Honing Off-road Skills
 

I have a BMW f700gs & have been on-road touring with it for a number of years. Im very confident on road riding but the few times I’ve taken it off road have been quite unnerving. Wondering how to increase my off-road skills & confidence on a big off-road adv bike?

I've known people who took some kind of class and that's probably smart but I didn't.

Time in the saddle on dirt is the key. Be diligent about practicing things. Start on dirt roads that you'd feel comfortable taking a Honda Accord over, ride moderately and gradually increase your speed over many rides. Learn how to shift and brake and ride standing on your pegs. Learn to make slow turns and circles while standing.

Gradually, find some roads that are a bit rougher and do the same thing. When you're comfortable with that, stay on those same roads and purposely start riding in the worst track instead of the smoothest. Look for rocks and ride over them instead of around, look for small ruts and let your tires drop into them, then ride back out onto the smooth section; try riding through the small piles of sand and gravel that accumulate between the smooth tracks. do this stuff at slower speeds and feel free to bail out back onto the smoother track when you start losing it.

That should keep you busy for a while?

..............shu

ps: get good tires with a blocky tread and you'll have a lot more control over your bike on dirt- especially the front tire. Also take a partner if you have trouble picking your bike up.