I have this year finally ventured offroad with new D606 tires front and rear with tubliss in both on my KLX351. I have never had any kind of dirt bike in the past. Sliding around a little bit on my mountainbike is OK but on a 300 lb. motorbike I get worried. First ride with knobbies was at a mototrials event and I kept lowering tire pressure down to nil but traction oft eluded me. One time driving up out of a stream bed where I was lucky enough to get my feel on the ground I put my *** as far back as I was able and got lots of wheel spin. Got out yesterday and riding pavement at 25 psi it felt like the bike was wanting me to fall and in the mud sliding a lot. I am used to road riding motorcycles, is this sliding and not hooking up normal with knobbie tires and I need to get used to it? Maybe I need to crash a few times to know where he limit is?The tires have less than 100 miles on them, will they improve with use like I have seen some commentors mention? Anyone else ride trials here? What do you got? I am saving up to get one next year hopefully. Don't know if I want vintage or modern or much of anything actually.

 

If you are playing around with "trials riding" - with your KLX351 - stop it !!!!

Traction is a subject that is subjective to every single person who rides.... What is absolute is that traction assessment and control is a hallmark skill of any experienced off-roader.. We use it to have fun with wheel spin, to know when to best gain speed for a climb, and to know when to keep the throttle conservative in order to not "spin out"/ loose control, etc etc etc etc ............

You don't acquire this skill with a change in air pressure or tire selection.. You acquire it the hard way- setting up with the best choice tires and best choice air pressures - for the environment you will be riding in - and, as with all skill development, practise in a precise and productive manner.. With a carefully conceived practice regime, you will acquire skills in traction assessment and control very quickly..


At any rate, you are in for tons of fun learning just what all you can do with your KLX351 offroad - I envy your newbie'ness...

 

Only reason I am riding some trials sections on my KLX is because I can't part with $3-5 for a used bike for a few more months and the trials thing has taken my interest away from the supermoto deal. Unfortunately the KLX absolutely sucks on a trials section, and I suck offroad on a KLX, but I still cleaned several novice sections. There is a guy close by that has a nicely resto-modified 74 TY250 I think I want. I drank some of their kind of kool aide and I want more. But, I think that I will just bring my mtb next trials meet for cruising around the loop and get as many test rides in as I can so I can form some kind of preference between makes and models of trials bikes.

 

I've seen riders start trials riding with standard off roaders. That is why there is a beginner class with much easier sections. I did see an expert who broke his trials bike mid event, borrow another rider's Penton 125 green tank ISDT to finish the event riding expert sections. Obviously not the hot ticket, but he got his points for the event. Trials tires are run at 3-6 psi for grip, getting the tire tread to wrap around rocks and such. More tread on the ground more traction, plus the actual trials tire rubber compound is really sticky.

It isn't unusual for off roaders to run 12-20 psi, tires need a bit of flex for grip and also the flex can help clean out the tread. Too much pressure and the tires lose grip easily. Best way to learn how to get traction is purely riding. Play a lot. Odds are good you will slide out, fall off, life of off roading. Just go out and ride trails, play flat track in a field, play around whenever possible. That is how you learn the limits. I learned a lot riding my T with the 4th ranked expert back in 71-72, he gave me some games to play to develop skills. I also gained huge skills play riding with one of the better hare scrambles riders in Ohio back in 74-75. We'd be cruising a trail and I'd see his back tire spit a bit of roost and the chase was on, or vice versa. Then you play race on a track, trying to increase performance and work on trouble areas. I call it play because, in spite of being serious about gaining skills, it was just plain fun.

I will tell you if you have other trials riders to ride with they are sincerely fun rides. I started with a Bultaco Sherpa T back in 1971 and actually still have it, but not riding it again yet.

 

I run full motocross *****, Michlin StarCross Medium, good in rocks!, pretty good in dirt. Trials guys (and a lot of desert riders around here) run trials tires, but I haven't made that switch.
Take your bike out on some flat loose gravel and practice flat tracking. To go fast you need to be able to ride loose and not freak out when everything starts sliding.
Whether trials riding or dirt riding, learn not to try and save the bike, when things go south, and they will, jump! The bike is a lot easier to fix than broken bones & joints. Just a lot less pain!

 

Since you're talking vintage trials, I thought I'd throw out a photo of my 1975 Honda TL250; I sold it in around 2010. I bought this in several boxes out of an old barn in South Florida and restored it with an eye towards doing some vintage trials with AHRMA...already had my number 4K. Ultimately I didn't to any trials work with it, but I did have a lot of fun with it in our local off-road motorcycle areas. It had a crazy transmission where the first three gears are super low...3rd was equivalent to a normal dirt bike 1st. Then the other higher gears were normal for high speeds, I guess between trails. Otherwise, it packed the basic Honda XL250 engine. It was tank, it was heavy.



On the traction issue, being a Florida Trail Rider, I spend a lot of time on really soft surfaces, including deep sand and mud. Generally, the way I think of navigating loose surfaces is by the old adage...steer with your rear. I would add that a lot of steering in loose surface conditions is acquired from pressure (in some cases stomping) on the pedals. Another adage that I try to keep in mind on soft surfaces is....momentum is your friend. Momentum keeps you on top and straight; let off and you're in the soup getting pulled in every direction. Whatever, the real trick is just staying with it and finding what works for you.

Also, I think it was John Penton that said, "If you're not falling, you're not trying hard enough." The good news is soft surfaces often mean soft landings.

Carry on!

 

True trials bike transmissions are exactly set up that way, 3 gears for the sections and two for the trails between the sections. The Honda TL250 WAS a tank for a trials bike, their TL125 was far lighter and actually better, in spite of being a 125. The best Yamaha was the TY175 over the 250.

Here was standard trials fare in the early 70s - including the lineman's boots and lack of helmet.