Read this line in your latest “Daytime” When watching Anderson ride, make sure to pay attention to his legs and watch how much he pulls up with his heels and grips the frame when he jumps.
What can I do to
a) train myself to focus on this.. any tricks?
B) are there any training techniques to add leg strength for this
Loving the podcast … keep up good work !!
Howie
Howie,
Thanks for the email. There is a couple things you can do to help yourself grip better.
When the track gets rough you should consciously squeeze your boots against the frame. You can start by doing this two times per lap to help you get acquainted with it. Pick two points of the track that are the roughest and remember to squeeze the frame in these sections.
You can also practice squeezing/locking your legs against the frame over two jumps you are most comfortable with and work on pulling up with your heels (while squeezing at the same time). Get comfortable with how the bike reacts to this and over time it will benefit your upper body.
Your legs are stronger than your arms and in most cases controls the machine from going side to side.
As far as off the bike training there are several ways to get your legs stronger like pistol squats, box jumps, lunges, etc. Riding more and putting in quality intensity in your moto regimen will help the most!
Have fun and be safe!
-KK
Hey Kris,
I have a 2016 125SX which is fantastic, as im a 5ft 11” 152lbs 35year old. Skill level would be a ‘slow intermediate’. I am considering the 150SX kit, and have read good things about the 150SX. However the powerband is so good on the 125SX, and i dont want to totally loose that. But could use the extra midrange in loam and to get over obstacles out of corners. In your opinion, how much will the powerband be ‘condensed’ with the 150 kit? I have adjusted jetting, and powervalve to the point im very happy and just added a PC pipe and shorty that im yet to try. The engine runs on 98 octane u leaded fuel. I only ride mx, on a mix of clay loam and hardpack.
In short, i’m torn on getting a 150SX kit for easy torque/HP gains, or do i spend the money hopping up the 125cc topend?
Many thanks in advance for the consideration and thought,
Chris W.
Tamworth, NSW, Australia
Chris,
When I tested the 125 and 150 back to back I always liked the 125’s power better. The 150 had a little more torque (not much more), but didn’t rev as good as the 125.
My advice would be to port your cylinder on your 125 and run some good race fuel and you’ll be shredding that sucker! I know an after market ignition helps as well!
-KK
Hey bud,
I have a simple question for you that I hope you can answer since you seem to be the everlasting know-it-all on tuning. I just bought a 17 RMZ450 and I have no clue how the forks work. One is air, one is oil? What the heck is going on here? The dealership didn’t give me an owner’s manual or tool kit and I have no clue what’s going on. No one seems to have anything online and I’ve listened to your suspension podcast and don’t really know if it applies to my forks.
I am an A level off-road racer and just need to soften it up a touch.
Thanks for the help.
Kevin Miller
Kevin,
I don’t know everything, but I will try to help..
I go to 181 psi on the inner chamber, 181 psi on the balance chamber and an atmospheric pressure to the outer chamber (or zero psi). With this setting the fork holds up a little better under heavy braking and helps the compliance on acceleration bumps on the initial part of the stroke. I stick with a 105mm of rider sag on the shock and slowed the rebound down two clicks to help the rear end settle coming into corners. Now being that you’re an off-road guy, I don’t have much knowledge with these forks in off-road, because air forks are not the best application for off-road racing. Air fork pressure varies way too much in an off-rad race. The means your forks will progressively start to get harsh over time. So try starting with these settings to see if it helps comfort.
The right side carries the air spring action and the left side carries the damping unit. It uses three separate air chambers. Confusing and to me not worth the hassle. If you can find some older RM-Z 450 spring forks to bolt on, that would help you out a lot!
Cheers,
KK
Hi Kris,
I have a set of Neken triple clamps from my 2017 Yz450F they are just the stock offset for the 17 model. When I fit these to my 2018 Yz450F will I have the stock offset or will it be last years off set ? I can’t get a straight answer from anybody on this. I’m not to sure if when Yamaha say they changed offset on the 2018 model is it done with triple clamps or is the angle of the headstock on the frame changed. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks Michael Mahon
Michael,
If you have THE STOCK offset on the NEKEN clamps it is a 25mm offset.
So… Putting them on the 2018 will give you a 25mm offset. The stock offset on the 2018 YZ450F is 22mm.
Hope this helps!
-KK
Hey Kris,
I’ve been listening to your podcasts lately and I love them, they’re very helpful! I had a few questions concerning knee braces after listening to your podcast about them. I tore my ACL last race of the 2017 season and I wasn’t wearing knee braces. I bought a pair of Mobius ones off my buddy before this happened and I hated them. I felt like I couldn’t move the bike around the way I wanted and I even had trouble getting on the bike because they felt so restrictive. After tearing my ACL I’m going to force myself to wear knee braces just to have the added protection. I noticed you said the POD knee braces feel more free in extension and bending motions and was wondering if you think they would be the best for me? Being that I’ve never worn them while racing, I don’t know what I would feel the most comfortable in. Hopefully you can give me some insight. I would love to hear back from you and look forward to your response. Keep up the awesome work! -Noah
Noah,
First off knee braces are going to suck for the first week or so of wearing them. They will feel bulky, and hard to grip the machine.
However, give yourself some time and you will be fine. The Mobius are on the smaller side, but if you don’t like those you can try the PODS as they are as small as the Mobius braces. However the PODS use a different frame so that will feel different when squeezing the bike.
Try wearing the Mobius for a bit until you get used to them before you spend the money on others. I wear ASTERISK and CTI braces myself and have found the most comfort (for me) in these two top of braces.
-KK
First off I just want to say that I love your podcasts (you’re the first podcast that I’ve ever subscribed to) I put down a deposit on a Factory Edition Husky after listening to your detailed analysis! Question that i have is do you think the Alta would make a good bike for my daughter? She use to ride a klx140 when she was younger 8-12 .she is now 16 but gave it up when she out grew it. She started riding again last fall (3 rides before winter set in, Pa) and is looking forward to riding again this spring! My son has a Suzuki 2013 250F that she rode but she can’t start it so i was thinking of getting her something that has an electric start. That leads me to the new Alta, what do you think?
Thanks so much, Steve Phillips
Thanks Steve for listening!
The Alta would be perfect for her because it has four different maps for her to choose from and is friendly. Map 1-2 would be great for her to have fun on and cruise around with you. As long as she is riding for fun and not getting serious the Redshift MX would be great. My only concern is it can “feel” heavy if you fall and have to pick it up. If she’s strong enough I would say this is a great, less intimidating bike for her. I can almost bet you will ride the crap out of it as well. It’s a blast!
It’s expensive, but will require less maintenance than your gas powered stuff. Let me know if you get one and I can help you further.
KK
Hey Keefer!
Getting back with you on the 350. I’m picking up a 2018 KTM 350 Sxf next weekend. Ended up going with the KTM cause I can get a better deal. You told me to get with you once I got one and you would help me with some set up specs on it. Just to refresh I’m a fast local B rider possibly A this year. About 6 ft 180 pounds. I’m definitely a front end steering guy and a smooth rider. Not super aggressive. Let me know if you need to know anything else. Also. Engine oil on these things. What do you recommend? I’ve always ran maxima stuff but I’ve never had a KTM and didn’t know if I should stick with the Motorex they recommend.
Thanks for all that you do for us normal dirt bike dudes. -Drey
Drey,
Congrats! As far as oil stick with Maxima Premium 10/40. It is a non-synthetic. I like this because it is great for the clutch an doesn’t cause it to slip like some synthetics can.
Break in on these things take 4-5 hours so be forewarned.
For me this is a good base setting:
Fork:
Bars: 10.5-10.6 bars
Compression: 1-2 clicks softer than stock
Rebound: 1-2 clicks slower than stock
Shock:
Sag:105mm
Low Speed Compression: stock
High Speed Comp: stock
Rebound: 2 clicks slower than stock
Thanks, KK
