Total Motorcycle Community Forums

pedal power wrote: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 comming down) is steep enough to prevent me from flat footing the bike?

Thanks again.

riding on a ridge? otherwise I dont see how the incline of the road prevents your feet from supporting your bike. your legs should really only provide the lateral support so the bike doesnt fall to either side, use your brakes to prevent your bike from rolling forward or backwards.

There's also the statement that, "once you're good enough to do it that way you're good enough to not be listening to me anyways."

It's like advising a new rider to never brake with his front while leaned over. I've done it before and come out of it okay, but I've also dropped a training bike 2 years earlier because of it.

By all means, brake with the front while leaned, but just be smart enough not to lock it up, otherwise you will think it's winter time and you're scoot has transformed into a toboggan.

Ok, since I'm considering it, how does linked brakes make the bike behave on a hill stop? Is taking off from one any harder or easier?

Shorts- The key to the situation is the foot pedal, not which brake it's controlling. Using your foot for the brake frees your hand for other things. It doesn't matter if the foot pedal is controlling only the rear brake or both brakes - it's just holding the bike there.

The way your bike is set up now, I think hill starts would be impossible - one hand feathering the clutch, rolling on some throttle, and releasing the brake simultaneously. Too much. I think linked brakes from the foot pedal are going to be a necessity for you for hill starts.

Is your left leg strong enough to hold up the bike by itself if your right foot is on the brake pedal?

I haven't tried hills yet, but I know they'd do me in if I tried holding a brake too. My left leg is strong enough to hold the bike up, but if it starts to drop, it's going down to left without much of a fight. With no left arm to grab it, the right hand gets maxed out regulating the controls while trying to muscle the bars. In that case, I let the bike drop so I can kill the engine without it jumping from a goosed throttle or dropped clutch.

On the strength note, this offseason, since outside workouts aren't happening for weather, I'm going to lift heavy for my strength rotation in the gym. Come spring I'm hoping the handling issues will be remedied a little bit.

pedal power wrote: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?

An incline will never prevent you from flat-footing the bike unless you're riding the bike sideways across the road. Think about it - the bike is always parallel with YOU. Therefore, if you are pointed up or down a steep incline, doesn't matter; Relative to the position of your butt on the seat, your feet are always the same distance from the ground.

As for starting/stopping downhill, it's exactly the same as uphill: Stay on the back brake. When you get ready to move, you'll ease off the brake, roll on the throttle, and ease out the clutch and you'll do all 3 of those moves at the same time.

I always use the front brake for holding on a hill, up or down, doesn't matter. However, it does take a little practice, and a little technique. Usually, when I brake normally I use only the index and middle fingers, and the brake lever catches between the first and second knuckles. As I roll to a stop on a hill, I shift the contact point between finger and lever to between the tip and first knuckle, and I do this one finger at a time. Very little pressure on the lever is required to hold a bike rather than stop it, so it isn't a problem keeping adequate pressure on the lever to hold the bike.

When ready to accelerate, I have three options. I can roll the throttle with the ring and pinkie fingers, straighten my fingers on the brake so the palm rolls the throttle, or place my thumb on the finger guard next to the switch housing and push the throttle open. For me, using the thumb to push the throttle open provides the best control. YMMV. In any case, it takes some practice to coordinate brake, clutch, and throttle, enough so that when I make an adjustment to one of the controls, I need to practice in a safe place a few times to adapt.

As a newb who lives on a hill, I find the front brake/throttle roll difficult. I could probably get it with practice, but for now I use the rear brake.

Like the Denny's commercials...... Works for me.

The problem I had with using the rear brake to hold hills was leaning. After nearly dropping the bike a few times because I leaned to far to the right (I'm hyperactive and the bike is never still, even when stopped), I started using the front brake to hold, then switching to the rear brake to take off. Eventually, I stopped using the rear brake--it wasn't a conscious decision, just an evolving skill.

Lately I've been paying particular attention to what I do starting off on uphills. What I've descovered is starting off is more a step-by-step than a coordinated balancing act. I don't use clutch, brake, and throttle adjustments simultaineously. I roll the throttle slightly, then release the clutch to the friction zone, wait for the bike to move forward against the brake, then release the brake all at once. I've also found myself dropping my ring finger from the brake to the throttle immediately after stopping for better throttle control. Thus, once the clutch is holding/beginning to accelerate the bike, my index finger automatically comes off the brake lever as I roll on the throttle just as I normally would on flat ground.

So, it's:
1) Throttle
2) Clutch
3) Brake
4) Balance throttle and clutch normally.

Try it on flats first. All you're really doing is adding brake to what you already do.