The Moto Gymkhana Thread.

[klaviator]

Moto Gymkhana. It's like an MSF riding course on crack. What a blast. It's not only fun but an excellent way to improve your riding skills. This thread is here to discuss Gymkhana and post pics and videos. If you have done it, share your thoughts and experiences.

I'll start with my first gymkhana experience. I rode about two hours to get to the event put on by the Alabama Traffic Safety Center in Montevallo When I first looked at the course it looked like a maze and I had no idea which way the course went. Someone volunteered to lead me around the course.

Then after a few times through, I got the hang of the course. Years ago I did the MSF ERC course. There was nothing remotely challenging about that course. This was much more interesting.

Then i went over to the advanced course. The course was easier and faster but I never did make it through correctly. They were calling for last call to sign up for the timed competition so I headed off to do that. I had the only scooter there so they put me in the cruiser class on the expert course. I headed over, did another lap, then it was time to start the competition. A couple of friends took some pics of me.

 

[klaviator]

I ended up winning my class, but that's only because the fast riders were in other classes. There were some real impressive riders in the touring class. There were three motor cops who were really good.

This gal was real good. I think she weighed around 100 lbs and her bike around 800. It was impressive watching her ride the course.

Another good rider. You could hear him scraping hard parts all the way around the course.

Another inmate took my scooter for a spin.

That was my first gymkhana experience. It wouldn't be my last!

 

[klaviator]

People talk about how twisty certain roads are. Roads like the dragon or some of the crazy passes in the Alps like the Stelvio.

While that is a twisty road, it doesn't come close the the curves per mile or tightness of the curves found in a typical gymkhana course. While that may not be appealing to some riders, it is to a curvaholic like me.

One nice thing about a Gymkhana course is there is no speed limit. Your speed is limited by physics and by your riding skill.

Of course I tend to "cheat" in that most of the times I have done gymkhana I was riding a small scooter.

 

[300man]

Looks like fun! I'll look into it...what did it cost for the day?

 

[klaviator]

Looks like fun! I'll look into it...what did it cost for the day?

All of the Gymkhanas I have participated in were free. Unfortunately they don't happen very often around here. Two a year I about the most I have ever done and more often its only one.

 

[klaviator]

My first couple of Gymkhanas were put on my the Alabama Traffic Safety Center on Montevallo. Unfortunately they stopped doing them years ago. Another organization that put them on was a local motorcycle forum. The last few I went to were a joint venture between the Motorcycle Alabama Forum and the Bike Shop in Leeds, AL. The owner of the Bike Shop is a member of the forum. He gets permission from the city to shut down a street for one block and combines that with a parking lot to set up the Gymkhana Course. He also uses the parking lot behind his shop for parking and to set up a place for people to hang out. It's a great way to spend the day, sharpen your riding skills and have fun.

Here is the story of the last Gymkhana I attended.

The ride to Leeds is over 100 miles for me. I met up with 3 other guys going and we took a route that mostly avoided the interstate.

After a couple of hours we arrived at our destination.

There was a big shaded area for hanging out. There was also a table where all new participants had to sign a liability waiver. Those waivers are kept on file so returning riders don't have to fill out a waiver.

One of my regular riding friends drove down with his wife and two daughters and three bikes on a trailer.

Riders here for the first time are asked to ride a 24 foot circle before going out on the course.

This guy has been riding less than a year but has mountain biking experience. He did really well.

This gal was 14 years old riding a 125cc scooter. In Alabama 14 year olds can ride sub 125cc bikes.

One of our veterans making it look easy on his Electra Glide.

 

[klaviator]

Some pics from the course.

I wasn't paying attention and missed getting a pic of a bike nap

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It looks like a crowded course but my camera had a lot of zoom and I purposely took my pics to make it look that way.

 

[klaviator]

There were a wide variety of bikes here.

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This gal had just bought a Z400. This was a great way for her to get comfortable on it.

We didn't just have a wide variety of bikes. We also had a wide range of riding experience with some riders having over 50 years riding experience and other less than one.

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[klaviator]

I normally cheat and ride a small scooter at Gymkhanas but this time I was on my Versys.

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The Versys is a lot more work than a sub 300 pound scooter but I probably wasn't working as hard as this guy:

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[klaviator]

A couple of guys shot some video. The first one was done by drone:

https://vimeo.com/638491142/dbac3a6374

one more:

https://rumble.com/vrd4w7-gymkhana-ride-better.html

 

[Chickenstrip]

Looks like fun! There is a gymkhana once a month near me but I have yet to go - keep meaning to, though.
I'm surprised by the number of riders not wearing much gear - seems like gloves would be essential, and some sort of jacket, no? I suppose temps and humidity in AL make gearing up a pain.

 

[klaviator]

Looks like fun! There is a gymkhana once a month near me but I have yet to go - keep meaning to, though.
I'm surprised by the number of riders not wearing much gear - seems like gloves would be essential, and some sort of jacket, no? I suppose temps and humidity in AL make gearing up a pain.

That last Gymkhana was in October so it wasn't that hot. I was wearing mesh gear and was fine although I did ride with the front of my modular helmet flipped up. I think some people just thought the speeds were so low they didn't need to wear gear. I have ridden with many of the people there and on normal rides they do wear more gear.

I agree with you but everyone has to make their own decisions on what gear to wear.