Trouble climbing hills

i just got a ktm 200 exc its usually easy to control and handle but when i was told how to climb hills i was told to be in mid range and on the clutch which is what i do but now i cant go faster on the hill or my front end picks up. also i heard i should stay in the the powerband which i cannot figure out how to do that on a hill.  
KTM 200 EXC

What gear are you in when going up the hill?  
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I love this dirt stuff.

2nd  
KTM 200 EXC

First make sure you have our ass end over the rear of the seat and chest over the handlebars. second 2 gear in your bike should work well for just about any hill climb. the more you climb hills the better your going to get. Also, if you dont make it, try to always swing the bike to your right so you can keep your foot on the rear break and left foot on the ground(uphill). Choosing you line and sticking with it on hillclimbs will help you a lot, premeditate the line you are going to choose and keep your head pointed towards the line oyu want. As far as clutching, stay off the clutch until you need it and feather it when you start to bog, high RPMS can be key to reaching you peak.  
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MIKE
Phoenix, az
(07 yz250)
(99 yz125)


Every bush has its day (sanders, 2009)
Lack of enthusiasm is for the weak and timid. (alex, a.k.a. yz250 forever)

"I know much about nothing at all"(Maple, 2009)

second gear, quarter throtal, and clutch pulled just at the point after were it lets off  
KTM 200 EXC

i already do most of that but if im not using the clutch my front end comes up instantly with very little gas  
KTM 200 EXC

try third to keep the front end down, or scoot you ass up to the tank and stand over your handlebars. You must be really keeping to much weight in the back if it comes up that easy. body position is key. I love to hill climb and pretty much will try any hill climb I can find it took a while to understand the fundamentals but of course you want to adjust your body position to keep the front end down adn the rear tire digging  
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____________________
MIKE
Phoenix, az
(07 yz250)
(99 yz125)


Every bush has its day (sanders, 2009)
Lack of enthusiasm is for the weak and timid. (alex, a.k.a. yz250 forever)

"I know much about nothing at all"(Maple, 2009)

i was told to stand so that it feels like you're on flat ground...keep your body standing and forward.  also, i've been told to use the clutch to regulate your speed...keep the engine revving, and when the front end starts to come up, pull in the clutch...it's a trick of feathering the clutch and keeping the engine going.

notice i say "i've been told" because it's hard and i find myself rarely doing it. hahaha.  even though i know it's what you're supposed to do.  
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"Only the desert has a fascination to ride alone in the sun in the forever unpossessed country away from man. That is a great temptation."
--D.H. Lawrence

I would like ML to comment on this as well,. He does or did hill climbs.
But What I do on hills is stay on the gas and pegs with my body waight over on the bars to keep the front end down.
And I try not to use the clutch untill I have to. The trick is to stay in the power with traction. And that means throttle and right gear as well as clutch.
It really depends on the incline and terrain.
Sand,hard pact,loom,mud,clay.
I do most hills in 2nd and 3rd at the apex in the band. If Its tight and obsticels I pick a line and stick with it and will shift to 3rd without the clutch in the right rpm rang. On reg hills I use the clutch.  
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DIABETES SUX!

Kinda hard to explaine.  
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DIABETES SUX!

Also if you know your not going to make it, Do not force it. Down shifting on a steep hill is REAL tricky. I lean my bike to the right and with clutch in let the bike roll back with my foot down and turn my bars all the way to the right and then push off with the same foot to get the bike squared up to go back down.
And you can practice this. You need to lean the bike over and regulate the back turn with your front brake.
Thats why you bring the bike over on the right, Who cares about the back brake? You want control of the shifter and front brake.  
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DIABETES SUX!

i know what feathering the clutch is i just dont if im doing it correctly, is it squeezing the clutch lightly in and out?  
KTM 200 EXC

Yes but you are keeping the gas on while squeezing the clutch in and out.  
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I love this dirt stuff.

forget about the clutch. only use clutch if you lose speed and drop out of powerband (usually too late to recover). if you're having trouble keeping the front down move forward more, not too much though, you ideally want your front tyre just off or just touching the ground so you have max traction to keep your speed up.  
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Being fast is 90% rider and only 5% bike the rest is luck

clutching uphills is bad....the only time i ever had to clutch was if i screwed up and slowed down and lost the powerband so i had to downshift but sometimes you cant recover and have to do what yzwoods said and try to quickly roll back and turn at the same time to go back down and take another run....if you screw up on an uphill it usually means dead stop then instantly rolling/sliding backwards. try to get as much weight forwards as possible and keep the bike revved and in the powerband all the time. don't downshift or upshift because the second you squeeze in the clutch you lose all power and momentum and if youre trying to upshift by the time you get it in gear and cluch back out youll have lost to many revs and need to immediately shift back down....also like other people said...you must be sitting to far back on the bike....usually i find myself almost sitting on the gas tank for any aggressive riding i do just to help control the front end coming up and it just feels natural and i end up sitting that way.....if you hang yur butt way back on the bike on an uphill it will make it more tippy....also if you arent keeping the bike like 85% revved out then when you snap the gas a bit youll be hitting the meatier part of the powerband and the bike will want to tip over.....drop a gear and go up slower if you find 2nd gear to fast that you cant keep it revved up....that will make you rev it higher to get the speed and the powerband wont bother you as much because the snappyness drops off at like 80% rev or watever depending on the bike

if im climbing a hill im unsure of and i cant see a really nice line i always climb it in first cause i hate backpedalling and trying to sort myself out if i screw up half way up....it can be really hard to keep from tumbling arse over tea kettle back down a hill with the bike almost on you

also my last comment...it makes a bigggg difference on the type of terrain and conditions....easier to climb a wet sandy hill than a dry sandy hill....that doesnt apply to mud or grass or clay MUD GRASS AND CLAY ARE EVIL WHEN WET ! all of my riding areas are hard packed clay and grass....grass and clay turn into grease with even the tinyest moisture on them...literally like riding on greased ice....so be very cautious if you hit terrain like this and it rained in the past few days....i dont do hills if its wet  
1978 Yamaha 175 MX
Northern Ontario
Canada
31 yrs young
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Yaaaayyyyyy!