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Hmmm, I just kept a solid foot on the rear brake for a steep hill and gave it a lot more gas then usual as I released the clutch as you feel it start to pull forward from the start then let off the brake.

Our MSF instructors demonstrated this, by having 2 big guys plant their feet and hold onto the backrest of one of the kawasaki eliminators, their job was "to hold the bike in place." Then he did what I mentioned above, and almost pulled them forward onto their faces while going up the little ramp they had set up.

I live in So Cal and we have lot's of hills here too. I keep my left foot down and right foot on the brake just enough to keep the bike from moving. I then roll on the throttle and slowly relase the clutch, when it hit's the friction zone, obviosly, you feel the bike wanting to move forward. At that point, I begin to release pressure on the brake and release the clutch roll throttle and VIOLA! I'm happily on my way up the hill no problems at all and no rolling backwards. I do this everyday on my ride back and forth to work.

here is what i do:

1. hold the rear brake and when it's time to go, gas it, realese the clutch very slowly, once the bike starts moving , then let go of the brake.

OR

2. i don't know if it's like this on other bikes at well, but on my ex500, (on a hill), if you have the clutch almost completely out and gassing it just a tiny bit, the bike will stay in the same spot and not roll back (no brakes!)......and when it's time to go, let the clutch all the way out and gas....and it's pretty easy to do once you get it down......make sure there arn't any cars behind you while you when you're practicing.

....i'm pretty sure you can do this on any bike , you just have to find the out how far to realease the cluch and how much to gas.

god luck

I don't know what sort of hill you are talking about, but we have some pretty steep ones round here. I just use back brake and left foot, before coming off onto the throttle as I would for any hill. Not had any problems on the SV.

I experimented with something similiar to what Zoo is suggesting (though with a slightly different arrangement of fingers). It worked well and I think its a skill worth developing but on my current bike and on the gradients I have to deal with I haven't needed it.

A combination of the two works for me, I can hold the bike on the friction zone if I think it is going to be a short stop or if it looks longer I also use the two finger method. The BMW's have servo assisted brakes and this makes a huge difference as there is no effort needed to pull the levers.

sapaul wrote: The BMW's have servo assisted brakes and this makes a huge difference as there is no effort needed to pull the levers.

My thoroughgoing dislike of BMWs (pure prejudice on my part - can't stand the looks apart from anything else) is being eroded year by year by comments like this. Please leave this older man to his fantasies.

Is it age, or mere attrition, I wonder.

The K1200S also has the perfect brake set up, Full integral servo asisted ABS on the front which operates the front and rear brakes in ABS mode. The rear is servo assisted non ABS and non integrated. So I can trail the rear in the corners and use the front to pick up the bike for quick S type bends. BMW have been known as old fart bikes for a long time, but with the K series GT, S, and R this no longer applies. Another big plus is the shaft drives and 10 000 kms service intervals.

Sorry I am jacking the thread here. But it does show how different setups will effect your riding style. Try all the methods and find the one that works best for you.