The June 2016 issue marked Dirt Rider's 400th issue, and to mark the milestone we put together 400 tips that might save the day, or just make the day go easier. We thought we'd show them to you again online, ten at a time, to help instill the wisdom into your brain so when the time comes you hear an expert bit of advice in your head.
Note: Tips that came from a specific source will have an attribute listed. Tips with no attribute have been pulled from Dirt Rider's extensive library of content, including back issues of the magazine, dirtrider.com, and The Total Dirt Rider Manual. Enjoy!
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Wrestling with a tire change? Make sure the side opposite from where you're working (on both sides of the rim) has the tire's bead resting down in the trough of the rim. It gives you more tire on your side.
Marty Smith tells his riding school students to stand for braking into a corner.
"The straighter the bar, the quicker the bike's turning will be. The more swept back the bar bend, the more the bike will have a lazy feeling turning." —Carlos Rivera, Ryan Dungey's mechanic
Don't overtighten your brake's reservoir caps; it can crush the cap and pinch the vent slots underneath.
Dirt bikes are designed to handle properly when you're accelerating. Unless you're braking, you should be accelerating.
When reinstalling a gas tank sometimes you need to squeeze it in a little if your bike has a backbone frame; the tank can expand a little while it's off the bike.
"I see a lot of guys wearing through the bottom of their chain guide because they don't realize it's doing that. You've got to keep an eye on all those things." —JGR Team Manager Jeremy Albrecht
When installing a new cable, route the new one along the old one before pulling the old one out.
In cold weather, try wearing rubber "surgeon" gloves under your riding gloves. Your hands will sweat but be protected from wind.
You put your inside leg out to weight the front, not to help with balance. Get it out there and keep it in close to the front axle, not out like an outrigger.
