Motorcycle Sports: Jumping
April 12, 2008 – 6:48 pm
Motorcycle sport is a broad field that encompasses all sporting aspects of motorcycling. The disciplines are not all “races” or timed-speed events, as several disciplines test a competitor’s various riding skills.
Motorcycle Racing:
Motorcycle racing (also known as Moto racing and Bike racing) is a motorcycle sport involving racing motorcycles. Motorcycle racing can be divided into two categories, tarmac-based road disciplines and off road..
Rally:
A road rally is a navigation event on public roads whereby competiors must visit a number of checkpoints in diverse geographical locations while still obeying road traffic laws (not to be confused with car rallies such as WRC).
Land Speed:
Land Speed is where a single rider accelerates over a 1 to 3-mile (4.8 km) long straight track (usually on dry lake beds) and is timed for top speed through a trap at the end of the run. The rider must exceed the previous top speed record for that class or type of bike for their name to be placed on the record books.
Freestyle Motorcross:
A competition based upon points for acrobatic ability on an MX bike over jumps.
Freestyle Motocross (also known as FMX) is a variation on the sport of motocross in which motorcycle riders attempt to impress judges with jumps and stunts.
The two main types of freestyle events are:
Big Air:
(also known as Best Trick), in which each rider gets three jumps — usually covering more than 60 feet — from a dirt-covered ramp. A panel of 10 judges evaluates the style, trick difficulty, and use of the course, and produces a score on a 100-point scale. Each rider’s highest single-jump score is compared; top score wins.
Free Style Motorcross:
This is the older of the two disciplines. Riders perform two routines, lasting between 90 seconds and 14 minutes, on a course consisting of multiple jumps of varying lengths and angles that generally occupy one to two acres (.4 to .8 hectres). Like Big Air, a panel of judges assigns each contestant a score based on a 100-point scale, looking for difficult tricks and variations over jumps.
Notable Freestyle motocross events include Red Bull X-Fighters, NIGHT of the JUMPs|NIGHT of the JUMPs, the X-Games, Gravity Games, Big-X, Moto-X Freestyle National Championship, and Dew Action Sports Tour Freeriding is the original freestyle motocross. It has no structure, and is traditionally done on public land. Riders look for natural jumps and drop-offs to execute their tricks on. Some freeriders prefer to jump on sand dunes. In many ways, freeriding requires more skill and mental ability. Notable freeriding locations include Ocotillo Wells and Glamis Dunes in California, Beaumont, Texas, and Cainville, Utah.
Regular Motorcycle Tricks:
Can-Can – When a rider lifts their foot over the seat to the other side and moves it back again.
CliffHanger – When a rider hooks their feet under the handlebars and then reaches up vertically. Other names include the ‘Jackhammer’ or ‘Christ Air’, where the rider does different movements of their hands.
Dead Body – The rider sticks their feet through the handle bars, then flattens out their back as if they were dead on the ground, a variant is when the rider spreads their legs apart, called at ‘Dead Body Shaolin’
Coffin – Similar to the ‘Lazy Boy’, except the rider doesn’t extend their hands out, but still leans back, making their legs horizontal under the handlebars, as if they were in a coffin
Double Grab – When the rider uses both hands to grab the grab holes or seat and extend their body upwards.
Fender Grab – When the rider grabs the front or back fender with their hands.
Hart Attack – Named after its creator, Carey Hart, the rider puts one hand on the handle bars and the other on the grab hole and extends their body upwards.
Helicopter - Hart Attack with Indian Air.
HeelClicker – The rider moves their legs above the handle bars and clicks the heels, whilst holding on to the bars. This trick is perhaps the basic trick of FMX.
Lazy-Boy – When the rider move their body flat on the bike, moving legs horizontal under the handle bars, and arms back, as if they where in a Lazy-Boy chair. It was invented by Travis Pastrana. A variant of this trick it when the rider put his hands on their helmet, commonly done by Travis Pastrana.
McMetz - involves the rider lifting himself off the bike and taking his arms, placing them underneath the handlebars and then pulling them out by taking his hands of the bars. He then sits back down on the bike before landings. Variations include the ‘Double McMetz’ were the trick is performed twice in one jump.
Rock Solid – When the rider moves out from the seat, doing a double grab, then letting go of the bike, moving hands away, usually out to the sides of the bike, resembling a cross. Other names include ‘Holy Man’ as the rider resembles Jesus Christ on the cross.
One Handed SeatGrab - Where the rider puts one hand on the handle bars and the other on the seat, extending legs horizontally, not to be confused with a ‘Hart Attack.
Ladder - The rider changes hands whilst performing One Hand Grab.
Oxecutioner - One Hand Grab with the other hand grabbing rider’s boot. When the right hand grabs the left boot or the left hand grabs the right boot the trick is called Cross-Oxecutioner.
Scorpion - Hart Attack with both arms stretched and curved over legs, resembling a scorpion.
Kiss of Death (KOD) – When the rider moves their head towards the front fender, as if to kiss it, whilst bringing their legs upwards from the bike. Invented by ‘Mad’ Mike Jones
Tsunami – When the rider moves the bike and their body vertical, then curves their legs over, resembling a tsunami.
Ruler – When the rider moves the bike and their body vertical.
SideWinder – Involves the rider dismounting their bike and moving to one side, then running in the air, whilst not holding the handle bars. Also known as a CatWalk, named after Tommy ‘TomCat’ Clowers. A variant of this trick called the ‘Wilma’, when a rider holds the handle bars with one hand and performs the trick, invented by Travis Pastrana
9 o’clock Nac – When the rider moves their body to the o’clock position extending out wards from the bike. Rider can go up to the 12 o’clock position on occasions.
9 o’clock Indian Air – The rider does a ‘9 o’clock Nac’ then does an ‘Indian Air’ scissor kicking their legs.
Ninja Nac - No handed 9 o’clock Nac (no confirmation of anyone performing this trick)
Flatliner - Similar to the 9 o’clock Nac but the rider and the bike are stretched in one plane supposedly parallel to the ground.
Side Grab - Rider is stretched in a line and positioned perpendicular to the bike holding the bike by the seat with both his hands.
No Footer Can-Can (NFCC) - When the rider lifts above the bike, and moves both feet to one side of the bike over the seat, body is bent, heels looking down or backward.
Double Can-Can – When the rider lifts above the bike, and moves both feet to one side of the bike over the seat, and stretches in a line with his heels looking up (somthing in between 9 o’clock Nac and Side Grab).
Pendulum - No Footer Can-Can to one side, then to the other.
Disco Can – When the rider lets go of one the handlebars and points his index finger in the sky, whilst performing a ‘No Footer Can-Can’
Suicide Can – When the rider lets go of the handlebars whilst performing a ‘No Footer Can-Can’
SwitchBlade - Almost Bar Hop, but both legs are positioned on the left or on the right, but not over the bar.
Candy Bar – When a rider moves one leg between the handlebars and back again
Saran Wrap – When a rider does a ‘Candy Bar’, but moves the leg out to the side of the bike, letting go of one hand. The reverse of this is called a ‘Reverse Saran Wrap’
Nac-Nac - invented by supercross star Jeremy McGrath, involves the rider moving their leg over the bike, extending that leg out, whilst keeping the other leg on the foot peg.
No Footer – When the rider moves their legs outwards from the bike, dismounting their legs from the foot pegs
No Hander – When the rider lets go of the handle bars
Cordova – When the rider hooks their boots under the handle bars and arcs their back to the font of the bike, whilst holding onto the handlebars with their hands. The rider may also put hands onto seat instead of handle bars
Stripper – When the rider performs a ‘Cordova’ and extends one leg out from the bike
Rodeo – When the rider perform a one handed ‘HeelClicker’ and moves the other hand in circles above their head, as if they were riding a bull in a rodeo
Decade Air - When the rider revolves himself 360 about the fork axis over the bar (the bike flies straight).
Nothing – When a rider performs a ‘No Hander’ and ‘No Footer’ at the same time
Super Can – When the rider does ‘No Footer Can-Can’ but points their feet upwards.
Superman – When the rider moves their feet out parallel to and above the bike
Indian Air – When a rider performs a ‘Superman’ but does an Indian Air, scissor kicks their legs
Superman Seat Grab – When a rider does a ‘Superman’, but uses one hand to hold onto the seat or grab holes instead of the handlebars
Superman Seat Grab Indian Air – When a rider performs a ‘Superman Seat Grab’ but does an Indian Air, scissor kicks their legs
Stalefish – When the rider sticks one leg between the handlebars and the other leg on the other side of the arm. A Variant of this trick is when the rider clicks their heels, called a ‘Stalefish HeelClicker.’ A rider may also perform a Saran Wrap whilst returning to remount the bike, which is be called a ‘Stalefish Saran Wrap’
Bar Hop – When the rider moves both feet between and through the handle bars
Turntable – When the rider does a ‘Bar Hop’, then moves both feet to one side, letting go of one hand, then remounting the bike.
Shaolin - Bar Hop with legs pointing sideways.
Whip – When the rider moves the bike perpendicular to the ramp. That style of whip is called a turndown, whilst other styles move the bike flat.
Trails:
Trials commonly take place on rocky terrainKnown in the US as “Observed Trials”, it is not racing, but a sport nevertheless. Trials is a test of skill on a motorcycle whereby the rider attempts to traverse an observed section without placing a foot on the ground (and traditionally, although not always, without ceasing forward motion). The winner is the rider with the least penalty points.
Time And Observation:
Time and observation trials are trials with a time limit. The person who completes the route the quickest sets the “standard time” and all other competitors must finish within a a certain amount of time of the standard time to be counted as a finisher (they received penalty points for every minute after the quickest finisher). This is combined with the penalty points accrued from the observed sections to arrive at a winner, who is not alway the quickest rider or the rider who lost the less marks on observation but the rider who balanced these competing demands the best. One of the most famous time and observation trials is the “Scott” trial held annually in North Yorkshire.
Indoor Trials:
Indoor Trials are trials held in stadiums (not necessarily with a roof) which by their very nature use man made artificial sections in contrast to outdoor trials with rely heavily on the natural terrain.
Tags: Freestyle Motocross, Motorcycle Backflip, Motorcycle Jumping, Motorcycle Racing, Motorcycle sports
