RavenR1

OK, I took my YZ450F out for the first time today and confirmed what I suspected.....I suck at riding in the dirt. The bike itself ran great; plenty of power, good balance and great engine characteristics. However, the rider had a real hard time transitioning from the pavement to the dirt.

First there was the whole kickstart thing. Where the hell is the electric start? Oh, and it would have been nice to know about the "hot start" lever a couple hundred kicks earlier.

Then there was the height issue. I'm ~5"9"-5'10" and consider myself average height. However, between trying to kickstart the bike without falling on my @ss and coming to stops in ruts where I couldn't even touch (and subsequently falling on my @ss) I was starting to think I should have gotten a YZ50F instead.

Apparently getting into neutral on a dirt bike can only be acheived if the planets are aligned on every third tuesday if there is a full moon. Thus I stalled it (and cussed excessively) throughout the day. I'm sure the riding boots I picked up the day before didn't help any, but they definately kept me from rolling my ankles on several occasions. I eventually figured out if I touched the shift lever ever so slightly I could find neutral (sometimes) which is completely opposite of the deliberate action required to shift my sportbike into neutral.

I did OK with the whoop-te-doos (sp?) and hill climbs (other than a few loops). But that's pretty straight forward...point the bike where you want it to go and mash the throttle. However, cornering or even basic manuvering was just about impossible for me. My tail end was all over the place. Completely bass ackward from street riding, but nothing a sturdy set of training wheels wouldn't fix.

All and all I looked like a complete idiot out there. Hell, there were little kids running circles around me. The plus side is if the old adage ("if you're not wrecking you're not trying hard enough") is true, then I was trying really, really, really hard.

Regardless of how pathetic I looked out there today I intend on going back next week, and the week after, and the week after that, and so on until I figure this sport out.

Waldo

You will have to let me know next week when your going out and where.

turbolq4

When on a dirt bike, waaay outta control is the norm. well compared to the street anymays. relax and let the bike do its thing, slower is faster

RavenR1

Will do.

stubby

Don't feel bad, I got my ass handed to me today, but it was still fun. Let us know next time you want to play in the dirt - and Waldo should be a trainer with all his knowledge. He'll help you out.