Yamaha Offroad Experience

Anyone tried it or something of the same? Was considering having a go down in Winchester as local.

http://www.yamaha-schools.co.uk/index.php?page=south

I've only done the Honda one, however if you do it make sure you don't have to go to work for at elast two days after! I couldn't walk the next day and still have a massive bruise on my thigh three weeks after.

Apart from that, it was fantastic fun if not completely knackering!

Cheers Andy - Sounds painful - just booked for Friday will post a report after.

I think it was as the bike fell on top of me! You'll love it though just take it easy for the first 30mins (my brother fell off of the first corner!). Look forward to reading the review.

do they supply the kit as well as the bike?

Supply everything including all the relevent kits - just says they dont supply personal accident insurance!

I really just wanted to try all the bikes to see how I get on with them. Have had my eye on a 450 but was have been thinking it was to much of an animal after watching the guys at the track.

[tigersaw]

I went to one at Goldings Barn.
They only provided boots and minging helmets. They didn't provide body armour - you might want to consider.
I had a wicked day, learnt a great deal, (including how to leap the tabletop), and although far too furious for me to want to do often, since then I've been green lane days with hire bikes and guide.

Originally Posted by tigersaw

I went to one at Goldings Barn.
They only provided boots and minging helmets. They didn't provide body armour - you might want to consider.
I had a wicked day, learnt a great deal, (including how to leap the tabletop), and although far too furious for me to want to do often, since then I've been green lane days with hire bikes and guide.

hmm, Ive wanted to go on one of these days, either yam or honda but I would need the proctection.

What I want to do is, mod an off roader to make it into a supermoto that can switch back and forth (I did this with my old DRZ400E) but I want to try it with a differnt bike when I have more cash!

[tigersaw]

Buy my DRZ supermoto and make it into an off roader

4 days later and my legs arent fully recovered from the shock of excercise. It was mainly my thighs from landing but also sholders from holding on....

It was a fun day which started around 10am with sign ons an some basic operational instruction on the bikes. All the kit was provided including chest protectors but yep the helmets were pretty manky with multiple sweaty heads in there before.

There were only around 15 of us ranging from around 8 years old upto 60 so plenty of space on the circuit when we broke into smaller groups. There were a few none riders amongst the group but by the end of the day everyone was going around the main circuit. Its the first time I have been on a motorcross bike since I was a kid - 20 years ago - but i didnt have any problems picking things up again.

This particular track (Winchester) was quite advanced with some sharp edged jumps and large layout. It was pretty loose at the beginning as they had just graded it - which made it really slippy but by the end of the day it had bedded in nicely and there were plenty of ruts to drop the wheels into making corners easier to negotiate.

We learnt plenty about technique. It started with instuction on how to keep the front loaded with weight up here to keep the front wheel on the ground improving grip and steering. Aparantly most road riders tend to sit back a little and often crash with speed and loosing the front coming in on the loose dirt. Mid way through we were learning to jump higher and standing to get better control over jumps, landing etc, learning more about body positioning and techniques to assist so we didnt get so tired or fall off.

Initially I was worried more about the jumping side of things but the suspension took most of the worry out of it so it was only a drama if you didnt get enough power and went into the side of the next jump (technical jumps like this were best rolled for me.. ). There were a few falls through the day but nothing serious apart from the instructor overcooking a jump and going into the side of next one ahead - looked painful but he didnt show it. Some of the kids rolled off and I managed to loose the back end in the sand.

At the end I was hammered though and I think I would prefer enduro and greenlaning more - less knackering. The 450 I thought was an overkill for me on this particular track as you I was in 1st/2nd mostly - to fast for me! Weight was a little more than the 250 which happended to be better suited anyway as you could cane it more and keep out of trouble.

Overall a nice intro to Motorcross and recommended for a fun day out. Bit on the pricey side but for £175 is a good intro to the sport if you are considering taking it up.

Some obligatory pics.