The Breakdown: RedBud
Thursday, July 12, 2012 | 12:00 PM
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PrintBy: Travis Preston
These photos look really good and both riders are riding well right now, so I will comment on the things that they are doing right. I will try and see if they are doing something wrong, but it will be tough!
In the first photo you can see that Blake Baggett is forward on the seat, his foot is off the ground and is close to the bike, he has one finger on the clutch, his head is up and slightly turned to the right, so he can see where he wants to go. These are all techniques you need to make a turn go smoothly.
Just for fun, I will get a little picky. You can see his index finger is pointing out, it's not on the brake lever, but it's not on the throttle either. It's hard to say at what point of the turn he is in because we do not have a series of photos. This could be the first 25 percent of the turn, and he is in the process of getting that finger wrapped around the throttle. Some trainers/coaches actually teach you to use the front brake in the turn, so the front tire stays in the rut. This does work if you want to become a really good C rider. But riders at Baggett’s level have the throttle on all the way through the turn. Trainers/coaches teach this technique because it is very easy to learn. I have made a couple dollars racing a motorcycle and have learned that when your braking is done before the turn and all techniques are applied correctly, you will have the throttle twisting all the way through the turn. This technique of dragging the front brake is only used as a LAST RESORT to save yourself from crashing.
This photo is cool because you can really see the dirt flying in the background. If he was slipping the clutch or dragging the brakes, the dirt would not be flying. Baggett does the most important things correctly: Off the Brakes, On the Gas, Trying to Stay Forward, and Looking Ahead. It is hard to see what his inside leg is doing, but who cares. He WON!
In every photo of Baggett, he has his finger on the clutch, just in case he needs it. On a four-stroke, you just need to tap it and the power will be right back in the sweet spot. If you are slipping the clutch, you are not getting horsepower down to the ground. He also has his elbows up, which gives him control over the front of the bike. In all the photos you can see he keeps his legs tight against the bike. This is important because it helps keep you connected to the bike, and it helps keep the bike tracking in a straight line. The faster you go, the more you will need to squeeze the bike with your legs and knees.
The last photo shows Baggett in the air adjusting his body position and getting ready for the landing. He gets himself forward in the air, so when his tires touch down, he will be in the proper position to really open up the throttle. Amateurs have a problem with this in the beginning because they think it is scary being this far forward. Once they get used to it, they love it because it helps keep the bike level, and it helps you get on the gas hard when you land. When riding a motorcycle you always have to be thinking ahead. Baggett gets himself in the right position BEFORE he lands.
Now to Ryan Dungey. Blake Baggett can ride a bike and is very fast, but he does not look as good as Dungey. Dungey does the important things right, and he also does the small things right. He does so many things right, he must have a high IQ. He reminds me of Kevin Windham, who is also smarter than the average rider.
This is a perfect photo of him at the exit of a turn. He has his butt so far forward on the seat, he doesn't have to bend his back to have his head over the handle bars. All your weight is in your butt, not your head. Some riders will sit in the middle of the seat, then really lean forward to get their head over the handle bars. Not good. Your weight is too far back and you will look awkward trying to get your head over the bars. You have to be this far forward because the bikes are so fast now. You can’t use your upper body alone to stay forward. You need to use the ball of your outside foot and apply a lot of pressure to the outside peg.
Pushing with that outside leg along with your upper body will help you stay in that forward position when you are exiting the turn. Weighting the outside peg also serves other purposes. In this photo, there doesn't seem to be a good rut at the exit of the turn, so weighting the outside peg helps give him better traction. It also helps when you have a lot of acceleration chop. When the exit of a turn gets rough, I press down on the outside peg and lift my butt just a little off the seat. This lets the bike work beneath me. That is why you need a lot of leg strength to ride a dirt bike.
In this photo you can tell Dungey is off the throttle. He is not on the brakes, but you can tell he is slowing down for something by his body position. Just like Baggett, Dungey has his legs and knees tight against the bike. When slowing down this helps you maintain control over the bike. Squeezing the bike with your legs and knees around the rear shock area help maintain control over the rear of the bike. Dungey's elbow position and head position also help maintain control over the front of the bike.
Here Dungey is leaning the bike over just a little to scrub off some speed. When scrubbing off the jump, notice how his body position is more in the center of the bike. It is hard to comment on this photo because I can't see what's after the jump or how big the jump is. Most likely, he will probably take a deep breath in the air and start adding up all the bonus money he is making.
Ryan Dungey must be a photographer's dream! Not only does his gear match the bike, but he is always in the right position. Ryan stays forward on the seat, keeps his leg straight out and off the ground, and is consistently on the gas. Like I mentioned earlier, he is on the ball of his foot, weighting the outside peg and is always looking ahead. You can tell he is in a rut, and notice how his back is square with the bike. This is how you want to look when going through a rut. His right elbow might be a touch low, but I think he does this to make us slower riders feel better about ourselves. Too perfect is a turn off!
Both Baggett and Dungey are great riders, but they could both learn something from each other. Baggett needs to be more precise like Dungey. Dungey needs to hang it out a little more like Baggett. You know that if Ryan Villopoto was racing, he would be hanging it out and giving Dungey a run for his money.
It has been a pleasure commenting on these two great riders. If you would like more info about my riding classes, feel free to contact me at Travisprestonmx.com
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and with that last line, a perfect intro for BillC to chime in.,..
No- Dungey does not need to 'hang it out more'. just keep it on 2 wheels and chalk up championships
Dungey does so many things right that he must have a high IQ? wth???
Some guys do everything right because they either work really hard at it, or they are naturally talented, or they have a high IQ, or some combination thereof.
Sorry, but that was a low IQ statement!!
So all of you douchebags are disagreeing with a guy that was a factory rider and won a couple Supercross races?? You are all tools that should not be allowed to breed.
HEY OFF TOPIC, CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT, IM TRYING TO BUY A CYLINDER FOR A HONDA CR 85, WHAT BRAND SELLS THE COMPLETE CYLINDER? NOT JUST THE SLEEVE..
i hope someone can help me out..
Preston was good but after he won his lites championship he FELL OF THE FACE OF THE PLANET CAUSE BUBBA SHOWED UP! Never was a top tier rider again!
@ronniebarnhardt tell your lady to quit coming over and trying to "breed" with me then!!
Hey Batz... ever hear of a Honda dealership? They sell parts for Hondas. OEM is almost always the way to go.
Just got done re watching the first 2 moto's on Fuel, Man taht Bestwick I had to turn the volume down when I was on the bike riding indoors............ I think he should be relagated back to just following Tiffany Simmonds around and towel her off when needed.....Bring back Art Eckman,David Bailey and always throw in a past ex Pro MX'er for Shits and Giggles!!!!
@ronniebarnhardt
Did you doing any good at Polka Dots a couple of weeks back!!!!!!!!!!
@ronnie: hahahaha! only 2 people wrote before you did and you say "all of you guys" like it's a ton of people! And, I just disagreed with one point he said.
Geez, not get any last night cuz your woman was with yogi13?
@batz ..just have it plated...your on the internet ..type in cylinder plating...your welcome.......now before scrub-nuts manifesto begins....how hard are RD5 and Baggett riding? those 2 are flat laying it down...and RD is trainerless ....just does it ...so impressive.....Mike Alessi needs to possibly modify his riding style to either of these guys and I believe it would help him...I appreciate how hard he trys and rides but his style on the bike is clunky at best and the straight stiff leg looks dangerous...nice article Travis..
Thanks folks i was actually looking for a aftermarket brand that sell them.. dealers are to expensive.. http://www.cylinder-works.com/ if someone is in my same situation..
later!
Hey Travis, sure miss your zany wit on the podium speeches.
yogi13, Bubba is around because of the gift T.P. gave him after he pulled in front of him on the back side of a (blind) double jump after leaving (and re-entering) the track in typical JS fashion, out of control. JS is lucky to have motor function after that bit of brilliance. More important is that T.P. was (relatively) uninjured in the wreck. Suppose T.P. ended up in a wheelchair? Just a racing incident? Forgive and forget?
Mr. Preston, I don't know what you said after the wreck but, the restraint you showed was comendable. "A beating" doesn't begin to describe what I would have given him.
Not long ago, "Professor" Gary Bailey posted a piece about this very thing, only he was referring to CHILDREN. A card-carrying AMA pro should know better. If they do not know better, they should be taught. If they continue to display disregard for other racers safety, they should be sanctioned until the proper respect is shown.
That wreck is one of the "defining moments" as to why I have such little respect for JS.
It was not my intention to go off on this post but, I've been held to task for being critical of #7 and yogi's comment was a tipping point.
I would like to hear, if possible, from T.P. his thoughts on the size of racers being a factor. He was / is one of the bigger racers out there and I'd like to hear thoughts from the horses mouth, so to speak.
Good article, more please..............."counting his bonuses".......a knee slapper.
@batz.....I had good luck with stock bore ported Athena kit through motosport. 2 years on the cylinder now. No problems.
I can't help but comment about weighting the outside peg. This is an internal force and does not give you more traction. Whatever your body does when weighting the outside peg is what helps but simply weighting the outside peg will not change a thing as it is an internal force.
It's funny to hear some of these idiots comment on stuff, and all of them don't have a clue on how to ride. Travis Preston is a champion they don't give those away. Everything he said about dungy and bag get was spot on
First off what I see is static photos in which he claims I don't know what a first happened and b what happened next IE: elbow is low ( maybe he was compensating for a rock or just just the rut) and for all you know ever things how many races did you ever win? Please go hate on something that matters or something else...
Great stuff, Travis.
Hey other dudes, in all the photos the riders are always gong to be making adjustments. Most of the reason you want to maintain perfect position on the bike is so that you are in a position (have ROM) to adjust the bike when something bad happens, if you can't (cause you're outta position) then you're on the deck! The weight on the outside peg (should) get your body to the outside of the bike. This way, when it slides, it comes back underneath you instead of out from under you (if your weight is inside or neutral), and, this way, you're balanced on top of the bike, your weight is actually pushing down through the contact patch of the tires (actually hooking up the side knobs) instead of pushing at an angle toward the outside of the turn if your body is leaning with the bike. This also works with the "forward on the bike" part. If your weight is on the outside peg you can still support your body weight with your lower body (and squat off the seat like travis said). You can "one-legged" squat forward to off-set the forces of acceleration out off the corner instead of hanging off the bike with your arms. This is how its supposed to work. You're gonna arm-pump yourself out in about a lap if you don't support your weight with your legs - and you probably won't be able to have weight on the inside peg in a turn so its gotta be the outside one. Happy one-legged squats in the off season.
I'm admittedly just a hack, so don't get your panties all bunched up over what I said. I am a big believer in technique, though, and have made enough money racing that if I added it all up, I could probably purchase a decent sized flat screen t.v. (on sale).