Preparing for the 250r - riding technique?

[Auto_Demon]

ya i am 15 and i got my 83 250r last year and it didnt take me long to get used to riding it, just like every one says lean alot when drifting or making sharp turns and to get really used to how easy it is to flip, try riding on two wheels by leaning to one side and turning a bit to pop up the outer wheel(depends what side u do it on) and try to ride in a straight line and keep it balanced. have fun!

[Sparkplugkid]

Wheres the vids steven!! Its Yamaharules here nice trike you didnt even tell me you were getting one lol.

[stevensj13]

DUDE I had no idea you were on the site!!! I got a vid ready, I have to upload it. The sucker is loud man, I love the thing. Video promised tonight

[El Camexican]

lean intot he turn and steer it witht he throttle... you ride it like a dirt bike except you do not put your foot down...

I have to argue that "ride it like a bike" part. People riding trikes like bikes is what got a lot of them hurt and caused the ban. Lets not turn this kid into another statistic. Motorcycles moving at riding speeds turn by counter-steering, that is to say you turn away from the direction you wish to go and the gyroscopic forces created by the moving wheels will pull the bike in the direction of the lean you initiated when you “tipped” the bike. If you did not already know this get on your bicycle and “push” on the right side of the bars as you ride and you’ll see the bike goes to the right. Never ceases to amaze me how many people don’t know this yet still feel comfortable going 100mph through a set of curves.

Three Wheelers steer opposite of this as they do not naturally lean when the front wheel is pointed one way or another. There is only one exception to this and that is a full on power slide which I assume the guys here are talking about when they refer to riding it like a dirt bike, but that’s not something you are going to jump on a trike and do in the first 5 minutes, so please try it my way first.

Three wheelers are more like snowmobiles than anything else I know of which might explain why there was a lot less talk of lawsuits in Canada during the 80’s, God knows we all had one and the only guy I know that got hurt (and not that bad) was getting 5 feet of air under a Big Red a few moments prior to the crash.

So here’s the deal. Get on your trike, ride slowly and straight on some safe path and gently push the bars one way and the other and get a feel for what it does. You’ll find it reacts very slowly and unless you are on damp clay or pavement it may even push the front wheel at low speeds. You will learn to deal with this by leaning into the turn and “bouncing” the chassis with the clutch which will load weight onto the front wheel and help you turn, but be careful. Sudden throttle chops in mid-corner at speeds over 15mph will likely result in a high-side crash, another wonderful thing about traditional three wheelers (the new CanAm style trikes don’t have this problem). There are no low-side three wheeler crashes and when you do high-side the shape of your three wheeler usually causes it to come tumbling after you foot pegs, handle bars and all. Still wanna join the club? Read on.

Your worst enemy the first few hours you are on your trike is what I call visual fixation which is what cause people (mostly women, lets be honest here) to drive straight into poles, trees and other deadly objects. This is what happens when you look at what you want to avoid instead of looking where you want to go. Trikes make it worse because in a fear situation your brain and body will automatically default to what you learned on your bicycle and motorcycle causing you to do the opposite off what you should do on a trike. You must override your instincts with calm cool thinking until three wheeling becomes second nature.

All the comments about leaning into corners are 100% true, you have to lean because the geometry of a three wheeler makes it want to track straight at all times and the solid, two wheeled rear axle prohibits the front wheel from having much influence on the direction they are traveling in. Remember Newton’s theory of inertia from school? “An object in motion will remain in motion unless affected by an outside force”? I think dear Newt had just gone for a trike ride before he came to that conclusion. You are that force on a trike. They are extremely “needy” when it come to requiring driver input. There are some great videos out there, watch them and look at the body language.

The comments about keeping you feet up are right next to “Don’t point a loaded pistol into your face and pull the trigger” in terms of importance. Your sever your calves and break your ankles. If you must maneuver your steed in some way with your feet, get off and do it from the rear.

Now that you have a basic idea of how this all works in theory you can start having some fun. I recommend snow and ice if possible, but sand and mud are fun, safe places to start too. Start screwing around doing doughnuts, power slides and wheelies. Stand up and try to ride the trike on two wheels (front and one rear) Practice using your rear brake and your throttle to initiate a slide. Get used to every possible moving stance short of upside down, because at some point along the way you’ll experience it again when you least expect it and you’ll have to react. It will all come to you with time, just use your head and be sure to wear full MX gear at all times as you WILL crash at some point and it will be a lot worse if you’re in shorts and a t-shirt.

Be safe, gave fun, start slow, get fast.

[stevensj13]

I have to argue that "ride it like a bike" part. People riding trikes like bikes is what got a lot of them hurt and caused the ban. Lets not turn this kid into another statistic. Motorcycles moving at riding speeds turn by counter-steering, that is to say you turn away from the direction you wish to go and the gyroscopic forces created by the moving wheels will pull the bike in the direction of the lean you initiated when you “tipped” the bike. If you did not already know this get on your bicycle and “push” on the right side of the bars as you ride and you’ll see the bike goes to the right. Never ceases to amaze me how many people don’t know this yet still feel comfortable going 100mph through a set of curves.

Three Wheelers steer opposite of this as they do not naturally lean when the front wheel is pointed one way or another. There is only one exception to this and that is a full on power slide which I assume the guys here are talking about when they refer to riding it like a dirt bike, but that’s not something you are going to jump on a trike and do in the first 5 minutes, so please try it my way first.

Three wheelers are more like snowmobiles than anything else I know of which might explain why there was a lot less talk of lawsuits in Canada during the 80’s, God knows we all had one and the only guy I know that got hurt (and not that bad) was getting 5 feet of air under a Big Red a few moments prior to the crash.

So here’s the deal. Get on your trike, ride slowly and straight on some safe path and gently push the bars one way and the other and get a feel for what it does. You’ll find it reacts very slowly and unless you are on damp clay or pavement it may even push the front wheel at low speeds. You will learn to deal with this by leaning into the turn and “bouncing” the chassis with the clutch which will load weight onto the front wheel and help you turn, but be careful. Sudden throttle chops in mid-corner at speeds over 15mph will likely result in a high-side crash, another wonderful thing about traditional three wheelers (the new CanAm style trikes don’t have this problem). There are no low-side three wheeler crashes and when you do high-side the shape of your three wheeler usually causes it to come tumbling after you foot pegs, handle bars and all. Still wanna join the club? Read on.

Your worst enemy the first few hours you are on your trike is what I call visual fixation which is what cause people (mostly women, lets be honest here) to drive straight into poles, trees and other deadly objects. This is what happens when you look at what you want to avoid instead of looking where you want to go. Trikes make it worse because in a fear situation your brain and body will automatically default to what you learned on your bicycle and motorcycle causing you to do the opposite off what you should do on a trike. You must override your instincts with calm cool thinking until three wheeling becomes second nature.

All the comments about leaning into corners are 100% true, you have to lean because the geometry of a three wheeler makes it want to track straight at all times and the solid, two wheeled rear axle prohibits the front wheel from having much influence on the direction they are traveling in. Remember Newton’s theory of inertia from school? “An object in motion will remain in motion unless affected by an outside force”? I think dear Newt had just gone for a trike ride before he came to that conclusion. You are that force on a trike. They are extremely “needy” when it come to requiring driver input. There are some great videos out there, watch them and look at the body language.

The comments about keeping you feet up are right next to “Don’t point a loaded pistol into your face and pull the trigger” in terms of importance. Your sever your calves and break your ankles. If you must maneuver your steed in some way with your feet, get off and do it from the rear.

Now that you have a basic idea of how this all works in theory you can start having some fun. I recommend snow and ice if possible, but sand and mud are fun, safe places to start too. Start screwing around doing doughnuts, power slides and wheelies. Stand up and try to ride the trike on two wheels (front and one rear) Practice using your rear brake and your throttle to initiate a slide. Get used to every possible moving stance short of upside down, because at some point along the way you’ll experience it again when you least expect it and you’ll have to react. It will all come to you with time, just use your head and be sure to wear full MX gear at all times as you WILL crash at some point and it will be a lot worse if you’re in shorts and a t-shirt.

Be safe, gave fun, start slow, get fast.

Great advice once again. I believe you also helped me on another thread I have started about fuel mixtures and carburator tuning if I am remembering the username right. I don't know if your on the east cost, but theres a place about 50 miles from me called Busco Beach, maybe you read about it on the forum? Either way, its a really nice place with 1400 acres of sand, mud, trails, tracks, lakes, water crossings, hill climbs, ect ect. I figure theres no better place to spend a weekend learning than there, as long as you don't account for the drunken fools that think their invincible on their quads. I am planning a trip up there with a kid a bit older than me who has been riding trikes (250r, 350x) for years so I will have someone there to notice my mistakes and correct me before they turn into bad habits. I assume you guys wanna hear the beast run and get a good view of it so I will go get some video and pictures

[Sparkplugkid]

Great advice once again. I believe you also helped me on another thread I have started about fuel mixtures and carburator tuning if I am remembering the username right. I don't know if your on the east cost, but theres a place about 50 miles from me called Busco Beach, maybe you read about it on the forum? Either way, its a really nice place with 1400 acres of sand, mud, trails, tracks, lakes, water crossings, hill climbs, ect ect. I figure theres no better place to spend a weekend learning than there, as long as you don't account for the drunken fools that think their invincible on their quads. I am planning a trip up there with a kid a bit older than me who has been riding trikes (250r, 350x) for years so I will have someone there to notice my mistakes and correct me before they turn into bad habits. I assume you guys wanna hear the beast run and get a good view of it so I will go get some video and pictures

do you have ownership didnt catch it if you do or dont

[El Camexican]

Great advice once again. I believe you also helped me on another thread I have started about fuel mixtures and carburator tuning if I am remembering the username right. I don't know if your on the east cost, but theres a place about 50 miles from me called Busco Beach, maybe you read about it on the forum? Either way, its a really nice place with 1400 acres of sand, mud, trails, tracks, lakes, water crossings, hill climbs, ect ect. I figure theres no better place to spend a weekend learning than there, as long as you don't account for the drunken fools that think their invincible on their quads. I am planning a trip up there with a kid a bit older than me who has been riding trikes (250r, 350x) for years so I will have someone there to notice my mistakes and correct me before they turn into bad habits. I assume you guys wanna hear the beast run and get a good view of it so I will go get some video and pictures

Love to join you, sounds nice. I'm in Monterrey Mexico, AKA the recently recognized as the most dangerous city in the world (yea #1 Baby!) So I don't think I'll be able to make it this time. I sure would like to trailer my babies up to Trikefest some day and party with all other in denial rednecks like myself. Maybe I'll get to me you there some day. Have fun!

[stevensj13]

Love to join you, sounds nice. I'm in Monterrey Mexico, AKA the recently recognized as the most dangerous city in the world (yea #1 Baby!) So I don't think I'll be able to make it this time. I sure would like to trailer my babies up to Trikefest some day and party with all other in denial rednecks like myself. Maybe I'll get to me you there some day. Have fun!

Haha it would be a blast if we could get like 30 guys on trikes to just tear through Busco Beach

[dudethatssick]

after spending some time on a 84 atc250r and a 1985 tri-z 250 as my first trikes, it took about a week to realize the simple fact that riding a trike is just like riding a quad. the movements and techniques are pretty much exactly the same , just on the trike everything is MORE EXAGERATED