FMAE Moto Park

1. Stand

You’re never going to be proficient at dirt riding until you learn to stand up. This provides a few advantages. First, this transfers your weight down to your feet, which you can then manipulate to steer your ADV motorcycle or navigate different terrain. Something you can’t do sitting down. 

Next, standing gives you a much better perspective of what’s ahead. The farther ahead you can see, the more time you have to plan, prepare, and react.

Be sure to keep a slight bend in your legs while standing so your legs can soak up jolts that make it past your suspension. Place the balls of your feet on the pegs – that’s where your balance is – and remember to stay loose so your arms and legs can act as secondary suspension. 

You know you’re failing at this when you start to have a death grip on the bars. Or worse yet, you start to develop arm pump. Remind yourself to relax (say it out loud if you have to), and if you need to, slow down.

Keeping your upper body loose can be hard when you’re muscling a big bike around, so a good trick to give yourself a break is to squeeze the gas tank with your knees. While you’re at it, practice deep breathing exercises by inhaling fully through your nose, pausing a moment, and exhaling through the mouth. 

Standing may feel awkward at first, but keep practicing and eventually, you’ll commit it to muscle memory.

2. Adjust The Levers

This is another one of those tips that seem obvious, but it’s worth hammering the point home. We’ve mentioned the importance of being comfortable already but geared more towards your, well, gear (pun not intended). 

Comfort also extends to how you feel on the bike, and having the controls where you want them is part of that equation. Most adventure bikes, including the GS, have adjustable brake and clutch levers.

If your bike doesn’t chances are the aftermarket can take care of that for you. Be sure to put the levers within easy reach of your fingers. You’ll be using them often.

3. Look Where You Want To Go.

This is sage advice no matter what you ride. Look Where You Want To Go. Simple. Your body – and by extension, your motorcycle – will go in the direction you’re looking. If your eyes are pointed at the floor or what’s immediately underneath you then everything is coming at you at a rapid pace even if you’re actually moving slowly. 

Looking up and in the direction you want to travel allows the brain to scan ahead, take stock of the surroundings, and plan the next move. Of course, scanning is dependent on speed. If you’re moving fast, then you’re looking far ahead. If you’re navigating slow, technical terrain, then your gaze will be on your immediate surroundings.

The thing you don’t want to do is target fixate. If your eyes are locked in on something, it’s hard to break away from it, and if your motorcycle follows your eyes, guess what? You’ll be headed straight for the thing you’re staring at. That’s why we used the word scanning.