Bucket List: Have a go at MX!
Get down and dirty on a proper off-road bike
‘Being on the edge of control is brilliant’
Despite a bit of training, I’ve never been comfortable taking a heavy adventure bike off the beaten track. The problem is that I always feel on the verge of a very big accident and I really don’t want to be pile-driven into the mud by 250kg of metal. If you agree with me, why not try a bit of offroad action on the mud-plugging equivalent of riding a supersport bike around Brands Hatch?
The Kawasaki MX Experience runs from several locations around the UK and uses what is effectively a track-ready ZX-6R of the off-road world – the KX250. No lights, no licence plate, the KX is a fullon motocross bike. Weighing just 105kg, the single-cylinder four-stroke makes over 40bhp and has three power modes plus launch control. Starting the day lapping an oval course on a bit of flat ground, the first thing that strikes you about riding a proper off-road bike is the level of front-end grip, even on wet grass. With your weight up and over the front wheel (helped by a dangling leg) there is a real feeling of confidence and that encourages you to crack the hair-trigger of a throttle open and get the rear to break traction. As you are playing silly buggers on just 105kg of bike there isn’t the worry of a massive pendulum-related incident as 250kg of adventure bike starts to build up momentum. If it gets a bit exciting, you can easily muscle the Kawasaki back into line. Usually. It reminded me of skidding a Honda C90 around a field when I was younger and was brilliant fun that I’d have happily played at all day and so was a bit sad to be told we had to progress to the proper track (although ‘mud bath’ might be a better description).
With Head Coach Craig Chamberlain’s helpful advice of “there is no grip, just be committed and use your momentum to get up the hills” ringing in my ears I began my first lap.
Slopping along on the downhill straight and then paddling around the first corner with the bike screaming its head off, I gathered precisely no momentum and made it about a third of the way up the first incline before squelching to a stop. At which point I started to slide back down the hill with the front wheel locked and both feet down... Luckily 105kg of KX can be muscled around and after a worrying few metres I managed to turn the bike and paddle off the muddy track and onto the grass. I’ve long said that motocross riders should be committed, but until I actually rode one of the bikes I didn’t realise you have no choice – that’s just how you make progress. To make it up an incline you give yourself as much run up as possible, nail the throttle and hang on. The wheels go in different directions, the motor screams and you get
thrown about, but as long as you keep on the gas you make it up. Or fall off. But generally you make it to the top. And you know what? This feeling of being on the edge of control is absolutely brilliant and results in some pretty comical moments that you will never get on any other kind of bike.
There were times where it felt like the bike was sliding at 90-degrees to my direction of travel, the front was washing away, the rear was drifting out as I exited bends and while I won’t say
I was totally in control, it wasn’t too worrying because the KX was so capable and responsive in a way that a big, heavy bike simply couldn’t be. You can take liberties because the bike is in its element. Motocross experience days take place on dedicated tracks, not trails or green lanes, which means that as you are lapping the same course again and again you can focus on specific areas and see the benefits of any instruction or a change in how you approach a section. It’s just like on a trackday where you try a different line or brake a bit later, it’s something that suits my brain as I like to be analytical when I ride and is another reason I don’t enjoy the unknown nature of trail riding. For novices like me an experience day is a total hoot and the perfect entry into off-roading. You will learn new techniques but it’s mainly about giving it full gas, hanging on and dealing with a bike going every which way while you laugh your head off at just how out of control you feel yet somehow (usually) end up vaguely where you were aiming for. Or planted facedown in the mud...