Answer Racing Moto Tip | Sloppy Conditions

Answer Racing Moto Tip | Sloppy Conditions

Presented by Answer Racing

Welcome to the new Answer Racing Moto Tips feature! Answer Racing has been producing the highest-quality motocross and off-road gear since 1976, and this month launched its new line of 2020 apparel. With riders like Alex Martin, Kyle Peters, Ryan Villopoto, Nick Wey, and Mike Sleeter flying the Answer flag, there is a wealth of knowledge and know-how when it comes to riding a dirt bike efficiently and effectively in the Answer camp. Each week, Answer will bring you some riding tip to help you become better at the sport you love! Have a specific skill you’d like to improve? Comment below and we will cover it in a future post!

Muddy and sloppy conditions are a very real part of racing in our sport. Whether it’s from inclement weather or an overzealous water truck driver, riding in the sloppy stuff requires a different approach both physically and mentally. There were more than a few muddy motos throughout the 2019 Lucas Oil MX Nationals this past summer, including the Spring Creek National, home of our very own Alex Martin. We asked the Yoshimura/JGRMX/Suzuki Factory Racing rider for some pointers on mud riding.

“One of the most important things about riding and racing in the mud doesn’t even involve riding technique,” says Martin. “It has to do with your attitude. If you are thinking, ‘oh this is going to suck,’ or, ‘I don’t ride well in the mud,’ you are already in trouble before you even put your helmet on. There are guys like Aaron Plessinger who are all smiles looking up at the sky when the weather is bad…those kinds of guys who look forward to riding in bad conditions are the ones who already have an advantage. Everyone has to race in the same conditions, so make the most of it and have a good attitude. It’s just another obstacle on the track that you cannot control.

“Jeremy and I grew up in Minnesota where there is plenty of wet weather, so I would say that experience is definitely an advantage as we spent lots of time riding in mud. Maybe not as much as Ryan Villopoto up in the Pacific Northwest, but we did ride in bad conditions plenty.

“One of the main things that you have to be prepared for is the bike doing whatever it wants beneath you. Muddy conditions are unpredictable and you have to be ready for anything, the bike will go left, right, up and down on its own it seems. There are so many times during a mud race when you are positive that you are going to crash, but somehow by the grace of God you don’t. (Laughs)

“Proper riding technique in normal conditions is to grip the bike with your knees and maintain control of it, but you want to ride much looser in mud. Ride with a softer grip on the bike and let it do what it wants to beneath you. The tighter you grip the bike, the more your body will get knocked off balance when the bike does something unexpected. Riding tight will also wear you out quickly, as trying to muscle around a bike that’s weighed down by mud is no easy task.”

“There are also different types of mud. At Spring Creek, the mud is sandy and you can get away with sort of paddling your way around the track or dragging your feet to maintain your balance,” says Martin. “But if it’s clay mud like Unadilla is, you want to do everything you can to keep your feet up because that kind of mud sucks your boot in and almost swallows you up.

“There are lots of things you can do with bike prep to help keep mud from building up and weighing your bike down. I know the team adds foam in between the shift lever and engine cases, and pretty much everywhere between the skidplate and engine. In really bad conditions they will put mech in front of the radiators so they don’t pack up with mud and cause the bike to overheat. Spraying something slippery beneath the fenders can also help prevent mud from building up, whether it’s some sort of silicone spray or even WD-40.

“The thing to remember in muddy conditions is that it is out of your control and you have to just make the best oft he situation. Keep an open mind, stay loose, and have fun!”