She dropped it again

[snuffles]

The beloved wife now has matching cracks in the GSX fairing, she managed to drop in on the other side

but on the good side, she can change up and down , indicate and use the front brake, she just seems to have an issue when completely stopped.

any advice????

[Colapop]

have you tried encouraging her to put her feet down?

[Keystone19]

I don't know if this will be any help at all, but it seems to be a balance problem. Even a bike that seems light to you may seem pretty heavy to her. If it is unbalancing her when she comes to a stop she probably needs to practice balancing.

I would suggest she practices balancing on a pushbike first - i.e. try sitting stationary on the bike with both feet off the ground - can only do it for a short period of time but it helps with balance. Then get her to try it on the motorbike - with you close by to catch it if she unbalances.

[XP@]

engine bars?

or help her practice walking round the bike without putting the stand down. best tried on grass first, but it teaches you how to hold a bike from any angle, generally building up confidence with it.

edit: and as Keystone says, slow speed controll is really food to practice :-)

[bugjuice]

would this be too harsh to suggest..??

j/k

What about just practice slipping the clutch very slowly, with both feet down, and just 'walk' the bike along. She'll soon get used to the 'neutral' feel when the bike is balancing itself. She can then judge when she comes to slow down, that she should then prepare to put both feet down, usually start preparing to put feet down at ~10kph, then when the bike comes to an almost stop, put both feet down..

Some people pick up things at different rates. It's all just practice and encouragement

[ManDownUnder]

I don't know if this will be any help at all, but it seems to be a balance problem. Even a bike that seems light to you may seem pretty heavy to her. If it is unbalancing her when she comes to a stop she probably needs to practice balancing.

I would suggest she practices balancing on a pushbike first - i.e. try sitting stationary on the bike with both feet off the ground - can only do it for a short period of time but it helps with balance. Then get her to try it on the motorbike - with you close by to catch it if she unbalances.

I'd say it's balance and familiarity.

We did a really cool exercise when I did my defensive riding course (back when they were steam powered... ahem)... a slow riding race.

Riders have to go from A to B as slowly as they can - last person wins.

It teaches balance, clutch, throttle and brake control (all at the same time when you're good). And you can do it somewhere safe...

When you get really good you stand up and do it (lower centre of gravity).

Another balance things we were taught (and one I use to this very day) always... ALWAYS lift your feet onto the bike when you start off, and don;t put them down until you're stationary.

Takes practice - but it really pays off. After a while you forget you're doing it, until at the lights and you sit there for 3 seconds before putting your feet down. Feels really cool.

Good luck

[Mrs Old Farts]

I had a few problems like this also, for balance and to feel where the bike is under her, you put both your legs either side of the front wheel and hold the handlebars facing her, then get her to put both feet up on the pegs and just get her to balance there with you holding the bike she will feel how it is to move your body with the bike and compensate with your body weight which ever way the bike moves. Hope this will help. it helped me no end. And dont forget to keep your legs tucked in tight either side of the tank as this also helps with balance.
P.s. If she forgets to put her feet down on stopping write a big note and tape it to the tank as a reminder.

[The Stranger:Me]

Is there even a little turn on the front wheel when she does it?

If the front wheel is turned the balance shifts.

This can be accentuated when weight is moved forward, such as when braking at low speeds where there is litle or no gyro effect, or not taking off smoothly.

If this is the case you could try and get her to ensure all starts and stops are effected only with the front wheel dead straight.

[heavenly.talker]

Hi there

When I started biking I used to not trust myself to put the left foot down before I lost balance of the bike. What I would do in the rush is lean the bike over and then end up landing very heavy on the left leg.

Some of this could have been due to the fact that the bike was slightly too tall for my short ass legs.

I fixed this by changing completely down into first before stopping and making a game of how long I could balance before putting my feet down. Yes if I felt a little concerned then I very lightly and purposefully touched both toes down so i felt secure and then lifted the right straight back up to put on the foot brake as per LTSA recommendations.

This built confidence in my ability to balance and trust in the bikes centre of gravity.
I still make a game of balancing when stopping but very rarely need to both feet gently down. In fact I normally sit with feet up as long as I can and then just lean slightly to the left when putting that foot down.

Anyway the upshot

*Get her preparing to stop further away from the point she wants to.
*Get her to change down using engine braking and brakes in a non-hurried way so she can pull up confidently.
*Get her to concentrate on trying to remain stationairy when she stops before putting her foot down.
*If she feels unsure of her balance let her quickly take both feet off the pedals at the same time to gain her balance and then pick up the right foot to apply the foot brake.
*Make sure she is staying clear of any white paint on the road and away from the drain gradient on the left hand side of the road.
*You might want to check the tread on her boots as they might be too smooth for the job.

This should help her confidence in her balance ability and the bikes centre of gravity.

She will be making perfect stops in no time at all :-)

Hope that helps and wish her all the best.

[James Deuce]

Don't you DARE make that lovely woman feel like an idiot either. She married you, and that should be punishment enough for whatever the universe thinks she did.

There's some great tips above. If you lack the patience to try them out with her, employ someone pleasant and gentle to help with them.

[Ixion]

..

Another balance things we were taught (and one I use to this very day) always... ALWAYS lift your feet onto the bike when you start off, and don;t put them down until you're stationary.

Takes practice - but it really pays off. After a while you forget you're doing it, until at the lights and you sit there for 3 seconds before putting your feet down. Feels really cool.

Good luck

Just don't be sitting there like that and turn your head to look at something going past. Embarassing.

[Damon]

Just practice, it's like learning to ride a push bike,

Go out some where open like a school field and practice starting and stopping, you could also try empty car parks but they tend to do a little more damage if it goes over.

Do what MDU sugested, try going as slow as you can and walk along with her giving encouragement and help if the bike starts to tip but remember to be patient.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Or she could stay in the kitchen.

[Ixion]

Maybe she is putting her foot down too soon, a common learner mistake. Scared that the bike will fall over she trys to get her foot down "early". But the bike is still moving so the forward motion of the bike pulls her foot back relative to the bike, in which position it is very difficult to hold the bike up. I once addressed this with a learner by having her (it seems to afflict hers worse), to ride slowly to a stop and NOT TAKe EITEHR FOOT OFF THE PEG until I blew a whistle. At first she was terrified but after a bit of conditioning it worked.

[Marmoot]

she just seems to have an issue when completely stopped.

any advice????

Tell her to work on her legs in the gym, especially the lower legs and ankle.
There is normally a machine with bars resting on your shoulder and are connected to weights. You stand right on the edge of a step, and lift the bars by moving your ankle (sort of tip toeing....ah, I dunno. My Inglish is crabpy...)

She also needs confidence when the bike tilts, that she can hold it upright. If she is not confident, the bike will drop for sure.

When she stops, DONT LOOK DOWN, but look forward instead. Ask her where she is looking at when she is stopping. If she is looking at speedo, it's wrong. If she is looking right on the spot exactly in front of the bike, it's wrong. if she is looking at the brake lever, it's wrong. Look far ahead and calm herself down. Just observe some stoppie pictures, and see where they are looking at.

Hope it helps. I used to have problems holding 200kg fireblade upright when stopping. Not anymore now.