ok you sand gurus

[kiwimonster]

   ive got a mx race coming up on the 20th and its a gnarly sand track. what do you guys reckon the best way to ride sand tracks, ive been told 60% weight over the rear 40% over the front. 

[jazg]

our track is a horrible sand track, keep up momentum and it wont soak you up! we've got a couple of corners that make a long turn against a dune and so many guys lose time there because they dont keep up momentum. as for weight i dono i think thats your feel! i sit on the back if i start getting soaked up but i also dont have a k5 or anything that big!! i dono how sandy your track is but we just had nationals and with that many riders the track got sooooper whooped out in no time was really bad.
my 2cents
hey if you keen check this out on google earth:
 34? 0'56.97"S
 25?33'31.60"E
thats our track

[Danger4u2]

Riding at Little Sahara State Park Okla. a couple of weeks ago,  I stayed out of the trails, just to hard to control.  Out in the dunes if you don't stay on the gas the front wheel wants to wash out when you try to turn.  In the woops hang on tight and put your butt up and back as far as you can, give it the gas.

[Dutch-K5 Fan]

  ive got a mx race coming up on the 20th and its a gnarly sand track. what do you guys reckon the best way to ride sand tracks, ive been told 60% weight over the rear 40% over the front. 

What kind of sand track is it? Dessert or a real Mx track.
Keep on standing in the middle or to the back. And try to keep the front end light and out of the sand.
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=aN4auq2sd0k

Dutch and Belgiums are sand specialists
Dutchie

[Good]

Spot yer rump just above yer rear fender and soak the bumps while staying on the pipe.  That's how we do.

[Platypus]

Anyone think a steering stabalizer would help?  I've never really riden MX just offroad but I there is a lot of sand here in the desert and a stabalizer definitely saves you a ton of energy and allows you to go a lot faster.

[BDI]

One thing no one touched on is your suspension set up. Because the sand gives so much under your tires it makes your bike handle like your suspension is to soft. most noticeably the front end will want to plow in the turns and the bike will want to wallow a lot. You are going to want to crank up your compression adjusters this will make a huge difference on how well your bike handles in the sand.when you start turning up the compression on your forks you will notice the bike becomes dramatically more sure footed. For example when I take my desert bike to the dunes I go up two clicks on the front and one click in the rear. If you have some practice time on this track I would spend some time playing with the compression. You should also consider your jetting the sand puts more of a load on your bike and a good sand riding style requires you to be on the gas a lot.  In the sand you should be on the gas hauling ass, as I like to say.

          P.S.you should definitely be running a sand specific knobby this will make a huge difference.

[Good]

Good points on suspension!  Not to hijack the thread, but what is the best sand specific knobbie tire out there?

[kiwimonster]

cheers guys for the tips i have just bought a pirelli 410 rear trye to try on the sand they are meant to hook up good on straight line but not so good in the corners but i think its going to be very wet too.  jetting i run 170 main 55 pilot needle in the middle at sea level about 10 degrees c. any tips on this seems to run and start fine.

[dsrtrider]

also won't have to use as much in sand becasue the will slow you down faster so use your brakes differently. 

[bunk]

For me personally every time I go to the dunes I always make my own little course and then just run laps.  Where ever I feel not as fast I just keep runnin that spot until I get it down.  It?s made it so whenever I go trail riding I feel so much more comfortable in wash areas, or sandy spots on trails.  Or in your case, a sand track.  Just practice, practice, and practice some more.  It always helps to have someone faster than you to ride with also.