Off-road motorcycle guide Bob Dixon has helped thousands of beginners get started on their off-road biking adventures. If you’re new to off-roading or planning your first green-lane and trail ride, here’s Bob’s expert tips to help you get started…
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Tips for Learning to Ride Off-Road
By Bob Dixon
Off-road instructor, runs adventureride.co.uk
When I started riding bikes the Beatles were still a thing and there was no such thing as a BMW GS. I know, hard to imagine, isn’t it? Back then, most of us started our riding thrashing old BSAs and Triumphs around the local fields and back then most riders, and certainly all the ones I knew, cut their teeth riding worn out old bikes with bald tyres on muddy tracks. By the time we got our licences we often had more experience off the road than we had on it. Today the opposite is true and the vast majority of newbie riders have never ventured away from tarmac.
If, unlike me, your bike licence doesn’t date back to the Jurassic period you might fall into this category and be daunted by the prospect of venturing away from tarmac. There’s no need to be intimidated but you should manage your expectations about what you’re letting yourself in for. Off roading, particularly on anything weighing more than 140kg can be demanding and it’s important to approach it with a sensible attitude. These tips will help you prepare for and get started off-road…
Get in shape
First of all are you reasonably fit? Trail riding can be a very physical experience, particularly if you’re new to the game because you’ll probably expend more energy wrestling with the bike rather than letting it do the work.
At some stage it’s inevitable you’ll fall off or get the bike stuck and dragging a heavy bike out of a muddy hole or out of a ditch can be an exhausting experience. I would recommend anybody with off road aspirations to get some saddle time in on a mountain bike because a lot of the skills you’ll acquire on mountain bike tracks will translate directly to trail riding.
Momentum is your friend…
…but too much of it can quickly get you in trouble and as a newcomer you need to strike the right balance. Grip on slippery surfaces is always a challenge, especially with a heavy bike. On a muddy 15 degree slope your bike might chug up it quite happily on a steady throttle at 10mph, but try it at just a couple of mph less and the laws of physics take over with the combined weight of the bike and rider overcoming the available grip. Once the rear wheel starts to spin you can very easily get bogged down. It can be a frustrating experience trying to get moving again when all it would have taken to prevent the problem is a little bit of confidence and another 2 or 3 mph.
In trail riding, the increments between success and failure are often surprisingly small and can mean the difference between conquering a hazard with a smile on your face or being reduced to a sweaty heap trying to coax a heavy bike up a slope. We’ve all been there and there’s no shame in it, the trick is to keep those incidents to a minimum and a bit of confidence and faith in the bike’s ability can go a long way.
Stuck in a rut
Ruts are the most common source of anguish for new riders and very few riders are naturally good at riding them when they encounter trails for the first time. Remember this and don’t let it undermine your confidence, I’ve seen newbies on the edge of bursting into tears with frustration at their inability to tackle ruts but with a bit of applied common sense it needn’t be this way.
The best way to tackle ruts is initially (if possible) ride on the raised centre section of the trail which sticks up between the two ruts. By doing this you’ve given yourself options- you can stay in the middle or drop off into the left or right hand rut when you encounter a hazard. Once you’re in a rut you’re invariably going to have to stay in it so look ahead and choose wisely.
Take your time and don’t be afraid to stay seated and paddle your bike through a tricky section if you’re feeling unsure of yourself. It won’t be elegant but you’ll stay safe and hopefully you won’t hurt yourself or the bike. The majority of accidents I’ve witnessed over the years have been caused by riders standing up unnecessarily when changing direction over ruts. They lose the front end and because they’re out of the saddle it’s impossible to get a steadying foot down. Standing up is a skill which is an important part of off-roading but it isn’t the be all and end all. If you’re not confident with it, don’t do it just for the sake of appearances, especially if the conditions are wet.
A word about tyres
Most of the tyres commonly found on adventure bikes work great on tarmac but not so well off-road. Adventure bike tyres have a round shouldered profile to enable the bikes to corner well on tarmac whereas proper off road tyres will usually have a square profile (trials tyres) or aggressive knobbles jutting out (enduro tyres). If you try to ride up the side of the rut on a round-shouldered tyre, especially in the wet, you’ll probably lose the front. If you’re serious about trail riding on a big bike, invest in some tyres with an aggressive profile but be aware very knobbly tyres will overheat at high speed on tarmac and can be skittish on wet roads. They’re also noisier on the road.
Motorcycling is always a compromise and it’s important to be realistic about what you hope to achieve and obviously you need to look at the legality of the tyre you choose regarding road use. Tyres with big gaps between the knobbles self-clean really well because the mud build-up quickly gets flung off by centrifugal force. Road-orientated tyres have small gaps which soon get clogged with mud and before you know it you riding on slicks. If you’re stuck on a trail somewhere you can significantly improve the grip by reducing tyre pressure.
If you’re in a pickle you could go as low as 12psi but obviously you should have some means to reinflate back to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure once you get back to terra firma.
Clutch control
Some riders develop a habit of disengaging the clutch too early and coasting to a halt. It’s very bad practice because once you separate the drive from the back wheel you’re effectively riding a two wheel toboggan and you’ll quickly end up on your backside. When slowing down to stop, especially on a downward slope you need to keep the clutch fully home and engaged almost until the moment of stalling.
Preserve your energy
If you’re new to trail riding and making your off-road debut on an adventure bike be aware that heavy bikes tend to work against you and it’s really important to relax and preserve energy, I can’t stress how important this is and so I’m going to say it again: preserve your energy, it’s the key to having an enjoyable day out.
Let the bike do the work, easy to say but the reality is new riders often tense up and this burns valuable energy and tired riders fall off. If you fall off and start burning up too much energy picking the bike up you run the risk of falling off again and again. I’ve seen it happen many times, in fact I’ve done it myself.
If you find your arms are pumping up with the effort of wrestling the bike, pull over, have a word with yourself and calm down. Always aim to have a relaxed but firm grip on the bars, dropped elbows and a relaxed stance. Steady and calm always wins the day when trail riding, if you’re having a white-knuckle experience, you’re doing it wrong. Some riders are naturally quick and smooth, that’s because they’re good riders. If you’re riding in a group and find it a struggle to keep up drop back and take it easy, there’s no shame in being 10% slower than another rider, just let them get on with it, you’ll catch them up at the next gate.
Always remind yourself our hobby is meant to be fun, if you’re not having fun ask yourself why and modify your approach.
About the author
Bob Dixon runs AdventureRide based in Shropshire. He’s taught thousands of people to ride off-road and offers trail riding adventures, trail tuition, technical and workshop training, group rides and taster sessions to get riders used to tackling trails and following maps. You can use your own bike or one of Bob’s too.
If you’re ready to improve your off-road motorcycle skills, get in touch with Bob.
Website: adventureride.co.uk
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