What do you wish you knew sooner?

kawi_guy07
Posts
116
Joined
8/13/2019
Location
Tampa, FL US
1/31/2020 11:11am Edited Date/Time 2/2/2020 10:09pm
I’m still fairly new to Mx/racing but I’m starting to get some good speed and feeling more and more comfortable on the bike.

What are some things you guys wish you would’ve known/focused on more whenever you were less experienced than you are now?
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AJ565
Posts
2075
Joined
3/12/2012
Location
San Antonio, TX US
1/31/2020 11:17am
Stand on the balls of your feet and stand up more were the two hardest bad habits for me to break when I started.
Falcon
Posts
10034
Joined
11/16/2011
Location
Menifee, CA US
Fantasy
765th
1/31/2020 11:21am
-That the front tire is more important than the rear
-That races are won and lost in the corners (corollary to the first point)
-That belief is a powerful thing, and that others see me as a threat
-That I can reduce my starting technique to a regimented process and duplicate it every time
5
Hudd_421
Posts
645
Joined
2/17/2015
Location
TX US
1/31/2020 11:25am
Head over bars in corners. People buy links/suspension revalves/clamps/etc...and they (including myself) don't do that one thing right, and it's the biggest thing.
1
WRH
Posts
191
Joined
5/5/2014
Location
Saraland, AL US
1/31/2020 11:26am
Have a expert set your suspension on your bike .
1

The Shop

fourfourone
Posts
2922
Joined
10/14/2017
Location
86oh, CT US
1/31/2020 11:28am
Hudd_421 wrote:
Head over bars in corners. People buy links/suspension revalves/clamps/etc...and they (including myself) don't do that one thing right, and it's the biggest thing.
head over the bars while seated in a corner?
chump6784
Posts
1687
Joined
5/9/2011
Location
AU
1/31/2020 11:41am
When putting your leg out in a corner put your foot up high and next to your front wheel.
For years I was lazy and just stuck my foot out to the side. This would cause the front to tuck which I would then compensate for which would bring my back end around. A few weeks ago my brother was watching me race and told me to lift my foot up near the front wheel.
I have to think about it every corner but my lap times dropped instantly
1
Motox627!
Posts
749
Joined
5/16/2018
Location
P-ville, TX US
1/31/2020 11:45am
How important it is to have suspension set up for you. For years and years i just rode bikes how i bought them. Wasn't until recently i started having mine set up for me and holy sh&*, what a difference! Only good that came from not doing it sooner was that i am pretty good at adapting to bikes / track conditions....
7
ElliotB16
Posts
1054
Joined
6/10/2019
Location
Cairo, GA US
1/31/2020 11:47am
Standing up more and getting a 2019 kx450 lol
2
1
crusher773
Posts
1747
Joined
12/23/2009
Location
Coweta, OK US
1/31/2020 11:47am
Squeezing with your legs never even heard it until I was 10 years in at least maybe more.
4
BigBoreFan58
Posts
733
Joined
8/11/2019
Location
Beverly Hills, CA US
1/31/2020 11:52am
Stay single, get a good job, compound interest, stay debt free, live modestly, travel the world.

MX related. Work on your form. Learn good habits early.

Get on a training program. I heard a pro once say he hated training, but he loved riding and being in shape allowed him to ride better and longer.

Don't be just be a moto-head. Ride off road, have fun. Life is short and you're old before you know it.
Titan1
Posts
8592
Joined
2/3/2010
Location
Lehi, UT US
1/31/2020 12:03pm
Spend less money on aftermarket parts...and more money on riding schools.

Technique isn't over rated...focus first on perfect technique-if if that means taking two or three steps back in speed, practice it so often that perfect technique is muscle memory, then the speed will come and you're speed will improve by leaps and bounds.

It's really not about the bike. A rider with great technique can do far more with an old bike, than a rider with crap technique can do with the best bike money can by. Meaning, our technique (or lack of it) holds us back far far more than our bike does.
7
TreeFiddy
Posts
115
Joined
7/24/2018
Location
AU
Fantasy
18th
1/31/2020 12:05pm
That all women are crazy. Oh wait,we re talking bikes.

My mx ones are more product related. No toil filter cleaner and using the washing machine to do air filters. Using a paddle on a pure sand track...only tried my first one last month and its amazing.
8
1/31/2020 12:09pm
Get someone to coach you on form and focus on that. Speed will come.
4
Stuntman949
Posts
2849
Joined
11/10/2015
Location
San Clemente, CA US
1/31/2020 12:24pm
Staying off the brakes and letting the momentum roll you through the corners
3
Chance1216
Posts
5166
Joined
4/1/2018
Location
Federal Way, WA US
1/31/2020 12:26pm
Always carry a spare pair of goggles just In case and fuck grasshoppers.
2
jonesaustin
Posts
2479
Joined
7/6/2009
Location
Austin, TX US
1/31/2020 12:26pm
I wish I’d taken time to build strength off the bike, so I could have better responded to the unexpected when on it.
1
devindavisphoto
Posts
1589
Joined
3/19/2018
Location
Santa Paula, CA US
Fantasy
3807th
1/31/2020 12:30pm
I wish I would have known to take training more seriously or else I probably wouldn't be so disabled physically (mentally I was always screwed).
1
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duckdog77
Posts
379
Joined
3/28/2019
Location
Laotto, IN US
1/31/2020 12:40pm
Fitness, Suspension set up, handle bars, tires, and form is all that matters. How the bike looks and how powerful it is means nothing!

Also wish I knew my dad was going to start making me foot the bill at age 15!
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Hudd_421
Posts
645
Joined
2/17/2015
Location
TX US
1/31/2020 12:57pm
Hudd_421 wrote:
Head over bars in corners. People buy links/suspension revalves/clamps/etc...and they (including myself) don't do that one thing right, and it's the biggest thing.
head over the bars while seated in a corner?
gsxr6
Posts
1956
Joined
9/3/2011
Location
Anderson, CA US
1/31/2020 1:00pm
Squeezing with my knees to save my forearms. Literally being able to almost relax my grip basically when I'm doing it on point. Crack the shrouds often as a result
gsxr6
Posts
1956
Joined
9/3/2011
Location
Anderson, CA US
1/31/2020 1:00pm Edited Date/Time 1/31/2020 1:01pm
Oh and carving almost like I'm surfing, rather than just bulldozing a straight line.
fourfourone
Posts
2922
Joined
10/14/2017
Location
86oh, CT US
1/31/2020 1:07pm
Hudd_421 wrote:
Head over bars in corners. People buy links/suspension revalves/clamps/etc...and they (including myself) don't do that one thing right, and it's the biggest thing.
head over the bars while seated in a corner?
Hudd_421 wrote:
[img]https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://s11.postimg.org/3y47zqs03/3f2c5d936eae290843838caaef776960.jpg[/img]
don't think that's going to work in a rutted corner.
5
BobbyM
Posts
21449
Joined
8/15/2006
Location
AZ US
1/31/2020 1:18pm
kawi_guy07 wrote:
I’m still fairly new to Mx/racing but I’m starting to get some good speed and feeling more and more comfortable on the bike. What are some...
I’m still fairly new to Mx/racing but I’m starting to get some good speed and feeling more and more comfortable on the bike.

What are some things you guys wish you would’ve known/focused on more whenever you were less experienced than you are now?
Sit down more.
5
Goon126
Posts
356
Joined
1/18/2019
Location
CA US
1/31/2020 1:25pm Edited Date/Time 1/31/2020 1:27pm
Super basic tip here might even seem funny. When I first started racing when I was 10 we always walked the track before races or practice. Doesn't seem like many do it any more. Even if you THINK the track is the same it has always been, on your first lap (race day/practice) you need to hold back all the excitement and adrenalin and just scope the track out. I have a few friends that have went balls out first lap and got hurt assuming the track and lips were all the same.

Edit: I've had a few close calls trying to go fast first lap and wish I would have known better at the time.
4
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SCR
Posts
1090
Joined
12/10/2009
Location
CA US
1/31/2020 2:00pm
When your out doing a practice session and it's time to pull off, don't ever say I'll just do one more lap, just pull off.
Just one more lap is bad luck it cost me a badly broken leg, a shattered ankle, and a blown out disc.

And don't take your new girlfriend to the races. She won't be impressed by your skill and bravery like she should be, and will only ruin your day when she finds out she has to sit around waiting for your second moto later in the day.
1/31/2020 2:06pm
Wear a damn chest protector. You never know when C Class will strike.
5
Deja New
Posts
2759
Joined
11/22/2016
Location
AU
1/31/2020 2:12pm
TreeFiddy wrote:
That all women are crazy. Oh wait,we re talking bikes. My mx ones are more product related. No toil filter cleaner and using the washing machine...
That all women are crazy. Oh wait,we re talking bikes.

My mx ones are more product related. No toil filter cleaner and using the washing machine to do air filters. Using a paddle on a pure sand track...only tried my first one last month and its amazing.
8
Cortami79
Posts
1459
Joined
1/11/2016
Location
NL
1/31/2020 2:13pm
Standing on the balls of my feet for sure
1

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