Humpety humps

[Black Knight]

Of the several things I struggle with humps and bumps are pretty high up the chart. I simply cannot seem to keep control when I go over a humpety hump at any sort of speed.

The rest of the guys I ride with seem to love flying over the bumps, iirc thats one of Marco's pastimes too! When I reach them Im definetly on the brakes. I simply don't like the feeling of being out of the seat, I think my worry is that both feet will come off the pegs and I'll land on my followed by a fumble for the bars and a rather spectacular crash.

I was following a mate over Dartmoor a few weeks back and and watched him hit a humpback bridge at 90 He got more airtime in that instant than Michael Jordan did in 6 seasons of NBA!:bow:


I've tried gripping with my knees, I've even fitted a bagster for more friction, it doesn't seem to work. Hit a hump as any sort of speed and I end up out of the seat, even so far as standing sometimes, thinking ohhhh nooooo, gotta change my pants again!


Any tips?


p.s maybe I should just eat more!

 

[Wolfie]

take your weight through your legs,

ie use your legs as shock absorbers not your arse.

 

[derek kelly]

Or stand on your pegs.

 

[Black Knight]

I do, but I dont feel in control of the bike at all.


is there any technique to keep you girmly in the saddle?

 

[ianrobbo1]

if your not "happy" about it then why do it?? if you "think" your going to lose control and come off, chances are you will!! :dunno: seems like a pretty dumb way of knackering your fork seals and bike "IF" you arnt doing things right!! and from what you describe your not!!
try getting a bit of practice in on an "off road" bike that will at least teach you the correct way of taking the landing shock and a bit more control, :dunno:

 

[Black Knight]

Why do what? Ride the road?

all I am asking for is techiques to keep you in the seat when on bumpy roads. What do you expect me to do? Get off and walk it over the humps!:bang:

 

[gypsy]

try reversing ?
what you cant see cant hurt :yo:

 

[derek kelly]

Speed bumps can be fun.

 

[ianrobbo1]

please yerself you obviously will anyway, :dunno:
just thought "off road" = Bumps
road humps = Bumps
technique may be the same/similar!! :dunno:
still I'm not the one "asking" advise !! am I

 

[derek kelly]

please yerself you obviously will anyway, :dunno:
just thought "off road" = Bumps
road humps = Bumps
technique may be the same/similar!! :dunno:
still I'm not the one "asking" advise !! am I

Oooooh, hark at Mrs narky pants, bad day at work dear?

 

[Smix]

Of the several things I struggle with humps and bumps are pretty high up the chart. I simply cannot seem to keep control when I go over a humpety hump at any sort of speed.

I've tried gripping with my knees, I've even fitted a bagster for more friction, it doesn't seem to work. Hit a hump as any sort of speed and I end up out of the seat, even so far as standing sometimes, thinking ohhhh nooooo, gotta change my pants again!

Maybe just be more confident in your BBird? It won't loose control - it really can cope with the bumps and humps on the road. It's not really a great idea to be airbourne for any length of time cos of seals and stuff, and the fact that being airbourne is more likely to causing control issues on landing.

I found initially that the bike chucked me out of the seat when hitting bumps on the road, and essentially the only cure for your worries is confidence in the bike, and believing that it will be ok (it can cope, you are the one with the issues!!!!!!) - definitely try again with taking the pressure through your legs, more pressure on your pegs will make your legs take the 'bounce'. If a road is really bad, you can sit a bit like a jockey - pressure through your feet and light grip with your knees and sit very lightly on the seat? If you sit like that, then you are less likely to feel so out of control? If you are sitting lightly already, you should get thrown about less on the bumps?

Once you know that the bike will cope with no probs, then you can relax and enjoy??

 

[Black Knight]

Its not the bike getting airtime that worries me so much. its when aid bike drops back to ground and I stay in the air! My worry is that my feet will come of the pegs and my only contact with the bike will be clinging on for dear life at the bars.

I've tried gripping with my knees but hit a hump at my normal speed and my flung out of the seat.


Would lowering tyre pressures help? currently 42/42.

 

[ianrobbo1]

:bow: LOL yeah you got me!! :bow: hook line and sinker, and I honestly thought you were serious!! :yo:

 

[Smix]

LOL yeah you got me!! hook line and sinker, and I honestly thought you were serious!!

Am I missing something here?? :dunno: fl4g71

Its not the bike getting airtime that worries me so much. its when aid bike drops back to ground and I stay in the air! My worry is that my feet will come of the pegs and my only contact with the bike will be clinging on for dear life at the bars.

I've tried gripping with my knees but hit a hump at my normal speed and my flung out of the seat.

I reckon its just about relaxing and being confident. If you can bring yourself to relax and accept the way the bike goes, you should be able to 'go with' the way the bike moves over the bumps? Maybe move your lower leg in closer to the frame (if you have yr feet too far out, you won't feel connected as the bike goes over bumps?) I used to be too tense on the bird when I first got it and until I relaxed my arms and general way of riding, I hated some bits of road round here. Chill out and don't make a big thing of it, and you'll find it gets to be less of a problem! - Of course I may be talking rubbish in some peoples views, but it worked for me!

I know nothing about tyre pressures except they should be 42!! Prob best to leave as they are. Someone else might know if suspension changes would help, but that too technical for me!! :neenaw:

 

[parttimepilot]

First of all, get your suspension checked,
If your rear shock is shot( ie no damping) there is no controlled return, so the spring will fire you out of the seat.
If you are circa 6 stone soaking wet It'll be far worse...

By all means brake on the approach to a bump/hump/whatever but dont go over it on thebrakes OR on a closed throttle,
At best you will unsettle the bike, If you are unlucky you will land front wheel first(not good), And if you are really unlucky youll get a free ride in a converted transit van with blue lights and a fair time feeding through a straw.

Best advice I can offer is try to read the road ahead and anticipate hazards a bit sooner, you will end up quicker in the long run

If you have to brake before a bump, get back on the gas before you hit it. Even the slightest hint of drive will ensure you land evenly, If you are actually acelerating, depending on how hard, you will land rear first, This is much more preferable than Landing front first and affords 10x + more control

Finally, dont get into race mode with your mates if your not confident. Get out on your own and learn your own limits. Try not to let the red mist take over when your mates are going nuts.

If all else fails buy a car...
Or a Pan European

And last of all RELAX. Nothing worse than being tense on a bike!

 

[Trumpet]

The absolute worst thing you can do is go into a bump/jump on a trailing throttle. You will come down hard on the front and do the Bike and yourself no good at all. You need the bottle to keep the throttle constant as you hit it, or even slightly accelerating (don't overdo it)!

 

[blurobbie]

Having had my Bird for about 10 days now i found that taking the 'shock through your legs is the best way to avoid 'wobbles'. Listen to what the more experienced bird riders say - i did and it works (for me anyway). Hope you crack it mate :yo:

 

[taffthemagicdragon]

As an ex offroader book yourself a day with an offroad school it would probaly give you loads of confidence OK you might spill once or twice but you will learn how to react better to your balance and technique

If not just slow right down going over the humpies :yo: :yo: :yo:

 

[big harv]

Nice little articlle in this month's Bike mag, basic but true , nice Blue BB in the pic also. I take it it's not you!

 

[Minkey]

humps

just a thought, do you think that you may be going a little too fast?