Clutch = Anger

[buddhacide]

As some of you know, I am a super noob that just bought V-star 650 and am in the very preliminary stages of benning to ride. I'll be taking the courses on the weekend, which I'm sure will clear up alot of things. However, in the meantime I've been trying to get a feel for the bike in any way I can.

So today my goal was to put the thing in neutral and practice walking it around, getting it in and out of the backyard and whatnot. So all that went swimmingly and I found I could handle the thing ok and felt pretty comfortable. So, I couldn't resist starting it up and getting it into first gear. My plan was maybe to ride around in first a bit in the alley behind my house, just to get that "I'm finally doing this" feeling I've been longing for.;

No go. I tried about 15 times, in accordance with numerous "how to's", to get the thing moving but i stalled it every time. I've read about "friction zones" and what not, but I just couldnt seem to release the clutch in a manner where it didnt stall the bike. The concept of the cluch is purely academic to me at this point. Dirt bikes i've ridden in the past have been automatic so it was just a matter of turning the throttle and staying on.


This clutch thing though, has me a little worried because when the clutch is depressed and I'm reving the engine, I feel that if I rev too much or release too quickly I'm gonna jolt myself into movement, which will probably hurt me. If I rev just a little bit and focus on releasing the clutch slowly, it stalls.

Does anyone have any pointers for "getting a feel" for this a bit faster?

[Sev]

Rev fairly high, make the bike vibrate, then

SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWLY let out the clutch. When the bike starts to pull forward release the THROTTLE, then pull the clutch back in.

Do this a couple of times, then start letting the clutch out a little more, if you release the clutch slowly enough it will pull forward smoothly no matter how high you've revved. Because it still gradually transfers power to the wheel.

The biggest mistake you can make is revving high and letting go of the clutch, let it out slow and smooth and you'll be fine. I've made starts that go really slowly at 9000 rpm on my bike because I let the clutch out really slow.

[buddhacide]

Thanks. My problem I think is that I'm psychologically bound to the throttle, and not the clutch, as the means of making the bike move. I'm going to have to get over this it seems.

[sharpmagna]

When you are letting go of the clutch, you should feel the bike pull itself forward and at that point, pull the clutch back in. Right where the bike started to move itself is the start of the friction zone and you should start adding a bit of throttle so that bike won't stall out. Keep practicing just finding the clutch point without adding throttle at first. Back out clutch to friction zone, pull clutch in and repeat. You should be able to move yourself a bit forward each time.

You'll get to the point that you'll just rev and then let go of the clutch and match up your throttle accordingly.

Also I'm not sure if your clutch can be adjusted, but you could also try to move the friction zone if the stock location isn't to your liking. On my bike, there is no adjustment so I just had to learn where it is and adjust to it.

[Sev]

Tightening or losening the cable will move the friction zone.

[sharpmagna]

Tightening or losening the cable will move the friction zone.

Not on a hydraulic clutch

[Sev]

Dayum, forgot about that, lol.

My bike is pretty much all old tech, lol. Carbs, clutch cable, analog tachs. I forget others are different sometimes.

[sharpmagna]

Old tech? WTF, you've got a 2004

If 2 years is old, mine is paleolithic

[Sev]

Old tech, not old physically.

[MontyCarlo]

This is a tad trickier on a V-Star since you don't have a tachometer to get an idea of the engine speed. You need to do it "by ear".

Get a feel for what the engine speed sounds like at 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, and full throttle (but don't rev at full throttle on an idling engine for too long). Once you've mastered the sound at 1/8 and 1/4, and keeping that speed, do this:

Rev up to 1/8 throttle, with the clutch pulled in. Then SLOWLY let out the clutch. When the engine lugs back down to idle speed (you're moving slowly at this point), add another 1/8 throttle, while simultaneously letting the clutch out. Slowly. The trick here is to keep that same rpm (sound) you had at 1/8 throttle.

Adjust the clutch and throttle positions so it feels comfortable. Practice this a few times, and once the muscle memory kicks in it'll be natural.