I thought my tyres being Enduro tyres were off road types? I am just getting more and more confused by it all.
Simon,
There are varying grades of off road tyres to suit varying terrain.
The mitas E07 will be fine for gravel and hard packed stuff....mud is the devil if you have anything other than aggressive tyres such as the one's on this page.
http://www.mitas.co.uk/Motocross-Tyres/?wizid=nnnm9bksvgbhkoa6btn8b9sfd4
TKC80's and similar tyres can also be okay (I use them on a second set of rims) and used them to go ploughing on salisbury plain...but even then they still slide a bit.
When riding offroad you need to be prepared to drop bike and damage something...and if your not prepared to do that with your current bike...then change it for one you are prepared to.
If all your thinking is "don't drop bike" "don't drop bike" "don't drop bike" "don't drop bike" you won't be relaxed and it certainly won't be fun....if I've learned anything of offroad riding you need to be relaxed...stiff arms legs and bodies are no help in dealing with uneven and slippy surfaces....my suggestion would be a yam serrow or a DRZ.
When I started off road riding on my blue and white 1150 I was prepared to drop the bike and brake things and I did....mirror, MRA vario screen, indicators..scratched the tank and cyl heads and dinged the rear wheel.
As I'd fitted crash bars and replaced the indicators with less vulnerable and easily obtainable units I was prepared to let it hit the deck.
In terms of looking ahead...this is one of the hardest things to master when we are uncertain we lack the confidence to scan the ground well ahead then let the subconscious deal with the immediate terrain by feel and peripheral vision....soon as you look down you stop forward planning and loose your reference point which keeps you upright when the bikes twitching and sliding.
I'm still very much a novice off road rider but there is a lot of the psychological theory and body management that carries over from my ski instructing days that is also true of many other pursuits.
Managing yourself is often the hardest part of any activity....hence why youtube is no help, you have physically got to experience it...to learn it. just watching is just no education in this regard.