I had to ride the bike into a car park where the surface was heavy gravel. It was quite firm and the wheels did not sink in but it was still extremely diffcult to control the bike.
There was zero grip on the front wheel (even before I got on it felt there was nothing under it) and it felt like all the weight had been shifted to the back wheel. Poor grip at the back made it difficult to start off slowly and under control.
Any tips on how to keep control on gravel surfaces?
Apart from Stabilisers then aint much you can do but get your feet ready to balance you out if needed!
Or just fit the Stabilisers to your bike, I wont laugh honest!! :P:cool:
stay in first gear
go slowly (perhaps use a little rear brake if you are confident with it and are soft and slow with it)
for the front brake especially, do not brake sharply - brake very softly and slowly
turn the wheel very slowly
if you are concerned, or quite short, hover your feet over the ground to help with any unexpected tiltings
Get a car !
As PPG says, slowly does it, rear brake and keep feet out for any slippages…
Dont go in the car park
For specialist training on non-tarmac surfaces
Try Here
http://www.yamaha-offroad-experience.co.uk/courses.htm
Best advice is do everything very cautiously- but keep in control.
If it’s me, I tend to keep feet up and put weight on the footrests to keep my centre of gravity low. Works for me…so far 
TRY GETTING A NEW BIKE HOW BOUT THIS ONE:
Try to enter the gravel in a straight line, if your not confident skim the gravel with the soles of your feet (ready just in case you happen to drop it) or if your are reasonably confident push down on foot rests to give a low centre of gravity, coupled with a light but firm grip on the bars.
Always difficult but try to stay relaxed and smooth with all movements (including throttle).
Refrain from using the front brake, and slow down by clutch and light use of back brake, and as always Look where you want to go/end up, and not at the front wheel.
feet down is BAD so try to keep your feet on the pegs, will make you far more stable and if you do get into trouble you will get your feet down fast enough. Having your feet off the bike is one more thing to wobble around and there aren’t any bike controls on the floor!! If you can…stand up and use rear brake…don’t bother with the front.
IMO Depending on how loose the gravel is I keep revs up slightly while slipping clutch (to keep engine momentum up). I stay in second gear rather than first and not too slow or the wheels dig in. I’ve found going really slowly is much more difficult on gravel- I find I need a bit of momentum then I sort of ‘skip’ across the stones IMO. If I feel the bike skidding I ‘go with it’ rather than fighting it and then I can easily keep it upright by adjusting my bodyweight. I slow down with engine braking and minimal back brake to come to a halt. When I stop I put both feet down as one foot might slip on gravel (v.embarassing). Finally, when putting side stand down I make sure well planted or bike might topple over (even more embarassing). Note: I’m not an expert off-road rider though I do often ride on gravel tracks- this is just what works for me and I take no responsibility if someone tries it and it doesn’t work for them!
nail it in first…leaving a big fugg off rooster tail 
at least then if ya go down you going in style
get a moto and enjoy every bit of loose gravel:D
Get a trail bike with compromise tyres and you’ll stop worrying about gravel.
You’ll just start to worry about wet tarmac instead.
