Unless you have trials experience, steep banks may be unfamiliar territory. Six-time AMA National Enduro champion Mike Lafferty was only too happy to demonstrate and share his techniques. It takes precise timing more than raw speed. Follow along and remember to practice in approved areas.
"[I approach it with] both feet on the pegs," he begins. "I also have one finger on the clutch, and I accelerate at the bottom, just enough to get my bike to wheelie and get the front end to just touch the top [of the bank].
"As soon as [the bike touches] the top, I kind of let off [the throttle] and use the momentum to push me up. Once I have the front end [fully] on top of [the bank], then I accelerate across the top.
"Once you get right there, [the frame hitting the top edge of the soft bank will] blow it out a bit, and you'll have enough momentum to propel you forward to just get the rut [started] and push [the bike] up." As you can see in the photos, Lafferty lets off for only an instant-enough to make sure he doesn't loop out-then gets back on the gas.
Lafferty cautions, "If you're going too fast [on the approach], you're just going to hit the bank, and [the bike will] rebound back and you won't be able to get on [top of] anything. If you approach really slowly and get the front end to crest the top and have a little momentum, you're there. It sounds easy enough." He uses first or second gear, depending on how tall the bank is. If it's not too tall, first is fine; for taller banks, second is often required.
"The big part of it is that [the dirt] is soft," he adds. "If it was hard, the front end would hit it and bounce off and up out of the way, and it'd be hard to get the back end to track."