Muddy conditions can be fun or terrifying,
because the wheels are slipping around more than they grip.
And the rear end wants to overtake the front!
Hopefully, these tips will reduce your chances of taking a mud bath.
Body positioning.
As with riding in soft sand or rocks,
stand on the footpegs when possible
with your weight to the rear.
This keeps the front end light
so you'll be more in control
when the front slips and slides around.
It also puts weight over the rear to give you a bigger tire patch for traction.
Crouch low to keep your center of gravity down.
Use your legs to keep your tire planted over bumps,
use body position to correct the bike as it loses traction.
When traction is poor, try riding in a higher gear
and slipping the clutch.
Apply throttle carefully to get traction
and go light on the brakes.
It's all about being super smooth!
Remember though, if riding in tacky mud
that clogs up your rear tire
it may be best to keep the rear tire spinning with high revs
to keep your tire clean
and the knobs biting away.
Know your types of mud and how to treat them.
In fact, know your dirt as well.
Often you can ease off the brakes on a muddy downhill
but hit the brakes hard where you know you get better traction.
Your basic skills are very handy when both wheels are sliding around.
Practice your balancing skills, figure eights, and braking hard with the front wheel locked up.
You need to be able to wheelie over bog holes,
puddles, and wet logs without needing huge amounts of throttle.
Momentum is your best friend in mud.
It's counterintuitive, but more speed keeps the tires clean of mud,
and the top enduro riders fly through mud with seemingly ridiculous speeds.
As your skills improve, try increasing your speed,
and you should find your traction improves as well.
Another counter-intuitive aspect, don't try to control your bike too much as it slides around.
Similar to riding in rocks and sand, you need to let the bike do its own thing to an extent.
Stay loose, relaxed, and be as smooth as possible.
It's a fine line between portion and power.
and it's a mind game too.
The more positive you feel, the better you're going to ride.
Look ahead more than normal to pick your lines carefully.
The sides of the track will usually have less mud than the center.
And think outside the box.
You can usually go off-track and completely miss a huge
mud hole where you might get stuck for 20 minutes.
Use the terrain to your advantage.
Little banks, ruts, and roots can be used as berms when cornering.
You can just slide into them and shoot off in any direction.
It can be better to sit on the bike in some situations,
such as cornering on very slippery clay where you can
stick your foot out flat-track style for balance.
And when cornering, try to rely less on turning the front wheel,
It will just want to wash out in muddy conditions.
Try using throttle and rear brake to steer with the rear end of the bike more.
It's much easier to recover from the rear wheel sliding out than the front!
Keep going slow and peddling with your legs.
Keep weight on the rear wheel whether you're standing or sitting on the pegs.
And if it looks like you are going to get bogged,
don't dig such a deep hole that the bike will get stuck.
Jump off the bike and lay it on its side before the mud will get a chance to bury the wheels.
If it's too late, drop the bike from side to side to try to free it from the mud.
And if all else fails, get a tow rope and a bunch of guys or another bike to pull you free.
Tires clogged with mud? And you got a really steep downhill?
If you chicken out, turn the engine off, put it in gear,
and use the clutch as a rear brake to ease the bike down the slope.
You can lean against the bike and just slide down on your boot soles if it's really slippery.
And if it gets out of control, look out for yourself and just dump the bike.
The handlebar and foot peg will dig in and stop the bike.
Bike Set-up Riding in mud can
be easy with the suspension a bit slower on the rebound and softer on compression.
Try experimenting with your suspension 'clickers'.
Fresh tires with a good edge make a big difference.
And usually the more aggressive and wider the knobbies, the better.
Using 6PSI to 8PSI tire pressure for a big footprint makes a big difference,
but avoid slamming into rocks and tree roots.
Finally, try silicon spray or cooking spray on all those parts of your bike where mud will stick
and start to weigh the bike down as the day goes on.
So there you have it, make a pig of yourself and enjoy your mudfest!