by Admin
12. August 2010 11:43
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There are many ways to approach and navigate a jump. A techqnique used by a lot of Motocross and Supercross racers is the "Seat Bounce". This technique allows the motocross or supercross rider to get greater lift and height over a jump. This technique is generally used in motocross or supercross when there is a jump immediately after a corner and the lift is required to clear the motocross obstacle. This technique can be translated to trail bike riding as well, and can be quite useful if done properly. There are 4 main points to a good motocross seat bounce.
1. SIT BACK
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You need to sit back, almost on your rear guard of your motocross bike. If you try this technique whilst sitting in the middle of your seat, you front end will dive and the rear will kick you over the bars. Sitting back will get the maximum compression from the rear suspension, which will translate into the greater lift over the jump.
2. PULL BACK
On a motocross bike, when you sit back on the seat, you also need to pull back on the bars. This will compensate for the rear suspension kicking up and will stop the motocross bike taking a nose dive once in the air. You will need to experiment over smaller jumps first to see how much pressure you need to apply.
3. SMOOTH THROTTLE
Throttle is very important for this technique to work. This type of technique does not work when you are going flat out already and are coming towards a jump. This technique requires a smooth acceleration up the face of the jump. The acceleration is required because it helps compress the rear spring and develop kinetic energy, and it also keeps the front wheel light and allows it to lift higher in the air to compensate for the rear spring exploding with it's stored energy.
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4. STAND UP
As the rear wheel leaves the face of the jump and is air born, you need to stand up. You should be able to feel the back of the bike lifting quickly and you need to stand up with the bike ensuring you backside is off the seat. This needs to be done so the back does not kick you off and over the bars whilst it is uncompressing the spring.
5. START SMALL...THINK BIG
As with any new technique, start small. A good place to practice out in the bush is on washout's going down a hill. Start in 2nd Gear just rolling down and then apply the above technique. Once you get the hang of this technique and master the different variables it can throw at you, you can apply it to all facet's of your riding. It can be a very useful technique to use small rocks or lips to create lift and jump over a rut, it can be the difference in clearing a fallen tree after a jump and not, or clearing a rut or water hazard. When it becomes second nature, it is a very useful tool to have under the belt. Below, you will see 2 pictures. The picture on the left is without using the above technique, and the one on the right is using this technique. You should be able to notice immediately the difference in height between the 2 bikes. The end result of this is the landing area was fairly rough at the normal area of landing, whereas a little further on was nice and smooth, allowing a stable landing and being able to get back on the gas a lot earlier and quicker. |
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