People are always looking for ways to make their bikes faster, wondering what can be bolted on, revalved, bored out, blinged up or trimmed down to gain some speed. But what I've noticed is every bike that's faster than mine has always had one thing on it-a faster rider. So I've become a big believer in motocross schools. In the past, I've taken three large group lessons and one semi-private lesson. I've watched a few videos, read a few books and studied Dirt Rider's Pro Riding Secrets. When the chance came to take three-time AMA Motocross Champion Marty Smith's clinic, I signed up for a one-on-one private lesson to get some real specialized instruction.
Marty's course sounded short when he told me it would only take three hours. I wanted more, but Marty has been teaching for 26 years and has found that students can only absorb so much at a time. It's one thing to learn theory; it's another to try to get your mind to break your body's bad habits.
The day started with Marty following me around the motocross track, evaluating where my riding technique needed the most help. He quickly saw what he needed to see, and then we were off to the cones. Yep, that's all we needed-two cones and a little patch of dirt. Hello fundamentals! It was amazing to have someone focus on me and direct my concentration to one thing at a time. That's the drill here-not to overwhelm the student, just eliminate one bad habit at a time. Being off the track really distills things down and allowed me to feel when I was doing techniques right, when I was still doing them wrong, and sense the difference between the two.
It turns out I was doing everything backward. My tendency was to sit too early during braking and stand too quickly on acceleration. So I applied the new techniques-or corrected my bad tendencies-and I was feeling pretty good. Standing on the pegs deeper into the turns was starting to make sense to my body, and I was "naturally" getting on the gas earlier coming out.
I was feeling pretty good about myself when Marty pulled me aside and asked, "Do you know how to shift?" Now I'm just a vet novice, but I've certainly been through all four gears on my '09 YZ125 a time or two. Marty noticed I was letting off the gas for each shift. In all the classes I'd taken, the videos and books I'd studied and the Pro Secrets I'd uncovered, there was never someone to make this basic observation. I didn't know how to shift!
America's first 125 MX champion...
America's first 125 MX champion was known for his smooth and fluid style.
Marty showed me the drill-right wrist locked, two fingers on the clutch and lift my whole foot up to catch the next gear (when I was sitting). Simple in theory, but my body knows what it knows and doesn't always do what it's told. Power shifting was so foreign to me that all the missed gears and overrevving started to sound like someone was murdering a flock of ducks.
With just a few techniques to work on, it was back to the track. Marty suggested going slower for a bit to learn the right way to ride, and the speed would come when I improved the basics. It was fun to try to ride with my new techniques. The private class approach helped again as it was good not to have any riding buddies there. Everyone has that natural competitiveness when their friends are around. But without them, my focus was to ride right rather than to try to ride fast.
The three hours went by quickly, and I believe I got more out of it than any other form of motocross instruction I've ever taken. When it comes to riding technique, which involves your entire body as well as a motorcycle, nothing beats having an expert's eyes focused only on you and where you're doing things wrong.