Ruts

[jasper125]

Hey i have a qeustion
I keep strugling with ruts is there a special way to do ride them. Do you have any tips for me?

[Rallemx]

Look ahead, dont avoid ruts on the track, practice, practice.

[checkerz]

Looking ahead is the big thing, don't fight the bike, and carry your momentum. Usually the fast guys make the ruts are are laid into the turn, so let your bike lay into it. Keeping your front wheel up on the side of the outside of the rut rather than down in the bottom will also help.

Keep a finger on the front brake, if you tap it just a bit getting in it will help it track up and drop into the rut clean, once both wheels are in start accelerating and exiting the corner. If it's a straight with ruts, stand up, keep the front end light and let the bike move under you. Look ahead where you want to go, the bike will move under you through the rut and follow where your eyes are looking.

In a corner, if your front starts to climb out of the rut, tap the front brake slightly and it'll pull the wheel back down in.

Smooth on the throttle, stay loose and practice.

[jasper125]

Looking ahead is the big thing, don't fight the bike, and carry your momentum. Usually the fast guys make the ruts are are laid into the turn, so let your bike lay into it. Keeping your front wheel up on the side of the outside of the rut rather than down in the bottom will also help.

Keep a finger on the front brake, if you tap it just a bit getting in it will help it track up and drop into the rut clean, once both wheels are in start accelerating and exiting the corner. If it's a straight with ruts, stand up, keep the front end light and let the bike move under you. Look ahead where you want to go, the bike will move under you through the rut and follow where your eyes are looking.

In a corner, if your front starts to climb out of the rut, tap the front brake slightly and it'll pull the wheel back down in.

Smooth on the throttle, stay loose and practice.

Thanks that will help me alot, But when i stand up and try te keep the front end light i get pulled off the bike by the power how do i stay level on the bike?

[checkerz]

You can use forward momentum, grip the bike tight with your knees and keep your head centered where you want to go. By keep the front light, I don't mean stay on the back as much as I mean stay off the front. Let your legs grip the bike to hold you on, but let your hips move to keep your upper body straight in the direction you want to go.

Go check the Vurb video of Osborne riding in the sand, it's a similar technique.

[DJD]

Sometimes I drag the front brake though the entire rut, you can apply more pressure as you feel the front wheel wanting to hop out.

You have to lead the bike with your upper body and grip with your knees, ride the bike, don't let the bike ride you.

Ride in front of the bike so your not fighting to hold on all the time.

[Brina927]

My main problem with ruts is coming in leaned and getting the angle right. I'd say I have pretty decent form but when it comes to leaning the bike over into the rut I have alot of trouble. Obviously if I can't get the bike low I can't go very fast through it. It's very frustrating.

[DJD]

Make sure you have your sag set correctly, It really helps to have you bike balanced properly. You can also experiment with the wheel base by moving the rear wheel forward or backwards depending on what characteristics you want.

Shorter wheel base makes the bike turn in quicker but sacrifices some high speed stability, longer wheel base obviously does the opposite. You can also bring the fork tubes up in the triple clamps to give the front wheel a more positive feel.

It just depends on what the bike is doing that makes you uncomfortable, recognizing the problem, and correcting it.

I make a conscious effort to make the transition from standing to sitting as smooth as possible so it doesn't upset the balance of the bike as well as trying to keep my upper body perpendicular to the seat so I feel exactly what lean angle im at.

You can also experiment with the timing of going from standing attack to seated attack, try not sitting down until you are about to enter the rut and initiate the turn. Throttle control is huge too.

I guess that's why motocross is so challenging, you have to think about 10 things at once, and if you mess up one thing it can screw up everything.

[checkerz]

Make sure you have your sag set correctly, It really helps to have you bike balanced properly. You can also experiment with the wheel base by moving the rear wheel forward or backwards depending on what characteristics you want.

Shorter wheel base makes the bike turn in quicker but sacrifices some high speed stability, longer wheel base obviously does the opposite. You can also bring the fork tubes up in the triple clamps to give the front wheel a more positive feel.

It just depends on what the bike is doing that makes you uncomfortable, recognizing the problem, and correcting it.

I make a conscious effort to make the transition from standing to sitting as smooth as possible so it doesn't upset the balance of the bike as well as trying to keep my upper body perpendicular to the seat so I feel exactly what lean angle im at.

You can also experiment with the timing of going from standing attack to seated attack, try not sitting down until you are about to enter the rut and initiate the turn. Throttle control is huge too.

I guess that's why motocross is so challenging, you have to think about 10 things at once, and if you mess up one thing it can screw up everything.

DJD is spot on, though I wouldn't recommend "lowering" the front end by letting your tubes come above the tubes further. YOu will lose front end traction and is really never a benefit. It's also important to make sure you have a correct line coming into the rut. You'll see most faster guys will enter the corner from further outside and be part way around the corner before they even drop into many ruts.

As far as leaning over, it's a balance thing for sure, and throttle control. Stay off the clutch and use throttle control to power through the rut, just tap the clutch if needed on exit. Be smooth, centered, and look ahead. Practice, practice.