Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

Nucci wrote:Hmm maybe I should have put all this in my first post.

Don't sweat the samll stuff, just stick with the Mr Mina recommended way of post whoring and you'll have at least one friend on the forums..

Nucci wrote:

Glen wrote:Lots of bike in, body out ie keep your body straight, the bike pushed down and your head turned. If it's really tight remember your slow riding from your license test, ie back brake, slip the clutch a little and keep the revs up.

Practise tight circles ie like your doing a U Turn

I am really worried that people are advising others about slipping the clutch when riding on the open road. Using the back brake, yes for sure but apart from doing a 10km an hour tight u-turn why would you need to use the clutch? It just really isnt neccessary and just adds another factor into the equation when people should be concentrating on taking a smooth line and looking through the corner.

Even taking the tight hairpins on Macquarie pass, Jamberoo Road, Brown mountain, Clyde mountain et al I have never known anyone who has resorted to this technique.

The only time I have ever used the clutch on hairpins is on my fully laden VFR on the heavily rutted dirt roads through Wollemi NP. Mind you I have never seen a hairpin tighter than a signposted 15km/h IIRC

Mick Doohan used to do it all the time on the strokers the clutch slipping buisness that is.

Brake select gear head up and look for the exit power on and your away, dragging a bit of rear brake will help some and hinder others I am a rear brake dragger from my 250 days but have been weaned off it now.

Maybe you girls need to book into superbike school and dont forget to let me know the date i want to do a course as well.

Since darlington park went in brisbane there isnt anywhere to hold a decent ride course.

bit of countersteering is really important, just before the lefthander just give the left clipon a little nudge forward and the bike will fall to the left then look through the corner and gas it out.

remember if think your not gonna make it, lean it more, you'll make it easy (easier said than done......but it works!)

Gosling1 wrote:

Nucci wrote:....I am really worried that people are advising others about slipping the clutch when riding on the open road

Slipping the clutch on the open road is an accepted method of immediately increasing speed without changing gears, and can save your life when overtaking a line of traffic / semi-trailer / road-train . It is also a great method of additional throttle control in shitty situations. It should *not* be used when apexing corners, fair enough, but hells bells, giving the clutch a big *faaaaaannnnn* on the way *out* of a corner is the best way of jumping out of a slow corner as quickly as possible.

We are riding sportsbikes here, not 250 commuter bikes !!!

I should have made it clear, I meant slipping clutches in the art of cornering.

I slip the clutch (well kinda) in that I use it to feed power in progressively on hard down shifts.

We are splitting hairs though, my objection was that someone on here was told that riding/slipping/fanning the clutch to control drive in a corner is the way to go about it and I strongly disagree is all, except now Ive been informed that there are some roads that apparently need that treatment.

And all these people bringing up the racetrack etc... not really the right context - especially where strokers are concerned

As for "Slipping the clutch on the open road is an accepted method of immediately increasing speed without changing gears" wouldnt the throttle be better for that? hehe

nucci sometimes in trafic i have been known to grab a bit of clutch and a bit of throttle and disapear as the gap i am sitting in is rapidly disapearing or the car on the left of me decides it wants to turn right.

for the people having trouble I would recomend a school or following someone that knows what they are doing around the hills for a bit and learn to set corner speed look for the apex tip it in then look for the exit and get on the throttle.

Even better yet do it in a controlled enviroment and do it with no brakes for a bit which is how the schools do it remember controlled enviroment so no 300 foot gorges or armco fences.

Wouldnt go fanning the clutch out of corners anytime soon.

galston gorge has super tight super steep hairpins which are a real bitch to take esp when there is traffic involved

these are the type that a lot of cars cant get around and run across the other side of the road to get around them while using full lock

mmm memories of going around them in the van , rear wheels losing traction and rolling backwards

Barrabob wrote:Even better yet do it in a controlled enviroment and do it with no brakes for a bit which is how the schools do it remember controlled enviroment so no 300 foot gorges or armco fences.

ah, nothing beats doing a bit of practice with "pace riding"

red_dave wrote:

mohawk miss wrote:

I think someone found Springwood road...

Ha ha ha ha Thanks Dave.

Don't worry...I think even Madkaw had problems on those corners...

Ask Ponti

Onya Mate, The Crim was much less less impressed that Madkaw I reckon, Even in first gear it was off throttle. The fat 9 didnt mind it so much.
The key too all really tight corners is Aggressive "Blips" on the throttle to get the downshift right.
My best mate is pretty quick on his 954 blade but being new to bikes he never got the concept of "Blipping on downshifts" which would see him running wide off throttle in the really tight stuff as he would stay in 2nd gear. He's working on the blipping now.

Give the as late as possible into your braking & set up before you pick the apex clutch in & a give it a Big rev, bang it into first, slow clutch release & try to crack the throttle into the corner. the bike will hold its tighter line that way. Also square off the corner brake late and wide into the right wheel track of your lane then aim at the left shoulder of your lane for the exit incase some big ar$sed truck is coming the other way.
hth.

Nucci wrote:but yes Aardvark I have to say I disagree with you as far as 'using the clutch mid corner is a great way to settle the bike'.

All depends why the bike is unsettled. If you are mid corner and in first gear, some people tend to be a little ham-fisted with the throttle which unsettles the bike.

A little fan of the clutch can smooth out throttle response and make a big difference.

love hairpins, then again you gte a right and a left in succession on mac pass both blind and up hill quite steep.

for me i find if you ride to the right of the lane going up and just feather the back brake it works fine..

then again mac pass has a nice big turning area for teh hairpins thanks to the big b double trucks which like to practice 3 point turns on them..

look through the corner and look at where you want the bike to end and dont tense up as soon as you become rigid and tense you loose most of your steering capability and will be F#$^$^d....

talking from experience here.. mac pass is fun untill you shit yourself and tense up then you keep running wide or tight, not fun then

Nucci wrote:....As for "Slipping the clutch on the open road is an accepted method of immediately increasing speed without changing gears" wouldnt the throttle be better for that? hehe

You need to ride a highly-tuned 2-stroke to appreciate the benefits of fanning the clutch - but on a big 4-stroke, it will put you *immediately* into the meat of the power, without having to wait for the engine to simply respond to basic throttle input.........it can save valuable seconds !!!!

I always to sit on the extreme outside of the entry until I can see the exit in the vansihing point before turning in, but its not always possible due to debris, bumps and camber, but as a general rule, it works on all corners (double and more apexes are two of the above with focus on the LAST corner in the series) and is what all the "schools" I have ever been to have advised, race or otherwise, but I think the Police one is different ??
It gives maximum view of hazards, (but does invite "nips up the inside" by idiots that think the road is a track and need to be talked to at the next stop. ) and is good if you use the extra safety margin (if you havent been doing it before) FOR safety and not to up your entry speeds...

I have been caught out at different times by debris, bumps and camber using this technique, BUT only when unsighted due to (normally) light conditions and shadow and only a (reverse) camber bought me down (althought the bike was undamaged but broke a lever).Even then it was only because I chose the lesser evil (in this case) of running off and the "possible" highside of regaining grip as the bike crossed the hump of the extreme camber (for drainage, they had increased the camber on the outside two foot over a long time to stop the rain undercutting it surely there was better way to do it?). For those in NQ it was on the second ? corner on the top of the Sarina range some years and they have fixed it since as I wasnt the first or last caught out. What I am saying is I am the only fault in theory and that the road conditions were prob a one off.

I use rear brake (some say one shouldn't even use the rear brake at all..*cough*..*bs*..)and/or clutch depending on the situation and I do like a bit of a slide so I am prolly not the one to advise anyone (old dirt bike skills), really if you are doing this you are not getting the right entry speed and gear to a point depending if it is a nasty corner which all rules go out the window. As Jason said, generally gutter to apex to gutter and look through the corner at a level plane to the road, as you enter the corner you may need to touch the rear to settle it, hit the apex get on the gas smoothly and even fan the clutch or a touch of the rear to stop it lighting up
Clutch fanning IMO is more used on smaller capacity bikes to get into the power range for the exit. 2 cents said and prolly not said well enough, just get out there and do it.

Zachary