So, I took my first trip to the dunes the last couple days, and had a great time.

I had never ridden in the sand let alone went up large inclines or attempted jumps before. My friends said I did excellent for my first time out, but I am sure I have much more to learn.

So, I am here to ask; what techniques to you all reccomend for jumping? Will it just take more and more practice?

Also, I still don't have a sport quad yet (I borrowed a Suzuki 400 at the dunes), I plan on getting a Raptor 700. What needs to be done to make a quad better suited for the jumps?

 

Biggest hint for jumping is to get up off the seat. You can influence the way the quad is flying much better if you are standing on the pegs or footwells rather than sitting. If you're doing big jumps good shocks make a difference on damping the landing. Always pre-run the berms, bumps, or whatever you're going to be jumping just to see what kind of landing you have. Tabletops are the easiest to land. Landing on a ramp is harder. I don't jump so much anymore but these are things I noticed.

 

Thanks for the info.

Is there a relationship between the weight of the quad and how it jumps?

Also, would it be better to adjust the shocks to be soft or stiff for jumping?

 

Lighter is better. You'll have more control of it in the air, and when it lands on you it doesn't hurt as much.

 

Lol, well I hope to not find out how heavy any ATV feels on top of me. I had heard from someone at the dunes that they thought opposite though and that the heavier quad was more stable in jumps. But this is exactly why I am asking, because I would like multiple inputs.

 

Just push the limits slowly, work your way up to the bigger stuff. A lighter quad is easier to manipulate in the air when you get out of shape. Ideally you want the rear wheels to touch down slightly before the fronts, and you want to be even with the terrain left to right. Hitting the gas while in the air raises the front end, tapping the rear brake lowers it. Left to right corrections as well as nose up/down to an extent are accomplished by shifting body weight. Just before you land, you should be on the throttle a bit to dampen the shock of landing on the drive train(tranny, chain/sprockets, etc.) Also, use your legs to absorb the landing as well. If the quad is in the air, your butt is off the seat.

 

^ This is exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thank you!

Anyone else?

 

Never rode a Sport atv but have rode motocross alot. The trick is once in the air. Throttle pulls nose up and rear bake but nose down.
Try not to land on flat ground better to land on a slope.

 

Lighter quad is better for two reasons. 1) Tend to have better power to weight ratio so you can get going fast enough to launch. 2) As the others said, it's easier to toss around and influence a light quad. (Though, even a heavy quad in the right hands can do some decent jumps) Stiffer setting on the rear shock for jumps. If you have it too soft you will bottom out and hit hard. Let the shock do what it's designed for.

This is a funny little video I shot of my son and his buddy. The kid who jumps first would be amazing on a sport quad. If I had the money I'd sponsor him to race in competitions.

 

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