Hey guys, This is probably a idiot question but here it goes. At my local track, I am having a horrible time with jumps. Everytime I hit them, my feet come up off of the pegs. I'm standing before I hit the jump and keeping the throttle consistent (not giving more or less then when i hit it). I try to put my weight back while in the air, but I get kicked up before I get a chance. Is my rear suspension too stiff? Or is it all user error? My rebound is slow (from factory) and my shck is set at 4. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

When I jump, I have found, that if I keep a consistent throttle as you say you are, my jump is sad, not to mention the fact that the quad will nose dive and this leads to a scary landing. Also I agree with you about the feet coming off of the footpegs when launching the quad this way. I find that you must gun the throttle just before your quad leaves the ground. This way you have a controlled jump and you have more control to manipulate the landing. Also by doing this, my feet stay on the footpegs. Remember, this is just my experience, and not neccesarily the way it is done. I am a novice rider myself so take it for what it is worth.

 

I ment to say, gun the throttle before the front tires even leave the ground. Otherwise you will be nosediving. You need to have a little power to "lift" or "launch" you off of the jump, which is why you can't just launch off of a jump while keeping a "consistent throttle". Make any sense?

 

You are riding a predator right? Are you running the shocks with the factory settings? If so its way to stiff. You need to back the preload off on the front and rear. On my rear I run no preload at all(I only weigh about 150#'s though) and have the compresion set on 4 or 5 depending on the size of the jumps. With the rebound the general rule of thumb is the faster the rider the faster your rebound needs to be. If you notice the rear shock packing in the whoops or the quad wheelies off of jumps increase the rebound. If the quad wants to nose dive off jumps or the a$$ end try's to buck you off in the whoops slow the rebound down.

As for the jumping question... different type jumps require different approaches. Do you wear a riding boot? I grip the frame with my ankles to help keep my feet planted. I never really have had a problem with my feet coming off the pegs. As I approach a jump I'm always pinned, then at the base of the jump I stand in a neutral postion with my elbows bent and my feet as far in on the pegs as possible so I can grip the frame with my ankles and legs. Some jumps require you to go off them under full power and some don't. It all depends on the lip of the jump. There is a tabletop at one off the tracks I ride at that you have to ease off the throttle right before you leave the lip or you'll end up wheelieing of the jump. Once your in the air you controll your quad using the rear brake or the throttle. If the front ends high tap the rear brake(make sure you pull the clutch in) , if the front end low pin the throttle. As you land let your body soak up some of the impact, thats way you go off the jump with elbows bent and in a neutral postion. Always try to land with the front end just a little bit high this lets your rear shock take up alot of the impact.

When ever I go to a new track I always watch other riders before I go out. So I can get an idea how fast I have to be going to clear all the jumps. One of the biggest thing in MX is the setup off your quad. If you know somebody that races let them ride your quad and have them help you get it dialed in. Don't be afraid to play with your shock settings. Setup is half the battle.

I just gave you a breif "101 in jumping" I hope this helps. Don't be afraid to ask other riders at your track for help, they have all went through the same thing as your going through.

One other thing you need to do is PRACTICE PRACTICE AND PRACTICE SOME MORE.

 

Thanks Ruckus, I have learned a lot about my suspension via your post. I backed the preload off of my front shocks the second day I had the Pred. I still have factory preload in rear shock as I was not able to turn the locking or backup nut on the threads. I suppose I have to raise the rear of the quad off of the ground to let load off of the shock in order to turn it?

 

Hey Guys, thank you so much for your comments. I will be trying them out next time I go to the track. Thanks again