Love em' or hate em' whoops and bumps are always going to be a part of tracks and trails all round the world. Your enjoyment of whoops etc is determined by the technique you approach them with and ride through them. Which is why i'm here, to improve your techniques of riding which will in turn cause you to enjoy your rides alot more, even the nitty gritty bits!!
So lets start with something easy - GRIPPING THE TANK
As your in the attack position (standing , leaning foward etc) use your muscles from just above the knee down in both legs to tightly grip the tank on each side as you go over large bumps or whoops. Remember to hold on right til the end of the last whoop/bump.
The theory behind this technique is that just like your hands/arms and upper body stabilise the front end of your bike, the same can be done with the back by gripping/holding it with the bottom half of your body. This technique prevents the back end from bouncing all over the show which can possibly lead to falling off your bike, giving your mates the rights to a good laugh once yah get to the pub later on!
The next important trick to whoops is - SMOOTH/CONTROLLED THROTTLE
Basically you don't have to accelerate like a total nutcase over whoops as this will most likely cause you to overshoot the next bump and land front end first a few bumps down the track (which if the nutty riders that are reading this don't know IT IS A BAD THING!) .
So as you are going over whoops place most of your weight on the back of the bike and on the way down the first whoop give the bike a quick smooth burst of acceleration to compensate for the weight shift of the downward slope. If done right the bike should pull itself over the next bump and you should be in the perfect position to keep a smooth throttle position, and if needed give it a few quick bursts on a few of the bumps if you start to feel the front end dropping down.
WARNING - you will not be able to master this technique after trying it just once or a few times. It will take quite a bit of practice to fully master it.
Technique 3 - BODILY POSITION ON APPROACH AND THROUGH WHOOPS
As in all aspects of riding the position and weight distribution you place over your bike greatly affects the outcome of riding over whoops and bumps.
Generally the best way to ride over whoops is to place as much weight as you can on the back of the bike while still managing to keep an attack position of standing with your knees bent. If you can manage that your bike should stay alot more stable throughout all different types of whoops and bumps.
coming soon - Cornering Tips
Good Luck with succeeding in your riding, and remember the only way to get better is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!
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