Turning around on narrow trails

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by T.Low

Pivot 180 whenever possible.

My brother in law likes to step off his Husaberg fe550, wheelie it into a standing position, then turn it around .

When on a very tight trail this is the only option.

[ADVJake]

not possible to do a on-the-spot wheelie on a long wheelbase LC8 in the dirt; at a single track dead end, you would have to lay the bike over and drag the front wheel around.

[DAKEZ]

Originally Posted by ADVJake

not possible to do a on-the-spot wheelie on a long wheelbase LC8 in the dirt...

Why not?

[Bill the Bong]

Tried to do the dirt bike spinning around thing with a fully loaded R1200GS Adv the other day. Just managed to make the chutch smell.

[VFR_firefly]

Some of these faux-dirtbikes might not be the correct machinery to take out on the trail. A fully loaded GS1100 on a single-track is like trying to drive a semi-tractor around in your backyard MX track.

Use the right machinery for the right job or suffer inadequate performance....

[viverrid]

If you want to goose it around with power, breaking the rear loose: try leaning the bike over more first. When leaned over, the "wheelie-ing force" will then tend to pick up the front wheel with a sideways component in the direction you are trying to go, rather than straight up. Also the rear will be more likely to kick out to the outside and not go straight ahead.

However, a heavy twin, people of normal strength would need to do it as a dynamic maneuver and then your timing would need to be perfect. Since the bike is too heavy to lean it way over and then stop and hold it while you figure it out, you'd need to start dropping it and then goose it at just the right time to get it around before it falls over.

Bottom line, personally I would usually only try to goose around my enduro bikes or my old DRZ, not my V-Strom. The last time I tried to goose around my V-Strom, it was in a small jeep rut, and I couldn't get the front tire to pop out of the rut. I just ended up plowing forward in the rut until the front wheel was up against the obstruction (large fallen tree a couple of feet off the ground) and the rear had dug a hole so the bike was grounded out. Luckily a neighbor came by with a Mule quad with a winch. He pulled me out.

[viverrid]

Originally Posted by Iwantabikesobad

...If I pull up the hill my feet wont touch the ground.

Sometimes (SOMETIMES) the trailside mini-topography is such that if you ride up the bank MORE (with momentum, before having to put a foot down) you can get either the front wheel over and on top of the small bank, or get the whole bike up on a larger slope, such that you can now plant the inside foot ON the bank as you come to a stop.

Then lean the bike to the other side, put the other foot on the bank, and back it down.

Sometimes.

[Reprobate]

I just pick up the bike and turn it around? What's the problem?

[whitham_wannabe]

If you don't like the power spin, you can always lock up the back and BMX skid it around most of the way before coming to a stop.

[kirbike]

Did the dirt bike spinning around thing with a R1200GS Adv today, but the ground was muddy and I'm on Annakes. Wouldn't have been able to do it it was dry.....I would've torn my ACL-less left knee right off.

[a1fa]

You can always brute-force your way out of things.

I tried to ride on the edge, and my rear tire spun out and dig a nice hole in the mud. I was literally stuck sideways. I got off the bike, muscled it around, put a nice stick below the tire, and literally used it as a step to get out of the mud. You can use your side-stand to turn around on tight stuff -- if you need to.

[dirtrides2009]

On my dirtbike, its put all the weight to the front of the bike, put your foot on the ground and hammer the throttle, but I couldnt imagine doing that on a heavy bike. Ive tryed the wheelie it up and move it thing once though, but I think the bike landed on top of me

[viola-tor]

On my KTM 990 I sometimes use the rear luggage rack as grab points. I keep a velcro strap on the handle bars to lock down the front brake and then I get around back and "lift with the legs, not with the back" and pivot the bike around the front wheel, about 12 inches at a time. It was the only way to fit the bike on an apartment porch where I lived for a while, and I've used it a number of times since in odd/tricky situations. It def requires some heavy lifting ability, since I'm basically picking up the bike, but I work out...

It certainly easier and faster to ride up the side wall and let gravity pull you back down a couple of times if that's an option.

I want to get good at that "break the wheel loose/spin method" but this thing is pretty heavy. I know it's possible even on the big bikes, just trickier I guess.

[Wildman]

Get it on a hill. Cut the engine in first gear. Use the clutch to control the bike backwards and round one way or the other so you're at 90°. Restart and ease the bike round at full lock with head facing straight back down the track.

No hill? Carry on going.

[Bobblehead]

What, your bikes don't come with reverse?

I use the wheelie trick with my pedal bikes all the time, didn't think of it for the heavier ones. I will have to try that.