I'm getting better and everything, but i did stall twice today. Once was on a hill (my first time) with a school bus behind me. That was not fun at all.
I just figured if you could tweak it not to, why the heck not. I'll just keep practicing. I'm coming along pretty good actually.
Clutch = Anger
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buddhacide
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NorthernPete
- Legendary 3000
- Posts: 3485
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2005 4:24 pm
- Real Name: Pete
- Sex: Male
- Years Riding: 11
- My Motorcycle: 1988 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500
- Location: Northern Ontario, Canada
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buddhacide
- Elite
- Posts: 140
- Joined: Fri May 26, 2006 2:19 pm
Man, I went to get gas today and I could not get the bike to stop stalling - In intersections, or anywhere else I had to stop. It got so bad that I had to actually get off the bike and push it into my parking area. Why the hell would this be like this. Yesterday I was doing great.
Are there any other variables, other than skill, that will contribute to a bike stalling often when you try to get it moving?
I feel like today was such a step back in my learning.
Not to mention I attepted my first left hand turn at an intersection and almost killed myself.
Are there any other variables, other than skill, that will contribute to a bike stalling often when you try to get it moving?
I feel like today was such a step back in my learning.
Not to mention I attepted my first left hand turn at an intersection and almost killed myself.
Current: 2008 Vulcan 900 custom
Previous: 1999 V-star 650 custom
Previous: 1999 V-star 650 custom
Let's go back to basics on this... 'cause it shouldn't be that hard... there may be a mechanical issue.
1) Did you take the MSF course? Your first post in this thread says you'll be taking the courses on the weekend... I didn't trace through the whole thread to see if you did or what happened there.
2) Do you have a parking lot available? Frankly if I was having any doubts about my clutch I'd stay off public streets as much as possible until it was sorted out.
3) If you straddle the bike (engine running, in gear, clutch pulled, in a parking lot with lots of clear space ahead) and put your feet out on both sides to brace against forward motion, you should be able to gently ease the clutch out (with no or just a little bit of throttle) and slowly apply more and more force to your legs as you feel out the "friction zone". If you do that, does the bike die? Stumble?
Lemme give you my real world reason for asking question 3... my driveway goes down towards my house on a pretty steep hill. If I just start the engine and try riding away (without warming up) there is a good chance it'll stumble and die going up the driveway. If I just leave it running it takes forever to warm up. So I always do the leg-brace trick to see how warmed up it really is, and to speed the warm-up. As soon as I can apply some pressure to my legs in the "friction zone" (slipping the clutch) I know I'll make it up the driveway and I ride away. If the engine wasn't running right it would never be able to apply enough force even when warmed up.
I'm thinking you need to coordinate throttle and clutch better... rev up, ease the clutch, go... but there might be something wrong with your bike.
1) Did you take the MSF course? Your first post in this thread says you'll be taking the courses on the weekend... I didn't trace through the whole thread to see if you did or what happened there.
2) Do you have a parking lot available? Frankly if I was having any doubts about my clutch I'd stay off public streets as much as possible until it was sorted out.
3) If you straddle the bike (engine running, in gear, clutch pulled, in a parking lot with lots of clear space ahead) and put your feet out on both sides to brace against forward motion, you should be able to gently ease the clutch out (with no or just a little bit of throttle) and slowly apply more and more force to your legs as you feel out the "friction zone". If you do that, does the bike die? Stumble?
Lemme give you my real world reason for asking question 3... my driveway goes down towards my house on a pretty steep hill. If I just start the engine and try riding away (without warming up) there is a good chance it'll stumble and die going up the driveway. If I just leave it running it takes forever to warm up. So I always do the leg-brace trick to see how warmed up it really is, and to speed the warm-up. As soon as I can apply some pressure to my legs in the "friction zone" (slipping the clutch) I know I'll make it up the driveway and I ride away. If the engine wasn't running right it would never be able to apply enough force even when warmed up.
I'm thinking you need to coordinate throttle and clutch better... rev up, ease the clutch, go... but there might be something wrong with your bike.
Ride it like you think owning it matters.
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buddhacide
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- Joined: Fri May 26, 2006 2:19 pm
Yeah I took the course a few weeks ago. I have everything down now in theory. Today what was happenning, towards the end of my ride anyway, is that I could get the bike to start lurching forward, but i simply could not get it to go. As soon as I put my feet up to move it would stall. Now, I was pretty flustered at this point mind you so I'm not ruling out frustration as the cause.
As for a parking lot, no i dont really have one. But the side streets behind my house are pretty accommodating. Right now I'm chalking it up to a bad day, but I really want to get the thing in for a tune up so I can be sure its me and not the bike. Problem is I cant find anyone around me that does it. If its me, then I can work at it. I just want to rule out the bike because i know it probably hasnt been serviced in a while.
As for a parking lot, no i dont really have one. But the side streets behind my house are pretty accommodating. Right now I'm chalking it up to a bad day, but I really want to get the thing in for a tune up so I can be sure its me and not the bike. Problem is I cant find anyone around me that does it. If its me, then I can work at it. I just want to rule out the bike because i know it probably hasnt been serviced in a while.
Current: 2008 Vulcan 900 custom
Previous: 1999 V-star 650 custom
Previous: 1999 V-star 650 custom
OK, so you've done all of this on the MSF bikes, no problem with the clutch there... and it seemed to get worse towards the end of a ride... longish ride? like maybe the problem is heat related?
That would suck...and not be very confidence building...
Do you know anyone who rides? Could you maybe contact one of the MSF instructors? If finding a service shop is difficult you might be better off finding someone else who can give it a test ride and let you know if (s)he saw the same problems.... if not, it is probably your technique.
That would suck...and not be very confidence building...
Do you know anyone who rides? Could you maybe contact one of the MSF instructors? If finding a service shop is difficult you might be better off finding someone else who can give it a test ride and let you know if (s)he saw the same problems.... if not, it is probably your technique.
Ride it like you think owning it matters.
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buddhacide
- Elite
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- Joined: Fri May 26, 2006 2:19 pm
Yeah, i was just using the yellow pages to find a shop. I cannot believe how few there are. I found one place I can take it to but its not very close at all. I'm not going to get too ahead of myself blaming the bike. Truth is I had issues with stalling the 250's during training as well. It was working relatively fine yesterday, so unless I broke it somehow it was probably frustration. Truth is, i still find it difficult, moreso than it should be anyway. I'm good with everything else, but starting from a dead stop. I'm just going to walk away and go back to it with a clearer head maybe tomorrow.
As for friends, not a single one that lives anywhere near me. This truly a solo venture.
As for friends, not a single one that lives anywhere near me. This truly a solo venture.
Current: 2008 Vulcan 900 custom
Previous: 1999 V-star 650 custom
Previous: 1999 V-star 650 custom
Solo ventures like this can be the most rewarding. It was like my learning to control a model airplane... everybody who knows says "don't do it"... and truth be told those poor models took a beating... but I had a blast and once I could finally fly them it was all the sweeter.
Just do the basic "friction zone" exercises from the MSF course... in a little while it'll seem totally natural and once you have it you'll never understand what the problem was.
Just do the basic "friction zone" exercises from the MSF course... in a little while it'll seem totally natural and once you have it you'll never understand what the problem was.
Ride it like you think owning it matters.
Actually... I was just thinking about it... does the problem mostly happen if you've been sitting at a stoplight for a while? As in does it seem like things are good if you are just practicing but then you get stuck at a light and it has a hard time?
If so, the (idle) mixture might be way too rich, fouling the plugs.
That's not unlikely, especially if you live at a higher altitude than the bike is set up for....
You might want to warm the bike up (riding around) let it idle for about a stoplight's amount of time, shut it down and pull the plugs to see how they look.
Of course, that is all just speculation...
If so, the (idle) mixture might be way too rich, fouling the plugs.
That's not unlikely, especially if you live at a higher altitude than the bike is set up for....
You might want to warm the bike up (riding around) let it idle for about a stoplight's amount of time, shut it down and pull the plugs to see how they look.
Of course, that is all just speculation...
Ride it like you think owning it matters.
