So, dealing with hill's how?

[Dichotomous]

yes all that you just posted is true and fine, but it was said more than once that the front brake method is dead-flat WRONG. therefore I used my own post power to say that no, its not wrong. I also said that it would not be as good for this poster. but saying a fairly well known technique that I know very well to be usefull and might someday prove a welcomed skill for the poster to have is wrong, no if ands or buts, is something that I will post against because I belive it to be false.

and please read my full post if you are going to post against me, I also wrote that he/she should use the rear brake as standard, and then try out the front later.

[jstark47]

and please read my full post if you are going to post against me

I'm not "posting against you", you & I are having a conversation......it's sort of a philosophical thing, tell a newbie just one thing that works, or offer them other alternatives for later consideration...

[Dichotomous]

I'd much rather leave the option of eating a turkey sandwich or a ham sandwich up to the newbie, with a warning that the turkey might make you sleepy. interwebs are great for one thing, being able to see as many views and options as possible and trying out or choosing those that you feel best. plus the notion I felt coming from the responses was that using the front brake to hold yourself in position was WRONG, and not ever a good thing. I decided that the OP should be told that the skill is NOT wrong but probably just inapropriate at this stage of his riding development. there will come a day when he's gonna want both feet firmly planted on the ground on a hill (or at least just the right foot on the ground) and need to get going, this would be a GREAT use of the front brake technique. but if he got the idea that the technique was WRONG and should never be used and was perhaps suggestable enough to never try it, he might go down, in fact this COULD have been why he needed to pick up the bike on uneven ground.....

(to the original poster: I hope you dont terribly mind me using you as an example and since I of course dont know you or your skillset if I am off at all then please remember I we are talking of philosophies here and using you as a sort of hypothetical in this case, thank you for understanding)

[intotherain]

Dude, this is like 96% practice IMO. I live in a hilly area so Im quite used to starting on hills. My fail rate use to be out 50%, but now I only stall about 1/10 times. Go to a desolate and a hilly road and try it out yourself. These guys are right, using the front brake greatly decreases your ability to effectivly give power.

I do this now. (works for me 90% of the tie)

1.) Clutch in.
2.) Rear brake applied.
3.) Time for me to go
4.) Give a tiny bit of throtte, and as you did this lessen the pressure on the back brake. Lean the bike to the left so you can keep the bike in place with your left foot.
5.) Slowly release the clutch and you will feel the the bike tuggin forwards, at this point take your rear foot of the pedal and just accelerate out.

For me, this took about 2-3 days to completely master.

But the really annoying thing is a traffic jam on a hilly area. <-- its a meanie.

[ninja79]

what everyone else (except for the moron) said.

When you start on a flat surface you need to coordinate rolling on the throttle while releasing the clutch at the same time.

When starting on a hill, you need to do the same thing + release the rear brake at the same time. Just a little more coordination.

When stopping, put your left foot down and keep your right foot on the rear brake. This is good practice regardless of whether you are on a hill or not.

I've been on these forums for a long time and IMO MotoF150 is interested only in posting stuff that is either blatantly wrong or inflamatory. I repeat my suggestion: all of his posts should have the line "I'M A MORON" automatically appended to them, just to avoid confusing newbies.

[Sev]

Dichot, the issue here was not whether using the front brake was advisable or not. It was (to me) making a point of demonstrating to a new member that MotoF150 is an idiot. Agreeing with him sets the unfortunate precident of potentially having a new rider listen to some of his worse advise. Not a good thing.

I've used the front brake method, and yes in some cases it works well, especially when you're on a hill that you would be more comfortable with both feet down (slopes to the right...), however it takes a good deal of dexterity and knowledge of your bike to do it well.

[ArcticHarleyMan]

As nearly everyone here has said, use the rear brake and feather the clutch until you enter the friction zone. As the bike begins to pull, release the brake, apply a bit of throttle, feather the clutch out and you're off.
As for picking up your bike.
1. If the bike is laying on it's left, put your back to the bike with feet as close in as you can get.
2. Squat down, and with your right hand on the left grip, left hand holding a secure point near the rear of the seat, begin lifting WITH YOUR LEGS. AS the bike comes up, it will 'get lighter', so don't jerk it up. You just might end up throwing it right over onto the other side. And as it comes up, use your butt against the seat to help lift.

If it is laying on it's right side, follow the same procedure, only reverse the left for right grips, etc. AND before you begin to lift the bike, make sure your kick stand is DOWN. That way you won't accidentally flip your bike onto the other side.

Using this method, you will be amazed at how big a bike a very small person can lift.

[Dichotomous]

Dichot, the issue here was not whether using the front brake was advisable or not. It was (to me) making a point of demonstrating to a new member that MotoF150 is an idiot. Agreeing with him sets the unfortunate precident of potentially having a new rider listen to some of his worse advise. Not a good thing.

I've used the front brake method, and yes in some cases it works well, especially when you're on a hill that you would be more comfortable with both feet down (slopes to the right...), however it takes a good deal of dexterity and knowledge of your bike to do it well.

no thats fine if you want to make a point to have people not listen to a certain person about something because on other things he is wrong. but I still stand that good advice can come from bad people. my issue is not whether rear braking is better for a newbie or whether motof150 is not someone to recomend advice from, my issue was and is that a peice of information with value was specifically refered to as wrong. I dont think using the front brake is wrong, even for a newbie. I think that using the rear brake is more appropriate and probably a better idea, but I dont for one minute belive that using the front is wrong. THAT is my issue, attacking the advice along with the poster instead of tempering the advice, big difference. using the front brake is not bad advice, it is simply advice that should also be packaged with the warning that it is more advanced and harder to perform. I'll agree motof150 didnt do this, and think that adding that warning was needed for the advice, so I did. a happily married man might tell someone to get married and its great and wonderfull, then a guy who lost everything in a messy divorce might poo-poo that idea cause it doesnt always work out, but I say that the advice of getting married is good and has many proven benefits but needs a warning of "marry the right girl" or "know you could get burned" or something. that might not be the best example but it suits my purposes.

[Dichotomous]

ick, dbl post

[pedal power]

Thanks for the response so far. They've been informative. As for a tipping sensor, I doubt my bike has one as its a 1991 GS500E, and hence it isn't fuel injected. So I've got plenty advice as to starting / stopping heading up a hill. How about heading down one? What if the grade of the incline (in either going up or coming down) is steep enough to prevent me from flat footing the bike?

Thanks again.