The first 10 seconds is a great impression of my current riding style (including bike!)! Still smiling! Great video Bret, will drill these into my riding and practice. Also, nice seeing you on a 1290 SAR for a change! ;)
I thought the same thing. Crossing metal bridge grating feels squirelly and scary, but is best done at 35 MPH with a loose grip on the bars so the bike can do its thing.
Excellent advice. I'm getting older, 55 and I ride a TW200 in the New Jersey Pine Barrens mostly. It's a very sandy area at times. Sounds like my posture has been off a bit. I generally try to put all the weight I can over the rearmost part of the bike, which leaves me holding and somewhat "pulling" back on the handlebars. It gets me through the sand confidently, but I do feel like I'm working too hard. Gotta try his way. I'll watch a couple more times. Thanks! Informative video.
Watched 3/4 of the video and went out to hit the mixed hard pack with sand in our Florida beach town trails. This video tooooootally helped me. I zoomed through quicker and more confident than I did last time. Thank u
These are good tips because riding a heavy motorcycle off-road is not as easy as it looks. Any first time riders could be quite intimidated or discouraged.
The part about neutral body balance reminds me of the earthquake weightball principle in high buildings. Your body adapts to create a better weightcenter depending on how the bike reacts to the surface. Yet you always make things look so easy. Good thumbnail.
Hey Bret, always a pleasure to see your vids popping up. Sand riding is a true test for my beginner's gonads. Squeeze throttle, lay back, try not to close your eyes... it's all illogic at first. I learn a lot from your vids, keep it up. Hope cops didnt give you much trouble hehehe
I hate sand but took some training and can ride it. Not great on my 500 lb Africa Twin but survivable. Love the advice, stay neutral and grip the bike with your knees. I also find you need to stay on the power enough to keep your front suspension unloaded. If I need to slow down I use the rear brake but keep some power on. To me the key is maintain a steady pace with some power to the rear wheel.
I went for a ride in loose sand a week ago and I was exhausted after :20 minutes. I was doing everything you said not to do. Sitting, feet down, going too slow... With this knowledge, I expect my next sand outing to be more successful.
Bret I have greatly enjoyed your videos. It’s given me the mindset that I can always improve my skill set, and the confidence to put it in motion. Thank you for everything!
It's the same technique as riding through mud, in motocross - you have to 'attack' it - keeping up that speed and momentum = stability, control and smoothness.
Both Bret and Noraly posted on the same day. It's serendipitous both are in SA and posting on a very similar topic. (Noraly even mentioned the comments were going to be on her for going slow and sitting down but she did eventually pull on the throttle and stood up gaining a lot more control.)
I once aired down when I encountered loose terrain. Those days are over. I maintain full pressure until I feel I need to soften the tires, which hasn't occurred for a long time. Perhaps deep sand would warrant a drop in pressure, but with proper technique I've found lowering air pressure is over-rated.
Hey Bret please make videos frequently. Me and my rider group love your videos. We wish we can control even a dirt bike the way u toss such huge advs. Lots of love from India
Need to get out and practice this on my DCT Africa Twin. Wonder if it's much different than a clutch bike on sand? Good call on the police escort in SA. Need you around a bit longer for more videos. Stay safe!
Great video and topic. Rutted up sandy roads use to give me nightmares and I started out on my first adv bike I was duck walking and also crashing a few times. Now I'm better but still get nervous trying to move out of a rut on one side and over the center hump and onto the other side. It looks like the rider on the GS at 39 seconds into the vid, actually compressed his suspension briefly before he crossed the center hump. Is that a deliberate technique i should be using?
Great intro! I live 1 1/2 miles up gravel/dirt road an bikers won't visit because they don't like my road! It's even next road down from County Public Works an still not worked on but with grader! All your saying here is related to on my road in Washington State not just Africa! I think your the guy I want to ask a burning question in riding? My riders friends say it can't be done, but I got trapped in parking lot with windowless van backing up into my on coming path lane position, there are parked cars in more than one parking lanes on left that I need to negotiate! I'm not letting this van damage me! So, my body just took over! I couldn't stop in time so I transferred my body to right side of H-D, so my right foot was balanced on engine lower rocker arm mounts! My LEFT feet was standing on the Right side of narrow part of seat! I needed to balance, so I stretched out full body with right hand, arm raised like to Rodeo bronc rider! My body so stretched out back to balance my LEFT hand only had fingertips on throttle to just balance bike around on its rear wheel toward left around first parked car, then continue circle to negociate second set of parked cars, still standing up, stretch out on right side of bike! I turned down throttle an bike settled almost falling, so increased RPMs, bring bike back to balance, an turned around in a circle, then throttled up, straightened bike up an re-mounting seat properly! I'd like to see a great biker, like you, on a bike that can be laid down without damage, have this maneuver recreated! I know it can be done, I did it! (but not my mind, my body just took over instantly an this action is what happened an I saved my 100 anniv. edition H-D!) Thanks!!
This is where those low slung and preferably rearward over back wheel fuel tanks are heaven sent...low centre of gravity with a bike of 5 to 600 pounds without weight driving the front wheel into trouble... question whether these huge litre plus bikes are a wise choice
Thank s Brett. Always informative and helpful. Looking at your tyres, interesting tread. How do you find them overall, and how would you rate them as road, dirt orientated. Cheers mate. Keep up the good work and enjoy
I am not scared of sand so much if I am going straight than if I am making a turn. I think that because regardless of who you learned to ride from, relatives or friend, self thought, or thought by professional, they always tell you that sand on the road, especially round corners, is not good. I know, I experienced it going down hill on a bicycle and hit a pat h of sand around a turn. Talking about hitting the grounds fast. And no, I did not hit the breaks or tried ro changed directions abruptly. I was 14 years old but had enough brains to know not do that.
Top notch as always, Bret! Just watched Noraly - a.k.a. @ItchyBoots - do a similar ride in soft sand in South Africa. You two should do a meet up and share findings and ideas.
Bret I'm sure you rode through cowdungmud while here. I could stay upright in everything, sand, water, normal mud, any thing. But my neighbour's cows had a bottleneck in front of a specific gate. At that place, they stood around and poo were deposited. The next day they would trample old poo and deposit new poo. When it rained, that was the spot where I would go down every single time. Even my pickup could not get through. Cowdungmud is a sticky yet slippery clusterchuck. Help me ObiWan Tkacsenobi, you are our only hope. If you want lots of slippery mud you should have headed South to the Old Transkei. From Keimouth over the river North into the Transkei you find the most amazing muddy roads. Wonderful views and slippery muddy roads. Most awesome training.
Good one, yeah I live in the desert and all the roads are like this, the first time I road my bike on it I was totally lost. I have been riding road bikes for 40 years but never dirt. I must say I am a bit intimidated but I am glad you are putting videos like this I really want to learn to ride the dirt well, even if it's a little later in life.
When we went to Ushuaia, we hit 100 miles of loose sand with pebbles ontop, one of our mates didnt know how to do it, paddle walked it for about 3 miles, fell off, and broke 3 ribs as one particularly large rock pushed his arm into his chest.
@@marcmonfortegras8545 nah the luck was finding a random passerby to give him a ride and take his bike back to civilization. If he fell again he could have punctured a lung so riding wasn't an option. Neither was backtracking. The random passerby drove 100 miles on his bike, while he rode in the guys truck. It was a legendary trip, that i never want to repeat.
@@marcezs08 sure men, I was just kidding. I'm glad you found nice help out there. Next time you may be in the truck and you will be the guardian angel another person needs. Drive safe and good luck!
Come to South Africa. We have more than 5 miles of sand as you can see. No, seriously, we have it all. And we also have excellent training camps set up to teach you to handle everything that this continent can throw at you.
Hey @bret nice video as always! When riding two up do we have to stand up also? because if we travelling loaded and two up i think its best to sit dont grab with power the bars and let the motorcycle auto correct by itself
Your intro is a blast! You trying very hard to be an unskilled driver... made me laugh so hard! Great instruction video! Love it as always, keep it coming!
Hi Bret! Veru useful video, thank you! Could you give some feedback about your tires? Is it Bridgestone Battlax AdventureCross AX41? What do you think of them?
Great video as always. I am curious about what type of tires you would recommend in those conditions. I remember a video from your former life about the Mitas E07 and I would love to see an update on that.
Great video Bret!...but your acting skills (...like newbie paddleing) can get better!!!. In case of riding in very deep sand, how much PSI you recommend to run on a fully loaded 1290 SAR?...20 psi ?
The biggest is not PSI, are the tires! They never talk about it! Try to ride this kind of road with a Anakee 3, Torrance Next with 10 to 45 PSI,. You’ll be always on the ground. Even with 50x50 tires. You need knobbed tires! If you have ones, go to improve your skills. If not, stay at home!
Hello Bret , Im wondering if you could show us how to take a sharp turns in soft sand. Nobody did it yet. You can be first moto expert who make it happend . Tom
If you want text notification for new videos, text "Tkacs" to 888-306-7782 (now say that 5 times fast... "text Tkacs to"
A true master of his craft and great instructor who can teach what he knows and practices with a great sense of humor.
If you could meet up with Noraly and give her a few lessons, it would a classic video for both of you.
I pasted this link to Noraly's latest (along with three similar links from Motortek)
Super , just stole my thoughts it would be epic
Exactly
I don't think she really needs lessons anymore.
@@eefneleman9564 lol her offroading could use some lessons
At the beginning of this video, my wife looked over and said “what the hell is he doing?” My reply was “imitating me trying to ride in the sand”. 🤣🤣
The first 10 seconds is a great impression of my current riding style (including bike!)! Still smiling! Great video Bret, will drill these into my riding and practice. Also, nice seeing you on a 1290 SAR for a change! ;)
It is interesting how many situations are simply solved with, "Go faster than you'd think was safe."
I thought the same thing. Crossing metal bridge grating feels squirelly and scary, but is best done at 35 MPH with a loose grip on the bars so the bike can do its thing.
When in doubt, throttle out!
When in doubt power out! It might not be the right decision but it will end the suspense 😁
@@emrysjones5266 it sure will!
@@emrysjones5266 Jajaja muy cierto, sin dudas !!!!
Sand is what I dread, so this is really useful.
3:16 Whaaaat??? Brilliant!
I hate fresh mud
police at the end be like "what just happened, how this noob turned into a pro in a split second"
You should have seen their faces. The person holding the camera couldn't stop laughing
Sand has to be the toughest. You make it look easy when we know it's not, but at least you give us a direction!
Mud is tougher and more unpredictable.
Good points, Bret. Besides I do like your slogan: Ride with a smile, attitude matters.
Looking forward to your next vid.
Günter from Nürnberg/Germany
I love how you are able to articulate all the subtle experiences and movements in words so well. Learning so much. Thank you Sir !! 👍🏻
Slick move coming to a stop, putting kickstand down with out feet on ground
Excellent advice. I'm getting older, 55 and I ride a TW200 in the New Jersey Pine Barrens mostly. It's a very sandy area at times. Sounds like my posture has been off a bit. I generally try to put all the weight I can over the rearmost part of the bike, which leaves me holding and somewhat "pulling" back on the handlebars. It gets me through the sand confidently, but I do feel like I'm working too hard. Gotta try his way. I'll watch a couple more times. Thanks! Informative video.
Watched 3/4 of the video and went out to hit the mixed hard pack with sand in our Florida beach town trails. This video tooooootally helped me. I zoomed through quicker and more confident than I did last time. Thank u
These are good tips because riding a heavy motorcycle off-road is not as easy as it looks. Any first time riders could be quite intimidated or discouraged.
I thought it was impossible until I started watching UA-cam videos of how to do it.
The opening segment is classic. But all to familiar. 👍
The sand road always gets tougher when you have to make a turn in big deep sand on an adventure bike. A video about that would be cool.
The part about neutral body balance reminds me of the earthquake weightball principle in high buildings. Your body adapts to create a better weightcenter depending on how the bike reacts to the surface. Yet you always make things look so easy. Good thumbnail.
That is an excellent analogy Tiffany.
I love your video's Brett. They are always informative and well done 👍👍👌
Hey Bret, always a pleasure to see your vids popping up.
Sand riding is a true test for my beginner's gonads. Squeeze throttle, lay back, try not to close your eyes... it's all illogic at first.
I learn a lot from your vids, keep it up.
Hope cops didnt give you much trouble hehehe
Ya the cops would be doing a sobriety test in many parts of the world, regardless of sand.
Excellent tips Bret. Thanks.
I hate sand but took some training and can ride it. Not great on my 500 lb Africa Twin but survivable. Love the advice, stay neutral and grip the bike with your knees. I also find you need to stay on the power enough to keep your front suspension unloaded. If I need to slow down I use the rear brake but keep some power on. To me the key is maintain a steady pace with some power to the rear wheel.
Excellent explanation around the 2:20(ish) mark when you explain weight redistribution when encountering softer sand or gravel.
When you feel you loose control of the bike, drag the rear break for a small amout of time... the bike gonna be more stable and up right.
Amazing coaching session
I went for a ride in loose sand a week ago and I was exhausted after :20 minutes. I was doing everything you said not to do. Sitting, feet down, going too slow... With this knowledge, I expect my next sand outing to be more successful.
And how was it?
@@c_urrutia I still sucked. I just fell going fast. LOL! No. It was much better and like everything it takes practice.
@@c_urrutia Better, but I still need more practoce.
You make it look so easy. I strive to ride like you.
Thanks
Just this weekend while riding I was telling myself (“safest place is in the pegs”) a recent tip from Bret.
Should have watched this before I scratched the hell out of my 2022 and broke my clutch lever😜. Thanks for the lesson!
love the start , well acted
Thanks Bret, awesome help.
Bret I have greatly enjoyed your videos. It’s given me the mindset that I can always improve my skill set, and the confidence to put it in motion. Thank you for everything!
Thanks. I definitely need more practice in sand.
Another great tutorial video Bret. Love your work mate
As always awesome tips for deep sand handling Sir.
I have a deep sand crossing pending final edit.
@@BretTkacs yes sir i will be eagerly waiting for it....
This is full of great information. Thank you
Another great video!
Speed keeps it better, great vid!!
Thanks for posting. So next video is how to get out of the sand after dropping your bike?
I do have a deep sand wash video coming but I didn't think to do a "when it all goes wrong in sand" video
@@BretTkacs "when it all goes wrong..." is where i live. ;)
Great tips for riding on sand. I’ve been doing it wrong the whole time.
It's the same technique as riding through mud, in motocross - you have to 'attack' it - keeping up that speed and momentum = stability, control and smoothness.
Were you watching Noraly’s (aka Itchy Boots) South African sand dune ride this morning😂
I was thinking at the time I wonder how Bret would have done riding along that beach
Her bike was simply too heavy with all that gear and she was riding slow which she admitted.
Do you reckon she contacted Bret for a lesson while she was in SA?
Both Bret and Noraly posted on the same day. It's serendipitous both are in SA and posting on a very similar topic. (Noraly even mentioned the comments were going to be on her for going slow and sitting down but she did eventually pull on the throttle and stood up gaining a lot more control.)
@@oceandrew She never went down on the beach though! Even in the water which was crazy!
Australia, plenty of that outback...great advice!!!
I once aired down when I encountered loose terrain. Those days are over. I maintain full pressure until I feel I need to soften the tires, which hasn't occurred for a long time. Perhaps deep sand would warrant a drop in pressure, but with proper technique I've found lowering air pressure is over-rated.
I'm with you on that
3:18 smooooth operator... Awesome entrance!
"That's the police..." hahaha!!!
Hey Bret please make videos frequently.
Me and my rider group love your videos.
We wish we can control even a dirt bike the way u toss such huge advs.
Lots of love from India
Oh yes practical use for next weekend again!
Haahahhahaha --- the ending was sooo good!
The desperation dance as I like to call it, had me in utter stitches in the start. Oh my goodness
"It's just a road"... maybe for you Bret, for me that would be the highway to hell!!! Sweet video as always
If you close your eyes it all goes away 😜
The Long Way Down impersonation in the beginning was hilarious!
Need to get out and practice this on my DCT Africa Twin. Wonder if it's much different than a clutch bike on sand? Good call on the police escort in SA. Need you around a bit longer for more videos. Stay safe!
I live in N. Florida, ride a 1000 V Strom. Until I learned how to ride in sand, picked it up 100 times! Sugar sand is an art on a bike!!!
Nice to see u in South Africa Bret👌👌🇿🇦🇿🇦
Great video and topic. Rutted up sandy roads use to give me nightmares and I started out on my first adv bike I was duck walking and also crashing a few times. Now I'm better but still get nervous trying to move out of a rut on one side and over the center hump and onto the other side. It looks like the rider on the GS at 39 seconds into the vid, actually compressed his suspension briefly before he crossed the center hump. Is that a deliberate technique i should be using?
Thanks Bret, best opening ever! Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work, we really appreciate your tutorials! Kindly, Dennis
Hahaha I would love to have heard the conversation with the coppers ......I know how it would go down in Australia.
Very interesting and usefull video.
Great intro! I live 1 1/2 miles up gravel/dirt road an bikers won't visit because they don't like my road! It's even next road down from County Public Works an still not worked on but with grader! All your saying here is related to on my road in Washington State not just Africa! I think your the guy I want to ask a burning question in riding? My riders friends say it can't be done, but I got trapped in parking lot with windowless van backing up into my on coming path lane position, there are parked cars in more than one parking lanes on left that I need to negotiate! I'm not letting this van damage me! So, my body just took over! I couldn't stop in time so I transferred my body to right side of H-D, so my right foot was balanced on engine lower rocker arm mounts! My LEFT feet was standing on the Right side of narrow part of seat! I needed to balance, so I stretched out full body with right hand, arm raised like to Rodeo bronc rider! My body so stretched out back to balance my LEFT hand only had fingertips on throttle to just balance bike around on its rear wheel toward left around first parked car, then continue circle to negociate second set of parked cars, still standing up, stretch out on right side of bike! I turned down throttle an bike settled almost falling, so increased RPMs, bring bike back to balance, an turned around in a circle, then throttled up, straightened bike up an re-mounting seat properly! I'd like to see a great biker, like you, on a bike that can be laid down without damage, have this maneuver recreated! I know it can be done, I did it! (but not my mind, my body just took over instantly an this action is what happened an I saved my 100 anniv. edition H-D!) Thanks!!
This is where those low slung and preferably rearward over back wheel fuel tanks are heaven sent...low centre of gravity with a bike of 5 to 600 pounds without weight driving the front wheel into trouble... question whether these huge litre plus bikes are a wise choice
Of course they are a bad choice! If we made good choices we wouldn't be riding motorcycles
Thank s Brett. Always informative and helpful. Looking at your tyres, interesting tread. How do you find them overall, and how would you rate them as road, dirt orientated. Cheers mate. Keep up the good work and enjoy
Love the intro and beginning first 30 seconds xD
Very clear, thank you!
Bret is right, if you ride the back country in SA you won’t get far very fast if you can’t master those sand sections, because they are all over.
Another great video. I have definitely made all those mistakes a time or two over the years. Gear selection can also help.
Ride with a smile.... so cool
okay back to the trails for me this weekend.
great video, intro is pretty much me on sand haha
I am not scared of sand so much if I am going straight than if I am making a turn. I think that because regardless of who you learned to ride from, relatives or friend, self thought, or thought by professional, they always tell you that sand on the road, especially round corners, is not good. I know, I experienced it going down hill on a bicycle and hit a pat h of sand around a turn. Talking about hitting the grounds fast. And no, I did not hit the breaks or tried ro changed directions abruptly. I was 14 years old but had enough brains to know not do that.
Great video, thank you for the advice. 👍
Top notch as always, Bret!
Just watched Noraly - a.k.a. @ItchyBoots - do a similar ride in soft sand in South Africa. You two should do a meet up and share findings and ideas.
Full throttle...close eyes..job done.
Tips for riding in a mud please!😀
Yes, please...slippery clay mud. I was paddling on my GSA very slowly at times on a slick clay mud road in Utah near Moab.
Bret I'm sure you rode through cowdungmud while here. I could stay upright in everything, sand, water, normal mud, any thing. But my neighbour's cows had a bottleneck in front of a specific gate. At that place, they stood around and poo were deposited. The next day they would trample old poo and deposit new poo. When it rained, that was the spot where I would go down every single time. Even my pickup could not get through. Cowdungmud is a sticky yet slippery clusterchuck. Help me ObiWan Tkacsenobi, you are our only hope. If you want lots of slippery mud you should have headed South to the Old Transkei. From Keimouth over the river North into the Transkei you find the most amazing muddy roads. Wonderful views and slippery muddy roads. Most awesome training.
Good one, yeah I live in the desert and all the roads are like this, the first time I road my bike on it I was totally lost. I have been riding road bikes for 40 years but never dirt. I must say I am a bit intimidated but I am glad you are putting videos like this I really want to learn to ride the dirt well, even if it's a little later in life.
Great vid and good tips as always. I'm curios to know... Was that somewhere near Thabazimbi or Ellisras maybe?
When we went to Ushuaia, we hit 100 miles of loose sand with pebbles ontop, one of our mates didnt know how to do it, paddle walked it for about 3 miles, fell off, and broke 3 ribs as one particularly large rock pushed his arm into his chest.
He got lucky, imagine that happening after 70 miles paddling😂
@@marcmonfortegras8545 nah the luck was finding a random passerby to give him a ride and take his bike back to civilization. If he fell again he could have punctured a lung so riding wasn't an option. Neither was backtracking. The random passerby drove 100 miles on his bike, while he rode in the guys truck. It was a legendary trip, that i never want to repeat.
@@marcezs08 sure men, I was just kidding. I'm glad you found nice help out there. Next time you may be in the truck and you will be the guardian angel another person needs. Drive safe and good luck!
He made it look like a peace of cake 😁
I love these short single topic tutorials. Each one is a gem.
lol that first ten seconds of the video sis literally me. thanks for the video
Great video!!
I could have used as I did 5 miles of that in Florida last weekend.
Come to South Africa. We have more than 5 miles of sand as you can see. No, seriously, we have it all. And we also have excellent training camps set up to teach you to handle everything that this continent can throw at you.
Hey @bret nice video as always! When riding two up do we have to stand up also? because if we travelling loaded and two up i think its best to sit dont grab with power the bars and let the motorcycle auto correct by itself
my left ear loved the first 30 seconds :)
Your intro is a blast! You trying very hard to be an unskilled driver... made me laugh so hard! Great instruction video! Love it as always, keep it coming!
Hi Bret! Veru useful video, thank you! Could you give some feedback about your tires? Is it Bridgestone Battlax AdventureCross AX41? What do you think of them?
Waiting for answer :)
Wish I had seen this yesterday - especially that first 20 seconds - put my foot down and went down 🙃...
Bonus - It was really soft sand (moon dust)
AAHAHAHa.. best intro Ever ...I hope i shall remember that while on sand ..
Awesome vídeo
'that's the police' lol, getting a good laugh at the paddlewalking and then see em standup and power on over to that camera like a boss.
Southwestern USA and Baja have lots of these roads. Best thing is to ride them fast .
Thats merely a gravel road ;) Are the techniques the same for fine silty proper deep sand with wheel ruts?
Hey Breat, are this tips also valid for those riding with someone in the back? :) thank you.
Appriciate the advice. My main concern is how fast.... As i keep seeming to accelerate. Aaaaa
Love your videos!
I live in a desert so this is good to know for I have many roads around like this.
Now all I need is a motorcycle. Hahaha!
Great video as always. I am curious about what type of tires you would recommend in those conditions. I remember a video from your former life about the Mitas E07 and I would love to see an update on that.
The e07 is still my go-to tire but I am not crazy picky.
Great video Bret!...but your acting skills (...like newbie paddleing) can get better!!!.
In case of riding in very deep sand, how much PSI you recommend to run on a fully loaded 1290 SAR?...20 psi ?
The biggest is not PSI, are the tires! They never talk about it! Try to ride this kind of road with a Anakee 3, Torrance Next with 10 to 45 PSI,. You’ll be always on the ground. Even with 50x50 tires. You need knobbed tires! If you have ones, go to improve your skills. If not, stay at home!
Good one.👍
Hello Bret , Im wondering if you could show us how to take a sharp turns in soft sand. Nobody did it yet. You can be first moto expert who make it happend . Tom