Newbie - stopped on a hill

[samakld]

hi all. been riding now for about 3 weeks. prior to that only ever been on the back of a bike. everything is going well but one thing i'm struggling with is getting away smoothly when i'm stopped on a hill. i either

a. stall immediately
b. take away really slowly with the bike feeling like its about to stall. most of the time i give it more gas and it just dies
c. rev the crap out of it and drop the clutch and get away still really slowly but it finally gets some power and takes off.

i must be doing it all wrong and i was hoping someone could talk me through the whole process. should i be using my foot break more etc etc.

oh yeah i'm riding a 1990 250cc bandit with 10k on the clock.

[thehollowmen]

Don't drop the clutch, ease it out slowly. Have the brake on a little too. Yes, you will need to rev it a lot but just ease the power to the wheel by the clutch

[Gremlin]

have you got someone nearby you know, that can show you? Alternatively... auckland is a big place... where exactly are you?

being manual, its all about balancing clutch, brake, throttle etc.

[slimjim]

gee's we all been there and have done that :yes: and i would say that most of us would freely admit :mellow: to having one hell of alot of laugh's and a shit load of swearing .......... greatess thing is find your self one quiet uphill street, and spend time and time again just practiceing .... all day long if you;ll clutch will let ya, and when you think you've got it, then try another street and another hill, :scooter: in time you'll never know what all the fuss was about :bye:

[skidMark]

depending on where in auckland you are, i can help you my street is a hill and it's in the back of suburbia. so not too many cars to worry about

i'm in st johns park east auckland if you want to come round i can help i would come to you but my bike is in bits.

email me if you want to take up the offer

brngiton@hotmail.com

or add me on msn messenger...same as email address above...

[Steve 555]

Oh shit hey I also have problems on hills getting the balance now though practise makes perfect aye.:scooter:

[Lissa]

heehee sounds just like me.. I ride a GSF250 bandit. A couple of weeks ago I was parked on a bit of a slope and it took me eight times to get out of it without stalling. The only excuse I have, is I have riden a GN250 before that, and I didnt need to rev so high before letting the clutch out. Just try letting the clutch out a little slower, and umm yea practice.

[Toaster]

Work your way up from slight incline to hill...... build yourself into it - works really well.

[breakaway]

Best way to learn, is pull clutch, rev the tits off it, And very slowly let the clutch out. Don't worry about revs for now, just learn to move off.

Most important thing is to move off smoothly, and its all about clutch control. Revs have little to do with it.

[Chrislost]

just stomp the rear break, then release the clutch a little but, fell it start to engage and increase revs abit then off the break and clutch out like your on the level(with a bit more gas then usual)

[McJim]

I just applied all the same principles as a car hill start.

Differences are:
Clutch = left hand not left foot
Throttle = Right hand not right foot
Brake = Right Foot not left hand

I don't remember having issues with hill starts but that could be because I've always preferred V-Twins (loadsa low down torque).

Have you driven a manual car before?

[Mutley]

Hi there.
My take offs are not all that smooth either, but I have the opposite problem. No stalling, just end up going like a bat out of hell from my take offs, but only when I am turning onto a street. ie leaving a petrol station, or turning right or left at an intersection. Given me a few scares.:shit:
Practice is the only solution.:yes:

[Matt_TG]

After the Tauranga Easter Egg Run everyone filed out from the carpark up the road that joins the main road. It's quite a steep hill, and seemed especially so when the lights turned red and perhaps 15 bikes ahead and 100 behind me all ground to a halt. As normal at these Ulysses run events most the bikes were big, loud, shiny, expensive and ridden by those with many years experience.

I had my son on the back of my CX500, and was sure that the brakes would give out as we balanced on the hill waiting to move. I started going through what I should do in my head, rear brake on, rev slowly, let out clutch and move forward. When the lights changed I revved way too high, over-rode the clutch then let it out to quick, lurched forward nearly touching the pillion on the bike ahead then nearly stalled it oooops.

I reckon I over-analysed, sometime when you think too much it hurts ;)

[Puddlejumper]

I agree, too much thinking can be a bad thing. Lots of practice in a safe area is the remedy. I learned to ride in Dunedin and EVERY start was a hill start.

[slowpoke]

should i be using my foot break more etc etc.



I take it from this that you aren't using just the "foot brake"? In that case you are trying to do two things with one hand: throttle and brake.

Forget about using the front brake, it's way too awkward to brake and accelerate at the same time with one hand. Use only your "foot brake" to hold you on the incline, which makes it much easier to co-ordinate the throttle. As you feel the clutch start to take up, ease up on the brake while you ease open the throttle.

[Winter]

depending on where in auckland you are, i can help you my street is a hill and it's in the back of suburbia. so not too many cars to worry about

i'm in st johns park east auckland if you want to come round i can help i would come to you but my bike is in bits.

email me if you want to take up the offer

brngiton@hotmail.com

or add me on msn messenger...same as email address above...

sorry to hijack the thread, but where abouts is st johns park? I live in St Johns, Howard Hunter ave.

[ManDownUnder]

Hey - yeah we've all been there... learn learn learn.

2 things to work on here
1) Clutch control. practice this by finding a car park... ride off as normal, change up in to second gear then pull in the clutch and brake (DON'T change out of 2nd).

Now put on some more revs, and ease the cltch out till it starts to roll.... little by little... it's goin to be hard as first, but with some practice you'll get it, and contrary to popular belief it's not going to kill the clutch.

2) Easing away from a braked stop (i.e. uphill).

Foot brake on, no front brake. Power up, ease out the clutch and when you feel the bike want to start moving, lift off the foot brake... and you're away.

Getting the two synchronised is a bit of practice but you'll get there.
Good luck!
MDU

[Sanx]

I'm in Mt Roskill if anyone wants some pointers. Having said that ... it's all about listening to the engine and feeling where the engagement point of the clutch is. As you let the clutch out gently, you'll hear where the engine note starts to drop. That's the engagement point. You need to gradually increase the throttle and continue to let the clutch out, whilst at the same point let off the foot brake.

Sounds complicated, but in practice it's easy. After you've done a few of them, you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

Drop me a PM if you want me to pop round and demonstrate.

[sels1]

oh yeah i'm riding a 1990 250cc bandit



heehee sounds just like me.. I ride a GSF250 bandit. .

I've ridden a mates 250 Bandit a few times and they dont seem to have much low down torque, which makes them a bit harder to hill start than a single or v-twin. More revs are required than with other bikes. Its worse if the motor is cold - it needs to be warm enough to rev freely.
Keep practicing, you'll get the hang of it.

[Maha]

samakld posted this several days ago and hasn't checked back, wonder if he is stuck on a hill somewhere? Foot brake/clutch work/revs up a tad....a bit to think about when doing it but practice and it will sort its self out to the point where it will become 2nd nature.....

[howdamnhard]

All the above advice is good , also get somebody more experienced to check your bike out just in case its a problem with your bike , but its more likely you.:scooter:

[Toddy21]

Hey this is exactly what is happening with my 1990 Bandit 250GSF.... Just wondering if you got to the bottom of the problem?????

No matter how high i rev or how slow i let out the clutch the engine just boggs down taking off up a hill from stationary.... If i manage to crawl to the top of the hill onto flat or down hill then it falls into line and I can accelerate again.... otherwise it usually just stalls out on me.

From what i've been told it is probably the float???? Let me know if you managed to fix the problem and what it was.... It's frustrating the shiz outta me!!!

[breakaway]

Your best bet would be to find someone experienced and let them have a hill start on your bike. Not trying to sound like a dick, but maybe you're just not doing it right?

[Jonathan]

Hey this is exactly what is happening with my 1990 Bandit 250GSF.... Just wondering if you got to the bottom of the problem?????

No matter how high i rev or how slow i let out the clutch the engine just boggs down taking off up a hill from stationary.... If i manage to crawl to the top of the hill onto flat or down hill then it falls into line and I can accelerate again.... otherwise it usually just stalls out on me.

From what i've been told it is probably the float???? Let me know if you managed to fix the problem and what it was.... It's frustrating the shiz outta me!!!

This may sound very elementary but when I first started off I experienced similar issues and these were all due to me Trying To Hill Start From Second Gear. Took me a couple of days to work out you change Down First, then up.

This would explain everything described by OP...

[Jonno.]

Hey this is exactly what is happening with my 1990 Bandit 250GSF.... Just wondering if you got to the bottom of the problem?????

No matter how high i rev or how slow i let out the clutch the engine just boggs down taking off up a hill from stationary.... If i manage to crawl to the top of the hill onto flat or down hill then it falls into line and I can accelerate again.... otherwise it usually just stalls out on me.

From what i've been told it is probably the float???? Let me know if you managed to fix the problem and what it was.... It's frustrating the shiz outta me!!!

Where do you live.

[Slyer]

I'll ride it for ya.
As said, make sure you're in first.

[Old Steve]

I stalled on Elizabeth St hill coming up to Cameron Rd from Takitimu Drive in Tauranga at lunch time today. Felt like a fool, old guy on a big 250 learner's bike with a learner's plate on the back. Worse is, I've loudened up my exhaust so I felt as if everyone around was looking at me.

But don't worry, we all do it.

Eventually got away, used my foot brake to hold me on the hill, got a bit of revs up and used the clutch to take up and ease me away.

Now if I could only remember to cancel my indicators I'd be right :angry:

[Toddy21]

I live in Silverdale near Orewa, Auckland

[Jonno.]

I've PMed you.

[The Everlasting]

I myself found the best way to improve is just to keep practising,I find myself to be pretty good at riding the bike now,when i first got it I had trouble changing up and down the gears,I used to be afraid to stop etc,in case it took me too long to get going again.


You know what they say,practice makes perfect!

When your on a hill you use the rear brake to hold the bike,then gradually release your foot of the brake slowly as you feel the clutch grabbing,it's not much different to driving a manual car,as I use the handbrake to get away from a hill.

[proseuche]

aww. i feel your pain. got stuck on a steep hill for like 5 mins on my first solo ride. just idling there shitting my pants because i'd taken a wrong turn and there was a main road in front of me. had to do a tight u-turn hill start. all good. all about confidence and the foot brake.

[Kiri]

Hey - yeah we've all been there... learn learn learn.

2 things to work on here
1) Clutch control. practice this by finding a car park... ride off as normal, change up in to second gear then pull in the clutch and brake (DON'T change out of 2nd).

Now put on some more revs, and ease the cltch out till it starts to roll.... little by little... it's goin to be hard as first, but with some practice you'll get it, and contrary to popular belief it's not going to kill the clutch.

2) Easing away from a braked stop (i.e. uphill).

Foot brake on, no front brake. Power up, ease out the clutch and when you feel the bike want to start moving, lift off the foot brake... and you're away.

Getting the two synchronised is a bit of practice but you'll get there.
Good luck!
MDU

You're awesome!!!! I've been riding for 6 months and hill starts give me the s^&ts - that's the most straight forward advice I've heard, thanks :D