Dunedin rides

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Well todays not lookin too bad after all. Im thinkin bout a wee ride anyone else interested????

Was thinking about it, but I have to finish off his god damn database...

[Ruralman]

Yeah, I agree, Sundays's not on. Pity, the palm of my right hand is getting throttle itchy!
Thanks for the heads up on the PP no black tar ride. I was in OZ when this discussion started. I'll be there! Have done parts of this on the XT's. Will be a bit slower for the v-strom as the tyres tend to be black stuff capable and gravel stuff we have to go quietly.
Look forward to it! Infact, cant' wait. Cheers -

Sunday isn't looking too bad now - maybe a little rain overnight or early morning, then clearing for most of the day before closing in at the end of the day and wet on Monday. I've only got my eldest Son home this weekend and promised him a ride up to Lawrence for an icecream tomorrow if its fine (which it will be). Probably go after lunch.
Heaps of bikes out and about today when I went through to Dunedin.
It will be Callum's 1st time on a road bike so I'm not planning on going too far or push things too hard. Anyone else likely to be up around Lawrence tomorrow?

[Ruralman]

Hmmmm - 10am and it certainly don't look like clearing up here at the moment. Bugger - looks like 10 pin bowling instead

[FREE2B]

Yep yesterday was definitely the day. Had a nice ride to Lawrence and back.

[Mutley]

K and I went for a short ride yesterday. I needed to get more town riding practice in. Made a right pillock of myself as I stalled the bike and fell off turning right from Princes street and into Melville Street. A few bruises, a grazed knee and wounded pride were all I sustained. Could have been worse as I fell into the right hand lane of the traffic going the other way. Thankfully no traffic in site. A nice family stopped to help me and make sure I was alright. Keep stalling the bike at each give way going up the hill and I couldn't wait to get back to where we store the bikes. K had no idea I had binned it. He thought I was taking so long because of the traffic.
Every time I almost got to him, he pulled away, so couldn't tell him what happened until we got the bikes stowed.
I knew I needed practice but didn't realise how rusty I was. Thank goodness nobody else got hurt.

[Delphinus]

Sorry to hear about your drop there Mutley!

Just curious what gear you were wearing to sustain those injuries?

Remember to give your bike plenty of gas when doing a hill start.. Very very hard to wheelstand a bike like that so dont worry about that. And just get the feel for your clutch. Start on not steep hills and work up. Its just a practise thing. That street is not the nicest to practise on!

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Sorry to hear about you off, but glad that it was minor... practise, meybe you should get a mentor

[Ruralman]

Sorry to hear about you off, but glad that it was minor... practise, meybe you should get a mentor

Or maybe Mr K should just look in his mirrors and keep an eye on you
Glad you're not too hurt and what D says about those hill starts is spot on. I know one of my boys had a lot of trouble getting used to just gradually letting the clutch go - he'd tend to just drop it which is OK on easy going but impossible facing uphill and especially in a lot of the places we take dirt bikes. A couple of things which helped (apart from lots of coaching and practise) was to adjust the clutch cable and lever so you have good control of it. You'll only have shortish fingers and if the clutch only starts to "take" when the lever is well out then you will lose some degree of finesse/control and have a much greater risk of stalling it - get it adjusted to suit your hands, it will make a big difference.

[Virago]

Sorry to hear about your drop there Mutley!

Just curious what gear you were wearing to sustain those injuries?...

...That street is not the nicest to practise on!

Unfortunately she was just wearing normal pants - no overpants We're still trying to find good riding pants that will fit her - it's a bit of a problem. This was the last straw - I'm taking her to Auckland to get some custom-made.

Yes, I was mean taking her up Melville Street - but she did say she wanted hill-start practice...

...meybe you should get a mentor

Or maybe Mr K should just look in his mirrors and keep an eye on you...

That's right, make me feel worse...

I was just around the corner, wondering whether or not to go back and look for her. I thought she was just stuck in traffic.

She then struggled on each hill-start up Melville - it turned out she had bent the foot-brake lever when she dropped the bike, and it was at an odd angle, stuffing up her hill-starts.

I was none the wiser until we got back to our workshop in Kaikorai Valley.

The controlled take-off is the only thing she struggles with, and I'm not sure what to do to help her. She generally gives it plenty of gas - often too much. The problem then arises when she has to turn as she takes off, and she end up more of an unguided missile...

She hasn't got it easy. Until a year ago, she had never ridden a motorcycle, and didn't even know where the clutch / throttle / brakes were. After driving cars for over 25 years...

Anyway, practice, practice, practice...

[Delphinus]

Another thing to practise (on less sloped streets) is finding the sweet spot where the bike can hold itself on the incline with just enough engine power and no brake.

Give it a bit of throttle so its about 2-3krpm (depends on motor) and then slowly let the clutch out till it grabs. You should be able to then ease off the rear brake adjusting throttle and clutch till the bike is stationary on the hill with no brakes. then give it a bit more throttle and let the clutch out a bit more till you more forward.
Nice and slowly, takes some practise. And start on not very slopy roads and work your way up.
The above sounds tricky but its just practise.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

Melville Street -

And you didn't stop in to say hi...

[Virago]

And you didn't stop in to say hi...

Sowey - I forgot that was your stamping ground - will give you a bell next time. Have the coffee and elastoplast ready...

(On reflection though, I think I still owe you a Lah-tay...)

[Virago]

Another thing to practise (on less sloped streets) is finding the sweet spot where the bike can hold itself on the incline with just enough engine power and no brake.

Give it a bit of throttle so its about 2-3krpm (depends on motor) and then slowly let the clutch out till it grabs. You should be able to then ease off the rear brake adjusting throttle and clutch till the bike is stationary on the hill with no brakes. then give it a bit more throttle and let the clutch out a bit more till you more forward.
Nice and slowly, takes some practise. And start on not very slopy roads and work your way up.
The above sounds tricky but its just practise.

Cheers J - will keep working on it.

Haven't forgotten about that DVD either - will give you a call.

[NighthawkNZ:Me]

(On reflection though, I think I still owe you a Lah-tay...)

ohhhhhhhh yeahhhh.... i forgot about...

[Mutley]

Thanks guys for the advice and feedback. One things for sure, I wasn't going out for more practice today. If I just stepped off the bike, I'd step into a puddle and drown. Man its wet and wild out there.

I think I'll sit and watch the telly for a while, and when I can get the chance I'll be on here.