There's a few basic techniques that will keep you safe. Mainly, keep your toes on the pegs!  AND BUY THE BEST BOOTS YOU CAN AFFORD. 90% of all offroad injuries are below the knee. 

On the street, countersteering is paramount, not so much off road. Just like hanging off the inside of a street bike works, it doesn't work offroad. You'll find yourself feeling much more comfortable just keeping your torso upright and leaning the bike under you. Kinda wrong on the street, not wrong at all on slippery surfaces. Also, keep your toes on the pegs. 

Off-road, don't put tons of faith in the front brake. Tires that are rolling in dirt have way more traction than tires that are skidding ( I know that sounds obvious, hang with me a minute), so even a brief lock up of the front tire can cause the front end to tuck and flop you on the ground quick. A skidding rear tire isn't a huge risk. I wear out rear pads 3-1 on my dirt bikes. If you ever find yourself descending a hill that's kinda sketching you out, remember to keep the front tire rolling. If it's skidding you absolutely won't have the traction to turn and you'll end up not cutting speed anyway. Go ahead and let the rear tire slide if it wants to lock up, it'll slow you down a bit when the dirt packs up under it ( fronts won't do this really)  and use the front to steer. Probably sounds really weird the way I'm saying it, but the first time you experience it clicks in your brain. You probably have done it already. And don't forget to keep your toes on the pegs.

 

Really, all you can do is start slow and let yourself develop a feel for how the bike acts. The bike is gonna do what it's gonna do. All the techniques in the world can't overcome that, and you can't fight a machine on loose surfaces anyway.  Go slow, have fun and just cruise. You'll hit unexpected lumps and bumps, or random areas where the dirt just changes and traction disappears, and there's nothing to do about it. You'll get used to how things feel, you'll automatically compensate and you'll be feeling good before you know it. And remember to keep your toes on the pegs. 

Lastly, yes, standing helps to prevent fatigue by soaking up some of the bumps. But don't let some hero guilt you in to standing just because. You don't have great control over the bike while standing. When your whole body is being jostled around you end up clenching the bars for dear life. Everyone says pinch the tank, but I've yet to find a bike ( or person) where you can pinch the tank for hours and hours and fatigue yourself. This falls back to going slow before you go fast. Flying through a rock garden? Yes, stand and let the bike go crazy under you. In situations like that it's the crazy momentum you've got that keeps the bike going forward. Learning and going slow? Sit on the seat and you'll have much greater control over the bike. And keep your toes on the pegs.

 

All the small mistakes you learn at slow speeds will store in your muscle memory and you won't have a freakout moment when then eventually happen at speed. You'll be familiar and you'll just react. It really is the whole walk before you crawl thing. Learn to deal with the skids and such now while you're walking, and they won't even phase you later on. In fact, they'll be fun 

Just don't get too used to it! You'll find yourself out on the street skidding a 400lb street bike around in the rain when suddenly, "uhhh ....I really shouldn't be doing this for fun"

 

p.s. keep your toes on the pegs! Seriously, that's THE worst broken ankle you'll ever have. Not to mention the occasional vine that might try to wrap around your boot. Those tiny vines the size of shoe strings that you don't ever see are strong enough to jump up compliments of the front tire pull you straight off the bike. 

[scat2me]

Congratulations. I too will be buying a new Honda 500CBX. As I get older the FZ 07 is just more than I need. Its immaculate and fully upgraded with all you can imagine but I think the Honda will be easier for me in the long run. The only problem is that the Honda is still not available for 2022. It will be interesting to see what they offer me on a trade in.