Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

on q ride they told me to keel my bike in first gear and my foot on the break at the lights ( and of course hand on clutch) but i was watching my dad and he put his bike in neautral , so me being a smart arse teenager said ur doing it wrong and he said if u leave ur bike in first it can over heat . . .


. . . wouldnt it still over heaat if it was going to in neautral , because its still the engin running ???

Yeah it will still overheat regardless what gear you're in, is why some bikes have thermo fans.

he was pullin me leg then

ZZRCHIKKY wrote:he was pullin me leg then

Even when the clutch is engaged there is still drag on it. which will cause it to run a little hotter than idling in nuetral, perhaps not a lot, especially on modern bikes. But the other reason Dad probably does it, is that holding your clutch in causes premature wear.

I have been riding a while so probably have bad habits. But I always put it into Nuetral at the lights. I will keep an eye on whats heppening behind me though at the same time, ready to pop it into gear and scarper if some unwitting tin top pilot gets a little vague!!

I would only every put it in neutral at the lights once the car behind me had pulled up - ie once I knew they'd seen me and weren't going to rear-end me.
Wear never came into it for me - it was just opportunity to relax
ty

Strika wrote:But the other reason Dad probably does it, is that holding your clutch in causes premature wear.

err - are you sure ?!

The official line is that your right foot should be on the rear brake, this is simply a control measure like putting the hand brake on in the car. They teach you to do it, but one you pass your test it's up to you how you sit at the lights.

If the bike is facing up hill, I tend to use the rear brake as it allows better control. All other times I keep my left foot on the peg.

I had a freind notice that I rolled up to the lights in neutral too...
My reason is my left leg is f*ed up and this way I dont have to put it down.
I do a bit of a dance actually, quite amusing if you are aware of it...
ANYWAY what I wanted to say was we never USED to leave our old dungers in gear becasue what happens if the cable breaks ??
ASIDE : Did you know ZX12R's STILL have cable operated clutches... AND chokes on an EFI bike ?
BUT in this day and age I would question if it would wear the clutch ? (Wears the soap ? )
Mind you there is NO way I am going to sit at the lights in gear (for a long time anyway) BUT I do have my foot on the lever (my left leg is bung remember) to knock it down and bolt if I hear screechs/see wide eyes and headlights..
In Townsville traffic is not so bad that you will sit at the lights for abnormal lengths of time so I would say have the back brake covered and leave it in gear if that is what they taught you (was it Kenny ?)

photomike666 wrote:The official line is that your right foot should be on the rear brake.

Yeah, that is the official line. Funny isn't it that motorcycle cops have it drummed into them when they go through training that it's right foot down.

Go figure...

Only problem with leaving it in neutral at the lights is most people leave it to the last second to wack it back into first, forcing it into first as soon as they bring the clutch in. They don't give it enough time to let the input shaft stop spinning (or at least slow down) causing premature wear to the gearbox.

I'd much rather shave the 500 metres or whatever off the clutch life by leaving it in gear, knowing that I'm not going to have to clunk the thing back into first every time. But thats only at a regular stop, ie normal traffic light. If I know it will be a longer light change, or I'm stopped for whatever other reason sure I'll bring it back to neutral and rest the left hand.

I vary it up.....

If I think its going to be a long time until the light goes green then I put it in neutral and sit there drumming on my petrol tank....

If I think its going to go green soon I just pull in the clutch and wait....

Sometimes I will wait a long time holding in the clutch....

on really really hot days I switch off the bike at the lights (not if I have filtered to the front) if it has only just gone red... Just to keep the temp down a little bit.... (doesnt help much, but keeps me amused)...

As an aside but nonetheless relevant to the thread, 2 people I know have been warned for sitting at lights with hands not on handlebars and foot on rear brake ( a pose I often assume) for "not being in control of the vehicle".

Believe one rider got a fine and one got a warning.

Personally I stay in first if filtered to the front of the traffic unless I know the lights and that they'll be changing not too soon. other than that neutral and foot on rear brake.

It specifies that in all the learner syllabus' Chikky. They call it the "ready position" the idea being that you are ready to move off at any time and thus will minimise the time it takes you to get going. I always do it unless I've got quite a few cars behind me. It's saved my bacon once and in my books that's good enough.

Keeping your foot on the brake is really just to ensure you've got control of the bike ie up or down hill but it's not a bad habit to keep. The rear brake is used rather than the front as your right hand is them solely dedicated to winding the throttle on if you have to move in a hurry, again to save some time when you need it.

Some of the stuff may seem a little trivial and irrelevant but it all has worthwhile reason.

Cheers

aardvark wrote:

photomike666 wrote:The official line is that your right foot should be on the rear brake.

Yeah, that is the official line. Funny isn't it that motorcycle cops have it drummed into them when they go through training that it's right foot down.

Go figure...

In NSW the cops were taught to do it that way so that they could sit on the side of the road (not in traffic) waiting to whack it in first in a hurry and belt off after speeders. Now they teach the other way, presumably becuase they don'y typically sit on the side of the road much any more.

Or sometimes if u know the lights are about to go green as u pull up at them, u don't have to put any feet down, just balance bike, and use throttle/rear brake to keep u upright

(this method is not recommended if u r new, or don't have throttle/brake combo co-ordination)