How To

Tackling Ditches Motorcycle Riding Tips with Ty Davis - Dirt Rider Magazine

February 24, 2009

It has happened to every dirt rider: You're bombing along a favorite trail, just clicking off the miles because you've got a great rhythm going, when all of a sudden reality pops up at the last second--there's a ditch in front of you, and you didn't see it coming!What do you do?If you're two-time AMA National Enduro Champion Ty Davis, you may be surprised but you don't let it overwhelm you into freezing--and crashing. You simply take evasive action quickly."You come up to it, you see it, you back off, you just roll it, then you get back on the gas," he summarizes.Why wouldn't Davis recommend simply wheelying into it?"It's an uphill climb, and when you're coming from this elevation and landing , it's just a real hard landing," he points out. Also, it's too far to try to completely jump over.Here's how the Yamaha racer does it.

If you weren't totally paying attention and looking well ahead, you might miss the big dip in the trail coming up. To make matters worse, it's in the middle of a bend. What do you do? Whatever you do, don't panic!

"As soon as I realize there's a ditch, I'm on the brakes hard," Davis begins.

"I'm off the brakes as I float it. After I realize the ditch is not severe, I let off and let the bike hug or follow the ground."

Notice that Davis is standing in every photo of this sequence so far. That's because you don't want to be sitting down when you hit the bottom of the ditch; your legs will help soak up the immense compression better than your back. At this point Davis gets back on the throttle, both to help soak up the hit and to accelerate out of the ditch.

"I noticed that there are big whoops afterward, so I try to hit the top and jump them," he says.