Shimmy in sand and soft stuff

So, I've had my WRR for about a year now and its been an awesome bike. The one thing I am having a real tough time with is that when I hit sand or really soft stuff the bars seem like they want to rip out of my hands. The bike seems like it's all over the place and I've been down a few times.

I am still running stock tires but I'm switching to D606s very soon. I'm running about 15psi back and about the same front.

I guess my question is, what can be done about this? Will a steering damper fix this or do you think it is more so the tires?

Thanks guys!!

Try maxing out your fork and shock compression damping. But sand is just kind of like that. When in doubt, gas it.

Most of sand is technique. Try gripping the bike with your knees and steer with your legs/weight and try to keep your upper body somewhat relaxed. Fighting with the bars never seems to work.

Ive used a steering damper before, while it may help it may not either as you might find yourself fighting the damper as well which is quite fatiguing.

Good luck!

D606's are a good choice....off the seat and on the gas...head up, look at the horizon (not down).

First, you need knobby tires (10 - 12 psi) if you expect anything like a good feel from the bike in sand.
In soft terrain like sand, the stock dual-purpose tires are like slicks.

The bike will feel the best and most stable with the throttle open, you standing on the pegs, weight back toward the rear, and the bike's weight bias shifted toward the rear.
If you try puttering through with a lot of off-throttle, the front wheel will want to dart around and the bike will feel unstable.

I'd also make sure you have 3.5 inches of rear suspension sag with you sitting on the seat.
If it's too little, the weight bias of the bike will be too far forward - not so bad for tight turning on hard ground, but not what feels good in soft sand.

Practice riding, too.
All-in-all, sand will never feel as good as hard ground as far as stability goes.

Sand is the devil, nuff said.
Magnified by the fact that some riding areas like to use sand to fill in rutted up corners. They're trying to kill us.

Sand is something you master by doing. Ignore the bike and just let it do what it wants to do. Lean back, throttle up, and enjoy the ride.

Good deal thanks guys!!!

I had a bunch of 2 smokers before this bike and I'm not sure if it was the tires or because of the different throttle response but I remember my YZs riding through the same stuff like it was pavement. I'm hoping these D606s make a big difference. I plan on adding rim lock too when i do them. Thanks again!!

Just installed the D606s and WOW it is a HUGE difference. I did the rim locks too and I am running 10 psi rear and 8 psi front and the bike is awesome. I did not realize how bad the stock tires were offroad. Just a heads up for anyone who is thinking about swapping out the stockers.

As usual, YZEtc knows what he is talking about. It's a combo of technique and the tires.

Sandy trails are 95% of what I ride, with stretches of sugar sand here and there. So I have some knowledge.

Tires: I hated the stockers....got rid of them under 50 miles. They were useless for what I ride...sand, mud and dirt. get a more MX/ DS type tire, like D606's, Kenda Trackmasters, or Pirelli XCMH's( what I currently run). They handle much better.

Technique: Best analogy someone told me when I started riding sand was treat it like a boat. Boats handle best with some speed and getting front end up outta the water. Same with the 300 lbs WRR. Stand up on pegs, lean back a little bit, and use peg weighting to go left or right. Use throttle to keep momentum...can't go slow in sand..front end sinks and your done...or paddling with feet. Forget the front end in sand..its gonna do what it wants to do..peg weighting, leaning back and using throttle( and knees pinching bike as someone said)...is how you control the bike in that stuff.

Hope that helps.

Just another thought.... The WR seems to ride a bit high in the back stock. This has the effect of putting weight on the front making the front wheel want to knife in sand. I noticed when I ran more sag than the recommended 100mm it slowed down the steering a bit and let the bike relax in sand. You may have different results.....quick and easy to try.