I found one!

[insomnia01]

anyone out there who would like to give me a lesson or two to get me started on the right foot? Or the left foot...?

Well done & Welcome aboard !! Keep a eye on LOR rides in the meeting & Events threads for the Waikato region, come along on a ride sometime

[Tigadee]

I tend to start with the left foot on the peg (move gear lever to first) and the right foot on the ground (stop the bike falling over ...)

That's a good subject.

MSYeagle - Best is to put both feet down if you can, especially in windy conditions, uneven surfaces, when going to turn from stop, etc.

I've (yes, yet again...) dropped a bike because I stalled when turning from a stop and neglected to have the foot on turning side down. If I had, I would have been able to stop the bike from falling over on me foot (240kgs of bike on your foot = big ouch/bruise!).

[MystikEagle]

Thanks alot for all your help guys!
What foot do you put down on a slope? I tend to just find a flat spot or face up the slope with the farm bike... (not that we have many hills on this farm...)

[Ocean1]

Thanks alot for all your help guys!
What foot do you put down on a slope? I tend to just find a flat spot or face up the slope with the farm bike... (not that we have many hills on this farm...)

You should try to get comfortable with either foot down. But given that it's more better to have the back brake available I reckon it's a good idea to hook 1st gear before you stop, pull the clutch as usual and drop the left foot. That way you can hold the bike on the slope with the back brake, and it's easier to throttle up and take off if you're not having to worry about the front brake at the same time.

Make sense?

[Captain_Salty]

Good choice. I have the owners/workshop manuals on pdf, if you'd like a copy emailed, PM me.
These bikes are known to be cold blooded and mine won't idle nice until it's properly warmed up, but if it wants to stall while idling there are a couple of things worth checking.

[MystikEagle]

You should try to get comfortable with either foot down. But given that it's more better to have the back brake available I reckon it's a good idea to hook 1st gear before you stop, pull the clutch as usual and drop the left foot. That way you can hold the bike on the slope with the back brake, and it's easier to throttle up and take off if you're not having to worry about the front brake at the same time.

Make sense?

That sounds about what I would do
What about when facing across the slope rather than up/down?

[Damantis]

Wish I could have got something like that instead of a 250 to start on.
It will feel powerfull now but in a six months or so you'll be wondering what you want next!

[Ocean1]

That sounds about what I would do
What about when facing across the slope rather than up/down?

Depends on how much leg-reach you've got. Doesn't take much of a slope to have you stretching, though.

If your left foot can't reach then use your right on the uphill side. Try to organise it so you're pointing downhill just a bit if posible and practice using the front brake and throttle at the same time.

Big thing is to have it sorted in your head before you get there. Unsurprisingly, that same idea pretty much deals with almost all of your potential fuckups.

[FJRider]

That sounds about what I would do
What about when facing across the slope rather than up/down?

Closest foot to the ground ... unless you have long legs ...

[MadDuck]

Closest foot to the ground ... unless you have long legs ...

Yep...This works for me

[FJRider]

Thanks alot for all your help guys!
What foot do you put down on a slope? I tend to just find a flat spot or face up the slope with the farm bike... (not that we have many hills on this farm...)

You can practice on sloping downhill bits too ... same procedure ... (and easier to practice)

[MystikEagle]

Thanks guys!

[Tigadee]

Definitely closest foot to the ground...

The two times I dropped the bike on a slope was because I put my foot down the lower side [being momentarily brainless ] and when the foot didn't encounter the ground that it normally would have and [being caught off-guard] continued downwards, the rest of my body started to follow and then the bike.

It was too late to stop the bike tipping over as momentum, my weight plus the bike's weight combined to pull me over and down. Little damage the first time as it was the tiny Scorpio but the 2nd time really messed up the 400...

[george formby]

speaking of feet & hills. My G/F taught me a doozy. She rolled backwards down a slightly sloping drive, perfectly, until the bike stopped. Against the camber of the road she had to turn into. Course, the bike was level but the gap below her boots was a at least a foot more than normal, the lowest point between the two slopes. Physics can be really hard on bikers..... Keerrrrunch.

[FJRider]

speaking of feet & hills. My G/F taught me a doozy. She rolled backwards down a slightly sloping drive, perfectly, until the bike stopped. Against the camber of the road she had to turn into. Course, the bike was level but the gap below her boots was a at least a foot more than normal, the lowest point between the two slopes. Physics can be really hard on bikers..... Keerrrrunch.

Exiting/entering vehicle entrance-ways ... stopping with one wheel either side of the gutter.

The distance from the pegs to the ground may not always be huge ... but often just too far ...


Before you park ... stop in a safe place, and give your intended parking place a dam good look.

Better to ride like a nana ... than park and fall like an idiot. The likely hood of such increase's ... the more people (other bikers) there are to see it ...