Jap zap help (video)

[Sheepy]

Hi all,

Hoping you can help with a bit of technique,I’ve been practicing the jap zap over some barrels and these tyres. I can’t seem to get the lift I need which is stopping my momentum to get over.

its a 300cc and I’ve been trying in second and third gear.

any help would be appreciated,thanks 

 

[jonnyc21]

Your last attempt in the video looks like a much better punch of the front into the tire rather than the others witch are more set the front on top.

if you can get more lift the front into rather than on top like that last one it will start feeling better.  Much lower front when hitting the tire...

Also, if you can time yourself so when you hit your front your jumping down harder on the bike then add the clutch hit As you jump up you should have it.

[Sheepy]

Thanks for the advice guys! More throttle on the second hit and land the front lower on the obstacle!  Is 3rd gear ok for this? 

Riding on your own makes it so hard to spot your mistakes 

thanks again 

[jonnyc21]

You should be able too get it in second gear with a tire of that size.

[scifi]

You seem to pull in the clutch when the back wheel hits, as it does not grip the tyre, or spin rubber to rubber.

So leave the clutch alone, and just keep the front wheel light, so that you accelerate off the top.

.

 

[lineaway]

 There is no ledge to load the bike. It is just a roll up. No technique besides body movement. Put it second or third and it will go right over. Leave the clutch alone till you are up! First is too low on a Beta.

 You could splatter it. If you insist on doing a double blip or attempting a non zap is you need leg pressure to keep the front end up over the next barrel or whatever it is. I would just ride it like I was going down the trail. 

 The tire is what you need to be riding to learn the zap.

Edited January 30, 2018 by lineaway

[lineaway]

You look great till you pull the clutch. 

[collyolly]

Looks like a simple confidence issue, you are shutting off / clutching ( why) too early, I would start on a smaller step and just get used to carrying the speed over on the back wheel until you are confident of landing the front. Then progress to the larger steps but use a bit more carry over speed, as soon as you slow the front just drops and you sump out.

I would stick with either first or second until you are confident with the attack speed, a big handful in third could be messy if you can't land it !

 

[jacob429]

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.

 

[jacob429]

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.

[jacob429]

32 minutes ago, oni nou said:

If you are going to leave your clutch out for the follow through then its probably best to wear an older pair of pants aswell.

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. 

[jacob429]

5 hours ago, oni nou said:

 This is not a personal attack on what  you said ,thats why I did not quote you... you just  missed the joke dude..yes I know; not much of one, and even less so now.....it was just a quip on the ' following through' which in UK would be another way of saying sXXting yourself........Nevermind..

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! 

[lineaway]

Trouble with people making videos that do not understand what they are doing cause alot of misinformation. The double blip has nothing to do with the clutch. Just as it sounds. It is a a double blip. It was around before anyone ever used the clutch. It's sole intention was getting the skid plate over an obstacle.

[Sheepy]

Thanks for all your replies guys! 

That video is awesome Jacob I’ll be putting that into practice tomorrow. I can do a roll up on these tyres every time,I’ve just been trying to jap zap up these tyres as they are the softest obstacle I have lol. I want to get decent at it on those before I start slamming into stuff due to poor technique and hurt myself.

thanks for all the info guys,I’ve only had the bike a month so I’m still very green to all this!

[jacob429]

42 minutes ago, lineaway said:

Trouble with people making videos that do not understand what they are doing cause alot of misinformation. The double blip has nothing to do with the clutch. Just as it sounds. It is a a double blip. It was around before anyone ever used the clutch. It's sole intention was getting the skid plate over an obstacle.

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.