jacob429

Yeah I totally agree this is a major part of it. It's amazing how everything seems easy on a trail ride, but then a wimpy log can get you hung up in a section or practice area.

Sorry I'm not sure I follow. Are you saying that the mental barrier is more pronounced in trials because you have walked it and are likely over thinking it, compared to trail riding where you just "send it"?

Does the bike matter? Rev 3

Interesting perspective and very insightful. The message I take away is, concentrate on dealing with the immediate obstacle and remembering what you observed when you walked the other side earlier. Focus on the first but select a technique that you know will carry you over the next before going for it.

Something has been nagging at me and I wanted to get input from you guys. So when we're on trail rides, we always try to look as far ahead as possible. This also counts for techniques like pivot turns, floater turns, etc.. The question is, if you have multiple obstacles in quick succession, especially requiring intermediate techniques like the double blip so you can't simply roll over everything, when do you switch your focus from the first obstacle to the second? For instance, let's say you got a double ledge with the first being undercut and requiring a japzap. To get a solid front wheel punch, you need to look at the ideal point of impact right? And then do you shift your focus to the next thing right as your front wheel impacts the first thing since you know you got it - or do you keep focusing on the first thing until your bike is climbing it and look at the next thing when you feel safe/cleared? I feel like the best thing to do would be to shift your focus the instant or even slightly before front wheel touch (once you know you're lined up and going to hit it), but I have found it extremely difficult to do this in practice, especially the bigger the obstacle is. This might be a mental thing but for the big obstacles out of my comfort zone I feel like I get tunnel vision, and will forget things like look ahead or good brake control. Then again, in trials you walk the sections and make a mental note of positions of obstacles - for instance in some of the indoor trials the pros might be doing a massive blind splatter (as in they can't immediately see what's ahead) where they have to bridge a gap with their bike which means placing the front wheel on the next obstacle correctly or take a massive tumble over the bars. My thoughts are scattered around on this, everything is situational, but wondering what you guys think.

I think the advice Sammy gave is sound although this isn't something I tried. Also remember to turn your head and eyes when you turn the bars into the 180, since the bike tends to follow your eyes this may help.

You don't have to pull on the bars, you can though. What you want to avoid is pushing against the bars, let them come to you. Part of the lift comes from the rotation of the chassis, so pushing away from the bars will prevent that rotation thus reducing lift. In your video you were punching it fine and getting enough compression from the suspension so you're good there. Your body was just a bit farther back than needed or you weren't jumping forward enough. You're so close to getting it, you'll have some "ah-ha!" moments soon if you keep practicing. That obstacle is good practice and the consequences for messing up should be minimal, so next time you do it you just gotta know you got it no problem and go for it!

Ahh, there it is. Perhaps that is the underlying gripe you seem to have with me. I don't care about video numbers, it doesn't do anything for me. It's just a little side hobby, and the main thing that keeps me going is knowing that my videos have helped other riders, and hearing from those folks. I monetized my channel out of curiosity, I knew I wouldn't make anything from it, and I haven't yet. 45 bucks give or take which I won't be able to claim because the minimum is $100 and the channel will be demonetized soon regardless, so that beer money is pretty much lost. I will still make how-to videos. But nice job on avoiding the challenge. So you're not going to try to help him perfect this technique and teach him the "right" way? I haven't even done a trial and yet I can apply the japzap and help others do so. You presumably have done many, and haven't provided all that much help. If your teaching approach works better for Sheepy, then I would seriously applaud you, because that's what this thread is supposed to be about.

Shoot I can't edit my posts for some reason so apologies for spam. I forgot to mention one thing. Remember the other part to unloading and getting lift, aside from jumping, is getting off the throttle in time. Being on the throttle will make that tire want to stick to the ground. That's why it's a bunch easier to get the revs up and pop the clutch to release the power to get lift rather than throttle timing alone.

I have already demonstrated what I know via camera and internet. I never claimed to have all the answers; I don't even claim to be a trials rider, and in a real section I doubt I would even be intermediate. But I do understand what Sheepy wants to accomplish and I know I can help him. Anyone who learns the technique I was demonstrating in my video will figure out through practice what the technique is used for and how to modify it for their situation regardless of terms used. All you have done was argue terminologies and provide history lessons. If you think you can do a better job (and I sincerely hope you could considering your extensive background and knowledge of trials history), then I invite you to make yourself useful and do so. I know my videos have helped dirt bike and trials riders alike. It really seems like you want to argue for the sake of arguing and I'm really starting to wonder why I'm encouraging it as I write this. Sheepy, there is another thing you can try. Stand in front of the obstacle without the biking, facing the obstacle, feet about shoulder width apart or less. Now jump from the ground to the obstacle. Then go get on the bike and do the same thing on the bike. You are jumping up, and the bike follows you. With good body positioning, you can do it without a lot of throttle. It certainly is easier to get good lift with a harder pop of the clutch, but you can get pretty good lift without a lot of throttle as well with good technique. Keep practicing and keep filming yourself - being able to see what you're doing is the next best thing to having someone else there watching you. You will know when you get it right. Here's a very nice video demonstration, don't forget you can put youtube vids in slow motion depending on your platform.

I never said he needed to pop the clutch to get over it. And yes, I also got into holding pressure. I am simply trying to share my knowledge of the specific maneuver the OP wants to learn. Not debating what the correct or ideal technique for that obstacle is, and in my very first or 2nd reply to the topic I mentioned the japzap wasn't necessary. You are taking everything I am saying out of context.

Yes you understand it well Orange, and I agree you can just double blip or roll up 99% of everything. Like you said the whole point is to clear the skid plate, so unless it's severely undercut you won't need the japzap. Without fixating on the terminology too much, I think folks will know what they want to accomplish vs their weaknesses, and find whatever technique solves that problem. I bet there are some who can execute these moves without knowing what they're called.

The OP didn't get confused by it. The majority of my audience has no idea what a zap is (non-trials riders). However I continuously refer to it as a japzap and explain the difference. We will have to agree to disagree on my approach (or not).

To get lift to clear undercut obstacles, at least on the enduro bike, you absolutely have to pop the clutch. When I saw the OP and vid I knew that this is exactly what he was wanting to learn, didn't care about the term used. Just semantics. Regardless of whether you're using the clutch or not there is still 2 blips of throttle, so the term still fits IMO, which is exactly why the japzap and double blip get confused constantly.

I hope I didn't seem defensive. That wasn't my intent. I'm also from the other side of the pond so I had no idea that I had suggested for him to **** his pants!

Are you implying he's going to crash? He's not giving it enough throttle for that, hes more likely to stall it than loop it. He can leave the clutch out with no consequences. And it doesn't take long to learn when to pull in and feather the clutch if it looks like you're going to loop it. Just last week I was practicing the japzap and holding pressure on some k-rails and I did end up looping it once but just landed on my feet and butt, no big deal. It does help learning some rear brake discipline but not necessary early on IMO as it is just as likely to get you into more trouble as get you out of trouble.

Unfortunately I didn't get into body positioning in the video. You're doing well with the weighting and unweighting, just keep doing that. Just keep a neutral body position and allow the bike to rotate, which you are already doing. But for future reference, a slight rear weight bias will make it easier for you to hold pressure over THAT particular obstacle, as this will encourage the bike to rotate and get to the desire wheelie height. For sharper objects like walls this doesn't work as well and can actually hinder you by causing your tire to slam into and rebound reducing traction. So generally a neutral to forward is all you need. Weight to rear = less lift but quicker rotation to help carry wheelies over smaller rounded objects, not great on larger obstacles and walls Neutral centered weighting = good all around used for anything Weight over bars = good for leaping the bike over an obstacle in an arc, potentially missing with the back wheel entirely. Regardless, let the handlebars come towards you and keep weight on the pegs. The only thing you're doing wrong is pulling the clutch back in. You'll start figuring it out once you correct that, and then you can work on the other stuff.

Yep, leave the clutch out after your 2nd blip for the follow through. The heavy flywheel will keep on turning, your tire automatically find traction and you'll magically be holding wheelies over it all of a sudden. Your technique otherwise isn't bad. A simple rollup is fine for the tires in your vid, but if you want to get a lot of lift, a sharp blip of throttle and pop of the clutch will get you there, again leaving the clutch out after the 2nd blip. I release the throttle and clutch at the same time for the 2nd blip, you can practice the timing on flat ground doing bunny hops popping straight off the ground level. I tend to use more throttle than needed and correct by feathering the clutch to hold the wheelie. Check out my how-to on the japzap below. Again though, you only need the japzap for undercut stuff. Anywhere else and the technique is simpler, which I also have a how-to on.

I didn't get flamed for posting the enduro bike video for my last how to here. I'm doing this on the dirt bike because of its universal appeal, lots of folks crosstraining. Pretty much works the same on the trials bike. I always see folks confused over the japzap vs double blip so I put a back to back slow mo comparison of my interpretation of the maneuvers in the video. Hope it helps someone.

I seriously underestimated the physical challenge of trials when I got my bike this year. Racing in a 2 hr hare scramble is nothing compared to going thru a section over and over nonstop, no way I could ride the trials bike doing japzaps over logs for 2 hours straight! I think with more experience I'm starting to loosen up. Riding slow and focusing on my balance trying to do stuff as slow as possible is what gets me tired. If something isn't challenging enough, just do it slower haha.

There's a lot of confusion about Double blip vs jap zap. The terms seem to have become interchangeable but this video is about what is traditionally called a Jap Zap, popping the clutch and trying to get lift with the rear wheel. My trials bike is broken so I filmed this on the enduro bike.. It all works the same but looks slightly different with body positioning and you won't get near the same lift. General rule of thumb regarding body positioning that I didn't mention in the video, stand in front of the obstacle and jump up to it - then just do the same thing on the bike; jump up with your body and the bike will follow. Hope this helps someone. I'll try to reduce the rambling if I do anymore of these haha.

I think was actually the lever bottoming on the frame or something solid on the bike causing trouble on my beta too. I'll have to look at it again, I may be able to get enough clearance by a very small amount of grinding on the lever itself, along with trimming that bolt like you suggested. Thanks for the tip

Holy crap I know this is an old post but this is exactly what I'm battling with now. When doing zaps or splats, I don't cover the rear brake because it's near impossible in some situations. I have started getting better with the clutch to control the height of the wheelie on the obstacle, but still if it's a very small platform for the rear tire I have sent it a couple times because of not covering the brake. Normally I have trained myself to pick up my foot and move it into position after the 2nd throttle blip, before rear wheel impact, but this has drawbacks. I'm just finding it hard to remember to move my foot over after impact when I'm so focused on feathering clutch, throttle, etc. Then again the way I normally do it took repetition to get decent at too. The other thing that makes it harder is I cannot adjust my brake pedal low enough on this bike unless I were to bend it. It doesn't even go as low as the foot peg, and I like to have it right about level, but damn they make these high on some of these trials bikes. That's the main reason I trained myself to pick my foot up off the peg.

Lol! Didn't mean to shout, guess I'm too high strung.

I tried it both ways today, I have some sand and dry leaves in my back yard which are very easy to wash out in. My results are non-conclusive, I need to spend more time on it. Both seemed to be pretty decent, I think leaning the bike and counterweighting is easier for me since it's what I'm used to. What I did learn though was it's much easier to find and keep my balance after a turn with the keeping the bike upright and weighting the outside peg. I will be turning like this from now on but will continue to try both ways in loose terrain and report back.