Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerrytheclown
So I'm (hopefully) going to very shortly be buying my first bike. I've got all my gear ready and a permit as well as an MSF course under my belt but I still absolutely do not feel confident enough in my own abilities to ride around surface streets with traffic right now. I intend to practice a bunch around parking lots and in a nearby neighborhood but I was wondering what kind of stuff I should work on?
Also, there's a lot of conflicting info flying around the internet so I have a few random questions about specific stuff I've read about.
1) Am I supposed to downshift when I turn? How about when I stop? During MSF, they never told us to shift at all during turns but they did tell us to always hold the clutch and shift down into first before stopping.
2) Is there some kind of guideline for optimal RPM to MPH conversion for the Ninja 250r specifically? Like, how do I know what gear I should be in at a given speed? In MSF we never went over third gear or 20MPH, what should I expect to top out at riding 30-40MPH surface streets?
3) The place where I live has a lot of hills and stop signs on those hills. Having ridden in people's manual transmission cars and watched then do the crazy feet dance to avoid letting the car slide or stall, I'm guessing stopping and starting uphill is a pain in the butt for motorcycles as well? Any tips for this?
4)What is engine braking, really? I understood that it was a thing enough to pass the test but I have no idea what it really is beyond using the engine resistance to slow the bike. But how do I do it? Should I even bother? Is there any reason I would do it over just using the brakes?
5) How much traction does bike really have? In MSF they really hammered home traction as a limited resource but I obviously never had to put that to the test, so I have no feel for i. In a lot of motorcycle fail videos online, you'll see the rider lean to far over or something and the bike will just slide out from under them. Is that something that is easy to do? Should I be very mindful of not over-leaning?
6) Back during the course, my bike CONSTANTLY stalled. I feel like it might partially be because it was a beat up training bike but I was probably doing something wrong too. I was having a lot of trouble with the clutch because the friction zone felt really really narrow. Are all 250r's like that? If so, how do I manage it?
Ok phew. I think that's all the questions I have for now. Sorry for the wall of noob questions haha. I just don't want to be on the bike and not know what to do if something comes up. Thanks!
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I admire your enthusiasm to do things the right way, but a lot of the stuff you're asking about is more advanced than a beginner rider would use or know if they're doing right or wrong (until the crash, that is). My advice is to keep it slow, put a few miles on it in a small neighborhood or parking lot, and really get a feel for what the bike does. Go at speeds where you won't be put into mortal peril if you lose traction, and keep that gear on. Everyone here could tell you everything we all know, but you wouldn't really learn anything until you threw a leg over and experienced it.
1)When you're IN the turn, you shouldn't usually shift, brake, roll off the throttle, or do anything to affect your speed (there are exceptions, but don't worry about that just yet). BEFORE the turn, it's a good idea to downshift sometimes if you're planning on cornering quicker. At higher RPM's, the bike becomes more stable because the spinny-spinny of the engine creates
centrifugal gyroscopic force that helps to stabilize you. I personally wouldn't worry about it too much at this point. That said, if you enter a corner at too high of a gear and your bike starts to jerk or stalls, it'll probably come sliding out from under you.
2)I personally keep the RPM's at least at ~6,000. You could shift all the way up to 5th at 40mph, but the bike would be unresponsive to your throttle if you needed to get up and go real quick, and would likely need to downshift twice if you needed some extra speed for some kind of emergency maneuver. I'm not gonna tell you what gear you should be in at those speeds, but keep it somewhere that the bike responds well, but doesn't leave the engine screaming at an unreasonable level. It's something you gotta feel for yourself.
3)Most motorcycles have wet clutches with only a few exceptions. A wet clutch, like a ninja 250 has, can take more abuse than you might think. Also, the first gear on a ninja is
TALL SHORT. You should have little trouble climbing hills with it once you get the hang of it. I'd avoid hills until you've got a decent grasp on how to ride the bike. I personally think it's easier on a motorcycle, as you've got 4 limbs you can use for controls as opposed to 3 pedals with 2 legs.
4)Engine braking was a lot more useful back when motorcycles exclusively used drum brakes. Now, with disc brakes, like a ninja has, it's not quite as important. You should still learn engine braking eventually, as it can be useful to eek a little bit more stopping power out of the bike, and it's helpful for slowing on uncertain ground. Here are two links that can explain it better than I can:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/E-Z_shi...s#Downshifting
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Braking...g_the_throttle
5)First off, you don't lean the bike. The bike leans YOU.* Traction depends on a lot of things. If you hit the tiniest patch of oil, it's impressive how quickly you can lose traction. And, you'll learn to notice just how many oil spots are really out there. (How do SO many people have oil leaks?! It still impresses me.) It also depends on how your suspension is set up, how heavy or light you are, and (SUPER IMPORTANT) your tires. Read WAY up on tires and don't just take one person's word for it. It also depends on the bike itself. Short answer on how much traction a bike has is: enough, if you know how to harness it.
6) Some people think the friction zone on a ninja is too small. I've never had an issue with it. One thing that helped me was lubricating the clutch cable. It's really important that it's smooth, and not notchy. When first learning to ride, you might not know the difference. I didn't.
*This is further elaborated on in A Twist of the Wrist II, which I and most other members on this site will HEAVILY endorse. Buy the movie or the manual. If you're like me, buy both! It'll be the single greatest riding resource you can buy, and you're sure to refer back to it for years to come.
Another good resource is here:
http://faq.ninja250.org/wiki/Riding_Techniques
Glad to have you on our forum, Jerry!