slow speed riding

RHJ

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jimgoose

Are you dragging the rear brake and half-clutching? The former makes the back of the bike "tighten up" and squat down a bit, making it a little more controllable. The latter lets you keep the revs up and speed low, again nice and controllable.

listermint

As noted above its all in the feathering of the clutch. The brake is there to keep it all fairly constant and even, The feathering maintains the engine revs.

It will come with practice, I had the same issues when i was on the bike first. Its just a matter of time and frankly doing it when nobody is watching you. Its tough when you feel you are being judged, so try to either do it alone or get that out of your head.

But again, good clutch control is the key, its not "all the way in" or "all the way out" its a mix and feather in between.

Best of luck, it will come i can guarantee that much.

Skill Magill

Slow riding (fnarr) is practice, anybody can open the throttle and go fast in a straight line, to drive slowly takes throttle and clutch control, I wouldn't even be figuring on the brakes.

Skill Magill

Skill Magill wrote: »

Slow riding (fnarr) is practice, anybody can open the throttle and go fast in a straight line, to drive slowly takes throttle and clutch control, I wouldn't even be figuring on the brakes.

But for a beginner, you'll be using the front brake, throttle, and clutch, don't let the revs go too high, keep the clutch in and gently release, slowly releasing the front break.

Maybe drive around the car park for a few hours until you're confident, or get some professional instruction. Good luck :cool:

listermint

Skill Magill wrote: »

But for a beginner, you'll be using the front brake, throttle, and clutch, don't let the revs go too high, keep the clutch in and gently release, slowly releasing the front break.

Maybe drive around the car park for a few hours until you're confident, or get some professional instruction. Good luck :cool:

Id always say rear break. Never tell a beginner to use the front brake on a bend. (slow turning is a bend) Front break - guaranteed to go down.

Rear break for slow control.

punisher5112

Its nearly all clutch control and for turning try and use your body to balance.

Ask the instructor for tips he may be able to show you better then on a computer.

Best of luck it is practice and just smooth control take your time and be fine.

Skill Magill

L^
Depends on the bike and feel for it, couple of hours in a car park driving in circles should sort it out! I'd say I use the front brake 70% / 30% back brake most of the time. For me thats the real feel and how I ride

listermint

Skill Magill wrote: »

L^
Depends on the bike and feel for it, couple of hours in a car park driving in circles should sort it out! I'd say I use the front brake 70% / 30% back brake most of the time. For me thats the real feel and how I ride

Grand if it works for you,

however i hope you dont apply this when cornering. Its not really sound riding. But thats for another topic.

Wonda-Boy

IMHO its alot easier to up the revs a tad and ride the back brake it looks alot smoother....if you are clutching it in and out it can get messy real quick.

Skill Magill

listermint wrote: »

Grand if it works for you,

however i hope you dont apply this when cornering. Its not really sound riding. But thats for another topic.

Unless I'm hockinging it round a corner, front brakes are left alone, slow riding round a bit of asphalt though is another matter. The only bit of brake, if i needed would be the front, and only a bit of squeeze if necessary.

seamus

Feathering the front brake for control at slow speeds makes this awkward because it's the same hand as your throttle. Aside from the fact that you could fall on your face in a turn using the front brake, using the rear brake exclusively means that you have complete control over the clutch, throttle and brake at the same time, which makes slow riding much easier.

It's a bit weird at first because instinctually you want to use the hand brake, but with a bit of practice you very quickly get comfortable that the rear is good enough to stop you at slow speeds.

listermint

seamus wrote: »

Feathering the front brake for control at slow speeds makes this awkward because it's the same hand as your throttle. Aside from the fact that you could fall on your face in a turn using the front brake, using the rear brake exclusively means that you have complete control over the clutch, throttle and brake at the same time, which makes slow riding much easier.

It's a bit weird at first because instinctually you want to use the hand brake, but with a bit of practice you very quickly get comfortable that the rear is good enough to stop you at slow speeds.

This is how i was thought, this is how i show others.

Skill Magill

Listermint and Seamas,
Youse are right of course, for beginners thats the way to teach them, I've never taught anyone to ride a bike, but if I did, I'd be teaching front brake and throttle control, one hand, and clutching going round in slow circles with the other.

Seanie_H

Rear break only for slow speed control and practice, practice, practice on a short figure of 8 circuit

zubair

All back brake and clutch for me, I feather the clutch and the back brake now but when I learned it was all about varying pressure on the back brake.

When turning you'll need to counter balance, try and keep your body vertical (i.e. leaning away from the turn) and let the bike lean in to the turn.

RHJ

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Skill Magill

OP, do they give you a few hours practice on the bandit 600, or do you just pull up on the 125 prior to test?

RHJ

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zubair

RHJ wrote: »

Since I was bran new to motorbikes the instruter decided to start me off on the 125cc so I could get use to the controls

Just make sure you get the A, you'll eventually get it and be able to do it on a 600. its second nature to all of us now but we were all in your position once.

RHJ

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rowanh

Try practicing on a bicycle, same thing use the back brake and pedal and try and go as slowly as you can in a straight line. If you use torrents there is a dvd called ride like a pro which is all slow speed practice stuff.

RHJ

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Roadcraft

RHJ wrote: »

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Are you doing a category 'A' IBT course?, if so you will get a category 'A' IBT cert & do your training on a category 'A' bike.

For slow riding: cover & use the rear brake only, full hand on the throttle for good throttle control & use your clutch biting point combined with the rear brake & throttle to control your speed.

"Eyes up & look where you want to go", the bike will go where you look.

You should get enough practice time in the compound & on the road on a category 'A' bike with your IBT instructor without having to go anywhere else.

LookBehindYou

RHJ.
You are doing IBT to LEARN how to do those things.
The Instructor should show you how to do it,,, thats his job.

danoriordan1402

I was in the same scenario as you OP, new to a bike and found it hard doing the slow circles, but with practice, practice and back brake/clutch technique I finally got a system going.
Having said that, I didnt do the last module for the IBT for the full A at the time as I was planning to pick up a 125cc and make my mistakes on that, including dropping it...

Did the last module later on then and got the full A.

Good luck with it

RHJ

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Roadskill

RHJ wrote: »

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Not to jump on the bandwagon and I don't want to accuse your instructor of anything But! that's not fair on you and an hour with a beginner on a 600 is not enough to complete the module correctly if you are worried and not able on a 125.
Talk to him/her about your concerns and they should do something to help you as myself and I'm sure the other instructors on here would do. Safety is paramount and rushing you onto the road will do you nor the instructor favours in the end.

Good luck and call them

lostboy75

not sure where you are in Mayo, but that's where i do most of my riding. had a 125 varadero and while i really liked that bike (if it had even a 250cc engine i would still be on it), it wasn't a great choice for out in the country. maybe if most of your riding was in towns / cities. etc. its comfortable at the 90km, not so much at the 100. so there always tended to be cars right up behind you.
I had my learner license before "having" to do IBT. so was legal to ride my little babydero. however for the test i decided to go for unrestricted. so did the IBT and test on a school 600 bandit. two reasons i thought doing the IBT was a really good idea anyway, and was thinking of changing the bike.
to be honest riding the bigger bike is almost easier than the smaller lighter ones? or is that just me?

so my point, do the unrestricted test if you have the option. grab a few more hours with your instructor in between your next official class. its all about practice, its never wasted money getting lessons, at a minimum the extras will make you more comfortable on the bike, and with the slow work.

Roadcraft

What IBT modules have you completed?

Why take extra lessons?

You could finish your IBT with another instructor for category 'A'.

gerrowadat

RHJ wrote: »

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I had the same issue and concerns, and most of my riding is in the country. I found both the 125cc school bike and the 250cc bike I borrowed to learn on WAY harder to control and ride than the 600cc. The extra power to get you around and pull you out of corners makes things a lot easier.

For slow speed stuff, more power is also better for using the proper technique - I found I had to throttle the 125 with the clutch fully out to even move (I'm a big lad). There needs to a basic amount of power to suit your style and build, and 125 or 250 can be too sluggish for everyone.

As for A or A1 - think about what kind of bike you eventually want to be on, rather than the learning bike. If you're going to be on a 500cc eventually anyway then A1 will do you. If you're not sure, shoot for the A - the extra module 5 could end up being an expensive mistake if you find yourself bored with a smaller bike.