A Freestyle motocross jump

Stunt tricks and fine FMX jumps.

Doing a freestyle motocross jump yourself and watching one completed on TV can seem like two different things. But don’t get disheartened as the professionals once started as beginners too. When starting on freestyle jumping its critical your dirt bikes up to the job. Your suspension must be tip-top and perhaps get yourself some closeout motocross gear and the best helmet you can afford.

Freestyle dirt bikes are not only fun, but you can become an FMX hero and super jumper. Freestyle motorbikes are becoming massively popular, and these FMX movies prove it below. The world FMX fanclub is growing and the motorcycle freestyle bike is the star!

Freestyle Motocross Jump steps

Performing a freestyle motocross jump is definitely a dangerous stunt, but if you want to be more successful it helps to know how to land safely.

1. Be sure all your gear and clothing isn’t damaged in any way – same for the bike. Also be sure your bike isn’t miss-firing or has any fuel issues. Warm up your bike, and be sure you have plenty of pressure in those tires.

2. If you’ve done it right the ramps will be at the correct angles and your landing ramp will be nice and soft, with fresh dirt. If it’s compacted over time, you need to loosen that up. Be sure your landing ramp is large enough to hit, without too much adjustment and your take-off ramp has no bumps or undulations – smooth them out if so.

3. You and your fmx bike need to be in harmony, so ride past the ramp at the right speed to get the feel of what your about to do. Do this a couple of times, and each time get the feel of the bike and the engine, is it all feeling good? If not stop and check.

4. On the take-off, firstly monitor your speed, which should be spot-on. Then look where you’re landing and sit yourself over the bike, but not over the handlebars. Lock your feet to the bike and begin to relax your body (slightly) as you hit the dirt landing area.

5. Take adjustments while in the air, and don’t do anything fancy on your first couple of jumps, you need to be getting the basics right first.

6. Ideally you need to be landing as horizontal as possible, with your rear tyre just kissing the dirt before your front tire. If your weight is evenly distributed you won’t be forcing your bike to dig-in anywhere either. Also never slow down to a stop, you still need some speed to execute a perfect landing and exit.

Lesser-known Features of a Freestyle Motocross Jump.

The death of fmx competitor Jim McNeil during practice for an exhibition of the 2011 Boost Mobile FreestyleMX.com Worldwide Tour at Texas Motor Speedway has once again emphasized the important truths that freestyle motocross is dangerous, regardless of the level of skill, and sometimes your bike fails. The excitement and challenge of fmx and a freestyle motocross jump are what make the sport so popular to fans and participants.

One of the most important parts of a freestyle motocross jump is having the proper gear, made with quality materials and manufactured by a reputable company. Just as some of the generic brands of canned soup are not as hearty and tasty as the brand names, safety gear has different levels of effectiveness and manufacturing standards. While most of us will never get road burn or broken ribs because the soup is cheap, the danger from cheap closeout gear is a different story.

If you find closeout discounts on top quality gear that is a bargain. Closeout bargains on cheap gear are never a bargain if they fail to protect your body and life because of careless assembly or inadequate material. Go with the best and remember that some nations ignore copyrights and imitate the best, using similar or exactly the same name. If a freestyle motocross jump has you hanging upside down twenty to thirty feet in the air you want a helmet that fits right and stays snug under your chin, not one that falls to earth shortly before you do.

Traction and stamina are ultimate tire features for a freestyle motocross jump and some of the brands to consider are General Tires, one of the sponsors of the Boost Mobile Freestyle MX Tour, Pirelli, a name that represents tire stability and optimum handling on all types of terrain, and Dunlop's premium MX51 tires.

When you are at an event like the Boost Tour, check the tires riders like Mike Mason, Travis Pastrana, Kenny Bartram and Dustin Miller have on their bikes. Whether you are in Dover, Delaware, Reno, Nevada, or Miami, Florida watching the action, you will get a good idea of what types of tires work best in certain conditions.

You have heard, read and watched tips about making your bike ready for MX events and if your bike could talk, it would give you some tips about riding and being prepared for action. The first tip would be a hit by another rider hurts, so watch out for others, especially those who are just learning technique. It is easy for a new rider to bounce out of line when hitting a dip or bump, causing a temporary loss of control and if you are alert, you can safely avoid a collision.

Watch how others take the ramp. Practice jumping until you get it right and gradually increase the landing distance. Because bikes sometimes react differently once they leave the ramp, stay relaxed to make it easier to adjust properly. Holding or correcting the direction while in the air might mean shifting your weight slightly. Anticipating a landing and staying loose helps ensure traction when the bike lands. Like every other technique in motocross, practice is the key to a successful freestyle motocross jump.

Videos......

Are you a FMX rider catching air on your motorcycle tires? Or are you a spectator getting into the FMX style? See some FMX rider moves below, can your dirt bike motorcycle do these stunts? If not don’t try until your experienced enough.

With tons of FMX videos and specialized freestyle clips on the web it can be difficult to pick some classics out from the crowd. We have attempted to capture the FMX sport and the mad spirit with this selection of jump videos below.

Longest Dirt Bike Jump

Travis Pastrana DOUBLE BACK Flip

Best of Travis Pastrana

What type of motocross tires are needed?

When you go dirt jumping, what kinda rubber should be used?

Tires too are all important maybe you'll look at some kenda motocross tires or even some cheap non-branded ones for freestyle motocross jump events.

But whatever tire you buy make sure the store owner realises that you’re using it for JUMPS and they should recommend the ideal one for your model of bike.

If you’re going to be landing on dirt (which most riders do) – you won’t be – or shouldn’t be - using supermoto tyres as they have very little grip.

Eventually you will find a brand that works for you, such as Michelin, Dunlop and Bridgestone. When you’re practicing jumps you'll need all the safety clothing you can, and don’t be tempted to jump without a helmet.

Closeout motocross gear

MX helmets are suitable for most freestyle motocross jump work, you just have to follow the basics of ensuring the helmet is snug on your head, and it’s a quality brand. If you ever should land on your nut, scraping your face on the soil (even on soft dirt) – consider getting another motocross helmet as the integrity will be compromised.

Quality closeout gear is great for fmx riders, but you need to have sufficient movement in your clothing, and it’ll need to be strong enough if you land heavily - after a bad jump.

If anything closeout gear is perfect for the beginner as rips, snags and tears are bound to happen while you’re perfecting your aerial combinations.

Once they are perfected you can buy an expensive show suit for the crowds, and keep your closeout gear for new moves that might see you eating dirt with no-one around.

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