FREESTYLE MX GLOSSARY

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9' 0 clock - (Nine 0 Clock Nac Nac) Referring to the positioning of the trick. Nine O Clock being the position of the rider from a top-down view, such as the positioning of the hour hand on a clock. Very similar to a No Footed Nac Nac

Bar Check -  When a rider grabs the handlebars during a trick, usually to straiten them out before a "no handed landing" or because the rider is losing control of the bike.

Backflip - When a bike (or rider) does a full rotation in the air, going upside down and rotationg 360 degrees all the way back around again to land on its wheels.

Bail - See Ditch

Berm - The part of a freestyle course where the rider corners before hitting the ramp. A berm is banked, and usually one to three feet tall.

Case - When a rider comes up short on a jump, and the 'cases' of the bike (the underside of the bike, between the front and rear wheels) land on the crest of the landing. If approached properly, a 'case' can be ridden away from safely, without a crash. See Image

Clickers- The screws on the top and bottom of your forks  and shock that control the amount of damping your suspension's compression and rebound circuits receive. (See owners manual for setup details. )

Commit - when you dedicate your self to doing a trick in the air withought hesitation.

Crank Wheels - Wheels on a freestyle ramp which are raised or lowered by turning a trailer-jack style crank. These wheels aide in transporting a ramp around a designated riding area, loading the ramp, or moving the ramp back and forth to change the gap.

Dead Sailor - When a rider jumps and does not do a trick while in the air.

Ditch - To jump off of a motorcycle. Usually this term applys when the motorcycle and rider are already airborne, and the rider must eject for an unforseen reason.

Double Jump -An obstacle made up of two mounds of dirt, where the bike and rider take off from one mound of dirt and land on the back side of the next mound of dirt.

Expanded Metal / Expanded Sheet Metal - The preferred surfacing on a steel ramp. Usually rests on top of 14-16 guage sheet metal. The common type of expanded metal used for steel fmx ramps is the #9 raised edge with 3/4" holes. It is placed on a ramp so that the taller, pointed edge of the holes face upwards, towards the top of the ramp. This gives the bike's tires optimum traction while reducing tire wear. Turning the metal the opposite direction will result in a cheese-grader type effect on the tires.

Freestyle jump - Any jump which is used with the intent of attemping a trick.

Freestyle Motocross Ramp - See RAMP


FMX - Acronym for "Freestyle Motocross"

Gap - any jump which features a measureable amount of  distance between the base of the takeoff, and base of the landing. I.E., a tabletop would not have a 'gap'.

Grab Hole - a hole cut in the plastic bodywork on a dirtbike that is used to grab during a freestyle trick such as a superman seat grab.

Hip Jump - A motorcycle jump in which the landing is at an angle compared to the take off, and the rider must whip the bike in order to make the landing.

IFMA - Acronym for International Freestyle Motocross Association . One of many governing bodys for freestyle motocross. The IFMA tour is promoted by Clear Channel Motorsports.

Jump - Terrain that is used to throw the rider into the air, usually a sloped mound of dirt.  Generally, the term jump applies to an earth-oriented takeoff.

Kicker - A jump which  is short and steep, generally throwing the rider over the bars if not attempted in the correct manner. See also Kicker-Lip.

Kicker Lip - A lip on the end of the face of a jump or ramp, there by accident, or built there purposely to throw the bike into the air with the nose level or pitched slightly downward. Most ramps are built with the face curving slightly of the end, forming a 'lip' - in order to level the bike's flight path.

Kink - A jump or runway to a jump with a slight and sudden corner in it.  See Hip jump

KOD - An acronym, short for "Kiss Of Death", a freestyle trick invented by Ryan Leyba and perfected by Mike Jones.

Landing - Term which describes the wooden, metal, or earth terrain which the rider comes in contact with as a direct result of gravity bringing the bike and rider down to the ground.  They are generally designed to  soak up the force of the motorcycle and rider as they approach the earth.

Lip - The final take-off angle of a jump or ramp. After a motorcycle compresses its suspension in the 'sweet spot' of a ramp, it decompresses off of the lip. Sometimes the term 'lip' is used to describe a curve in the final angle of a ramp. See also 'Kicker Lip"

Loop Out - When the motorcycle does a wheelie (in the air or on the ground) and goes upside-down onto itself, usually landing on top of the rider.

Panic Rev - When a rider pulls back on the throttle in order to 'rev' the motor and speed up the rear wheel, therefore pitching the bike upward.

Pop - The amount of lift a motorcycle encounters when taking off of a ramp. A ramp or jump with more 'pop' will throw the bike and rider higher into the air at a faster rate.

Preload - When the suspension is compressed on the face of the jump/ramp. The decompression of the suspension as the bike leaves the lip gives the bike and rider more lift into the air.

 
Ramp- A term used for any type of terrain that is used to throw a motorcycle and rider into the air. Generally, the term ramp applies to wooden or metal takeoff.

Rebound- When the suspension on a motorcycle decompresses, or extends. In freestyle motocross, the suspensions rebound has a large influence on how the bike is throwin into the air off of a jump. The faster the rebound, the more 'pop' a motorcycle will get. If the rebound on the forks differs dramatically from that of the shocks' rebound, the motorcycle may leave the ground nose high or even worse, nose low.  The rebound speed is controlled by your springs, and your "clickers".

Safety -  The flat or slighty rounded area of a landing just before the downslope which is intended to help riders who are coming up short on a jump. The idea of the safety is to help absorb the impact by keeping the rear wheel (or front wheel in some cases!) from droping below the downslope portion of the landing ramp. Usually the top and backside of a safety is constructed of dirt that is softer than the landing, so that it will break apart and absorb the crash on impact.

Six Pack - A series of jumps (six total) which make up the take off and landing jumps for three double jumps, or two triple jumps.

Steering stabilizer - a piece of equipment which mounts to the handlebars of the bike and is primarily used by off-road riders to help absorb "speed wobble", or "head shake". Used by freestyle riders to keep the handlebars strait during no handed landings.

Sweet Spot - A term which is thrown around in the motorcycle industry. With freestyle motocross, the term is oftentimes used to describe the portion of a ramp with the most drastic curve or increase in angle, and gives the bike the most preload. The term also applies to the best part of a landing ramp (dirt or metal) to land on.

Switch - To be on the opposite side of the bike, either the legs of the rider, or the hand on the opposite handlebar or grab hole.

Spar - A metal tube (square tubing or cylindrical) which supports different parts of a freestyle motocross ramp.

Trick - when a rider moves his body or bike in the air, only for sheer enjoyment of the 'feeling' he/she gets.

Triple Jump - an obstacle made up of three mounds of dirt, where the bike and rider take off from the first mound and land on the backside of the third mound, completely clearing the second mound between the first and third.

Walking On - When an FMX rider does a trick involving both grab holes on the bike, or the rider must grab two things on the bike in order to complete the trick. Instead of letting go of the handlebars at the same time and grabbing simultaneously, the rider removes one hand at a time, and grabs one object/grabhole before the other, and comes back on the bike in the same mannner. 

Whip -  A trick where the rider moves his bike to either side in the air, turning the bike in a certain direction while the bike is traveling another direction through the air.  Sometimes the bike may be somewhat sideways or 'tabletopped' during a whip, hence the term "laying the bike flat."

Wiskey Throttle - When a rider lands hard, or for some other reason, accidently pulls back on the throttle resulting in an unexpected burst of power. Usually followed by an uncontrolled wheelie which may or may not loop out the motorcycle.