First ride, first crash. Sorry OFG....

[sanjuro]

looks like we need to work on moderating consistency. These don't seem to fall within your guidelines. Just sayin'

Sorry, couldn't let it go. I think I have made my point. Done. Good luck to the OP

I think Enchanter does a very good job moderating, but this forum works because of self-moderating.

Make you understand this point as well.

 

[slower than...]

I agree with what many have already said, probably needing to practice clutch control more, especially with a bike with a lot of torque like yours. My advice is to really learn to go SLOW, as that will teach you to be smooth with both throttle and clutch. Here is a video on something they never taught me at MSF, i.e. use of the friction zone together with the rear brake for stability. Once you gain smoothness at slow speeds, you should not have the problems you experienced.

[youtube]1zluOSO-0aU&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

 

[TinyTim]

OP - your choice of bike will make learning more difficult, and mistakes will result in the chassis being significantly upset. I have to recommend a different machine (not a supermoto, hypersport, etc) to start on. If you cannot do that, then you must learn to be smooth as quickly as possible. Smooth means:

Clutch - move slowly in the friction zone. As soon as you feel the bike move, stop letting out the clutch, and wait a second. After a second, slowly begin moving the clutch again.

Throttle - roll on and off gently. On my R6 I ride around town using less than 1/8 throttle most of the time, it does not take much for most in town activities. If you whack the throttle, the chassis will be upset and need time to settle before you will have access to the full potential of the machine.

Brakes - apply gently, let the weight transfer, then apply full pressure. If you move too quickly you will lock the front wheel with far less pressure than you can apply if you had allowed the weight transfer. As weight transfers be aware that excessive (and sometimes any) pressure on the rear brake can cause the rear to slide and or skip. If the rear slides, let it and stop (or you risk a high side). Also, as weight transfers throttle inputs can cause the sliding and skipping sensation. Try to keep the bike straight in that situation.

Wheelies - Your only concern while lofting the front should be the EVENTUAL safe landing of your airborn wheel. If you are like most of us, you will have uneven pressure on the handlebars and your wheel will turn as soon as it lifts up. If the wheel is coming up fast, GENTLY roll off the throttle while straightening the front wheel, then roll off until it lands. If the wheel is coming up slow, stay on the throttle until that wheel is straight, then roll off.

I would recommend riding during low traffic times and in low traffic areas until you feel more comfortable with your machine. Good luck!

 

[Larell]

TinyTim, thanks for the great advice! I like the bike but can see why some would think I picked one thats too spunky. Throttle response is immediate which startling but the good thug is that I always know where it's at as soon as I twist . Your timing is perfect too....just got the bike fixed and going on my first ride around the hood today. I will focus on smoothness of action and reaction.

As a side note I have identified a mentor through a friend who is more that willing to show me the ropes on both riding and maintenance. He's busy this week but luckily I live in an area that has nearly no traffic. It should be pretty safe to putt-putt around. Thanks again for taking the time to reply!

 

[day004]

I completely disagree.

Can you share a technique that will help the OP build the skill of locating the friction zone more easily?

Are we sure that the location of the friction zone was the issue here? Is it is possible that it the speed of the release of the clutch, coupled with the rapid application of the throttle, was more likely the culprit?

FWIW , when I teach newbies about the clutch I get them to be able to get the bike going without any throttle. Only clutch slipping. After about 10 times they seem to get where the friction zone is and then start usng a little gas to make the process smoother and quicker.

 

[Larell]

Thank you for your reply! For a while there I was practicing finding the friction zone every time I got on the bike. Got it figured out at this point though and have traveled a couple hundred incident free miles . Figured out that my levers are adjustable for reach and I rotated the brake lever forward. This really helped my wrist position on the throttle. Adjusting the clutch in gave me a bit more dexterity in the friction. Zone, if that makes sense. Either way I'm up and running now. Thanks a lot!

 

[jh2586]

Ok, I see a lot of people here giving some good advice, however, not enough details. I will break it down to you (barney style)

So, when I was new at riding (once upon a time), I noticed that I was actually giving it throttle before releasing the clutch while in gear. Now, for the novice rider, there is nothing wrong with giving it a slight bit "too much" throttle being the fact that you're probably still learning the friction zone and trying not to stall etc..

The problem with this is, if you release the clutch too fast or violently while holding the throttle a decent amount, your bike (if it has any type of torque or power) will definitely come up or at the very least jerk forward to the point where you may lose control. It even gets worse when you do this and you panic which may lead you to accidentally roll on the throttle even more.

In a panic situation, most novice riders will forget their fundamentals and completely "release" everything including the clutch. It's our human nature to do so! The bad part about this, is usually we get confused as to how the brakes work and how you're supposed to apply gentle pressure. Often times, in this panic situation, our first reaction is to GRAB the front brakes, but because of the lack of experience in your bike, you tend to fiddle so much that you actually grab the throttle and roll it backwards without even noticing! All this happens in a split moment.

The way you can "practice" NOT doing this, is to get familiar with the friction zone in an empty and open parking lot. Give it little to NO throttle at all while practicing finding the friction zone or "grab point". While learning these basics, do or do not do the following:

1) Always know how to stop your bike by applying the front/rear brakes accordingly.
2) DO NOT release the clutch in a panic situation.
3) Remember that in a panic situation apply BOTH clutch and brake, then catch the bike with your feet so you don't fall over the side.
4) If you remember to hold in the clutch in a panic situation, 9/10 you will be ok. You can give it ALL the throttle you want, if that clutch is disengaged, your bike will not do anything except make a loud noise

Now with that being said, sounds to me that you need to practice getting the basics down first. Your type of bike has a twitchy and torquey feel to it so you must enhance your abilities to control your throttle. If this is your FIRST bike, I would suggest down-grading to a Ninja 250 or something of that nature where your mistakes will most likely be forgiven by a lower-powered bike.

 

[Larell]

Thanks for the reply and copy all. Downgrading to ninja 250 not gonna happen at this point. The reason I didn't get one in the first place is that I couldn't get comfortable on it. It just felt too small. Plus I wanted a supermoto and drz was also too cramped. The crash was at mile 3 riding the bike but at this point I have about 200 miles trouble free! Much thanks to all who have posted here...I have taken all of your guidance on board and it has helped me immensely!

 

[Larell]

Yes. My advice would be the same as I tell my kids: PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE. If he cant afford it now. Then WAIT til he can get a d.bike before he jumps back on his street bike. It may save him and someone else a lot of misery.
Cant escape the fact that this is sound advice that should not have been deleted. Others have given other great advice along the lines of what you say fit the RULES of this crash forum. I just simply added another solution. A solution that again, is sound advice. If it doesnt match the RULES of this forum, then the rules should be re-evaluated

Appreciate the effort to get your advice through to me. Yeah dirt bike is not an option but riding in low to no traffic was. I found that option within the realm of risk I was willing to assume. And that's exactly what I did to get smoother! Mistly in my driveway and garage. Anyhow, thanks for the advice! I do plan to take a dirt course at the mystery school at some point this summer...for skill building for the OH $H!T moments that I'm sure eventually come.

I've been riding as often as possible since I got the bike back and learn tons every time I go out there. As I've posted before: 200 or so trouble free miles of highway, (ligth) twisties, rush hour traffic on surface streets etc. the most helpfull advice was the various ways to find/stay in the friction zone and the recommendation to adjust the levers to my liking.

Thanks for all of the help....PROBLEM SOLVED!

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