GETTING FORWARD TO CREATE MOMENTUM

Hello all,

We have been super busy here at RLR Schools instructing private classes, and full day schools. The phone seems to be ringing constantly and we are answering emails from passed students, sharing their success and keeping them going in the right direction with personal consultation. Just as I tell all my students the class doesnt end once we part ways after a lesson. I am always here for further help with training, technique and bike set-up questions. All this is going on while I am racing myself in the local ECEA enduro series and some National Enduros as well as keeping my eleven year old son Ryder going as he is competing in the local ECEA Hare Scramble series. Ryders results as of late have been so great. I am very proud of him, to say the least. I never put any pressure on him to do well, just to have fun and give it your best. This is evident if you ever seen the messages that I put on his pit board. My results on the other hand, I am not so happy with, just some bad luck and just riding slow. But excuses only benefit the people who make them, so I dont bother making them. But, I plan on getting going in the right direction here and know what needs to be done. Looking forward to the rest of the year and then some.

Now lets get onto some stuff to help you ride better and carry more momentum. I like using the word momentum rater then faster, just because sometimes when you use the word faster, most people just think more throttle. More throttle is not always the answer. How can we build a better sense of momentum by twisting the throttle the same amount? How about getting more forward on the bike. By putting your head forward you create momentum, because you are leading the motorcycle forcing it to catch up with you. Rather than sitting on the seat relaxed with your head away from handlebars, the motorcycle is now leading you where it wants to go. Under acceleration wether you are sitting or standing you want to get your head forward over the bars so far that when you look down you can see the front of your numberplate. Not to sound redundant, as I have metioned this many times, you are going to have to slow down and apply this new body position. You cant try and go fast and incorporate. Slow down and set up some drills and practice getting your head forward over the bars. You will find that you have better control of the motorcycle as well, because as long as are forward you are weighting the front wheel which helps it be easier to maintain control. Most riders when implementing this have remarked how it feels as if your going over the bars. I know that this does take you out of your confort zone. But, by doing this you will carrying that much more momentum into the corners, plus you will also look like you are in so much more of a hurry. Take the time to look at photos or video of top riders and notice how forward the are. There must be something to this.

I also have a video of the beginning of a one on one class that I did that contains some useful information to help you ride better, check it out below. I always start all my schools this way to help get the students mind working in the right direction. Its kind of a brief over view of the proper body position for riding a dirt bike.Kinda long but useful...............coming soon....

We also have below some video of 8 time National Enduro Champion Mike Lafferty at home practicng at his own track. Enjoy!

The secret about corners and more!

Hello,
Corners, corners, corners..........There are so many variables to corners as well as the fact that every corner is different. For example a lay over corner(mx) or a upright turn(tree on inside).Lately I have been working with more of Hare Scramble racers, and their cornering. most of them have a fear of laying the bike over. To get over this fear takes practice and confidence in knowing what the bike is going to do. The only way you get over that is by practicing it over and over.
Here are some helpful tips and things to try to make it easier. Once you have finished braking for the turn , put your inside leg out and at the same time slide your butt more forward (to weight the front end) and open up (as I like to call it) your upper body, meaning straighten your elbows up a bit and push your head back off the bars with a slouched (hump) back. Stay square with the handlebars and lay with the bike. By leaning your head into the turn is a good way to get your torso to lay with the bike. I also like to push my outside knee into the tank (to help make bike turn) and at same time push down on outside peg (this will help traction). In the apex of the turn (center), get back on the gas. Be sure to accelerate smoothly out of the corner. If you have to use the clutch to make power, you are in too high a gear. Braking coming into the turn also should be done with out pulling in the clutch. To help you master actuating the brake, before applying brake keep foot an boot inseam tight to the bike over top the brake pedal and apply pressure to brake pedal. This will stop you from mashing on the brake, as you may have did when you would pull in the clutch. Why not pull in the clutch/ When you pull in the clutch you are now free wheeling faster, which means you need to brake even harder now, and with clutch in your more prone lock up the rear wheel which slows down all forward momentum. Plus when you are sliding you are not in much control of the motorcycle. Also very crucial is to be sure that you keep your leg tight to the bike when you put it out for the turn and put it high enough that it does not touch the ground, because if it does it may pull you to the ground. I have covered and mention so many things that need to be done here to lay the bike over for a turn properly and negotiate a mx style corner. The best way to learn all these is to practice them individually and incorporate each one slowly as you master one of them. When you can do it all properly without thinking about it you are on your way. As I said there are so many things I have mentioned here, and some may seem not so important. But its a combination of all these things put together than can take a quarter to half a second off your corner speed. If there are 200-250 turns in a eight mile hare scramble loop or a enduro trail section how much time would that take off your overall lap time or score. The secret is there is no secret, just so many things all put together to make the difference.

We lately at RLR have been very busy with private lessons and by adding a new sponsor to our schools. We are extremely excited to gain Crave Energy Drinks to our school sponsors. Crave was introduced to us by a friend. Its a unique product compared to the other energy drinks on the market. It offers plenty of added energy but not none of the jitters, headache or crash. More important is that it is cheaper. Check out Crave Energy Drink.

Thanks, Rich

More about Corners-

Motorcycle Riding School/ Riding rocks

Hello,
Where I teach my motorcycle riding schools is mostly sand, but I have taught private motorcycle lessons in the rocks.
In my motorcycle training and racing I prefer riding in the rocks. Mostly because its more challenging. So lets discuss some
rock riding tips. One of the most important things is line selection. Coming into a rock garden (group of rocks) try and
pick a line that does not have any big wholes that can swallow your front or rear wheel and hurt forward momentum. Pick a line
with over bigger rocks to hold you up from the gaps between rocks. Most people look for gaps between rocks but this is tough
because you could hit your chain guide and derail your chain, or hit your rear brake rotor and bend it, which will mess up
your braking. Also you want to enter the rock garden in a gear higher than you normally would so you can carry momentum
rather than a low gear and be fighting wheel spin. I like to stand through a rock garden just because I feel I can control
motorcycle better by weighting the pegs as needed to negotiate the rocks. For some sitting is more comfortable and a loss in
balance means you can just dab your foot. Always keep a finger on the clutch just in case you get into trouble you can just
pull it in to regain control.

As mentioned before keeping your knees tight against the motorcycle will also help you feel in better control
and you can have more of a relaxed grip on the handlebars. Suspension is also a variable that is key to riding well in
rocky conditions. You want your suspension on the softer side and your rebound adjusted a little faster.Be sure that
you check your sag in your shock. If after making
adjustments to your suspension clickers your bike still feels unsafe in the rocks than a suspension tuner may be in order.
There are many great suspension tuners out there, and I use Factory Connection.

Remember to be smooth and use throttle control and proper gear selection.Always pick a line with no wholes and
be sure to look ahead to be ready for anything the trail may throw at you. For more on motorcycle course, or a
motorcycle safety please go to www.rlafferty.com

Motorcycle Riding School/ Logs 2

Hello all,

As always teaching my motorcycle riding school and giving private motorcycle lessons, I always get asked the
question as what to do when a greasy log is on an angle. Well as mentioned in my first blog on logs, you want to loft the
front end about a foot or more before the log and get the front wheel up and do not let it touch the face of the log because
if it does the front wheel will slide down it and you will possibly fall.

So enter the log standing or sitting, I prefer standing because I can absorb it better with my legs once the rear
wheel makes contact with the log. Which ever way is best for you is fine, but be sure to practice it both ways. Because this will
enable you to have better control over the motorcycle, because you will know how the bike will react. Okay, now back to it,
you want the front wheel to come down either on top of the log or just on the back side. This is key because it will help
getting less of a kick with the rear wheel. Have you ever wheelied into a log and hit with the back wheel first? It will kick
you hard and sometimes buck your feet right of the pegs. So now you have the front wheel over, you let it kiss the top or back
side of the log, now let off the throttle a bit and grip the motorcycle with your legs and pull with your legs and lean forward
to help bring the rear wheel over the log. The more slippery the log is the less throttle you will want to use and the more
body english you will use to bring it over. Think of it as just like when you used to bunny hop a bicycle, just grasp the
motorcycle with your knees and inner seam of your boots and pull it over. Remember to slow down and practice this, do not try and
do it at speed. Master the technique and the speed will follow. Be sure to not focus on the log to much, because this will cause
you to fixate on the obstacle and miss time when to loft the front wheel.

For more information on a motorcycle course ,motorcycle safety,and motorcycle training please go to
www.rlafferty.com

Motorcycle Riding School/ Logs

In teaching my motorcycle riding schools I have learned myself of how intimidated some students are of logs. In my
motorcycle course I try and teach the proper fundamentals of all types of off-road riding that all ages and skill
levels can benefit from. As I wrote about in an earlier blogg about wheelies, you will learn that the proper clutch control
will help in negotiating logs.

Lets start out with a smaller log and lets approach it standing and let the front wheel kiss the log and then rebound so
you can wheelie the motorcycle. Meaning try and carry the front wheel in the air at least one bike length. Practice this
sitting and standing slowly. How do you do this? Well approach log standing slowly, as soon as the front wheel kisses the
log pull in the clutch a bit and then as the forks rebound back at you let the clutch out putting the front wheel into control
wheelie, and lean a bit back and hold pressure pulling back on the handlebars. Keep your fingers on the clutch in case you get into trouble.
Once right before the rear wheel makes contact with the log let off the throttle a bit and pull the rear wheel over with your legs,
by gripping the motorcycle with your knees.

Now that you understand the easy way over a log, lets talk about hitting a log with speed. Have you ever hit a log so hard that
once the rear wheel made contact with the log it kicked you really hard? Yes! Okay.Well try this,(you will have to practice this slowly first)
Approach the log standing , because it is easier to absorb the impact of the log with your knees. While approaching the log
pick a spot about a foot before the log where you can pick up your front wheel from. You want to to pick up the front tire like
you were going to wheelie before the log and then use the clutch you are going to set the front wheel back down on top of the log. This will
lesson the kick you get with the rear wheel. So do not let the front wheel touch the front side of the log, wheelie before it and
let it kiss the top of the log. Then let off just a little bit and pull the rear wheel over with your legs. Some key things to
remember are to not lock your knees, let them absorb the log. Also be sure not to fixate on the log itself. When some people do
this they miss time when they should wheelie before the log and have trouble with the log. Always keep a finger on the clutch in case
their is a problem and you can bring the front wheel back down by pulling it in, especially if there is a tree following the
log. Be smooth and practice this slowly.

For more on motorcycle training, motorcycle safety, and motorcycle lessons you can go to www.rlafferty.com

Motorcycle Riding School/ Online School

Hello current RLR School members and friends,

I have been doing motorcycle riding schools for over eight years now. I really enjoy it for many reasons. It has helped
me in my own motorcycle training, while I also enjoy seeing people benefit from my help as well. People have had really
positive things to say about my motorcycle courses over the years. While I am located in NJ, I have wanted to reach more
people.So to reach more people I decided that we at RLR could put together instructional video clips that students can view
from their home where ever they are.

Well we opened my online riding school video clips site on February of 2008 and we now have over 46 instructional
video clips, with 11 tips on bike maintenance and training. A subscription membership is $50 a year. With your membership,
you get access to all instructional video clips whenever you want. You also get access to email support from me to help
accelerate you along even further. You get special pricing on Kenda Tires, Elf oils,DP Brakes, Regina Chains and free
shipping on Pivot Pegs. Once you are a member, you are put on our list and then you call Laura at 585-431-0036 and place
your order. For pivot pegs call Marty at pivot pegs , do not forget to tell them that you are a RLR School member. Also
as member you make a $5 commission for every member you refer. All you have to do is fill out the referral form correctly.
Then we also have other tech tips, news, riding tips, etc. here on our blog, so please check it out. As you can see, being
a member has a lot of benefits. You can learn how to ride faster and safer and save money on tires, oil,brakes,and chains. My
Online instructional video clips are geared towards all skill levels of trail riders, racers of all ages. I personally
guarantee that you will learn to ride faster, by learning what you are doing that is limiting your speed, and how to practice it
so that you will keep climbing the ladder and improving your riding. You will learn proper form that will help you ride safer at
speed, you will learn proper technique and practice drills to practice and to quicken the learning process. Also you can call
or email me for motorcycle lessons or motorcycle safety. www.rlafferty.com
Thanks, Rich Lafferty