How to make U Turns FAST!

[brazilian rider]

Hey guys recently I`ve been on a MX track and I was loosing lot of time in the turns, trying to make them fast, revving before I got in the turn.

I think the right thing to do is to go slow and brake the quad before the turn, then revv it in the midlle of the turn, when there is traction, making sure I go out of the turn quickly. (that`s what my friend told me)

Is that right?

Please coment and gimme some advice!

[400exracer]

come around the coner and giva sum .. thats what i do anyways..no brakes needed haha

[Ryan]

In an older atv sport magazine.... I believe Tim Farr said to be on the gas comming into the turn, then break hard, then put the hammer down :macho . Never roll into a turn, your just loosing time.

[tants]

thats correct, never roll into a turn, always come full speed, thats what brakes are for! use the rear brake to slide around the corner and snap the front brake to help the rearend get around, as your doing this have the clutch in and being revving the motor up high, about half way through the turn lean as far into the corner and dump the clutch. dont be afraid to position you body heavily into the turn


goodluck :p

[2k2-300exnj]

yea and if your front end is pushing in a turn use the front brakes to load up the front shocks and the wheels will dig, u have to manage both brakes perfect and work the clutch on a 2 stroke a 4 stroke use a higher gear if possible and let the tourqe rip u through

[KY Woods Rider]

The main thing is to never coast, either into a corner or through a corner. You should either be on the brakes or on the throttle, any time spent coasting is just wasted time.

Stay on the gas as long as you can, then get on the brakes hard, and as you get to the apex you should get back on the gas. You should go directly from braking to acceleration without any lag time between the two.

The exact amount of throttle and braking you can use will depend on the traction available and the type of turn.

[speedy400]

What about U turns that are rutted out real bad? Like the 1st race of the season this year, our class was the 12th class of the day, the track was real sandy and around every turn it was insanly rutted out, if you didnt pick the right line you would end up getting stuck, how do you take those corners fast, when you basically cant take any other line and you cant whip the back end around at all.-darren

[brazilian rider]

I was going to ask the same question

[big bad beny]

its the same way but i dont ua my back brakes i use the front and when my front tires enter the corner give her lots of gass and leen in to to get that backend to come a round then when she is straght agin start grabing some gears.




P.S. Ride Red and Ride Hard

[660LE]

Today let's discuss a difference you will notice between watching pros and beginners. Yes they all keep their EYES UP, but there is something else that makes the pros get around the track much faster....

Brakes.

DISCLAIMER: The following is from an article I read in Motocross Action. I have added a few of my own lines and additional paragraphs but most of the following content is derived from Motocross Action. Normally I would write my own article, but this was written well and covered the topic in a concise manner.

Keep this in mind.........YOU CAN ONLY GO AS FAST AS YOU CAN STOP.

Motocross tracks have lots of low-speed corners, where the ability to slow the bike down quickly translates into getting it back up to speed when exiting the turn. Anyone can go fast on straightaways. Straights are one place where there is no difference between Mitch Cooke, Bubba Stewart, Ryan Lockhart, and you. However, there is a big difference at the end of the straight. All of these guys can go faster longer and still make the turn—you have to coast. Coasting will kill your lap times, but, if you learn the pros secrets of braking, you can go in deeper and come out faster.

SECRETS OF BRAKING
Let's look at the top ten keys to effective braking.

Key One: Don’t brake too soon. Going in deep is the only way that a racer should attack a corner. Coasting into corners is time wasted (especially when magnified by ten or more corners per lap).

Key Two: Use brake markers. Road race courses have countdown signs leading into a corner. A pavement racer can choose to apply the brakes at signs 3, 2 or 1. Motocrossers don’t have braking markers, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t pick out a hay bale, a tree, a flagman, water sprinkler or rock and use it as a marker. Once you pick your braking points, use the same spot lap after lap.

Key Three: If you are going to use your brakes, USE THEM HARD. Don’t fool around. When you decide to use them—use them. Next time you are watching the advanced riders, notice how hard they are coming on to their brakes. Please note, that when applying your brakes hard, especially the front brakes, be sure to stand up, move your body and weight to the rear of the bike, and squeeze the bike hard with your legs. This aids in stability under heavy braking, which translates into safer braking.

Key Four: Brake while the bike is upright. Do the majority of your braking on the approach to the corner (when the bike is still going in a straight line). An upright bike puts the most rubber on the ground and can withstand brake lock-up, skidding and rough ground better than a leaned-over one.

Key Five: Depend on your front brake. The front brake does 70 percent of the braking. The rear brake is largely for directional control and brake slides. If you want to stop in a hurry, you will have to use the front brake.

Key Six: Sand, mud and hills require less braking. Going up a steep hill doesn’t require as much braking to slow or stop the bike because gravity is working against the bike’s momentum. By the same token, sand (think Kingston) and mud create additional drag that assist in braking. Off-camber hills and corners require a light braking. Too much rear brake on an off-camber typically results in the bike sliding out from under you.
Keep your eyes up, read the terrain and adjust your braking accordingly.

Key Seven: Adjust your levers to suit your body position and braking style. The front brake should be set up so that there is only a small amount of free-play in the lever. You want the front brake to be activated by the bending action of the first knuckle of your fingers and locked up by the time the second knuckle bends. A good rule of thumb is to set the brake (and clutch) levers about 15 - 20 degrees below the level of the grips. In other words, if you are looking at the bike from the side your levers should be about 1 - 1.5 inches below the center point of your grips.

Key Eight: Be prepared to pull the clutch in. If you are trying to outbrake the guy in front of you, you may want to pull the clutch in (especially on a 125 or four-stroke). Pulling the clutch in allows you to use the front and rear brakes to the max without killing the engine.

Key Nine: Master the brake slide. When you lock up the rear brake, the rear of the bike can be forced to slide around the corner—completing two tasks at the same time. While the rear wheel is sliding, the front brake can be used to pin the front wheel to the apex. In other words, you lock the rear wheel up and slide the bike around the inside apex of the turn and then hit the throttle once you’re lined up with the next straight. This is especially effective in hairpins, uphill corners and on hard-packed dirt.

Key Ten: This may be the most important of all the braking pointers. MAKE SURE YOUR BRAKES WORK! I know this sounds like a given rule, but you would be amazed how many guys are out there riding with brakes that a less than 100%. Here are some simple maintainance rules for keeping your brakes in good working order.
Clean your pads. Use brake cleaner and scotchbrite pads and clean the surface of your pads. Dirty pads are the number one culprit in under performing brakes.
Clean your rotors. Use brake cleaner and a clean cloth/rag and pinch the rotor and clean them off.
Replace your brake fluid. This should be done at a minimum, once a year. I replace mine ever couple months. Through use the fluid will break down. Good clean fluid keeps everything working better.
Replace your pads once they are out of spec in accordance to the owners manual.
Check and clean your cables. This should be done at least once a year.

Bonus Key: How to practice braking. This is a practice drill that is not as fun as jumping, but it is essential if you want to be faster. Races are won in the corners. Corners are won through braking skills. Get on a flat surface where you can get up to speed (2nd or 3rd gear), keep your eyes up, and go as fast as you can. Pick a point and slam on your front brake (see KEY THREE for body positioning on heavy front braking). See how far you go until you stop. Do the same thing with the rear brake, then using both brakes. Do this at least 20 times. This will give you a very accurate indication how much distance you need to safely come of a stop. Once you know this distance, find a corner and charge in and do this braking drill again (20 times). This will help you judge distance and timing on braking into corners. Try to not to coast, stay on the gas until it is time to stop.

For more practice and pointers on braking, be sure to attend one of the riding schools this season in your local area. Having a pro rider observe and coach you will only make your skills that much better.

Have fun practicing braking.

Remember : YOU CAN ONLY GO AS FAST AS YOU CAN STOP.

[660LE]

i found that on a local mx website from my area.

[400ex#18]

WOW! Never realized how much actually goes into it, but it all makes sence though!

[Florida400EX]

main thing, don't let braking bumps slow you down, and if the corner is badly rutted, I like to brake early (before enter) get on gas (couple feet before enter) and skip over the ruts.
Good luck!

[KY Woods Rider]

Originally posted by speedy400
What about U turns that are rutted out real bad? Like the 1st race of the season this year, our class was the 12th class of the day, the track was real sandy and around every turn it was insanly rutted out, if you didnt pick the right line you would end up getting stuck, how do you take those corners fast, when you basically cant take any other line and you cant whip the back end around at all.-darren

First, try to find a place to miss all the ruts if you can. This often means going to the far outside right on the edge of the track. However, depending on exactly how far out of your way you have to go, it may or may not save you any time.

Another trick you can use on some corners is to go to the far outside, where hopefully the ruts aren't very deep, then square the corner and come straight back across all the ruts to the inside of the corner. To make this work you'll need to make sure you can go straight across the ruts, you'll need good shocks, and you'll have to stay on the gas and not let the front-end drop into a rut as you're coming back across. If you have to go across the ruts at an angle, then it probably isn't a good idea to try it, because it's likely that you'll get cross-rutted. Also, this isn't a very good move when someone is behind you, because they'll likely cut inside and they will be in your way as you try to come back across.

One trick you can use to slide using the ruts if they're not too deep is to break the rear-end loose as you're going into a corner and slide the rear-end into a small rut while you keep the front-end on the high ground between the ruts. On sharp low-speed corners you can really turn quickly this way. However, if you goof it up even just a little bit, you can easily get severely cross-rutted and have to spend a couple seconds digging your way out of the ruts.

If you must go through the ruts, pick the one that you think is best and just go for it. In ruts where the quad can't slide to prevent rolling over, your entrance speed and brake-to-gas timing needs to be perfect. If you go in too slow it won't hurt anything other than just losing time and it increases your chances of getting stuck if you picked a rut that's just a little too deep. If you go in too fast or there's a little lag time between the brake and gas at the apex of the corner, you're going to roll it. If you do it perfectly, you should be hard on the brakes coming in, then when you feel the side starting to lift up, you hit the gas and the forward momentum pulls you out before you roll it.

[PEPwalshZ440]

you gotta not really worry about ruts or just try not to. What I do is just come flying into the turn taking like the middle line and then brake hard slide it and pin it. Like for instance. Theres this one jump where its about a 180* turn more about like 165*, neway, i come goin into it about 3rd gear half way, slam the back brake, slide it fast and pin it to make the 60ft double right outta the turn. You want to use your brakes as little as possible to help send you in the right direction and to stop.
Mike

[911]

Originally posted by speedy400
What about U turns that are rutted out real bad? Like the 1st race of the season this year, our class was the 12th class of the day, the track was real sandy and around every turn it was insanly rutted out, if you didnt pick the right line you would end up getting stuck, how do you take those corners fast, when you basically cant take any other line and you cant whip the back end around at all.-darren i race southwick were every turn on the track is a set of deeeeep ruts, i only slow down enough to line up to the ruts, as soon as i'm in them i hammer down!!!!!! it feels like a slot car on rails the ruts hold the quad under full throtle as long as you lean on the rear tire! it takes some practice.