How To Set Up Handlebars|Dirt Bike Set Up Tips

In this weeks Sedlak Offroad School riding tip Daniel Sedlak goes over handlebar and lever set up for your Motocross and Enduro bike. A lot of riders are struggling to get in the right body position on their dirt bike and it all starts here. Learn how to set up your dirt bike properly in order to help you become a better Motocross and Enduro rider.
Daniel explains one of the biggest mistakes Motocross riders make when setting up their bars and how easy it is to correct it.
Sedlak Offroad School is a professional Motocross and Enduro school in San Diego,CA. We are excited to bring more than 20 years of professional Motocross and Enduro experience to TH-cam in order to help you become a better, safer dirt bike rider.
Please let us know in the comment section what type of Motocross riding tips you would like to see every week. If you are more interested in our Enduro riding tips let us know and we will post more Enduro riding and Enduro training content.
Our lead trainer Daniel Sedlak has 12 years of professional Motocross, Supercross and Enduro experience. Over the past 6 years he has passed his experience on to follow Motocross and Enduro riders by organizing Motocross and Enduro schools all around the world.
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[@ravioli9728]

Great video thank you

[@EarthSurferUSA]

Now, with the bars pulled back like you did properly IMO, that is where I like my levers point down about 30 degrees, (my brake a bit more than my clutch.). In that position, I can keep my wrist pretty straight, my elbow up great to good, for almost the entire rotation of the grip to full throttle. When I let off the gas for a corner, I am also rolling my finger over the brake lever and starting to squeeze. I do have to "re-grip" a bit to keep my wrists straight and elbow up when getting on and off the gas with the 1/4 turn throttle grip. I would like to try a 1/5 (shorter) turn throttle grip,--and I don't think I would have to re-grip at all. I see it. Most racers have their levers almost level, and their elbows pretty low,--like that Sexton crash at the last national that James dedicated a show to. James analyzed the crash factors better than I could have, but he missed that Chases elbow was at his side when he hit the face of that smaller jump. With higher levers, your elbow will probably drop more when you give it full throttle. Elbows up, and he would not have crashed.
Now I also ride a 2-stroke 250, and we do use the clutch a lot more,---lazy guys. :)

[@EarthSurferUSA]

Bars rolled back wit the ends of the grips pointing down, (natural hand position), and lever pointed down approx 30 degrees,---keeps your elbows up easily, and much better leverage on the bars for corners. Bars rolled forward is for freestyle clearance for tricks. If you want to see what I mean, check out the pro set up from the late 80's and early 90's in the USA. They had it right for riding,---back then. Nothing objective changed. Bars forward make it harder to get your elbows up high enough.

[@joedart2932]

Interesting theory...seems to make sense for the average person but what about for tall riders with long arms? Great bunch of vids by the way!

[@SocalOffroadSchool]

Thanks for watching Joe! For a tall rider it's the same princiole . At a max you want to go to a neutral handlebar position 0. Rolling the bars forward especially when you are tall feels comfortable when you are sitting down a lot. However in order to really control the bike you have to stand up and that's were you get really out of balance with the bars rolled too far forward. It might take some getting used to in the beginning but it is the way to go.

[@mathews0618]

@@SocalOffroadSchool I feel like i need more room in the cockpit standing. Seated it feels high and forward. Your theory seems backwards to me, no offense

[@YamahaRider238]

@@mathews0618 you should be leaning back on the rear fender

[@brianhaygood183]

@@mathews0618 Can you accomplish that using a lower bar? Putting the bar any further in front of the steer axis is what people are describing as making it hard to turn. The trade off for you might be clearance between your knees and the bar, but a lower bar is a bit more forward, too.

[@mathews0618]

@@brianhaygood183 i ride woods so standing comfort is more important than absolute handling.

[@Heliumisleaving]

What about for tall people? I'm 6'5" which is 1.958 meters according to google.

[@stelio37]

Most new bikes have four or six handlebar positions, 2 or 3 holes and eccentric cams. My question is, on steep hills when I want to pull my body from seating to standing position, which handlebar position would help me?

[@EarthSurferUSA]

3:16 You do not want your wrist bent like that ever when riding IMO. Rotate your levers down, and you will be able to keep your wrist straighter than that, by far,---from any position.

[@b_man_420]

On my KTM, there are 4 different bar positions. What bar position would you recommend? I'm about 5'10" and do trail riding, standing up most of the time.

[@mathews0618]

Well in the #1 position standing in a trail position I feel like the bars are near my legs and I cant hold on accelerating

[@lassivaatamoinen5468]

Well, this is somewhat right. But cutting a lot of corners - and the initial examples were quite poor. You could just freeze frame the ride-by shots, and then show what the problem is. Now the watcher does not even know where to pay attention to.
Then also, what was missing about the lever angle setup was the mention that your weight moves off from your thumb to your palms. So somethinn similar when doing push-ups or bench press. So to get the strain off the thumb muscles on to you palms.
And most importantly, this "lesson" does not mention proper handlebar height to begin with, so this works for your average rider who can take the bike off the showroom floor and ride it. Proper handlebar height is key to getting the bike dialed in properly. Then as a second thing, the handlebar sweep, depending on personal preference and physical attributes, like your shoulder line etc.
If you are a tall rider, with maybe less average body proportions, most importantly long legs, you will just wear yourself off in minutes, if you follow the video instructions to the point. For taller rider, you need to have the space in the cockpit, so the bar won't be in your lap. And if the bar is too low, you'll be leaning too much onto the bar and won't be able to get properly balanced support when accelerating, for example, and then you would end up getting back and forth on the bike for a simple acceleration.