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Handling and grip

2.8K views 29 replies 6 participants last post by  motoxracer943  
#1 ·
Whenever I hit any soft sand or soft dirt the back wheel starts to slide out from under me and the bike gets squirlly in the rear. What would make it grip and handle better? I thought about maybe going from the 10 inch tires to 12 inch ones would that help?

Any suggestions would be great?
 
#3 ·
X2 maybe try to lean back some and hammer down.

As for 12" wheels if your running stock suspension I don't think it'll work. The forks might but the swingarm I believe will be pushing it. It will make the bike more stable but if you have to upgrade your swingarm and forks for it to fit on top of the wheels is it worth it?
 
#4 ·
Yea true. What about a maybe tire with some more grip is that possible or do they make one. I mean the stock ones are pretty knobby so I don't know If there would be a tire that grabs better. Also Ive read about people putting a 12 in the front and 10 in the rear what would be the point of this
 
#14 ·
You should still be able to get them, check around some. Also post up a picture of your bike. You might not want anything larger than a 2.75x10 rear tire if you have a bone stock engine. Also, if the front end is still stock, you may need longer legs/hd springs to run a 12" front wheel and tire. That's another thing to keep in mind with your budget too, swapping to a 12" will require you to buy a 12" wheel, spokes, tire, and tube. If your bike is all stock I'd recommend putting that money for going from a 10" to 12" setup elsewhere to make it more adult friendly, then maybe do that down the road.

Just my two pennies though!
 
#15 ·
Yea now that mention it. It does seem a little costly for a 12 in the front. And yea the bike is bone stock right now. Another thing I was gonna ask is I feel like first gear on the bike winds out too soon so I read I could put a bigger sprocket in front or smaller in the rear to make it longer and give me some more top end but would I loose power in my first gear for hill climbing and power to get the bike through soft sand or would it still be ok
 
#16 ·
Smaller the front sprocket the quicker it's going to wind out. Larger rear sprocket will cause the same thing but not as noticeable per tooth change. If that makes sense. Idk how tall or how much u weigh so that will depend on how much u need to change the bike to be adult friendly. I have had starcross tires n they held up good on soft tracks. I did notice missing knobbies when I rode on harder packed tracks. Same thing with the Dunlop 756 tires too I believe the mx51 replaced the 756. Let me know how they hold up for u.
 
#17 ·
Yea it makes sense. I weigh about 250 and I'm 5 foot 9 inches tall. What I meant to say was larger in the front smaller in the rear. I want to get some more down low power and grip to make it through the soft terrain a little easier with out loosing too much top end power. Although after a few days now I'm getting the hang of it and it's becoming a little easier to control and not have the bike slide out from under me
 
#18 ·
Well good to here ur improving. If you think ur problem is from a lack of seat time I recommend Gary semics instructional DVDs. He is very monotoned and it can get distracting but he is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to motocross. And it may e harder to do some skills on a small bike the concept is the same. Body position and throttle control are most important part of mastering a dirt bike in my opinion. But as far as the bike goes I would change tires and sprockets if that is what u think will help u the most without braking the bank. But with sprockets the more acceleration u gear for the less top end u will have. With gearing it's always going to be a one or other thing. And what gear combo best for u depends on what type of riding u do or track lay out. A tall seat and big bars may help u with body position though.