AMANDA FORDYCE
LOOKING TO GET YOUR KICKS IN THE DIRT ?
There are plenty of ways to get out on the dirt on a motorcycle but where the hell do you start? How do you get to know the difference between off road and trail riding or start to know your enduro from motocross and decide which ones right for you? Arghhhhhhh!
So we’ve broken it down into a quick bite size guide to which dirt discipline is which so you can get to grips with every shade of muddy fun out there and make that big decision where you wanna jump in...
TRAIL RIDING
Basically trail riding/ green laning is some of the most fun you’ll ever have on two wheels. Its non competitive and if you find the right crew to ride with its basically like being transported back to being a kid playing out with your buds. Imagine ripping through fields, moorland, mud tracks and single track ruts a foot deep. That’s trail riding.
You’ll need a road legal dirt bike to do this (with a number plate etc) as trails in the UK = Byways. Byways are highways over where the public have a right of way for vehicles but they are usually used as places to cycle, horse ride / walk etc.
Its a dicey game getting to know where you can and can’t ride (and can also be a pretty political battle against other people enjoying the outdoor spaces in the UK ) but once you’ve got yourself on some rides with some more experienced trail riders and find out the perfect places ride you’ll never look back. You’ll have access to some of the most amazing riding the UK has to offer and test yourself to the absolute limit ….with guaranteed smiles all day long (apart from when you fall off).
Keep your eye on here for our focused trail riding tips blog post coming very soonz for a ton of info on how to get into trail riding!
KTM FREERIDE
THE BIKE
Trail bikes (not to be confused with trials bikes) can be any bike. You could go trail riding on any road legal trials, enduro, dual sport or mx bike, equally you could trail ride on an adventure bike or indeed a GSX-R1000. The bike needs to be road registered, beyond that ideally it needs grippier tyres and good ground clearance but truly the world's your oyster with trail bikes. One of the best bikes sited as a great beginner bike for trails is the KTM Freeride. Another great bike is the Beta X -trainer but you’ll find those a little more pricey. Want something more full size off the bat? Check out Honda CRF250s, KTM EXC 350s, Yamaha YZ250s and the Husqvarna FE250 /350. Want something for on road (around town) to also go off road on? Check out dual-sport bikes like the Kawasaki KLX250 / Honda CRF 250 or 450L.
GET INSPIRED - Check out these links to get your self hyped to rip some trails!
Need some more convincing?
…. Check out this vid from FOX where a bunch of homies take to the trails in Idaho (ok not the UK but it gives us all the feels of trail riding trips with our buds) 🖤
ENDURO
Enduro means riding or racing dirt bikes over challenging long-distance terrain essentially. Enduro derives its name from “endurance” because the races are typically long and span difficult and varying types of terrain. Enduro used to refer more to a cross-country dirt bike race, but now is pretty much used any time someone is riding on rough off-road paths. Think of it as more extreme version of trail riding with trials slow speed skills and navigating rough terrain and obstacles thrown in. It’s a novice-friendly sport with plenty of competitions going on all around the UK so chance are there’ll be a club near you.
Next up is extreme enduro or Hard enduro where competitions blur the lines between enduro and trials dirt biking with athletes battling it out on the worlds most challenging moto terrain. Wanna know more? Check out the Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo and Red Bull Romaniacs to get a feel for the pain fest that is Hard enduro!
THE BIKE
For enduro you’re looking at pretty much the same bikes that are used trail riding except this time you can’t really use any road going machine. Enduro bikes tend to be a sharper turned tool specific for the job and a lot of competitors go for a two stroke as opposed to a 4 stroke due to their extra poke to get you up and over massive obstacles but there’s a huge range of engine capacity making many, particularly older models, perfect trail bikes too depending on if you wanna compete or want a bike that could do a bit of both. Long travel suspension does make these taller and they should have lights and slightly larger fuel tanks than mx or trial bikes.
Check out these bikes - KTM 250 EXC, KTM 300 EXC, Husqvarna FE250 /350 and the Husqvarna TE 250i
GET INSPIRED - Check out these links to get your enduro on!
Wanna know more? …… Check out the best in the world compete at Hard Enduro below:
TRIALS
Trials is a slow speed motorcycle finesse discipline where riders navigate obstacles that seem impossible to ride over—think boulders, cliffs, waterfalls, streams, etc. Yep, NUTS!
When competing at trials you basically have to do all of this whilst never falling off and if you touch the ground you accumulate penalty points whilst getting through a section. Completing without touching is called "cleaning a section."
Trials is basically sited as the mother of all moto skill disciplines with many of the world best enduro and rally riders coming from the trials world like Laia Sanz and Graham Jarvis. If you’re looking for a way to start of riding dirt but are unsure about high speed stuff, trials is a great way to start out and there are plenty of great trials schools in the UK open for beginners lessons. We love Inch Perfect trials in the Forest of Bowland near Clitheroe but there are loads more around too.
THE BIKE
Trials is the slow-speed, very novice-friendly and a great way to hone your bike control skills. The bikes are categorised by having little or no seat, torquey power, lots of steering lock, soft tyres and are a good deal smaller than other types of off-road machine with no seat (due to the standing stance used in trials) .
Check out bike brands like - Montesa, Vertigo, Beta and Electric motion (kick ass electric trails bikes!)
GET INSPIRED - Check to some of the best in the game and some riding schools to get you started below:
MOTOCROSS
Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. Think high speed riding on a purpose built track with jumps, twists and turns in everything from sand to mud. Basically the objective is to simply complete a course in the fastest time possible whilst competing against about 25 to 30 riders.
Motocross originally came from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom and over the years has developed into one of the most popular forms of dirt riding in the world with different competition series in different countries. Being a UK originating sport MX clubs litter the UK as do MX practice tracks which all run groups or classes for novice and beginner rider so you won’t find it hard to find one. Also don’t be afraid to go try it out or be intimidated by the big tracks nd big jumps. At first you can just roll over them easily and work your way up. Whats important is that you call up your local track and tell them you’re just starting out and ask when’s the best time to come down so you dont show up on a high speed / experienced riders practice day. They’ll tell you whats up and maybe even throw you a few tips :)
Variations of motocross
SUPERCROSS - ”SX” is similar to motocross except the tracks are built inside stadiums, jumps tend to be slower but launch the riders higher, and events are run at night under the lights. The race format is timed practices, qualifiers, and one points-paying main event. This is a ”pro only” sport because the jumps and whoops (successive bump sections) are so technical and dangerous.
ENDUROCROSS - Sometimes referred to as "EX," EnduroCross combines enduro and arenacross elements. The temporary tracks are small like an arenacross track, but the obstacles are all offroad based: logs, water, sand, and rock gardens. The racing is done with a starting gate and qualifying system much like supercross. The events also hold amateur races on the same track.
ARENACROSS - Arenacross is similar to supercross except that the tracks are smaller so that they fit into arenas rather than stadiums. Starts are also similar, but the narrow tracks have a two-row start, with both rows leaving together from behind a single gate.
FREESTYLE MOTOCROSS - "FMX" is a contest of midair tricks judged for style and difficulty. Riders jump from steel or dirt ramps and usually land on large dirt mounds. Freestyle is a specialized form of jumping, and riders usually perfect new tricks by jumping into huge pits filled with foam blocks. Freestyle has developed subcategories like Best Whip, Speed and Style, and Step-Up (high jump on a motorcycle).
THE BIKE
Motocross bikes are similar looking to enduro bikes but have stiffer suspension and more aggressive power than equivalent engine enduro bikes because of the nature of the sport/ terrain/ jumps. Because the tracks are more aggressive the bikes are to match. A straight up motocross bike will also be non road registered (as you’ll only ever use it at an off road track) so you won’t be able to take it trail riding on roads/ by ways etc.
If you think you want to get into motocross specifically check out this great article by Red Bull on “How to get into motocross”
FLAT TRACK
In a nut shell it’s going fast and turning left on a huge dirt oval but what might seem like a simple idea is actually a super skilled and super fun way to get your dirt fix. Flat track (also known as dirt track) races are on large dirt oval tracks (usually horse trotting tracks) with high speeds.
The flat track scene here in the UK is run by the DIRT TRACK RIDERS ASSOCIATION and is one of then most welcoming and inclusive moto racing clubs in the UK with race classes open to beginners who are just starting out. If you fancy getting into it then definitely try out the mini bike class ( aka the most fun you'll ever have on two wheels!) everyone at the DTRA is on hand to give you a helping hand. All you’ve got to do is ask!
THE BIKE
Flat track motorcycles can have either two-stroke or four-stroke engines in amateur competition. Flat track bikes have front and rear suspension, and rear brakes. The brakes are what make it completely distinct from speedway, as the brakes allow for a different cornering technique. Four-stroke motorcycles dominate professional competition and depending on the venue, can be single or multi-cylinder. Check out the slides below for some suggestions of the different class of bikes used for racing :
GET GOING FAST AND TURNING LEFT WITH THE GUYS BELOW:
SPEEDWAY
Its fast, loud and its hectic!! Speedway is similar to flat track in the sense in that its a high speed, oval track racing sport but there are a few major differences. It’s a predominately team orientated motorcycle sport, where bikes that have just a single gear and no brakes race around an oval track of packed shale and dirt in an anti-clockwise direction. Four riders take part in a race over four laps. Riders use this surface to be able to slide their bikes sideways into the bends, this is often referred to as powersliding or broadsiding. When racing, riders can reach speeds of up to 70mph (110kmph) on the straight sections of the tracks.
THE BIKE
Speedway bikes are a unique type of motorcycle as they do not have brakes (!) , riders use the clutch as a mechanism for starting a race and for slowing at the end of the race . There are two manufacturers of speedway engine - GM engines are produced in Italy and Jawa engines are produced in the Czech Republic. The fuel used to power a speedway bike is pure methanol this allows an increased compression ratio to the engine which then can produce more power than other fuels therefore giving increased results including higher speeds. Bikes must weigh a minimum of 77kgs and by using the rear wheel and engine sprockets you are able to adjust the gear ratio, which need to be changed for different track sizes and conditions to get maximum performance.
RALLYING
Rally racing is made up of multi-day or even multi-week long events that are a mix of high-speed riding ability, navigation skills, and endurance over long distances. Similar to enduro / cross country in some ways, rallying is done on much larger engined heavier bikes that are better equipped to cover the mileage with larger tanks for better fuel capacity. With some races covering hundreds of miles, riders rely on a road book navigation system to find their way on a mix of everything from rough off road terrain to roads.
At the highest level of competition rallying isn’t for the faint hearted as the most famous rally races are cited as some of the toughest races on earth - The most famous of which being the Dakar Rally.
That being said you can get into rallying at all levels (even just for fun with one off events and rides) and there are many clubs and races in the UK to get you started.
THE BIKE
Ok, so the Dakar-ised bikes might look like something from space but they actually start off as pretty ordinary dirt bikes or adventure bikes/ dual sport bikes that you can buy straight from a dealership like say a KTM 450EXC or a KTM 690 ENDURO R. The difference between these bad boys and an enduro or MX bike is that they usually have a much larger engine than you’d want to trail ride / enduro ride with (450 - 700cc is most usual) thus weigh more. Basically you can buy a totally off the shelf body kit/ extra fuel tanks etc to rally-ise it and you’ll probs also need an engine retune to deal with the changes.