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I was doing some parking lot practice stuff on the way home from work today and I noticed that if I don't give it some throttle while letting out the clutch the bike will stall. It feels like there's no friction zone to speak of. Letting the clutch out very, very slowly, the revs drop, drop some more, then the bike stalls. I'm unable to make the bike move by itself with just the clutch. Cable adjustment time?
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Oct 16, 2008 23:41
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I think we've been over this before. Realisticly, you shouldn't "need" to move the bike without using the throttle. At idle the bike is about to stall. There's no mechanism to bring the rpms up when they drop. Basicly... that's the way it's supposed to be.
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Oct 17, 2008 02:28
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OK, let me try this again. In the BRC I took all the slow speed exercises revolved around using the friction zone and the rear brake to control the bike. We didn't use the throttle at all. From a standstill I should be able to hold the rear brake and slowly let the clutch out into the friction zone until I feel the bike start to pull. It doesn't - it just stalls.
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Oct 17, 2008 03:48
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greg_graffin posted:OK, let me try this again. In the BRC I took all the slow speed exercises revolved around using the friction zone and the rear brake to control the bike. We didn't use the throttle at all. From a standstill I should be able to hold the rear brake and slowly let the clutch out into the friction zone until I feel the bike start to pull. It doesn't - it just stalls. You won't be able to do it if you're holding the rear brake. If you hold it at the very, very edge of the friction zone, you can get some bikes moving, but if you have a bike that's cold and the idle is low and lumpy, it still may not move. Especially prevelant on bikes that are not set up correctly, are air cooled, or idle particularly low.
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Oct 17, 2008 03:58
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I'm probably just being stupid here but I still don't understand why the bikes we were using in the BRC (250 Nighthawks) would pull themselves from a stop using only the clutch but my bike won't. Couldn't I just turn the idle speed up to compensate for this? I understand that the bike won't pull away with the rear brake engaged, it's that it doesn't even feel like it's pulling. greg_graffin fucked around with this message at 04:38 on Oct 17, 2008 |
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Oct 17, 2008 04:30
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Nerobro posted:I'd put dollars to doughnuts that a electric motor rebuilding shop would redo your stator for less than the cost of materials to do it yourself. greg_graffin posted:I'm probably just being stupid here but I still don't understand why the bikes we were using in the BRC (250 Nighthawks) would pull themselves from a stop using only the clutch but my bike won't. Couldn't I just turn the idle speed up to compensate for this?
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Oct 17, 2008 04:50
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My MSF course experience ingrained some bad habits in me. I think I get it but I'm going to have to try it out tomorrow to be sure. The BRC bikes we were riding were: 1) lighter than my bike and, 2) probably had the idle speed set higher to aid in warmup and help beginners from stalling. Whenever I tried to use the throttle in the slow speed cone exercises or quick turns the fucker would take off, so I got used to just using the combination of friction zone/rear brake the control the bike. It looks like second gear, throttle, rear brake, friction zone and practice is the only way I'm going to get comfortable with this on what I'm riding now. Thanks for setting me straight.
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Oct 17, 2008 05:01
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back in the megathread someone posted a link to a dutch website that had tests and ratings of various motorcycle locks and chains. I don't suppose someone has it bookmarked?
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Oct 17, 2008 08:16
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ClockworkZero posted:back in the megathread someone posted a link to a dutch website that had tests and ratings of various motorcycle locks and chains. I don't suppose someone has it bookmarked? never mind, I found it! http://www.stichtingart.nl/sloten_resultaat.asp
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Oct 17, 2008 09:09
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greg_graffin posted:My MSF course experience ingrained some bad habits in me. I think I get it but I'm going to have to try it out tomorrow to be sure. The BRC bikes we were riding were: 1) lighter than my bike and, 2) probably had the idle speed set higher to aid in warmup and help beginners from stalling. Whenever I tried to use the throttle in the slow speed cone exercises or quick turns the fucker would take off, so I got used to just using the combination of friction zone/rear brake the control the bike. It looks like second gear, throttle, rear brake, friction zone and practice is the only way I'm going to get comfortable with this on what I'm riding now. Thanks for setting me straight. If you weren't using the clutch in the low speed drills you weren't performing the exercise correctly, which your instructors should have caught. Friction zone with some throttle is the right technique. The rear brake helps, too.
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Oct 17, 2008 15:49
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Skier posted:If you weren't using the clutch in the low speed drills you weren't performing the exercise correctly, which your instructors should have caught. The idea I got from his post is that he was using the clutch (that's what the bit about the friction zone was all about), but only the clutch and the brake, with absolutely no throttle at all. The bikes we used on our CBT and DAS would stall if you tried to pull away with no throttle. I guess it's something like learning to drive, my instructor's car was set up so that you could pull away just by letting off the clutch slowly and with the engine idling, but obviously that doesn't work in the real world. Noone pulls away from a stop without some gas when they're actually driving, but it's a useful learning tool to get people used to how the clutch handles. I had a bad habit when I went back to do the DAS course (that's passing the test on the 500c bike for you non-Brits out there). My 125 will behave quite nicely at real slow slow speeds before you need to use the clutch, but with the GS500, you have to use the clutch at anything below about 10mph. If you don't, and try to regulate your speed with just the throttle (like I did), you end up jerking all over the place.
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Oct 17, 2008 16:09
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Orange Someone posted:The idea I got from his post is that he was using the clutch (that's what the bit about the friction zone was all about), but only the clutch and the brake, with absolutely no throttle at all. The bikes we used on our CBT and DAS would stall if you tried to pull away with no throttle. This quote is the one I was responding to: greg_graffin posted:Whenever I tried to use the throttle in the slow speed cone exercises or quick turns the fucker would take off, so I got used to just using the combination of friction zone/rear brake the control the bike.
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Oct 17, 2008 16:51
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Orange Someone posted:The idea I got from his post is that he was using the clutch (that's what the bit about the friction zone was all about), but only the clutch and the brake, with absolutely no throttle at all.
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Oct 17, 2008 17:20
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greg_graffin posted:That's what I meant. Why does it always have to rain when I really, really want to ride? Ah, gotcha. It does sound like the idle was awfully high on those bikes if you could do that. As for the rain, it's simply nature's way of making sure there's not many other motorcyclists in your way.
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Oct 17, 2008 17:25
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greg_graffin posted:That's what I meant. Why does it always have to rain when I really, really want to ride? Why does that stop you from riding? hell forget the motorcycle aspect, I went for a 16 mile bicycle ride two nights ago. In the rain. It's.. just.. rain..
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Oct 17, 2008 17:26
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Skier posted:This quote is the one I was responding to: poo poo, I got it wrong. Must have glanced over that bit, got too into thinking out my reply the moment I saw your comment. I think it was you lot, and the crew in #bieks specifically, that had it drummed into me when I was going for my training/test, clutch clutch clutch. That's how I almost failed my CBT, lack of clutch control but I was more in danger of failing the actual test by skidding on the emergency stop due to my large feet and heavy motocross boots. I'm doing the fun bit now, working out how far my bike will go on one tank of fuel (no fuel gauge). The only time I've ever hit reserve, I was sans working speedo so of course the odometer was also MIA. I always chicken out and refill it sometime just after 100 miles or so, this time I've got to 130 miles and my nerve's failing. Don't really want to run out whilst at work, she's not starting too well at the end of work as it is. I don't think the cold at 6am agrees with her. Last time I was on my way back, full throttle from cold would make her splutter and backfire, she normally likes the cold though, so I'm slightly puzzled.
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Oct 17, 2008 17:42
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Nerobro posted:Why does that stop you from riding? I also have no rain gear and showing up to work soaking wet for a 12 mile commute just isn't worth it. I know, I'm a pansy.
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Oct 17, 2008 18:13
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Nerobro posted:Why does that stop you from riding? hell forget the motorcycle aspect, I went for a 16 mile bicycle ride two nights ago. In the rain. It's.. just.. rain.. While there is a difference between cruising around on a bicycle and hydroplaning mid turn at 65 I can agree with this. Many of the people that have a "no biking in the rain"(unless it's a fresh rain after a dry spell) policy are the same people that crawl along in their cars slowing traffic when there's a little water on the ground. As long as you pay attention without riding in total fear rain isn't a huge deal. greg_graffin posted:I also have no rain gear and showing up to work soaking wet for a 12 mile commute just isn't worth it. Well, I feel that. Whoa. Wife Turds fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Oct 17, 2008 |
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Oct 17, 2008 18:20
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asphalt only loses like 20% of its friction when wet.
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Oct 17, 2008 18:22
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Whoa. Wife Turds posted:Well, I feel that.
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Oct 17, 2008 18:34
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greg_graffin posted:It looks like second gear, throttle, rear brake, friction zone and practice is the only way I'm going to get comfortable with this on what I'm riding now. Thanks for setting me straight. don't try to pull away in second, you'd have to slip the poo poo out of the clutch to get moving. practice your throttle vs clutch control and modulate the clutch to keep the revs up greg_graffin posted:That's what I meant. Why does it always have to rain when I really, really want to ride? try to get a rain jacket with a detachable hood though, the roll up ones are uncomfortable on your neck with a helmet on and a hood flapping around behind your head is really annoying echomadman fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Oct 17, 2008 |
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Oct 17, 2008 18:37
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I went into a dealership today looking at scooters and wound up looking at motorcycles. I can't help myself. Anyway, they recommended a KLX 250 SF instead of a scooter. Nevermind that they're completely different, the KLX looked like a lot of fun. I didn't think to try sitting on a DRZ 400, but I was wondering how the 250 would compare to a Suzuki DRZ 400 SM. I'm 5'10" so I'm not sure if height would be any issue. I want to be able to take my wife around on it too sometimes. Would a 250 be able to handle ~350 pounds? For that matter how would a 400 handle it? I've owned a Ninja 250 and SV650 before but something like a motard just sounds so fun. Lawn fucked around with this message at 04:43 on Oct 18, 2008 |
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Oct 18, 2008 04:19
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Lawn posted:I went into a dealership today looking at scooters and wound up looking at motorcycles. I can't help myself. Height won't be an issue. 2 up probably would be...doable but difficult. I'm sure Albert or one of the guys who's done more than just sit on one like me could chime in on that front though. You are talking about a roughly 35hp engine though, so it's gonna take a bit to get where it's going.
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Oct 18, 2008 06:39
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Lawn posted:I went into a dealership today looking at scooters and wound up looking at motorcycles. I can't help myself. Height won't be an issue. 2 up probably would be...doable but difficult. I'm sure Albert or one of the guys who's done more than just sit on one like me could chime in on that front though. You are talking about a roughly 35hp engine though, so it's gonna take a bit to get where it's going.
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Oct 18, 2008 06:39
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Does anyone have any tips of keeping plastic clean? I have a DRZ-SM and iv tried Both a brand new sponge, and a microfibre polish towel and both have left streaks everywhere. I know there is gonna be no good way of keeping it looking scratch free but after 5-10 washes its going to look really really bad. I also tried a 'motorcycle plastics cleaner' that after a test patch, i threw into the bin straight away.Lawn posted:I went into a dealership today looking at scooters and wound up looking at motorcycles. I can't help myself. I'v no experience with the KLX250, but i have sat on and researched the Yama WR.X 250 and own a DRZ. The KLX wasn't available at the time. All 3 would probably be comparable engine wise out of the factory, but the DRZ is chocked up a fair bit to pass emissions. The DRZ only has 5 gears, whereas the KLX and WR.X both have 6. In America that might change your mind but in Aussie at 100km/h tops the 5 is fine. The KLX website made it sound like the KLX is built ground up as a motard, so it might have stiffer suspension out of the factory compared to the DRZ which has the offroad suspension. The DRZ is taller than the WR.X and i would put money on it also being taller then the KLX aswell. I really cant comment of the power of the KLX or really the DRZ either because i haven't ridden much else. But it isn't really a super fast bike, But goddamn i have fun even just riding to the shops. Its an excellent commuter and play bike, but while i'm just commuting around town i just scoot right back on the seat and there isn't a lot of room left there, so even with enough power to comfortably do everything you want, I'd try sitting 2up and making sure it'll be ok for what you want it for. Dubs fucked around with this message at 07:05 on Oct 18, 2008 |
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Oct 18, 2008 06:41
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Dubs posted:Does anyone have any tips of keeping plastic clean? I have a DRZ-SM and iv tried Both a brand new sponge, and a microfibre polish towel and both have left streaks everywhere. I know there is gonna be no good way of keeping it looking scratch free but after 5-10 washes its going to look really really bad. I also tried a 'motorcycle plastics cleaner' that after a test patch, i threw into the bin straight away. Motul Wash & Wax works great.
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Oct 18, 2008 07:47
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My bike ('78 CB400T) is still applying generous amounts of soot to the inside of the exhaust. Both cylinders appear to be running quite rich. I've taken apart the carbs and haven't found anything obviously wrong. Are there any sort of adjustments to be made or is it time to start ordering new hardware? Also, is there a beginner-friendly guide to carbs? I would probably know what to try if I had any idea which parts did what. I still haven't taken my microfilm to the library.
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Oct 18, 2008 08:42
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I'm looking at two different DRZ 400 SM's, both about the same price (4800 and 5000) but one with mods and one stock. I don't know anything about the mods, can anyone give some advice on this one? http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/mcy/880999702.html The other is $5000 for under 2000 miles and stock. Also, is that a pretty good price? Could I bargain it down much?
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Oct 18, 2008 23:31
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Malpenix Blonia posted:Also, is there a beginner-friendly guide to carbs? I would probably know what to try if I had any idea which parts did what. I actually went to the local library to find out more about engines. You'd be amazed at the kind of specialised, practical information your public library may hold. In my quest for knowledge I even found mine had a book by Weber (Edelbrock to you yanks I think) on tweaking and servicing carbs. For my 2p on wet-weather riding; watch out at lights/lines/stop signs. I went to pull up at a stop some days ago after some showers and nearly lost the front end on a small oil slick left by some inconsiderate sod in a rust bucket. Ended up half a bike-length over the line. ReelBigLizard fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Oct 18, 2008 |
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Oct 18, 2008 23:43
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Lawn posted:I'm looking at two different DRZ 400 SM's, both about the same price (4800 and 5000) but one with mods and one stock. I don't know anything about the mods, can anyone give some advice on this one? I'd take the modded one and try and talk him down a good bit...his ad states he's negotiable, so 4200$ in cash may be enough to sway him. I'd personally go for it at 4500$, though.
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Oct 18, 2008 23:45
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The modded one has all the most basic mods that you will probably want to do anyway, a full Yoshi exhaust can be fairly load though. That said, i think.. that it is just a slip-on and not a full exhaust. There's not much power in a slip-on compared to a full exahust, but i think if you just grab the header off one of the offroad models (its bigger diam.) you could be done with all the easy mods.
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Oct 19, 2008 01:56
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Is Johnny Pag http://johnnypag.com/ just another Chinese bike, or are they actually decent? If it's a piece of poo poo, at least it's a good looking piece of poo poo.
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Oct 19, 2008 22:10
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It's about time to synchronize my carbs. I've been thinking about constructing my own synchronization gauge using the method described here. Basically, instead of measuring the vacuum with mercury you attach both ends of a long tube to either carb's vacuum port and then make sure the fluid isn't moving back and forth between them. This is attractive because I cringe at paying $100 for a single-purpose tool that could be done with something much cheaper. Generally, is this method bone-headed? And second, how/where do I get the vacuum port adapters so I can attach the tubes to my vacuum ports?
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Oct 19, 2008 23:14
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Has anyone used Evapo Rust before? I'm using it to try to get the rust out of the Puch Maxi tank (frame, actually, same thing). I'll leave it in there for a day or so, but I was wondering if anyone knew what to expect.
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Oct 20, 2008 00:29
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VideoTapir posted:Is Johnny Pag http://johnnypag.com/ just another Chinese bike, or are they actually decent? I would spend the additional cash to get a 2009 Ninja 250. I have never heard of Johnny Pag motorcycles but one must keep in mind that China has over 900 motorcycle/scooter manufacturers.
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Oct 20, 2008 01:28
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And not one of them can get it right, how strange is that?
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Oct 20, 2008 04:41
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I was considering selling the Chinese bikes until I took a really good look at one in person, the quality is dreadful. This isn't like the Japanese who may copy stuff but build it fanatically well, the Chinese build the stuff as absolutely cheaply as they can possibly can. While researching the idea, I checked into various manufacturers, some will build bikes bearing your brand for as low as a run of 10 units. Almost all of them would build your brand for a run of 100, for a connex full they'll do whatever you want. Well, almost anything-they still won't build them worth a poo poo.
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Oct 20, 2008 05:24
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The NonBornKing posted:It's about time to synchronize my carbs. I've been thinking about constructing my own synchronization gauge using the method described here. Basically, instead of measuring the vacuum with mercury you attach both ends of a long tube to either carb's vacuum port and then make sure the fluid isn't moving back and forth between them. This is attractive because I cringe at paying $100 for a single-purpose tool that could be done with something much cheaper. Those work, but can be a bit of a pita because if you're not careful you can suck the mercury into your bike.  Typically, you buy hose that can just slip over the brass fittings on your vaccum ports.
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Oct 20, 2008 06:09
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Phat_Albert posted:Has anyone used Evapo Rust before? I'm using it to try to get the rust out of the Puch Maxi tank (frame, actually, same thing).
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Oct 20, 2008 07:23
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Lawn posted:I want to be able to take my wife around on it too sometimes. Would a 250 be able to handle ~350 pounds? For that matter how would a 400 handle it? I have a DR-Z400SM and it does just fine riding 2 up. It has more than enough torque to get you off the line, and does 65 mph riding 2-up easily enough. The bike was definitely not meant to ride 2-up though, the bike handles like absolute rear end with a rider on back. That said, it is totally do-able.
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Oct 20, 2008 10:02
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