When I first started riding a dirt bike, it was pretty hard to find videos that would actually help me improve my riding skills, and that’s because I’m an off-road trail rider, not a motocross rider. Yes, there are noticeably more learning materials and videos about motocross riders than off-road trail riders. Some of the cross-training motocross drills can be helpful, but not as much when it comes to learning techniques about trail riding. Trail riding requires a unique set of skills that are not similar to the skills that MX riders posses. For instance, trail riding requires attention and knowledge on how to choose the best line, or how to cross water without falling, and to more extremes, how to get the bike through trees and slippery tree rots. You see, that doesn’t sound much similar to MX riding, doesn’t it? So, to get an idea of what needs to be practiced and learned for that kind of stuff, the Shane Watts DirtWise DVDs helped me a lot. I must say, it wasn’t easy finding out that these DVDs existed, but from a friend to a friend, ear to ear and that’s how I found out about them. Therefore, if you’re an off-road trail rider, you should watch a professional like Shane Watts in action because you will learn a lot from the things that he teaches. These DVDs truly helped me in becoming a better rider, I learned how to get rid of the fear of the things I wasn’t confident about, and I learned how to ride faster and safer which brought my riding experience to a whole new level.
Table of Contents
DirtWise with Shane Watts DVD
DirtWise is the first DVD of the series which was released in 2006 and from the views, I think that it was filmed in Australia. There are a couple of things that I don’t like about this first DVD of the series, it has a lot of ads and rider interviews. It was a great first effort though, and as for the ads, you can always fast-forward them, but I’d highly recommend you watch the rider interviews because you might learn something from them. In this release, Shane explains to details and covers some of the basic off-road riding skills such as standing position and how important it is, wheel placement, slow riding, braking technique, clutch control, and cornering. Aside from that, he also covers a couple of other things such as acceleration, braking techniques, ruts, logs, steep uphills, and how to select your line properly. As I mention, this DVD was a great first-time effort, but it doesn’t cover more than the other installments do. It is a basic rider DVD which can help beginners improve their riding skills. Although, when I say beginners I mean that you should at least be able to use a clutch, shift through gears, etc.
DirtWise Advanced Instruction DVD volume one
Even though originally Shane released his first DVD in 2006, this counts as the first DVD in the advanced instructional series. Thus, this one is the Advanced Instructional Volume 1 where Shane mainly rides in mud, sand and rough ground. He still rides the two-stroke KTM, but what I liked about this DVD was the fact that the ads were almost gone. In the series, Shane also introduces Wally Wanker which to my friends seems annoying, but he really isn’t. You will see Wally occasionally just on footages where Shane wants to show the audience how not to ride a dirt bike. Everything seems professional, Shane is more comfortable in front of the camera now. To get more into the details, this DVD covers the fundamentals, the body position, throttle, clutch control, balance, wheel placement, and confidence. Now, you’re going to say that’s what the first original DVD covered, but this time he manages to represent everything better so it’s beneficial to beginners, and intermediate riders as well. Some other techniques that you’re going to see are grinding and drifting, but they’re a bit more advanced than the usual techniques, so you’re going to need some basic knowledge before practicing them. The best part about the Volume 1 of the advanced series is that there’s also a bike prep section which tells what the correct tire pressure is, chain tension, sealing the airbox, installing a footpeg, etc.
DirtWise Advanced Instruction DVD volume two
The Advanced Instructional Volume 2 is the second installment of the advanced instructional series which covers cornering, braking, and tight trees. Considering the fact that the first two DVDs covered basics and fundamentals, in this DVD Shane ups the leveling of off-road by teaching tougher skills and more technical trails. To fully understand and follow what Shane explains in this DVD you have to watch his first releases because in order to build the advanced techniques you have to know the basics and fundamentals on braking, changing lines, brake slides, stoppies, roosting through tight trees, and counter-steering techniques. Another beneficial area of volume two is the maintenance tips that Shane adds as extra including proper rear brake, shifter lever placement, and so on. Even though there are a couple of ads, you get tutorials along with them so they aren’t as annoying as before.
DirtWise Advanced Instruction DVDs volume three and four
Volume three and four are the final two discs of the series where Advanced Instructional Volume 3 covers wheelies, logs, rocks and water crossing and Advanced Instructional Volume 4 covers hills, ravines, switchbacks, and off-chambers. They aren’t made for beginners, both DVDs teach you on how to deal with difficult terrain and learn skills to accommodate the type of riding for those terrains. It’s also important to mention that apart from Amazon, you can also get all DVDs on Shane’s official website, and on Wattsy’s website as well. If you’re wondering if these DVDs are worth the money, well most definitely if you’re just starting out, because you can go through each volume from start to end to see how you should practice your skills, how long it will take to improve them, and how to maintain your dirt bike. These DVDs helped me, and I’m sure they’ll help you as well.
