Adventure Motorcycle Riding Basics
Adventure riding Basics - So you want to hit the dirt?
Adventure motorcycle riders make up the biggest selling sector of today’s motorcycle market. When once the dealerships were filled with race replicas and the odd sleek tourer with matching luggage, the showrooms are now packed to the gunwales with towering adventure machines, loaded with advanced technology, cutting-edge electronics, and wild levels of performance. It’s never been a better time to get into motorcycling!
Now we know that is a good proportion of our riders who are quite happy to keep their adventures confined to the blacktop, content to use these dazzlingly capable machines much like those tourers from back in the day, travelling all over the world from Carlisle to Cannes and beyond. And who can blame them – we’d set off to the Med on a Ducati V4S at a moment’s notice and not return for months!
But there are also just as many riders who use their machines to explore way beyond the tarmac, tackling everything from short sorties onto the local lanes to full on trans-global expeditions, using the astounding potential of their machines to take on the terrain and come out smiling.
But what if you are an off-road newbie? What If you’ve invested in a brand new Africa Twin and fancy seeing how you get on with a bit of riding away from Mr McAdam’s black runways? What if you’ve been tempted into a sparkly GSA and want to explore all those glorious trails that feature in Ride Expeditions incredible tours?
So, in an effort to help you make that transition and pop your dirt riding cherry, we’ve put together a few things to help you on your way
BARS AND GUARDS
OK so before venturing away from the road for the first time, it’s worth spending a bit of time prepping both your bike and yourself. This doesn’t mean you need to buy the whole Klim catalogue and build yourself a Dakar replica, it just means that you need to be a bit realistic about the potential issues and how to mitigate them for both of you.
So first off, make sure your bike has some level of crash protection. Riding on a surface that is far less predictable than the road may bring unexpected incidents, especially at slow speeds and hence it’s best that you scratch up a set of chunky and bars rather than all that expensive plastic. If your bike didn’t come fully loaded, we’d suggest a decent set of engine / crash bars, wrap-round handguards and a substantial sump guard as a bare minimum. It might cost a bit to start off with, but it’s a worthwhile investment to protect your bike before you damage it, rather than after …
KIT BAG
On the same tack, you also need to think about wearing gear that offers some level of protection to you in the event of a tumble. Road-based riding kit is unlikely to do the job very well, so we’d recommend you look at options which are specifically designed for adventure riding. So that’s jackets with padding on the shoulders, elbows and spine and perhaps just as importantly, ventilation panels as we guarantee that off-roading will get you hotter than Bikram Yoga in a cagoule!
For boots, proper ankle protection is a must, as is the increased grip from a proper off-road sole rather than the smooth surface of a road boot. There are cheap options on the market, but it’s worth buying a known brand as even if you don’t get on with dirt riding then you’ll have a cracking pair of riding boots for the tarmac.
As for helmets, you probably don’t need to invest in a new adventure helmet straight away, but the more get into dirt riding the more you’ll appreciate a decent peak, a visor that doesn’t steam up and perhaps crucially, the additional a space in front of your mouth when you are puffing like Ivor the Engine …
Go to the Ride Expeditions BLOGS to find a positive mine of reviews and
BUDDY UP
OK so we realise that this may not always be possible, but we’d recommend that if you are heading out onto the trails then going with a friend on a similar, or maybe smaller bike is a smart move. Not only is it far more fun to ride with a mate, it’s also far safer in case things don’t go exactly to plan – what you don’t want to be is stuck with your foot under a KTM 1290 miles from anywhere!
If you are short of riding buddies, it may be worth joining Facebook groups for either adventure riding or for the specific bike you have. Many groups are very active with ride-outs and socials and it could really open up your riding experience. In the UK, you could also try the local Trail Riders Fellowship – TRF – but inevitably as a trail bike based organisation there are less riders with bigger bikes than those with smaller bikes! That said, they may be able to suggest routes, take you on a guided ride out and perhaps link you up with other adventure bike riders so next time, you’ve got riding mates.
What have you got to lose?
EXPLORE THE WORLD
WEATHER VAIN
So, this might sound like an odd one, but sat here typing as yet another Autumn shower drenches everything in sight, it’s an important one to bear in mind.
If you are completely new to dirt riding, and particularly dirt riding on a bike that weighs over 200 kg, you really don’t want to start in the wet or indeed cold. While your bike may come with chunky looking dual sport rubber, you may find the limits of grip particularly quickly if you set off onto a muddy green lane as your first foray onto the dirt. Strange as it may seem, even the most road-based tyres will handle dry trails with surprising competence, yet even the most aggressive looking hoops may fight for grip once it gets snotty. As a first experience that’s going to put you off pretty damn quick!
Stack the odds in your favour by picking a nice dry day when the sun is in the sky and there’s not even a hint of moisture on the trails – perfect!
EASY LIFE
For your first dirt rides, you want to pick some simple and achievable gravel trails that will build confidence rather than shatter it. Don’t be overambitious and think you’ll take on the TAT on your first outing, or head straight for a tour of the massive landscapes of Mongolia. There will most likely be plenty of green lane, byway or gravel trail options in your area, so do your research and chat to other riders to find out where the best local routes are and just as importantly, whether they are legal!
Similarly, don’t plan on a whole day’s riding to start off – maybe just a morning or a couple of hours. Riding away from the tarmac can be physically very demanding even to experience road riders, so don’t expect to have the stamina of Toby Price on your first outing.
When you get on the trails, don’t be too eager to go to fast too quickly. With a far less predictable and infinitely more variable surface underneath your wheels then grip is going to vary enormously and can change in an instant. And don’t forget all routes you can ride may be used by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and other off-road traffic. If you are leathering along at 40 mph on a gravel trail and you suddenly hit a drainage gulley or meet the local pony club then things can escalate quickly and disastrously.
Take a chill pill, lower the speed and enjoy the scenery – it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey.
STAND PROUD
OK so for novices the idea of standing up can seem scary, and for the first few times you try it that’s going to be pretty accurate. Adopting a position so alien to normal road riding will not feel natural at all, but ultimately standing up for at least a proportion of your ride will eventually make things easier and more enjoyable – honest!
So why should you stand up when there’s a perfectly good seat below you? Well, it’s all about the centre of gravity of you and the bike and transferring your weight from high up on the seat to low down on the pegs will naturally make the bike more stable – that’s why BMW’s boxer engine helps stability and why KTM are moving their fuel tanks down not up!
With your weight now acting in line with the wheel spindles the bike will be far more manoeuvrable and easier to control even at very low speeds. As an added bonus, not being on the seat will also isolate you from big hits on the suspension, and because you are nice and high you might even see those obstacles far earlier and be able to avoid them. Keep your head up and your focus on the trail 20m ahead, not the bit just in front of your wheel.
As a beginner, there are bound to be times when you feel happier sat back down, and that’s all cool – confidence and off-road skills come the more you ride. And the more you ride off road, the more you will appreciate the advantages of standing up. Simples
Once you get the hang of using the pegs, you’ll soon realise that you need to adjust the cockpit a tad to make control that much easier. You’ll want to roll forward the bars so they are higher, maybe drop the levers down so they are more comfortable to use and if you are getting really serious, then you’ll need to raise the rear brake pedal and gear lever so you can actually use them!
WEIGHT FOR IT
OK so if you’ve mastered some gentle lanes then you’ll want to take on some more challenging terrain and cover some serious miles. What you need to keep in mind if that you are doing this on a larger adventure bike it will behave vastly different to that little ‘crosser that you and your mates used to razz about on in your teens. And that’s because most top end adventure bikes weight almost twice as much as your average off road bike.
On the trail this weight will make itself known in terms of the momentum that you and your bike carry. On downhills and particularly on corners, this increased momentum and weight will make the front wheel want to push away from you and break traction, whereas on ascents, the weight will act against you. Consequently, for dirt riding you need to read the trail ahead of you and plan ahead so you can maintain smooth progress without getting into difficulties.
That probably means descending a tad slower until you get the feel of the bike and conversely, you may need to tackle ascents with a tad more speed to ensure you don’t run out of steam halfway up.
RUBBER LOVER
The more off-road riding you do and the more confident you get, the more you will realise that of all the different parts of your, the tyres are often a controlling factor. No matter how much the manufacturers label their products as ‘dual sport’, 50 /50, 60/40 or 80/20 the simple fact remains that other for gravel trails and bone dry mud tracks, tyres with a relatively smooth and round profile do not perform well once things get even remotely wet and will be positively lethal on wet grass. In mud, even quite wide grooves in adventure tyres will become almost instantly filled rendering the tyre as effective as a racing slick, and without serious block separation, then wet grass might as well be an ice rink.
The simple fact remains that if you want good grip off-road, you only have to look at motocross tyres to know what’s required. You need big block knobbie tyres with big gaps between the blocks – this will both grip onto the surface but also stand some chance of not filling up the gaps with mud as you ride.
Of course, for heavier bikes you can’t go for a full on motocross or enduro style tyre as the knobbies would give too much flex and instability on the road, but the same manufacturers that produce the dual sport options will also have more serious off road options suitable for adventure bikes. Yes we know that you might have to go a bit slower on the tarmac, but let’s face it that’s a reasonable trade-off for staying upright on the trails!
After a while, you might even consider investing in a second set of wheels so you can have road tyres fitted to one set, and off-road to the others. Decide where you are riding, pick the appropriate wheels and Robert is your father’s brother …
TRAIN STATION
OK so we’ve given you a few basic pointers here, but to really take your riding to the next level, investing both time and money into attending a proper off-road training school is a smart move. Most of the major manufacturers run bespoke course for adventure riders on both your own or their bikes, and with hands on instruction from experienced and hugely knowledgeable instructors, you will come away with skills that will improve your riding both on and off the tarmac. Get together a group of mates and make a weekend of it!
Check out Triumph Adventure Experience, Ducati Adventure Academy, Dave Thorpe Honda Off Road Centre , BMW Off Road Skills, Yamaha Off-Road Experience, KTM Adventure Bike Experience – there will be the equivalent schools all over the world.
