Click on these small pictures for big versions.
Geoff Mayes ran his motocross try-out on a small track next to the circuit.
All gear, bikes etc. were provided for £8 for 15 minutes or £16 for
40 minutes. We were going for 40 minutes but they didn't have time.
It was just as well - after 15 minutes we were utterly exhausted!
It was incredibly good fun though - neither of us had ridden off-road
bikes before, and we loved it. Here's
Amanda
- isn't she cute? :-)
I got a KX100 and Amanda had a KX80.
I was worried at first that the 100
would be horribly underpowered, but it didn't seem it! It would easily slide
the rear in turns and lift the front in third on power along the straight. I'm
sure on a road it would be incredibly feeble and low-geared, but it was just
great on the dirt.
I eventually got the hang of putting my foot out instead of sticking my
knee out in the turns!
Although I could slide it coming out, I believe it's best to get the rear
in a controlled slide all the way around the turn.
It certainly emphasises how important it is to go into a turn with the
engine pulling - on a dead throttle the front would push immediately, but with
the correct roll-on technique it was beautifully controlled.
Here's Amanda with her knee poking out, before she's realised about the
foot-sticking thing!
Amanda and I experimenting with different lines. Even on the 80 Amanda was
hard to out-drag on the straight because she's so light - not that I'm a
fatbelly myself ...
The best bit of all was the jump. It wasn't much to look at but when you've
never ridden a bike over one before, it's pretty daunting. The correct take-off
technique eluded me for ages, and when I did eventually get the hang of it I
was too exhausted to do it consistently.
I'm glad it looks better than it felt though!
It turns out that correct technique is to roll of the throttle just as the
front wheel leaves the ramp. Roll-off too early and the front follows the down
ramp and the rear kicks in the air. Roll-off too late and you risk looping
it.
The experts control the angle of the bike in flight by using the throttle
and brake - more throttle lifts the front, more brake drops it. In this way,
you can arrange for a perfect landing with both wheels touching down at once.
I didn't know this of course. Here's one of my highly imperfect
landings. I just wish I'd been touching the front brake so I could lie that
this was a brilliant stoppie - but in reality I had a
soft-tissue-and-fuel-tank interface situation a fraction of a second later.
Looks pretty cool though, eh? :-)
Landing badly like this is very hard on the arms - if I'd had better
technique it wouldn't've been so tiring.
Ya-hoo! All the jumps felt really good. I'm pleased that Amanda managed to
get some good photos - it was tricky because I'd do a big jump, which would
be tiring or scary according to how badly I'd landed it, then I'd do a feeble
one while I recovered, then a big one to regain some pride ...
On one particular near-loop experience I must've got HUGE air
because on the next lap round everyone was grinning and cheering :-)
One of the team games at the rally was a slow-speed control exercise over a
timed course. Like that horse thing where you get faults. It was on a slippery
grassy slope on a
KLX650. Amanda
couldn't take part in the exercise because she couldn't touch the ground on
either side, but she had a go afterwards. I had to hold the bike
upright and walk alongside until she got up to riding speed :-)
