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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In the garage, get the rear wheel off the ground and push sideways on it to feel for possible wheel bearing or swingarm pivot play.
Scope out passing lines during practice.
On corner exits, you can yank back on the handlebar to weight—and therefore get more traction at—the rear wheel.
When easing though technical sections, look ahead to help keep a reference point to help balance and to pick the best line.
For MX starts you want both feet down, in front of the pegs.
If your bike gets headshake, staying on the gas and applying the rear brake can sack out the back end, take weight off the front, and help you regain controL.
It's okay to overinflate a tire to get the bead to set. You can go above 60 psi.
Many two-strokes have ignition timing adjustment. Advancing it will make the bike rev faster down low and sharpen throttle response.
Paint will destroy EPS foam. Don't rattle-can your lid.
Be sure your tire's bead fully seats (the edge of the tire settles into the rim uniformly around the rim on both sides). The pros use tire paste (you can use Windex) to help it slip into place as you air up the tire to set the bead.
