Look no hands! I know its dumb but....

[brightspark]

Recently I've seen several bikers riding 'hands free', at relatively slow speed. As a newish biker, I have no idea if my eyes are deceiving me, or are these bikes still moving under power without a hand on the throttle? As soon as I lift my right hand off, engine breaking kicks in and I would probably grind to a halt within 20/30 metres.

So is my perception, as a spectator different, and are these bikes actually gradually slowing down, or is there some technique to keep forward motion going? ( posted in this forum as, yes I know its stupid to take both hands off, but I'm just curious!)

[FilthyLuka]

In most scenarios, the bike is actually slowing down. The engine braking on a high revving 4 cylinder is very minimal (atleast compared to a 600 thumper) and if its a two stroke theres none of it at all :)

[madmal64]

I do this from time to time. Usually when Im coming into a town from open road speed. I do this if there is clear road in front and no side roads for things to come out of.
For me its more of a stretching thing and gives me few seconds to sit up and have a small wriggle of the wrist and back. Of course sitting up adds to the slow down time too. So I am slowing down.
Hope that sort of answers your questions.

[onearmedbandit]

I do this a lot...

[Fatjim]

If you are in top gear the engine breaking is not so bad, even on a big vtwin.

[FROSTY]

A good way to check if things might be amiss with the bikes front end.Habds off bars see if things start to wobble

[brightspark]

so.... you are not somehow powering your machines without touching the throttle, just using your skill & expertise to make it look like you are...

[onearmedbandit]

Nothing to do with skill and expertise. If you're in a higher gear on a larger bike engine braking is not enough to slow the bike abruptly. On my thou I can slow right down to a wobble before I need to grab the bar.

[McJim]

A good way to check if things might be amiss with the bikes front end.Habds off bars see if things start to wobble

And if a not very good rider tries this then soon things WILL be wrong :rofl:

The VTR250 has a fair amount of engine braking for a first bike so you will feel daunted as a relative noobie. I moved from the VTR250 to a Ducati 600ss which has way more engine braking but I know the bike pretty well and know how quickly it slows down in each gear so like tonight after a blat round the countryside as I came bak into a heavily policed 50 zone I sat up and took both hands off the bars and let them hang down at my sides to loosen up.

I take the hands off the bars quite often these days coz all the roads round here are straight and I get a bit stiffer than when I was caning the twisties around Auckland.

Thanks for the tip Frosty - good to know my front end is fine.

[johnnyflash]

and no, it doesnt slow the bike down if Cruise Control is engaged :-) how the hell are you meant to drink your coffee and eat pizza :-)

[McJim]

and no, it doesnt slow the bike down if Cruise Control is engaged :-) how the hell are you meant to drink your coffee and eat pizza :-)

You forgot texting dude. Shit, are you the Cruiser from Ponsnobby or summat?:rofl:

[johnnyflash]

You forgot texting dude. Shit, are you the Cruiser from Ponsnobby or summat?:rofl:

Sorry McJim, forgot about that, I aint perfected one handed txting yet, takes both hands and cant take eyes off lcd screen for at least 5 minutes, , its those four page txts with one finger on each hand that takes at least 5 kilometers to complete.:lol:

[riffer]

I do this from time to time. Usually when Im coming into a town from open road speed. I do this if there is clear road in front and no side roads for things to come out of.
For me its more of a stretching thing and gives me few seconds to sit up and have a small wriggle of the wrist and back.

Hah! I thought I was the only one who did this. Cheers Mal. I don't feel alone any more. It's a good time to have a bit of a stretch but keep your eyes peeled on the side roads.

[sAsLEX]

A good way to check if things might be amiss with the bikes front end.Habds off bars see if things start to wobble

Another one for front end stability at speed is to give the bars a Delta input of a short sharp whack, this in essence contains all frequency vibrations, and if you have a poor set up it might induce a tank slapper!

[babyblade250rr]

i know some motorcycles (Dont ask me which) have an idle speed adjuster on the handle bars so by increasing it allow the bike to move forward from the high idle, As for people like myself that have no idle adjuster use a higher gear you get a longer roll! but be careful!!

[Nagash]

Another one for front end stability at speed is to give the bars a Delta input of a short sharp whack, this in essence contains all frequency vibrations, and if you have a poor set up it might induce a tank slapper!

Not keen for a self-induced tank slapper but cheers for the heads up..

I tend to roll around on open roads no-handed just for a stretch. That's about as far as my 'stunting' abiltys go. Though I can do a no-footer to! :rockon:

[xwhatsit]

Ask Donor what it looks like when I take my hands off the bars on a downhill over poor surface :laugh:

Pretty stable, but hit a few bumps and the slightly lowered front-end starts oscillating with no hands on bars. Still stable, though, hell, you can even steer it with your knees. Doesn't concern me, but worried the hell out of Donor until I touched the handlebar with a couple of fingers and immediately it stopped. Been banked over in corners with shitty surface (SH22 is a classic), never caused an issue, just a twitch if the bump is large enough. Nothing to worry about, bike doesn't leave its line. I suspect the useless shocks and flimsy swing-arm rather than front-end. Standard 70s/80s shit. Lowered front-end just exacerbates it.

Big Dave was cracking me up, sitting behind him somewhere near Waiwera (I think), in some traffic moving at 80-90kph. Hands by his sides, cornering quite smoothly and normally with his knees, a touch of rear brake every so often.

Just whack it in a gear which puts the engine speed not too far from idle.

[Nagash]

Or if you have really good balance (or fat tyres) you can just put it in first and slowly let off the clutch until it's fully out and then just roll REALLY slowly without slowing down. Go no handed all day like that.

[MaxB]

I do it after a long session on the bike. You get pretty stiff after a few hundred klicks and need to get the circulation going. Usually just choose my moment on a back road or where there are no turnings.

Stay alert and cover the back brake and only do it if the bike remains stable when the weight comes off the bars.

BTW If you are tired you should stop for a break anyway.

[onearmedbandit]

Cornering with no hands scares oncoming traffic somewhat...so I've been told.

[banditrider]

Like some of the others above I do it for a decent stretch. Can be fun doing it coming down a hill when engine braking not quite so effective and then turning the bike by using a bit of body english.

Also, on the 14 you can have ya mitt off the throttle in at least the 1st 3 gears and she won't stall - fuel injection + torque = good. (I generally have my left hand on the bars doing this - ready for grabbing the clutch if she does decide to stall). Very irresponsible...

[crashe]

Just look at my avatar pic........

That pic was taken by Mudboy while he was sitting on the back of AJTurbo's bike on the way to the Paroa Road races a few years back...

It is my signature...... :banana:

[MSTRS]

Like some of the others above I do it for a decent stretch. Can be fun doing it coming down a hill when engine braking not quite so effective and then turning the bike by using a bit of body english.



+1.
Note:- if you get this manouevre wrong, there will be a bit more than engine breaking involved...:pinch:

[banditrider]

+1.
Note:- if you get this manouevre wrong, there will be a bit more than engine breaking involved...:pinch:

Damn straight - probably easier on a big fat tourer than a light little 250...

[EroSamnin]

I do it after adjusting my chain to make sure I didn't bugger up the alignment. If it's out it goes left or right adn have to take it back home and adjust again. Needs to be a flat bit of road tho cos I think the camber of the road can make it go left. I also do it when I need to open the vents on my jacket or pull dual fingers at retard cagers.

[Coyote]

Hah! I thought I was the only one who did this. Cheers Mal. I don't feel alone any more. It's a good time to have a bit of a stretch but keep your eyes peeled on the side roads.
I do often too.

And many slowish twisty sections, like blue mountains hill road. It's quite interesting that you can feel your subconscious control the bike cause when you panic and shift your weight the bike keeps going straight untill you reach the corner and you miraculously turn. Sounds like I'm spouting shit but that's what I've found.

[jrandom]

Making canoe-paddling motions with one's arms when one is riding no-handed in front of spectators is always a good move.

:niceone:

[westie]

My fireblade goes quite well with no hands. Thinking of just sending it out for a ride without me.

My bar ends are quite tight and semi hold the throttle on when placed just right.
Can go hands free for the whole of the new motorway accross the greenhithe bridge.
Could be the new hands free gadget kind of like for phones
It feels great but is probably quite dangerous

[2wheeldrifter]

i know some motorcycles (Dont ask me which) have an idle speed adjuster on the handle bars so by increasing it allow the bike to move forward from the high idle, As for people like myself that have no idle adjuster use a higher gear you get a longer roll! but be careful!!

The Duc has one and it's great!:scooter:

[scumdog]

I do this from time to time. Usually when Im coming into a town from open road speed. I do this if there is clear road in front and no side roads for things to come out of.
For me its more of a stretching thing and gives me few seconds to sit up and have a small wriggle of the wrist and back. Of course sitting up adds to the slow down time too. So I am slowing down.
Hope that sort of answers your questions.

Snap!

I also do this, mostly after riding for a while on the open road and on entering a town take my hands off the bars to flex my fingers, stretch my arms and lean back for several seconds.

Also give me time to check my fingerless gloves are still done up and looking cool...:shifty:

[McJim]

Snap!

I also do this, mostly after riding for a while on the open road and on entering a town take my hands off the bars to flex my fingers, stretch my arms and lean back for several seconds.

Also give me time to check my fingerless gloves are still done up and looking cool...:shifty:
Engine braking isn't your problem though - tassle braking is your issue :rofl:

[scumdog]

Engine braking isn't your problem though - tassle braking is your issue :rofl:

Hey - tassles are my secret stability control device -ok?!!:whistle:

[kiwibryn]

I got a sticky throttle, it stays where I want it so no hands is easy... not often and only when I am unsure of what the last corrugated corner has done to my alignment.
BTW, if ya wanna scare the shit out of ya friends, make ya throttle sticky, get used to it so it looks like a normal one under use... then swap bikes on a run.... ya better be confident of ya mates riding ability, tho... :D

[SPman]

Cornering with no hands scares oncoming traffic somewhat...so I've been told.It's fun though.......

[CB ARGH]

Used to do it on the old XR200, click it into neutral and away she goes (obviously down a hill).

[Chad]

I do this too on my CBR250, can be nice for a quick back and wrist stretch on long rides. And as someone mentioned above, having a slightly sticky throttle can keep the bike going for ages with no hands :P although this also led to my first off when I stuck halfway through a right hander, back wheel hit a bump and down I went... all fun and games.

and as to why the bike stays stable and upright with no hands, all comes down to centripetal or centrifugal force (one of the two anyway). Have you seen the trick where someone stands on a rotating platform and holds a spinning bike wheel in their hands. Its hard for them to turn it side to side from upright, and if they do it causes them to turn in that direction.

Bike is just the same, but with heavier wheels so the forces are greater. The bike wants to stay upright and going straight. If you could do it well, you could jump right off and the bike should just keep going straight ahead by its self, as long as everything is all plumb. Although I'm not so keen to actually test that one...

[mbazza]

I do this but only down hill. I've only been able to do it with my last two bikes as they are new and stable.
There is little engine breaking and it's fun to control the bike with the body and knees.:eek5:

If a want a real thrill!!!!!!!!! I'll do it for a nanosecond on the scooter. :crazy:

No hands improves my brain and my balance.

(Yeah, I know I could do with heaps of brain improvement!)

Cheers ;)

[XP@]

i know some motorcycles (Dont ask me which) have an idle speed adjuster on the handle bars so by increasing it allow the bike to move forward from the high idle, As for people like myself that have no idle adjuster use a higher gear you get a longer roll! but be careful!!

I thought all bikes had idle adjusters...

Fuel injected bikes may not need one, but every bike i have had has a choke. For maximum time hands off, make sure you are in a high gear, open the choke full and let go...

Don't start by standing up and putting your hands behind your head, baby steps first. Also watch the speed, fast is good unless your wheels are unbalanced.

Because your right hand is doing most of the work you may want to rest / flex it without stopping. It may sound daft, but to get the most time off the bars for your right hand pull in the clutch before you let go of the throttle, its amazing how long you can coast for...

[Freakshow]

Top gear and choke on the bike can hold 50km which is helpful when bored!

[marioc]

Yep I did not muster up the courage to do it for ages,but once I did it was not a lot different to riding my mountain bike with no hands

[FJRider]

i know some motorcycles have an idle speed adjuster on the handle bars so by increasing it allow the bike to move forward from the high idle.

NOT a recomended thing to suggest...or do. The extra rev's can play havoc with gear changes when the clutch comes in...

[mouldy]

Damn straight - probably easier on a big fat tourer than a light little 250...

Nup makes no differnce , can almost but not quite come to a no hander full stop on either 'blade or shitbox 250

[skidMark]

I do this a lot...

lol......

Ahhh it should engine brake alot less in higher gears to answer the thread starters question....

it gets fun when it goes into a tank slapper off a bump too!!!!

[dpex]

I have to admit, I do this, when going downhill, sometimes. I have this issue with my bike, or me...most likely me.... rolling a bit from side to side at slow speed (under 40ks) I suspect it's me being all tense, so now and again, on selected hills, when there's nobody elese around, I sit up, hands off. I can't last more than about three seconds. Which kind've proves to me that the rolling around is caused by my lack of balance. ASnd so to test any potential improvement, I do the hands off thing.

Dumb, maybe. But at least it shows my progress rate.....Not good, yet. :--((((

Oddly enough, I find I can sit up like Jackie with a full tank, but a half tank and less and I get three seconds if I'm lucky.
Cheers
David.