How to Whip a Dirt Bike. A Beginners Guide to Getting Sideways.

Quick Answers:

#1 Practice on a smaller jump and make sure you can clear at least 30 feet of distance.

#2 Enter the jump in the attack position. Do not sit on the seat.

#3 As you launch the bike, lean towards the opposite side of the bike that you want to whip from.

#4 As the bike is in the air, shift your weight across to the other side of the bike and push the handlebars down towards the ground. This will cause the back wheel to whip out and the handlebars to naturally rotate up.

#5 After the back wheel has kicked out, straighten the bike out again by pulling the handlebars back to center position and lean onto the outer peg tp put your weight forward. The bike will straighten up and you can then land the bike.

#6 Be showered with praise and watch girls throw themselves at you as you bask in the glory of your awesomeness lol.

#7 I recommend getting your confidence up first by hitting the jump until it feels natural to move your weight around abit. Then attempt to whip it.

<<Disclaimer>>

Whipping a dirt bike is an advanced technique that you should only try if you are a confident rider and are already comfortable with sending it big on jumps.

If you are still practicing your jumping skills and you are a beginner in this area, please don’t try to whip it unless you want to eat dirt badly.

Whipping can only be done at speed and over larger jumps. Get your jumping technique down first over larger jumps before taking it to the next stage.

Okay, time to send it!

#1 Start on a Smaller Jump.

Like all jumping skills, start on a smaller jump.

By that I mean, you need to jump to a distance of at least 30 feet in length to practice a whip.

Any less then that and you will not have enough time in the air to go sideways and correct.

Hit a smaller jump on a motocross track where you can get some good air at speed and feel comfortable with moving around on the bike in mid air.

Once you have found a small jump that you are comfortable with and you are hitting at least 30 feet, it’s time to take it sideways!

#2 The Entry

The entry onto the jump has to be at speed to get you at least 30 feet in distance through the air.

Also, your body has to be in the ‘attack position’.

The attack position is where your legs are slightly bent as you are standing up on the pegs and you are bending forward with your head slightly over the handlebars.

This position is the most common position and gives riders the ability to quickly shift their weight and ‘attack’ any obstacle that comes up on a motocross track.

#2 Lean Into It.

As you launch the bike off the jump, lean slightly over the left or the right side of the bike depending on which side you prefer.

If you lean to the left, you will whip to the right. lean to the right, the whip will go to the left.

Starting out, just lean slightly, you don’t want to be hanging your entire weight off the bike.

In this example to make it easier to explain, I will be leaning to the left and whipping the back wheel to the right.

The bigger you lean, the bigger you will whip. Keep this in mind.

#3 Push Down the Bars.

Now push down the handlebars to the left and towards the ground and shift your weight across to the right.

This rapid shift in weight will cause the back wheel to whip out to the right.

The handlebars will also naturally want to rotate upwards, forcing your front wheel to point straight up into the air.

This handlebars movement is natural and makes the whip look even better!

Congratulations you have performed a whip! Now to land it.

#4 Straighten it Out.

Now you need to straighten the bike back out before landing.

To do this, just rotate your bars back to the center and lean your weight onto the peg that’s facing outwards.

The bike will then correct itself back into a straight line so you can land properly.

#5 Get Your Confidence High First.

So before attempting a whip I first recommend that you get your confidence high first.

To do this I recommend hitting the jump at least 10 times at speed until it comes second nature to you and your confidence is pumping.

After hitting the jump so many times you will feel comfortable with shifting your weight and moving the bike around in mid air a bit.

The more you hit the jump, the more you will feel comfortable with shifting your weight to alter the angle of the bike.

Keep doing this and the whip will almost come naturally.

#5 Which Type of Dirt Bike Should I Use to Whip?

Definitely whip a motocross bike only because this is the only type of dirt bike that can handle the pressure of big landings.

Other bikes like enduro have softer suspension and can’t handle a hard landing from a big air.

Also, go with a minimum engine size of 125cc. A 125cc will give you just enough power to launch a dirt bike at least 30 feet.

Anything less than a 125cc and you won’t be able to launch it far enough.

Either 4 stroke or 2 stroke is fine.

Saying this, I have seen some worked 80cc motocross bikes being whipped but they have been ridden by pros and the bikes power has been increased to get enough power in.

Overall though, 80cc not recommended.

#6 Whats the Difference Between Whipping and Scrubbing?

Whipping is an aerial move that looks really cool and will impress your girlfriend. It has no other function except to be awesome.

A scrub on the other hand also looks really cool but is also a technique that you can use to get around a motocross track faster (arguably).

A scrub is laying the entire bike over on its side to glide over a jump at speed without slowing down.

It’s more of a tabletop maneuver than a whip. 2 completely different things.

#7 Practice Practice Practice

As with all motocross riding techniques, practice makes perfect!

So keep practicing your whip every time you are out on the track and eventually it will become second nature to you.

After all this, if you are still having problems with busting the whip, I recommend getting yourself a motocross coach.

A coach will analyze your whip technique and will show you how to improve at your own pace.

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Johnny Rhodes