Dirt Wise Riding Tip #1 body position and balance – by Shane Watts

There are three core fundamentals that we focus on at the Dirt Wise Offroad Riding school when it comes to controlling your motorcycle and having the best opportunity of successfully conquering any obstacle that you may face out on the trail. The first two are body position and balance, while the third one, which is an integral part of maximizing these first two, is being in the standing position. The more difficult the obstacle the more important it is for you to be in the standing position. There are situations where it is best for you to be in the seated position but that generally is just for cornering.

World class trials riders are undoubtedly the most skilled motorcycles riders in the world and it is their mastery of the above three fundamentals that allows them to ease over/across/through obstacles that leave the rest of us shaking in our boots. Being in the standing position is the key for them and that goes the same for you. There are six key points related to being in the correct standing position so this month we’re going to list the first, and explain the reasons and benefits as to why we do this.

We teach that it is best for you to keep the footpeg in the middle of your boot. I’ve been told that some instructors, more so from the motocross side of things, teach that you should ride standing on the balls of your feet, which is a technique that I definitely advise against for nearly all offroad situations. Instead we like to have that footpeg in the arch of our foot/boot. Seeing as we are traveling at speed through the trees, sometimes only inches away from them, or on new trails that we have never seen before it is imperative that we have our right foot virtually hovering over the rear brake, ready to use it should we be deflected off a tree root, or rock, or bump and into a position that could end very quickly in disaster. As offroaders we generally don’t have the luxury of having heaps of “run-off” space thus we must be ready for immediate action of the rear brake when required. If you were riding on the balls of your feet then you would need to lift your foot and move it forward every time the rear brake was to be used, essentially having to step forward and then back each time. I like to think of this as having to do a step aerobics class whilst you are riding your bike, which amounts to an unnecessary waste of your energy. Plus that extra split second that it takes for you to step forward on to the brake pedal could be the difference between you averting a disaster or getting carted off in the back of the meat wagon!

When riding in straight, long, and more so deep ruts we like to actually roll our feet backwards on the footpegs so as our toes are pointing upwards. Not only does this help prevent having our toes/foot folded under the footpegs should we catch a stump, rock, or hole on the edge of the rut and possibly break some bones, but it also allows for your foot to slide up and over the obstacle, limiting the chances of you being thrown off balance. If you were riding on the balls of your feet in this kind of situation then the stump/rock/hole would aggressively sweep your foot off the footpeg resulting in your leg being swung to the rear of the bike. This generally results in the rider being thrown way off balance, which is not a good thing in a deep rut, and usually ends up in a crash.