First Month of riding, have a few questions

[kyzee]

And finally, one of my friends said that on steep hills he meshes the clutch and gives the bike a bit of throttle to keep the bike stationary instead of using the brake.  So when the light turns green or stop sign traffic clears, he just goes without any rollback.

Whichever way is fine as long as you are more comfortable with it. Using the brake is helpful if you need to wait long at the traffic light.

On the hills nearby I tend to go downhill in low gear - usually first.  The engine ends up at 8000 to 10000 rpm but it serves to keep the bike from accelerating downhill.  It doesn't feel completely comfortable yet but it's the best way I've found.

Try using the second or third gear but go easy on the throttle to get a more smoother ride downhiil. once you are more familar with the road and can ride faster thru the curves. Prolonged use of the first gear is not a good sign.  

[Roadstergal]

And finally, one of my friends said that on steep hills he meshes the clutch and gives the bike a bit of throttle to keep the bike stationary instead of using the brake.

That's a lot of slipping.  It'll shorten clutch life.

[Kerry]

well I gues no one likes my idea of foot next to the break. :dunno: I can live with that.

Not so fast - I ride that way a lot too.  But I tend to keep my foot on the outer half of the peg, pointed more or less straight forward.

On LONG rides you try just about anything to find comfortable positions.  Sometimes the smallest change will make a big difference.  Have you ever ridden with your right toes between the footpeg and the brake lever - pointed downward?  It's not a safe position for traffic or twisties, but out on a barren stretch of highway it's just another one of those "comfort positions" that gets its turn.

[dsmirnov83]

Kerry wrote:    

dsmirnov83 wrote:

well I gues no one likes my idea of foot next to the break. dunno_white.gif I can live with that.

Not so fast - I ride that way a lot too. But I tend to keep my foot on the outer half of the peg, pointed more or less straight forward.

On LONG rides you try just about anything to find comfortable positions. Sometimes the smallest change will make a big difference. Have you ever ridden with your right toes between the footpeg and the brake lever - pointed downward? It's not a safe position for traffic or twisties, but out on a barren stretch of highway it's just another one of those "comfort positions" that gets its turn.

:mrgreen:  Wohooo :mrgreen:
There is hope for me after all...
Between you say... I'll have to try it.
My comute is about 15 miles (regularly stretched to about 40  :lol: )  each way, so a little comfort goes a long way. Thanks
Cheers
-Denis S.

[slotcar]

Just a suggestion about getting comfortable riding downhill. Try coasting. Put it in neutral, engine running and go for it. You will get comfortable with the brakes and what ratio of front and rear control to use. Acelleration will not be rapid but smooth. You will have less noise to distract you and time will slow down to help you find your comfortable lines. With the engine running you can always clutch and upshift 2x to third which should give you adequate engine braking or acceleration if you need it to get out of something unexpected that comes along. This is not just my idea, I think I read about it in one of Keith Codes' two excellent books, or one of the other learn to ride better books already mentioned by others on this thread.

[Matt V]

I ordered Twist of the wrist II online last week, should have it any day now.  That should help me with a lot of my technique questions that are bound to continue.  Thanks again everyone!

Matt

[sanjay]

Try using the second or third gear but go easy on the throttle to get a more smoother ride downhiil. once you are more familar with the road and can ride faster thru the curves. Prolonged use of the first gear is not a good sign.

That's only when I'm going down very steep hills, which are quite common around where I live.  So steep that in 2nd or 3rd gear the bike accelerates unless you're actively braking.

sanjay wrote:

And finally, one of my friends said that on steep hills he meshes the clutch and gives the bike a bit of throttle to keep the bike stationary instead of using the brake.


That's a lot of slipping. It'll shorten clutch life

Only on steep uphills  Otherwise he uses the rear break as I do.