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gijoe1313
12th August 2006, 23:51
Well, I've had my first day out riding around my neighbourhood and out to my brothers place...and I can say it was a bit of a learning curve! :innocent:

I find it hard to get to neutral and managing a smooth change through the gears. Several times on take off, I managed to stall my bike :sick: (thank gawd the cagers behind me weren't too pissed off!) a couple of times. Needless to say this could be detrimental to my health!

Any advice or info much appreciated!

The_Dover
12th August 2006, 23:55
Come over tomorrow bro and I'll see if I can identify what you're doing wrong. I'm only a K or two away. PM me for the address.

I promise I wont kill you.

limbimtimwim
13th August 2006, 00:16
Take Mr Dover's offer.

You are probably not doing much wrong. Practise practise practise!!!

A few revs sometimes helps finding neutral (First bike I ever rode was like that, fuckin' horrible). Maybe shift into N while you are still moving instead of when you are stopped. Bike gearboxes seem to cease functioning in a logical way unless the bike is moving at least a little bit. Being in first also helps :)

You'll get it man! Don't dispair. Remeber what is was like learning to drive a car? All stalling and shit? Same crap all over again. I suggest a few hours in a car park, just practising moving off and stopping, into neutral, into gear and off again. Do it over and over till you start doing it on automatic. Don't get frustrated, don't ride for too long initially, riding a bike is VERY tiring for quite a while.

When you are riding on real roads, you want to not have to think much about clutch/gear control at intersections and spend more brain time-slices working on obeying the road rules, not meeting another vehicle in a painful way and not getting flustered because you think you are pissing other road users off.

ZeroIndex
13th August 2006, 07:40
try changing from 2nd to neutral (as opposed to first).. you can change more gently with the downward foot action..

I've just swapped the gear linkage on my GPX to race-pattern, and as soon as I get my bike back on the road, I can start learning race-pattern style biking :) apparantly a lot easier to change up when the bike is leant over on a left-hander

Kendog
13th August 2006, 15:05
I was as rough as guts when I started too (still am sometimes :o ), but don't worry too much about it, as LBTW said, it's all practice. Is there a car park or really quiet road near that you can practice riding up and down on and changing gear over and over again and slipping it into neutral etc, without having the extra stress of other traffic?
Before long it'll become really smooth and you'll wonder how that happened. Keep up the good work.
Take up Mr Dover's offer, he'll probably be able to give you some really good tips.
Mrs KD.

Zapf
13th August 2006, 20:12
if u are stalling it a few more revs would help... a 250cc 4 cylinder is not famous for torque :)

Also how long ago was the bike serviced? e.g oil change

if long time ago get it changed with some Motul 5100, it'll make a world of difference in gear change.

The_Dover
13th August 2006, 20:15
I think we got the gear changes sorted.

Next lesson : corners.

cowpoos
13th August 2006, 20:20
I think we got the gear changes sorted.

Next lesson : corners.
apparently you taught him well....got his knee down on his second corner didn't he?

ZeroIndex
13th August 2006, 21:04
I think we got the gear changes sorted.

Next lesson : corners.


apparently you taught him well....got his knee down on his second corner didn't he?

cowpoos: knee down in a good or a bad way?

gijoe1313
13th August 2006, 21:47
Ummm yes, I finally got some handle on the gears...just have to work on the rest of my skills :innocent:

You can read the sad, sordid and sorry state of affairs on the thread :

Binning Practice with Dover :yes:

Tricia1000
14th August 2006, 06:15
You could always try some training?

Tricia
Ummm yes, I finally got some handle on the gears...just have to work on the rest of my skills :innocent:

You can read the sad, sordid and sorry state of affairs on the thread :

Binning Practice with Dover :yes:

cowpoos
14th August 2006, 09:53
You could always try some training?

Tricia
dovers very experienced at binning love...he's in good hands...

Tricia1000
14th August 2006, 12:48
dovers very experienced at binning love...he's in good hands...

That is OK then

Fub@r
14th August 2006, 20:40
I have the opposite problem...........I find neutral when I dont want to :angry:

XR250 Si
15th August 2006, 10:00
Having just recently done my learners course and basic skills test my mind hasn't gone foggy just yet. My instructor told me, when using the bike don't worry about putting it into neutral when I come to a stop. Just clutch in and sit in 1st. Is this a good thing or a bad habit?:confused:

Still a couple of weeks away from purchasing my bike as a shipment of new XR250s is arriving at the end of the month. Do I buy a red one or a black one? Choices, choices. Red means danger, so maybe I take that one:o. Anyway, my point? Well, I'm probably going to be a bit rusty on the gear changes when the date comes around:o.

Ixion
15th August 2006, 10:18
Probably not the best practice , though not a major sin either.

Motorcycle clutches usually have a fair of drag , being wet clutches. Sitting for a prolonged period with the clutch disengaged will generate significant heat which can lead to accelerated wear (easy as to burn out the old cork clutches that way).

There is also the risk of a cable snapping leading to a possibly hazardous leap forward.

On the other hand there can be cases where it is wise to be prepared for an instant move - particularly if the last vehicle in a queue. Always keep your eyes on the rear view mirror watching for the idiot behind you who is not going to stop before he hits you, and be ready to leap forward into your bolt hole (you DO always have a bolt hole preselected, don't you?).

ZeroIndex
15th August 2006, 10:21
Having just recently done my learners course and basic skills test my mind hasn't gone foggy just yet. My instructor told me, when using the bike don't worry about putting it into neutral when I come to a stop. Just clutch in and sit in 1st. Is this a good thing or a bad habit?:confused:

Still a couple of weeks away from purchasing my bike as a shipment of new XR250s is arriving at the end of the month. Do I buy a red one or a black one? Choices, choices. Red means danger, so maybe I take that one:o. Anyway, my point? Well, I'm probably going to be a bit rusty on the gear changes when the date comes around:o.

if it's at a traffic light, and you've got nothing better to do with your left hand, leave it in 1st.. if anything (in my opinion), might actually be better, cause oil gets to go all around the clutch plates (possibly cooling them a tiny bit/more lubricating), ok, i probably don't know what i'm talking about, but yeah, no problem in leaving it in 1st..

TLDV8
15th August 2006, 11:06
My instructor told me, when using the bike don't worry about putting it into neutral when I come to a stop. Just clutch in and sit in 1st. Is this a good thing or a bad habit?:confused:

I am in neutral gear in the last couple of feet when pulling up to traffic lights.(You have to pull the clutch in at some point,neutral is just a click away ?)......... On a mechanical note,multiply the number of clutch springs by their poundage.That is the sideload on the clutch side bearing in the engine case when the clutch lever is in... so for me,i do not sit at lights in gear unless i know they are going to change a short time after i pull up...fwiw

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/DSC04684Custom.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

ZeroIndex
15th August 2006, 14:59
I am in neutral gear in the last couple of feet when pulling up to traffic lights.(You have to pull the clutch in at some point,neutral is just a click away ?)......... On a mechanical note,multiply the number of clutch springs by their poundage.That is the sideload on the clutch side bearing in the engine case when the clutch lever is in... so for me,i do not sit at lights in gear unless i know they are going to change a short time after i pull up...fwiw

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c345/manurewa/DSC04684Custom.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>

hmmm.. that's a good point.. well done.. I'll try that..

gijoe1313
15th August 2006, 20:59
On the other hand there can be cases where it is wise to be prepared for an instant move - particularly if the last vehicle in a queue. Always keep your eyes on the rear view mirror watching for the idiot behind you who is not going to stop before he hits you, and be ready to leap forward into your bolt hole (you DO always have a bolt hole preselected, don't you?).

Hmmm thanks Ixion, thats something I haven't factored in! :shit: I'm going to actively ensure that I'll do that also - does that mean leaving plenty of room between you and the cager up front and being on the right wheel track? Would love to have more advice on boltholing! :o

The_Dover
15th August 2006, 21:03
Would love to have more advice on boltholing! :o

I may be able to help you there too :blip:

GIXser
16th August 2006, 21:01
Come over tomorrow bro and I'll see if I can identify what you're doing wrong. I'm only a K or two away. PM me for the address.

I promise I wont kill you.

He wont kill ya, but have ya seen pulp fiction,,?, mate dont go cos you'll hear , "lets wake up the GIMP"

gijoe1313
16th August 2006, 22:17
I think I was meant to have a power pole shoved up somewhere where the tailpipe doesn't shine!

Hmmm...have to reconsider what his advice on "boltholing" could possibly mean now! :shit:

Ixion
16th August 2006, 23:43
Hmmm thanks Ixion, thats something I haven't factored in! :shit: I'm going to actively ensure that I'll do that also - does that mean leaving plenty of room between you and the cager up front and being on the right wheel track? Would love to have more advice on boltholing! :o

It means that wherever you are, stopped or riding, you always have a pre identified place to go if something nasty happens. So if you're stopped at the end of a queue of traffic, you identify that if necessary you can dive into the gap between the lanes. Or to the right (or left ) of a car - wherever, so long as its somewhere you won't get hit. Riding along you keep a running inventory - "I could turn into that drivway - room to move over to the right ,nothing behind me - I can nip in between those parked cars - that side street- that driveway - the verge there"- just constantly updated as you ride.

The first instinct of a cager when things go pear shaped is to hit the brakes. and in a cage that's usually the best thing to do. But bikes aren't as stable as cages under braking, and we're more easily squashed. So it's better to use our advantage, which is manoeuverability. Go to where the danger isn't. That's easier if you don't wait until you're in the shit to figure out where you can go to. So, always have a bolthole identified in your mind, ready to dive into. After a bit, it becomes automatic you don't even think about it. Just when that dork pulls out in front of you, instead of hitting the brakes and coming off, you nip into your bolthole, and carry on.

NighthawkNZ
20th September 2006, 22:17
I have the opposite problem...........I find neutral when I dont want to :angry:


Doh we have all done that.... thats where the black leathers and tinted visor help hehehhe

Skyryder
30th September 2006, 18:55
I think we got the gear changes sorted.

Next lesson : corners.

Nothing like a learner on wheelies.................before the fear takes over.:2thumbsup

Skyryder