Riding "no hands"

[inlinefour]

More like riding with no brain

[Ixion]

That's what I was thinking. It should steer straight unless there is something wrong. But then I'm not a mechanic.

Only if there's no camber on the road. Most roads are cambered left so the bike will want to roll left

[XP@]

If you really want to do the no-handed thing then use the "cruise control" aka choke on your bike. Using the choke gives you a good, slow, even pace to practice with. then if you have a steering damper, just jump on your tank and start knitting.

You can swerve quite accuratly by changing the weight on your feet. but it soon becomes obvious that the handle bars are there for a reason.

[Wolf]

If you really want to do the no-handed thing then use the "cruise control" aka choke on your bike. Using the choke gives you a good, slow, even pace to practice with. then if you have a steering damper, just jump on your tank and start knitting.

You can swerve quite accuratly by changing the weight on your feet. but it soon becomes obvious that the handle bars are there for a reason.

My CB550 really did have "cruise control" - when I bought it it had a lever right next to the throttle where it could be operated by the thumb. Flicking the lever tightened a flexible metal band that locked the throttle in position so you could let go of the throttle without it rapidly winding down.

A twist on the throttle in either direction was sufficient to force it to snap "open" and release the throttle - quite ingenious.

Very handy on long trips - I could snap it on for long enough to take my hand from the throttle and flex my fingers, get the blood moving again.

[XP@]

My CB550 really did have "cruise control" - when I bought it it had a lever right next to the throttle where it could be operated by the thumb. Flicking the lever tightened a flexible metal band that locked the throttle in position so you could let go of the throttle without it rapidly winding down.

A twist on the throttle in either direction was sufficient to force it to snap "open" and release the throttle - quite ingenious.

Very handy on long trips - I could snap it on for long enough to take my hand from the throttle and flex my fingers, get the blood moving again.

Hmmm... would like one of those, I think there are a few on the market. The other trick for flexing the hands is to hold the clutch in, you can usually coast for just enough time to excercise.

[Wolf]

Hmmm... would like one of those, I think there are a few on the market. The other trick for flexing the hands is to hold the clutch in, you can usually coast for just enough time to excercise.

Yeah, I suspect the one I had was aftermarket, hard to be sure as the bike was an American model - 4-into-4 exhaust, king/queen seat... a mate of mine who was seriously into bikes thought it had been customised until he had a closer look and realised it was the US model. Looked bugger-all like the model we got here, apparently. The bloke I brought it from was a Yank so I guess he must've brought it over when he came here.

Qute a good bike, the CB550, too bad it was a trifle big for me to ride comfortably.

[XP@]

Qute a good bike, the CB550, too bad it was a trifle big for me to ride comfortably.

I used to look really silly trying to push start my cb750... "pea on a drum" was the expression used i think...
But i did get a serious amount of rep for being able to push start it up hill (i'm only 5'4")