Riding though motocross and supercross whoop sections
Posted on June 1, 2008
Filed Under Technique |
A series of small jumps found on motocross and supercross dirtbike tracks are known as whoops. These sections can be quite demanding on both novice and professional riders and its definately worth noting some of the things that will help you get through them lap after lap.
One of the most important things to remember is to stay loose on the dirtbike. This is critical on irregular shaped whoops as the bike will most likely want to go different directions. You need to react quickly to each movement and correct your position on the bike as the next whoop may force the dirtbike in the opposite direction.
Look for the smoothest line through the whoops because if you follow this line, as well as being the quickest path through the whoops, you will also conserve energy for the other obstacles on the track.
If the whoops are made up of different sized jumps or round or worn whoops you can use the larger ones as a ramp and loft the front wheel over the smaller ones. Your bosy position depends on the whoops but generally you should be a little towards the back so you can keep the front wheel light and react quickly.
Irregular shaped whoops are most common on motocross tracks and are sometimes referred to as whoop-de-dos. Whoop-de-dos were common in the 60’s and 70’s but have been phased out over the years to make way for the new style of whoops on modern motocross and supercross tracks.
Modern day whoop sections have evolved into squared off jumps which push the bikes and riders to their limits. Even the elite professional riders mess up on these challenging sections once in a while, one recent incident that comes to mind was Chad Reed, this years AMA supercross champion. The technique used to attack these obstacles is called “blitzing” the whoops. The rider attacks the whoops at high speed and floats across them.
How you tackle the whoops depends on the distance between each whoop and the texture of the dirt. If the whoops are too small to double or triple through, but are to big to just hold the throttle open and ride through then some tips that might help you follow.
When entering the whoops hold you front wheel up as you approach and set it down about the second or third whoop. The object is to skim across the top of the whoops, while never letting your bike sink into them. As your back wheel goes over the first one accelerate in order to keep the bike leveled out. Try to push your body down over the back of the bike in order to keep the back end down. That way, the rear shock does not kick up like it would off of a jump. Under acceleration, your back wheel will naturally drop. Stay more towards the rear of the bike until you get near the end of the set.
It is very important that you don’t enter with the throttle wide open. In fact, you should keep the power steady through the whole set. Keep the throttle at around a quarter to half of the way open while you are in a set of whoops. This will help to keep the bike level. The last thing you want is for your front wheel to drop in between a set, even if they are shallow like. It will cause your momentum to break and could ultimately kick you over the bars! Once the bike is leveled out in the whoops, you can begin to pick up speed through them.
You never want to jump into a set of whoops right off the bat. You’ll never be able to time them. If you try this, your front wheel will dive because most of the time you’re not sure where you are going to land. Your timing will be off all the way through the set because your front wheel is not hitting the top of the whoops like it should.
As a general rule, you should shift up when coming into a set of whoops. The reason to up-shift is to keep the bike neutrally powered all the way through the whoops. You don’t want your bike to be topping out or hitting the rev limiter when you’re deep into a set. Every time your back wheel is hitting a whoop, it should be getting power to the ground. If the power is not getting to the rear wheel, the front end is going to want to dive.
The worst thing to do is to come into a set of whoops too fast, if they do, they hit the first one, get airborne, the next thing you know they are skipping three or four whoops. It sounds like it would be faster, and it is, providing you know exactly where to land. Most amateur riders can’t predict exactly where they are going to land, and their timing is going to be off all the way through the set. Only advanced riders should be trying such a move. By going faster and jumping into them, it makes it harder to time the entire set and you wind up losing time rather than gaining any. The right speed is going to be different for everybody, depending on how comfortable you are in the set. The more comfortable you are, the quicker you can approach a set. Remember, the faster you come in, the more you have to push down on your bike to keep it on the ground.
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