Why Riding Adventure Bikes Is Great Rally Training

We already talked about how adventure riding is the perfect intro for rally racing; but what if you already do rallies and want to train more? Riding adventure bikes is actually fantastic training practice for rally races. Here’s why:

Hard Miles and Hard Travel

Regardless of whether you go on long epic trips to exotic destinations or simply do weekend rides and your local trails, adventure riding isn’t a walk in the park. You’ll be covering some gnarly miles, staying on the bike for hours, and, likely, tackling all sorts of challenges along the way like washed-out roads, water crossings, single track, and the like. All of this builds stamina and gives you more experience on how to handle the bike in a variety of terrain.

Riding Adventure Bikes Makes Rally Bikes Easy

If you can put a 1200cc adventure motorcycle through mud, sand, steep climbs, rocks, and deep gravel, riding a rally bike will feel like handling a bicycle. Training on a big ADV bike or a dual-sport will give you an edge when racing – if you can power through on a big bike, a smaller, lighter rally motorcycle will feel fantastic during the race, even when the going gets tough.

Building Experience

Every time you get a flat tire on your adventure ride, every time your brakes fail, every time you have to think on your feet and find a solution, a detour, a temporary fix – every single one of those times builds something invaluable: experience. If you’ve been stuck on a mountain pass at high altitude in the dark, freezing cold, and with a hundred miles still to go, you won’t think twice about it when it happens during a rally race – you’ll know you can handle it. If you’ve drowned your bike in a water crossing and managed to find a fix, you won’t be lost when it happens during a race. Every misadventure adds to your experience, and that gives you confidence and self-resilience to keep going during a rally race – no matter what.

Feeling Zen

Adventure riders go through multiple countries, borders, terrain, altitude, climate zones, and weather changes, and they’re taking the challenges head-on. Riding adventure bikes means you’ve got to be flexible, adaptable, and most of all, zen, no matter what happens. If you learn to take everything as it comes and not to sweat the small stuff, to remain calm in challenging situations, and to keep a cool head at all times, this will help you finish a rally race because you won’t be thrown off balance easily, and you will be able to cope with high-stress situations much better.

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