In motocross riding, there are two fundamental groups all techniques come from, the first is Mastering the 5 Controls (3 if you ride a pee wee), and the second is Maintaining the Center of Balance.Riding with the bike and body in perfect balance is crucial for maximum control and speed, not to mention the safety of the rider.

 One technique that is a great tool to have and use is front wheel placement. Front wheel placement is just like it sounds, placing the front wheel where you desire it to go. This technique starts with a simple wheelie, just lifting the front wheel off the ground and starting to learn the balance point of the bike on just the rear wheel. You will start to find the correlation between being in the right power curve and the position of where you place your body weight. A good drill is just to go out in a flat field and start out in second gear, slowly move along and start to roll the throttle on while gently pulling back on the handlebars. You should be able to lift the wheel off the ground, then start to test where to stand (pretty centered), and what throttle positions to use. Once you get comfortable with this first step, you can now try in third gear, then put a cone out in the field and try dropping the front wheel right at the cone, this will start teach accuracy. Most all wheel placements in motocross will be standing up, so sit down wheelies aren’t as important.

 Now that you are comfortable with the balance and accuracy of wheeling, you can start to apply these techniques out on the track. Front wheel placements, manueling (pulling the handlebars up into and away from your chest), and wheel taps (going across the tops of whoops and other obstacles on the rear wheel) are most commonly used in the whoops. I try to teach any capable rider to try and enter a whoop section in a wheelie, lifting the front wheel off the flat ground before the first whoop, thus enabling them to place the front wheel onto the top of the second or third whoop. There are some great advantages to this technique, first you are entering the whoops with the gas on, and so the weight will transfer back to the rear of the bike keeping the front wheel light. Secondly you are getting on the gas earlier out of the corner, instead of waiting till you actually get into the section, and lastly by not clipping the first whoop or jumping into the section, your bike will settle on top of the whoops much sooner, so you will float across the tops instead of riding a bucking bull through the section. Figure one part skill and one part commitment.

 Once you have total confidence in these techniques, you will be able to see many opportunities with other sections around the track. The more you ride on the back wheel, the more you will be absorbing the shock and punishment from the rear shock and your legs (strong muscles), and not from the handlebars and arms (weak muscles).

 So think balance, body position, knowing your power curve and motor strengths, throttle control and visualizing and timing when to lift the front wheel and when to set it down. It takes time, patience and practice, but see it through and you will be rewarded.