How To Ride A Dirt Bike In Deep Sand [Mistakes To AVOID]

Riding a dirt bike in deep soft sand for the first time is like trying to re-learn how to ride a dirt bike. It can be intimidating because you feel like you have little control of your bike. However, there are simple techniques to quickly build your sand riding confidence. 

In this article, you’ll learn the most common mistakes people make while riding a dirt bike in deep sand and how to prevent them so you have more control. These mistakes are easy to make because they are what most people say to do to properly ride a dirt bike in the sand or dunes.

• Common Mistake #1 – Riding too fast too soon
  • Just going faster can help, until it doesn’t because you lose control
  • Focus on proper balance and traction control at low speeds first, then riding faster will be easier
• Common Mistake #2 – Too much weight on the rear
  • Your front wheel wants to “dig” into the soft sand more, so it’s easy to shift your body so that there’s too much weight on the rear
  • This causes the front to be too light, making it harder to turn and causing it to “knife” edge the front easily
  • Instead, stay balanced with a neutral attack position and then shift your body only when you need to anticipate what the bike will do, such as braking, accelerating, or riding a hill
• Common Mistake #3 – Poor clutch and throttle control
  • It’s easy to dig a hole and get stuck in the stand, but it’s often due to poor clutch and throttle control
  • When you dump the clutch too quickly or give it too much gas (especially when trying to get started moving), the rear tire breaks loose and quickly digs a trench that’s hard to get out of
  • Instead, it’s even more important to be smooth with your clutch and throttle control in the sand
  • Focus on getting as close to 100% traction as possible, especially at low speeds

Speed is NOT always your friend

The most challenging aspect of sand riding is that it sucks your bike down much quicker than hardpack or loamy dirt. When the front tire starts sinking into the sand, it quickly slows you down and feels like your bike takes a nosedive. 

The two biggest problems are your balance & traction. You need to have a balanced body position so that your front end isn’t digging in, but you shouldn’t be hanging off the rear of the bike.

You don’t need to use the clutch unless you’re moving from a standstill. The problem is when your rear tire starts spinning from using too much throttle, it starts digging a trench, making it harder to get out and ride forward.

Learning how to control your right hand with the throttle at low speeds will help keep you on top of the sand, rather than spinning and digging a hole, resulting in you getting stuck.

This is just one area where you need to learn proper technique so that you don’t crash and get hurt. To learn all of the proper techniques, click here to grab my guide today for Free.