Rugged North - Content

by Gary Semics

4 Day Training Course
Day: 4 of 4 -- “Whoops”
Written By: Gary Semics

Whoops:

Whoops, at least big whoops, have to be one of the most difficult things in motocross and supercross to master. When you have mastered big man made whoops, regular bumps are child’s play. As we’ve been learning, all the aspects of motocross have a rhythm and flow to them. You have to work with your bike, not against it.

The same holds true with whoops, but whoops are so demanding that even though you are working with your bike, they still take some strength to handle. Whoops are by far the most physically demanding aspect of motocross/supercross. And of course, there are all shapes and sizes of whoops. There are big round ones, sharp steep ones, soft, hard, rutted, cupped and so on. However, there are only three different techniques to take whoops.

Of course, the same learning strategies we’ve been using for cornering and jumping should also be used for whoops:

First you have to understand the techniques,

Be able to do the techniques correctly, and thirdly…

Do them correctly repeatedly.

Now first, let’s separate and describe the basic techniques for whoops. Let me remind you that in order to advance to the level where you can do big whoops with speed and confidence, you definitely have to have the basics down. A lot of riders think they have the basics down but they really don’t.

Stationary Position Drill:

Some of the same techniques for jumping also apply to whoops so again put your bike on a good firm stand. Let’s get familiar with the central location again: stand on the foot pegs and take your hands off the handlebars… just stand straight up, like you’re standing on the ground waiting in line at the post office. Now just bend enough in your knees, hips, back and elbows to get your hands on the handlebars.

While you do this, you should remain as tall as possible and your legs from your ankles to your knees should be vertical. Your head should be straight up over the handlebar mounts. Now you are standing in the central location.

This is where all your movements should come from when you’re doing whoops. While you’re in this position, your knees should be hugging the sides of the M/C and your feet position on the foot pegs should be on the balls (between the toe and the arch). While you’re standing in this central location, feel your full range of motion forward, back and up and down as you will have to use all these movements in whoops.

As we’ve been learning you want to keep as much of your body weight off the handlebars as possible, and if you’re doing the whoops correctly then this holds true. But sometimes a little mistake can cause you to weight the handlebars. Because of this, you have to position yourself, while standing, to be able to take a lot of force both forward and backwards. This is where the strength comes in.

The three different techniques for whoops are:

1. Jumping through the troughs of the whoops (double, triple, quad or whatever),

2. Front wheel placement, and…

3. Skimming the tops of the whoops.

Depending on the whoops, sometimes you may use a combination of all three, two or just one technique all the way through a set of whoops.

We’ll start with the techniques for jumping through the troughs of the whoops:

This technique is the same as jumping. But when you’re jumping through a whoop section, you have to be ready to jump again as you land. You want to land just over the whoop that you’re jumping, with the front wheel landing first. With the bike at the correct angle as the front wheel lands first, by the time the rear wheel lands it will land at the same place the front wheel landed -- just over the top of the whoop. This way, both wheels will follow the complete trough of the whoops.

This will be a nice smooth landing that will allow you to keep your momentum up and continue jumping. A common mistake when jumping through the whoops, is to jump with the bike level, or worst yet, the front wheel higher than the rear. This causes the rear wheel to hit the face of the whoop that you’re trying to jump. This will slow your momentum, and you won’t be able to continue clearing the whoops ahead of you.

When you land in the correct spot, you should feel the G-out in your legs, and use your legs, body movement and throttle to launch the bike out of the trough and into your next landing. Pros will use the clutch and throttle together in order to give them just the right hit at the rear wheel to launch them correctly. If this is too difficult for you at first, just concentrate on throttle control and timing.

As you progress, you will be able to start using the clutch and throttle together. Check out my Semics Forearm Developer on my website (mxraceschool.com) for more help on this technique. The Forearm Developer will give you the coordination and strength to use the clutch and throttle in situations like this.
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A good way to practice this jumping technique is on flat ground. Try to jump the bike up off the ground by compressing the suspension with your legs. As it is fully compressed use the clutch and throttle, or at least the throttle, to deliver a hit of power to the rear wheel. A millisecond after the power hit, jump up from the foot pegs and that should lift the bike off the ground a little. This is the same technique you use to jump the bike up out of the trough of the whoop and make it land on your next target.
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Front wheel placement:

This technique is a little more difficult to learn, but not difficult once you learn it. It’s really the same technique as jumping through the troughs, but now you want to jump with the front end high and place it down where you want. Many times, this technique will be used when you want to triple three whoops but can’t quite get the distance.

With the front wheel placement technique, you can get the front wheel out further in order to clear the third whoop. If the whoops are small enough, the rear wheel doesn’t even have to clear the third whoop. It can just clear the second whoop, and the bike will straddle the third whoop. But, this is only as long as the frame has enough clearance.
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If the whoops are too big to straddle, then you have to let the rear wheel bounce off the second whoop and allow the bike to land over the third whoop on the front wheel first. This way, the rear wheel will also clear the third whoop. Even in the smaller whoops, when you straddle the third whoop, the rear wheel will hit the top of the second whoop. Don’t mistake this technique for wheelieing through the whoops -- it’s more like a jump with the front wheel high.

Skimming the tops of the whoops:

In many whoop sections, this is the fastest technique to use. With this technique, there is a commitment to enter the whoops with enough speed to stay on top of them. You also want to get the bike (both wheels) up onto the top of the first whoop. So, you will have to hop the bike up there by compressing and rebounding the suspension just before the first whoop.

Sometimes, you can find a little bump to do this off of. Or, you may have to do a little wheelie onto the first whoop. You want to float the front wheel across the tops of the whoops, keeping the bike level so the rear wheel also floats across the tops of them. If you don’t enter with enough speed, the rear wheel will drop too far down in the whoops and this will cause it to kick up hard, which can take your feet off the foot pegs. This is not a good position to be in as you may go on Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.

You will have to make sure that you are pulling back on the handlebars as the rear wheel hits the tops of the whoops. The farther the rear wheel hits down in the face of the whoops, the harder you will have to pull back on the handlebars. By pulling back on the handlebars, you will keep the rear wheel from kicking up, which would make the front end drop. These two effects would cause you to loose much of your forward momentum, and you would not be able to continue skimming.
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Looking far enough out in front of you:

You can’t focus your vision too long on just the next whoop that you’re dealing with. You have to keep getting your focus out there soon enough to anticipate what’s coming up. For example when you are doubling through a set of whoops you have to be looking at your next landing just before your takeoff. The same goes with front wheel placement. When you are skimming a set of whoops you have to be looking out ahead several whoops not just at the next whoop in front of you. You have to be ready for the next several whoops not just one at a time.

Take all these techniques to the track with you and remember the GS Three Step Method:

Understand the techniques,

Be able to do them correctly, and…

Do them correctly repeatedly.

You will become a better rider!

Gary Semics Motocross School & Videos - www.gsmxs.com

Published on: 2006-03-06 (882 reads)

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