Jap Zap...

[sawtooth]

I'm having trouble getting this dialled, i always end up with either the not getting the back wheel high enough or when the bach wheel goes a bit higher the front wheel isnt high enough. I have the Ryan Young DVD but finding his technique a bit hard as he talks about a massive upper body explosion of power which i find hard due to a bad shoulder. Watching Dougie do them he seems to hardly use his upper body compared to Ryan, i think Dougie uses his legs more, see here:

3min 36secs

http://fwd.five.tv/fifth-gear/videos/other...-dougie-lampkin

Anyone have any vids or advice on this.

Edited December 30, 2009 by SawTooth

[lian]

I learning jap zap to and learn it already about year. Now i finally got it how to do it right, but anyway, need more practicing.

You need to have constant revs while pulling little wheelie, but have revs under slipping clutch. When you going to touch obstacle by front wheel, your body need to comes forward and holding that constant revs you just hit the obstacle and simultaneously jump/pop the clutch releasing quick blast of power. Your rear wheel want to jump of the ground.

Now i am looking for advise about at what times i need use jap zap or splatter?

Maybe some height is too high for jap or it depending of position i'd like to be after getting on obstacle? In many cases splatter and jap zap is almost similar by technic to get on a obstacle about 50-60cm (i always do splatter), so i wonder what is commonly use for it and safety for have 0 dabs?

Thanks.

[sawtooth]

Thanks! Will try using the clutch more, i have trouble using upper body to pull up from bad shoulder, could i get the same effect compressing rear suspenion just before popping clutch?

[lian]

You don't need to pull handlebars up by your arms, like in bike trials, here all is doing engine and suspension with your legs. Arms just hold the bars and pull it just a little up and forward. Right timing in dropping the clutch/jump with rebound of suspension - thats the key.

[dan williams]

Biggest problem with zap is not getting off the throttle. This is an explaination I posted to another forum in the US.

Fundamental difference is what the rear wheel does.

A double blip is used for getting over an obstacle by driving the rear wheel over it. Picture a log on the ground. You roll up and blip the throttle to lift the front wheel and place it onto the log. Then you blip the throttle again to drive the rear wheel into the log to gain traction. Rolling off the throttle removes driving power from the wheel while the rider bends his knees to unload the rear wheel to allow it to climb the obstacle.

A zap is used to climb an obstacle higher then the wheelbase of the motorcycle. It does this by making the rear wheel hit the obstacle far above ground. When done correctly the zap will cause the rear wheel to contact the obstacle almost exactly where the front wheel made contact. It's a violent maneuver that happens extremely fast. The zap uses engine power and momentum to fully compress the suspension to store enough energy to launch the bike up the obstacle. Where the two get confused is the removal of power. The zap requires a burst of throttle to lift the front wheel to the desired height, shut off power to unload the suspension and then a second burst of power to drive the front end into the obstacle. This has two effects. First it causes the frame of the bike to rotate back very quickly by changing the vector of the front wheel from forward motion to upward motion. Second it compresses both suspensions storing tremendous energy. Here's where the two get confused and the main reason why zaps fail. After the front wheel hits the throttle is chopped (or the clutch is slipped if you're really, REALLY good). This unloads the rear suspension launching the, now rotating, bike to hit the obstacle with the rear wheel at a height that effectively shortens the obstacle to less then a wheelbase. The stored inertia in the engine completes the manuever walking the rear wheel the rest of the way up while the frame rotates forward. While all this is going on the rider is doing his share as well. At the first burst of throttle the rider crouches back to help lift the front wheel. Just before contact of the front wheel on the obstacle the rider essentially jumps forward and up. This helps load the suspension and places the rider in the correct position to complete the manuever. When it all works you'll feel the triple clamps hit you in the chest but before you know what happened you'll be on top of the obstacle, no wheel spin and no momentum and that's the real power of the technique.

Most beginners to the technique keep the power on after the second burst. This causes the rear suspension to stay loaded and pile drive into the base of the obstacle causing the familiar bounceback.

[bkrgi]

Cabestany showing how it is done ...various slow mo techniques for getting up those faces

Looks like we might see some more video from Cabestany in the future..yippie...more slow mo please

http://www.albertcabestany.com/

Edited January 24, 2010 by bkrgi

[ham2]

Cabestany showing how it is done ...various slow mo techniques for getting up those faces

Looks like we might see some more video from Cabestany in the future..yippie...more slow mo please

http://www.albertcabestany.com/

Good find.

That slow-mo video is great (answers a lot of my questions about timing), good to see him doing it on real-world slimey rocks instead of the usual minder-prepped scenery!