slow speed maneuvering RPMs 4-6k too high?

[chopsuixx]

Practiced a bit of my slow speed maneuvering (u Turns and Figure 8's) in parking lot today. Somewhere I heard to try and keep the bike between 2-4k  while in the friction zone using clutch and throttle control for this kind of practice.

During my exercises I found it very hard to keep it within that range as the throttle didn't seem sensitive enough for me to ease of without it going down to just idle. But in the 4-6k range I was able to complete everything much smoother but i'm worried the high rpms will burn my clutch.

[mr72]

You will not burn up your clutch. If you have not tuned the snot out of your GS to get rideability and jetting absolutely perfect, it can be difficult to ride it under 4K rpm except at low-speed cruise, like 20mph in 3rd gear etc.

Slip the clutch to your heart's content at 5k rpm and you'll be fine. And kudos to you for practicing this in a parking lot. Funny how nearly all of us skip this step. The vast majority of lay-downs happen at these speeds, so it is prudent to practice.

[Sparker]

When I was practicing such things I figured out it's easier to just do U-turn and 8's at idle throttle . I never got to getting used to using clutch for that, apart for maybe walking-pace movement.

[chopsuixx]

You will not burn up your clutch. If you have not tuned the snot out of your GS to get rideability and jetting absolutely perfect, it can be difficult to ride it under 4K rpm except at low-speed cruise, like 20mph in 3rd gear etc.

Slip the clutch to your heart's content at 5k rpm and you'll be fine. And kudos to you for practicing this in a parking lot. Funny how nearly all of us skip this step. The vast majority of lay-downs happen at these speeds, so it is prudent to practice.

Thanks for the peace of mind and kind words. I was doing some more practice today with a properly warm engine this time and could easily keep the rpms below 4k.

[ShowBizWolf]

Awesome to hear about someone else practicing/working on skills. I was just doing some as well, in the past weeks. While at work I listen to a lot of YouTube on my earbud and recently I've been checking out MotoJitsu's channel. Great stuff there IMO.

[mr72]

Low speed riding skills are so underrated, IMHO. The important thing to remember about this is that often times when you have to ride slowly, it's because there is some other hazard like you must maneuver around stuff or unpredictable road surface etc., so it really needs to be something that's 100% second nature. I say this as someone who did a spill in an improvised parking area at below walking pace, breaking a few hundred bucks worth of semi-exotic Triumph parts and putting a scrape on my pride.

[gruntle]

Something no one has mentioned is "feathering the clutch" - this is were you "tickle" or "quickly & repeatedly dab" the clutch lever so giving a very fine control of clutch bite. This helps enormously at very slow speeds (and also when riding a strange bike never ridden before).
Lightly dabbing the rear brake lever repeatedly instead of one continuous press also helps give better control at veeeery slow speeds.
Just saying in case you haven't tried it - Happy Trails 

[Armandorf]

The real question is, is your clutch soft enough to do that?
i tested a cb500 adventure clutch on a dealership and it was soft as a bycicle.i was impressed.

[Bluesmudge]

The rear brake is the real easy button for slow speed maneuvers. You can only go so slow using only the clutch. Feathering the clutch and the brake you should be able to almost hold the bike at a standstill. Slower than a walking pace. 4,000 rpm sounds about right for the GS. You need it up high enough to have some power to push against with the rear brake.

[chopsuixx]

I don't think I've tried feathering the clutch but will try next time I'm out. The throttle and clutch are still a bit finicky but maybe that's my lack of experience but I'm going to attempt to lube them to see if that makes them perform any smoother. Thanks for all the input everyone

[Watcher]

Ridercoach, lots of good information here, some less than ideal information, let me elaborate.

First of all, there's probably no way you're going to burn out your clutch slipping it for u-turns, so don't worry about that.

What RPM is ideal?  "Higher than idle."  You don't want it bouncing off redline, but you want more power than idle speed and a little centripetal force so twist the throttle a bit.  The exact RPM is hardly relevant so don't waste time thinking about it.  You also shouldn't be looking at your gauges, you should be looking where you're going.

The clutch is critical.  With good clutch control you could let the engine bounce off the redline and make a perfect u-turn.  COULD.  But I wouldn't recommend it.  Re: feathering the clutch, that's important but I wouldn't describe it as

"quickly & repeatedly dab" the clutch lever

In my experience using language like that could lead someone to believe they're using it like an off/on switch when in reality you should be in the "friction zone" the entire time, but you could modulate the amount of friction zone you're using by adjusting your grip pressure.  The issue really comes in when fully disengaging the clutch and allowing the bike to "coast" through.  When the rear wheel has no power, the motorcycle is not stable.  When the motorcycle isn't stable, it wants to tip.  When the bike starts to tip, riders start to panic.  When riders start to panic, fine clutch control disappears and coming back into the friction zone could be choppy at best and could lead to a loss of control at worse.

So the secret technique is

The rear brake is the real easy button for slow speed maneuvers.

If you decide you're going too quickly to make the tight turn, instead of squeezing the clutch and potentially coming out of the friction zone, which would make you unstable, use the rear brake to reduce speed and tighten the turn.

My technique for a perfect U-turn is:
- Approach with confidence
- Engage the throttle
- Engage the friction zone
- Keep pressure on or "drag" the rear brake
- Find and then SET yourself at a comfortable speed for the turn
- LOOK over your shoulder
- Follow through the entire turn with these techniques.
And
- Never, NEVER, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT using the FRONT brake during the maneuver.

Rinse and repeat.

[herennow]

+1 on reste Brake use for low speed stability