How to ride gravel roads: cornering, braking, body position and bike setup︱Cross Training Adventure

Cross Training Adventure
Cross Training Adventure
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Published 2021-04-23
crosstrainingenduro.com/ tractionerag.com/ Riding a dual sport or adventure bike on gravel roads? If you are a new rider, or an experienced road rider, then gravel roads are nerve wracking and potential very dangerous as the bike skates around and possibly heads for the woods. So here is how to ride a motorbike on gravel roads. The good news? These basic tips will build your confidence fast. And once you've mastered gravel roads you will be a much more competent rider on road as well. It is critical to start slow, work on your technique, then build up the speed riding an adventure bike on gravel roads. Things can go wrong very quickly with both wheels skating around on marbles. An oncoming car in the middle of the road mid-corner. An animal running out. An off camber bit washes your front wheel out. As so many riding coaches say, Want to learn to ride fast? First learn to ride slow when learning how to ride a motorbike on gravel roads. We always sit on motorbikes when first learning to ride. But start standing on the footpegs as soon as you feel comfortable doing this. Moving your body weight around can make active corrections for the bike slipping and sliding around riding a dual sport bike on gravel roads. When you are sitting on the bike, your body weight becomes a lump of dead meat that can actually get you into trouble faster. You can also see further down the road and spot potential trouble spots sooner riding an adventure bike on gravel roads. Relax. This is very hard to do as the wheels skate around over the gravel and it's counter intuitive. But you will actually have more control by letting the bike do its own thing to some extent. Consciously relax your fingers so you are only gripping the bars as much as you need to. The death grip gets very tiring and trying to overcontrol the bike will only result in bad technique. It's a key reason we start slow learning how to ride a motorbike on gravel roads. Practice on an isolated gravel road that has good visibility on corners and no traffic. It's much easier to develop your skills on a known section of road so you are ready for the unknown. Braking! We will do a braking vid later so these are just some basics riding a dual sport bike on gravel roads. When you are first learning, do all your braking while in a straight line before you enter the corner. Beginners tend to avoid using the front brake because it can lock up easily on gravel. But with practice it's quite safe to brake heavily as long as you are riding a straight line. Find a straight section of road and gradually brake harder and harder using mainly the front brake riding an adventure bike on gravel roads. Using only one finger on the lever is a good idea for extra control. With practice, you will quickly build up to partially locking up the front wheel... kind of like a human ABS. Dropping down a gear to use your engine brake can be useful too as it's less likely to lock up your rear wheel than the rear brake when riding a motorbike on gravel roads. Cornering on gravel roads! We will do cornering vid later so again these are just some basics. Lean the bike but try to keep your body upright. Keep your body toward the front of the seat if possible, to weight the front wheel for traction. Beginners often try to spread themselves over the bike too much and sit at the rear with straigh arms, definitely a bad idea for cornering. If you are standing, put the weight on your outside footpeg for extra traction. If you are sitting and the bike is unstable, you can stick a leg out as a counterweight. Try not to put your boot on the ground though to avoid possible injuries. Choose your line carefully. Don't clip that apex in case of oncoming traffic. Don't go too wide either as the shoulder on gravel roads can be very soft. Low revs and a higher gear are always a good idea when first learning on gravel roads. Sure it's fun to roost sideways out of a corner with massive handfuls of throttle. But learn the basics first by keeping things smooth and in control. You can always dial in the flat track hero shit later on. Look ahead on gravel roads. Pretty basic hey? But when learning it's surprising how often we focus on what's just ahead of the front wheel, not the distance. Especially when cornering. Look ahead for those ruts, off camber bits, deeper sections of loose gravel and oncoming traffic. Finally, bike setup for on gravel roads. Many riders obsess over their choice of tyres, but your riding skills will always be the most important thing. No matter how grippy your tyres are, a flat track rider will probably fly past you on a bike road bike going sideways into and out of corners. We won't get into the endless debate about which are the best tyres.
Music: "Clockworks" by Dolby
#crosstrainingadventure #gravelroads #adventure riding
All Comments (21)
  • @crosstrainingadventure
    English is not your first language? Use the subtitles! We have subtitles on all our new videos... 30+ languages. Ang Ingles ay hindi ang iyong unang wika? Mga subtitle sa lahat ng aming bagong video... 30+ wika. Englisch ist nicht Ihre Muttersprache? Untertitel auf all unseren neuen Videos... 30+ Sprachen. L'inglese non è la tua prima lingua? Sottotitoli su tutti i nostri nuovi video... 30+ lingue. Inggris bukan bahasa pertama Anda? Subtitel di semua video baru kami... 30+ bahasa. Engels is nie jou eerste taal nie? Onderskrifte op al ons nuwe video's... 30+ tale. ¿El inglés no es tu primer idioma? Subtítulos en todos nuestros videos nuevos... Más de 30 idiomas. L'anglais n'est pas votre première langue ? Sous-titres sur toutes nos nouvelles vidéos... Plus de 30 langues. Angielski nie jest Twoim pierwszym językiem? Napisy do wszystkich naszych nowych filmów... Ponad 30 języków. אנגלית היא לא השפה הראשונה שלך? כתוביות בכל הסרטונים החדשים שלנו... 30+ שפות. Inglês não é sua primeira língua? Legendas em todos os nossos novos vídeos... Mais de 30 idiomas. Τα αγγλικά δεν είναι η πρώτη σας γλώσσα; Υπότιτλοι σε όλα τα νέα μας βίντεο... 30+ γλώσσες. Engelska är inte ditt modersmål? Undertexter på alla våra nya videor... 30+ språk. 英語はあなたの第一言語ではありませんか？ すべての新しい動画の字幕... 30以上の言語。 Engels is niet je eerste taal? Ondertitels op al onze nieuwe video's... 30+ talen. Английский не является вашим родным языком? Субтитры ко всем нашим новым видео... Более 30 языков. Engleza nu este prima ta limba? Subtitrări pentru toate videoclipurile noastre noi... peste 30 de limbi. ภาษาอังกฤษไม่ใช่ภาษาแรกของคุณ? คำบรรยายในวิดีโอใหม่ทั้งหมดของเรา... 30+ ภาษา
  • @4x4EastCoast
    The only thing I would add is don't try and keep up with more skilled faster riders. Ride to about 80%of your abiltity so there is still something in the tank when something does happen.
  • @tincho1979
    “Aprende a andar despacio, para andar rápido” lo primero que hay que aprender 👍🏻 Saludos desde Argentina 🇦🇷
  • @UncleWally3
    Leave the “flat track hero shit” until later? That snagged my subscription; well done!
  • @Dowent
    For me, going fast on a lose surface just always brings a lot of uncontrollable risk. In Spain, they have an amazing wealth of dirt tracks and roads and on them, they have pretty much universal speed limit, 40kph and I've pretty much adopted that everywhere. It's fast enough to let me cover some distance, but when you catch that patch of looser dirt that unsettles a bike and tries to throw you off, or when an animal crosses your path, it makes avoiding a crash so much easier. I think it's a really good trade-off, especially on a longer trips.
  • @AUBREYTHOMAS1979
    Another great video... Only thing I can add is if don't want to hit that rock in the road, then don't look directly at it once you have seen it. Look where you want to go.... And always ride at 80% of your talent.... you want to keep the reserves for when 100% is really needed
  • @sreimert
    As always, love the commentary, "you can always dial in the flat-track hero shit later on". I started riding motorcycles on a DR650 in 2016 and found this channel early on. I followed all the mods in the DR650 series and it made the "Mighty DR" feel like a 750. Thanks guys, your videos have been a huge help! As far as tips go (and as mentioned in the video), don't spend much time looking down at the front tire, there is nothing interesting happening there; all the interesting stuff is down the road. Keep your eyes up and looking *where you want to go*. Target fixation is a killer (ask me about a fractured ankle because I was fixated on a rut).
  • @SimonBrisbane
    I reckon this video should just about be mandatory viewing for all motorcyclists. Excellent, comprehensive advice - many thanks as always.
  • @chargerguy1973
    Relaxing is huge. Remembering to breathe helps that tremendously... fresh oxygen to the brain and body both makes everything work just a little better, even for my damaged noodles.
  • @helgardwagener
    My tip for gravel roads (wet conditons as well): You have more grip than you think, less grip than you want, you don't need to baby the bike around corners and you certainly shouldn't try to get a knee down. Relax and trust your machine
  • @donboucher2440
    Tips? " Always leave a little on the table, no matter the situation "
  • @berniebne8243
    The old adage, being able to stop inside the distance you can see. I'm an old fart & would rather tootle along looking at the scenery. For me, riding is about relaxing. I spent my working life as a postie always rushing, so now I take it easy. It didn't take much for me to cross over. I used to ride an airhead beemer on gravel so the tiger with traction control & ABS was easy. The knarly stuff would be a different matter.
  • @Liam1304
    Our mate Chris Birch ass good advice on this (like everything). Weight the outside peg, bum cheek off the up side of the seat, elbows out wide, don't panic when the front slides out 'cos the back almost always follows it in a second and solves the problem for you. And from my own pitifully small pool of knowledge - slow in, fast out. Thanks for the vid!
  • @franckbrunie4759
    Another viewpoint on gravel roads: unless the gravel road is the ultimate offroad experience for those shortly leaving the asphalt, then usually gravel roads are the places where you can recover. Personally I ride gravel road mostly sitting to save energy, and I am always ready to apply pressure on the footpegs to keep control and shortly stand up to overcome uneven sections or to get a better overview of what is coming. I usually remain standing up when I ride higher paces, like constant 80-100+ kmh. Many bikes require for comfortable long standing of average size rider some bar risers, like 20 mm.
  • @EachAdventure
    We have a lot of loose gravel roads here in Southern California. Learning to ride them well is definitely a skill in and of itself. Great video! 🍻
  • @Fmontes
    Really helpful - thanks for this video. I'm starting to ride dirt bikes again after many years away. In a couple of trail areas where I ride, there are gravel roads in the campsites and getting to the trails that I have found a little sketchy compared to dirt. So thanks again for the tips (from Bend, Oregon, USA)!
  • @arthamilton2379
    Hello from Northern Vancouver Island. Great respect for your video and narrative. A genuine gift for those wanting to develop skills. Thank you.
  • @wtfyourafuckindoosh
    So I mainly ride gravel forest service roads on my big bore XRs and at first I was stressed the hell out. The last few rides I've been consciously focusing on relaxing my grip, standing up more and letting the big machine do it's thing. I found that focusing on just these three things has helped my riding and confidence immensely. We also ride in our own lane as there are lots of trucks that go out for fun too.I still have lots to learn but there is nothing like doing a 5th gear full throttle pull over deep gravel and feeling the bike just float and scramble haha.
  • @MidCoastAdventures
    Great fundamental video everyone should re-read and remember 😎👍 . As for tips, ummmm, have fun! It's a journey not a race 😉
  • @pilotdane1
    Another awesome video man - great job / great tips. Keep up the good work for sure !!!!