[drt_rdr]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

P.S. There is an article on the internet about why track riders are trained on motorcycles as low as 70cc on the dirt. I'd doubt a 70cc can power slide.

Let's assume that it can't. What is the utility for a track rider in using brake slides on the road?

Brake slides slow you down a lot on account of the wheel completely stopping rotating when you lock it up (which makes a lot of friction) and it takes more work to get it moving again.

If you use brake slides everytime you corner, you'll be a very slow rider, not to mention there's chances you won't even stay on your bike for the entire lap. Don't take my word for it, go try it yourself on some dirt.

The only real utility I can think of for brake slides on the road is panic braking. On the dirt, apart from panic braking, it's good for making quick direction changes, and very sharp turns like 90 degree turns or hairpins where you'd be slowing down a lot to make the turn anyway, and it's to your advantage to slow down.

I'm sure more experienced riders can point out a couple other uses, but they definitely won't be talking about using it for cornering at speed.

What you see road racers do on corners is throttle past the tire's grip just enough to break traction a bit and take advantage of the wheel sliding sideways (while still turning) which makes turning angles more acute without slowing down as much as conventional cornering techniques.

As for whether 70cc bikes can actually do powerslides or not... on the dirt even a tvs xl can probably powerslide if the soil is loose enough. I used to practice doing leg pivot powerslide turns on my bonestock impulse (approx. 13bhp, 135 kg wet). I'd say a 70cc 2-stroke dirtbike (making more peak power, geared shorter, and weighing 80-90 kgs) can powerslide on a purpose-built track where the ground is prepared for sliding.

[nitro.1000bhp]

AFAIK preload is just to set up sag.. meaning- setting up the suspension to the rider's predetermined weight so that the full range of suspension travel is available for that riders weight. I doubt it would affect the rebound character of the suspension..only it might bottom out if it's set lower than riders weight or be quite stiff is set up higher than the rider's weight.

Sliding the brakes into the corner or trail braking can be used for a few reasons. But it's not as daft as simply locking the rear brakes all the way to the apex of the corner. You have to use a combination of down shifting gears, engine braking and the rear brakes. If you overdo the brakes you're bound to see the same way you came from.

One reason to slide the rear before the turn is to set the bike up for the turn, specially off-road bikes have a very long wheelbase and are generally slow to turn..so the rider's slide the bike before entering the corner because you're done turning the bike halfway for very little effort and then the crucial bit here is to get on the throttle midway to complete the turn. This is what one learns in flat tracking.

Motogp riders do the same thing because the bikes have long wheelbases and quite heavy. So sliding the rear helps them to corner faster with minimal effort. But not all riders do this..if you watch some Suzuki or Yamaha riders won't slide because their bikes are corner friendly.. meaning they're easier to turn than a honda or Ducati. Whereas, moto3 riders won't slide into the turn coz their bikes are very light and have a short wheelbase and they simply turn on a dime. Here the racing line is more important to carry corner speed.

Gp riders train on low cc bikes because they are slow and you can easily reach the limit of traction and even go past it without serious consequences even if one crashes.

I guess some people on here should lay off the googles for a while and just go out and ride. I doubt this thread is for sharing internet gyan but more about personal experiences.

[jaymanrides18]

New bike! New bike!

On the 24th of September, I bought this beautiful red Xpulse BS4. Previously a demo bike at a Hero showroom. The reason why I wanted an Xpulse was because of the mechanical intervention my Impulse needed and due to a lack of mechanics around me, it was always a work in progress.



That's me and my dad (also a rider and rallyist) making a little joke ceremony out of this key handing haha.



This is the Impulse I was riding prior to the X, I still have it and this is the bike my dad won multiple rallies on. It's still a great bike but my mechanical knowledge + working schedule doesn't allow for me to tinker it to the max.


I mostly ride dirt, occasionally I take part in rallies and dirt events so after speaking with many pro-level riders, I finalized upon the carb variant as they mentioned the lack of good remapping facilities for the X. I'm really happy with the performance of this bike so far and I'm looking forward to munching many more miles to it.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by jaymanrides18

New bike! New bike!

Congrats buddy. It would be interesting to hear what you wear as protection for the dirt/rally. A lot of us, me included are just graduating from street to dirt and have slowly realised that we need another cupboard for a whole new set of gear. Am already half way in...

[jaymanrides18]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Congrats buddy. It would be interesting to hear what you wear as protection for the dirt/rally. A lot of us, me included are just graduating from street to dirt and have slowly realised that we need another cupboard for a whole new set of gear. Am already half way in...

Sure thing man, this is the gear I use during rallies/trail rides:

1. Scoyco Armor Jacket: https://www.ubuy.co.in/catalog/produ...xoCyP8QAvD_BwE (I am not sure about hyperlinking external links to text here so don't mind the clutter please).

I am planning on shifting to a better armor jacket like the Leatt 3DF but need to save some more for that. This jacket provides shoulder, elbow, back and chest protection.

2. On track days (where risk is lower and so is the speed), I wear a roost guard. I have an EVS roost guard which just guards the chest and back from roost and dirt that's kicked up.
3. I wear Leatt Z frame braces for my legs and knees, I have an ACL tear in one of my legs due to an old football injury. They're not the best braces but do the job well enough. Braces, too, are very expensive and I would like to switch once I feel I am done with these, it hasn't happened yet.
4. I also wear padded cycling shorts to help with bumps on my lovely lumps and eventually would want to shift to impact shorts.
5. Boots I wear are the Alpinestars Tech 7 and the helmet in the above picture is a Thor Sector helmet I solely bought because of how sick it looked, protection wise it didn't feel too safe so I've now shifted to a Scott 550 because of easily available parts in India.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by jaymanrides18

New bike! New bike!

That's me and my dad (also a rider and rallyist) making a little joke ceremony out of this key handing haha.


This is the Impulse I was riding prior to the X, I still have it and this is the bike my dad won multiple rallies on. It's still a great bike but my mechanical knowledge + working schedule doesn't allow for me to tinker it to the max.


I mostly ride dirt, occasionally I take part in rallies and dirt events

Will be interesting to track your posts as a hobby rider myself. I am keen to dip my toes more into dirt riding and have been toying with the idea of buying a dedicated dirt bike like the 300 cc hero is planning to bring out. I think perhaps as a starting point I could simply get a used impulse to get a feel of this.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Will be interesting to track your posts as a hobby rider myself. I am keen to dip my toes more into dirt riding and have been toying with the idea of buying a dedicated dirt bike like the 300 cc hero is planning to bring out. I think perhaps as a starting point I could simply get a used impulse to get a feel of this.

Hey Axe. Sorry to butt in, but I think you should get the xpulse 200, even a used one right away. I just cant commit to another smaller bike after the 390 adventure at the moment else would have done it just for trail work.

Once the 300 launches, you can always sell the 200 or even exchange it with Hero. The 200 will have parts readily available and you just get on and go.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Hey Axe. Sorry to butt in, but I think you should get the xpulse 200, even a used one right away. I just cant commit to another smaller bike after the 390 adventure at the moment else would have done it just for trail work.



Once the 300 launches, you can always sell the 200 or even exchange it with Hero. The 200 will have parts readily available and you just get on and go

Hey thanks red liner. Actually I am also thinking on same lines. That an x pulse makes sense right away, it’ll also be a cheaper investment to see if this kind of riding appeals. And when the 300 launches god knows I may be happy to continue with the x pulse or open to upgrading both options will always be open.

EDIT: in my previous post I meant looking for used impulse or x pulse either (was referring to it loosely and interchangeably).

[jaymanrides18]

Originally Posted by Axe77

toying with the idea of buying a dedicated dirt bike like the 300 cc hero is planning to bring out. I think perhaps as a starting point I could simply get a used impulse to get a feel of this.

Sure thing! I'm @jaymanrides18 on Instagram and jaymanshere on YouTube if you're keen on checking some of my stuff out. I'd personally recommend starting from a smaller bike like an Impulse or an Xpulse. Both are very forgiving bikes and the X feels more stable and peppy. This was my bike journey:
1. Himalayan BS4 - my first SJOBA Rally (DNF), multiple local track events and a few podium finishes.

The REH was very responsive and taught me a lot about handling a heavy-ish bike and I got plenty fast on it as well but after a point riding a 180kg bike on the dirt above 80-90 kmph got very dangerous due to tank slaps and almost high siders. Plus racing fatigue kept building handling that moto.

2. Impulse - second SJOBA Rally (5th place, dropped from 3rd post a penalty), local track events.

like I said, lovely bike but requires a lot of attention. I feel like an 18-16 tyre set up will make it a great track weapon (as I've seen others do that). A little under powered for touring and cross country rallies.

3. Xpulse - not as light as the Impulse but doesn't make its weight known. Very stable, planted as a stock bike and rally kit makes it a different bike from what I've heard. I know for a fact that the X was made as a rally bike first and then sobered down to a road variant which is what we get from the factory.

Get something forgiving, easy to maintain, lift and ride. Buy something overpowered without proper experience stunts riding growth imo; had to unlearn some things when I shifted from the REH to the Impulse.

[Axe77]

Fantastic advice. Thanks so much. I'm already hunting for some used x pulses. For pure rough trail any particular tyres you'd recommend for the x pulse?

[jaymanrides18]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Fantastic advice. Thanks so much. I'm already hunting for some used x pulses. For pure rough trail any particular tyres you'd recommend for the x pulse?

Not too many options right now, take what you get and give everything a try. Running a pair of Ralcos motocross tyres on my X right now. Seem okay enough to get the job done.

[jaymanrides18]

Tried to shave off a few seconds from last time riding on this patch, managed a lead of 7 seconds over last month. I'm still a little uncomfortable on the stock seat of the Xpulse, it's too low and rally kit isn't an expense that I'm willing to make right now.

My goal is to build more confidence in the sand and low traction terrains and try and hit triple digits on the dirt.

https://youtu.be/9m58KQUZc4g

[Red Liner]

Why has this thread gone silent again...where are all the usual suspects.

On this very trail below, post this section, I had a pretty bad nasty fall and wrecked my arm. Lesson learnt, hopefully.

https://youtu.be/cFcfNQNJtLA

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

On this very trail below, post this section, I had a pretty bad nasty fall and wrecked my arm. Lesson learnt, hopefully.

Always dicey riding through brush and tall grass. But what are the lessons learned?

Can't make out from the videos obviously, but do you tend to trail a leg (or both) or do you ride with both feet on the pegs?

Cheers, Doc

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Always dicey riding through brush and tall grass. But what are the lessons learned?

Can't make out from the videos obviously, but do you tend to trail a leg (or both) or do you ride with both feet on the pegs?

Cheers, Doc

Both feet on the pegs, but sometimes i put a leg down to get a footing to see what's ahead, especially in this case.

Legs down is a recipe for disaster.

I was coming down too fast, bike bucked up under me and i took a fall.