Drop offs can result in a lot of sphincter puckering.
There's always the fear of going over the handlebars,
plus having the bike landing on top of you.
But a few handy tips should see you managing drop offs and short steep descents easily!
If there is a clear run off there's always the option of just jumping a drop off.
Simply weight the footpegs.
Apply a small amount of throttle.
And pull on the handlebars as if you were doing a small wheelie.
And jump the bike.
If it is a downhill slope don't get the front wheel too high.
It's best to land flat or even front wheel first, so you can get on that front brake.
Let's focus on doing short sharp steep descents slowly.
The first thing is to trust your front brake.
The more you apply it, the more your front tire flattens out and gives you a bigger 'footprint'.
Running less than 10 PSI tire pressure helps too.
You should be able to apply enough brake so that the tire is just on the verge of skidding.
While we don't advise doing a 'stoppie', you can see how Aaron is using enough front
brake on this slippery sandstone to keep the rear up in the air.
So trust your front brake.
Second, try to ease off on the rear brake.
Many riders treat the rear wheel like an
anchor and just lock it up on steep descents and drop-offs.
But this can throw you off line and reduce your steering.
As with the front wheel, try to always have the rear wheel just
on the verge of locking up for maximum traction.
Always have one finger on the clutch ready to prevent the
bike stalling if you do lock up the rear wheel.
Body positioning? Legs bent to lower your center of gravity,
and get your butt over the rear fender.
Make sure your arms aren't completely straight as you will still need to steer.
It pays to practice doing drop-offs as slowly as possible. It's handy when you have a series
of drop-offs on a steep descent like this. it will improve your balance and also help
when you have minimal approach and runoff areas with a drop-off.
With experience, you'll be able to judge on which drop-offs your skid
plate is likely to hit, and whether it matters. Your bike will often just slide over regardless.
Here's a drop-off where the Beta can ease its way over because the exhaust pipe is higher.
But on the KTM we need to make sure the pipe doesn't hit.
As mentioned earlier, you can just deweight the bike and jump when there's a good run off.
But otherwise we need to deweight the bike and stop quickly.
There are few ways to do this. Deeight the front end - if you already have the front
brake on sometimes just releasing the brake for a moment is enough.
You can also weight the footpegs just before the drop-off so that the front forks rebound.
And also pull on the handlebars if needed. You can apply throttle but the problem
is you then gain speed which is hard to scrub off if there are further obstacles.
With experience you will be able to just lift the front wheel enough to
ensure your pipe and skid plate clear. But still land the front wheel first
to get on those brakes. Ready for a challenge?
See our rear wheel hops video and try incorporating that with drop-offs as well.