The importance of slow speed maneuvers...

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koji52 · #1 Unread post by **koji52** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:15 am

Well, it's been three weeks since i bought the vrod and yesterday I was finally able to title, register and inspect the bike (damn the DMV for closing at 4 on the weekdays).

Now that I am completely legal on the road, I decided today that i'd spend a few hours in a parking lot practicing slow speed maneuvers. Wow does this bike need counterbalancing to do tight turns. The bike itself is as long as one parking space is wide and the turning radius is pretty wide, so simply turning the handlebars and looking to where you're going to end up does not do it for this bike (that was a nice handling benefit i enjoyed with the sportster). By way of some background info, I can pull slow speed maneuvers on the sportster just fine. Single parking spot perimeter maneuvers are easily done on a sportster. The vrod needs to be leaned over significantly to pull a uturn within two parking spaces. All in all, I'm able to work figure eights within two and a half to three parking spaces... i feel like a brand new rider all over again with this.

Anyone with longer bikes have any tips on slow speed maneuvering?

zeligman · #2 Unread post by **zeligman** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:33 pm

Captcrashidaho had a video on it where he recommends - and I've also read it other places - that dragging the rear brake in slow speed maneuvering helps 'stiffen' the suspension and keep the bike a bit more upright.

I'm still working on those parking space maneuvers - not great with the figure 8 yet, but making smaller and smaller radius turns every day with more skill and confidence! (im riding an 02 suz volusia vl800).

Tried the brake stuff - i think it helped but im not sure yet.

Velocity · #3 Unread post by **Velocity** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 1:26 pm

Slow speeds are where I need the most work, I think. Every time I go out, I take some time to start and turn and stop, start and turn and stop, start and turn and stop. I live on a quiet block where I can go around the block clockwise and counterclockwise with little or no traffic before I go out on more heavily traveled roads. I too am working on tight turns, u-turns and figure eights.

koji52 · #4 Unread post by **koji52** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:33 pm

yea man...slight pressure to the back break is good to let you give more throttle and keep the bike upright. I watched a few of his youtube videos on slow speed maneuvering and it worked for my sportster but doesn't work well with the vrod. The wheel doesn't turn as much as it does on the sporty and the bike is significantly longer. Counter balancing and leaning the bike over is the only way to make the tight parking space figure eights. I'll check out his site and see if there are any other pointers i haven't tried. Thanks.

zeligman · #5 Unread post by **zeligman** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:33 pm

let us know what you discover

I could use all the help I can get!

-Z

CaptCrashIdaho · Tue Jul 28, 2009 3:34 pm

Start big, work small. One of the issues is that expecting to jump in and pull 18ft circles is a recipe for disaster.

Dragging the rear helps, but equally important is clutchwork! Clutch is your buddy and you need to be comfortable using the friction zone to mitigate the throttle.

Vids at: http://www.HowzitDoneCrash.com

Velocity · #7 Unread post by **Velocity** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 3:48 pm

CaptCrashIdaho wrote:Start big, work small. One of the issues is that expecting to jump in and pull 18ft circles is a recipe for disaster.

Dragging the rear helps, but equally important is clutchwork! Clutch is your buddy and you need to be comfortable using the friction zone to mitigate the throttle.

Vids at: http://www.HowzitDoneCrash.com

I love your web site and your videos, Captain.

I don't expect to jump in and pull 18 foot circles... but I believe 'the box' in the BRC is 20 feet across. I took the course about a month ago, and had a chance to pace out 'the box' when I was again in the vicinity of the course location today. If my pacing was accurate, it was 20 foot across and 60 feet long.

I did it once, so I know I can do it again. I'm on a different bike now, but not on a much larger bike than the course bike (Kawasaki Eliminator 125 then, Yamaha Virago 250 now).

I just need to re-learn the skills on my new bike, I know, and I'm definitely not starting out trying to pull 18 foot circles. I did the 'walk the course' thing today so I would know what I was shooting for down the road.

RocketGirl · Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:23 pm

Velocity wrote:Slow speeds are where I need the most work, I think. Every time I go out, I take some time to start and turn and stop, start and turn and stop, start and turn and stop. I live on a quiet block where I can go around the block clockwise and counterclockwise with little or no traffic before I go out on more heavily traveled roads. I too am working on tight turns, u-turns and figure eights.

+1

Cool! I do something similar before I head out for my first ride of the day. I go around the block to check that the bike and I are working well together. It's usually mandatory when the mornings are chilly like 40 or 50-degrees; it helps to warm up the engine by going around the block a couple of times.

zeligman · #9 Unread post by **zeligman** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:41 pm

so, about two weeks since the original post, and - after riding a lot the last two weeks, went back to the plot today. I didn't walk and mark the distance, but I gotta say that it ALL felt more comfortable, I turned much tighter, slower, counterweighted, etc, only put the foot down once, and felt so much more in control of the bike.

The extra two weeks of riding hard - meaning, challenging myself a little more each day, has made it MUCH easier to feel the limits of the bike and my riding. Of course, i could get overconfident and end up standing there looking at my bike on its side in the lot fairly easily, but i try to remind myself about that daily.

I'm making turns in the width of two parking spaces - haven't hit the 8 quite yet, can do it in either direction singly, but not put them together yet - maybe next week!

but the extra time on my bike made a HUGE difference. Also, all the starts and stops in town/traffic make turning feel more natural.

Cap Crash - you're our HERO!

Rogero · #10 Unread post by **Rogero** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:50 am

Couple of follow-on questions...

I got my first ever bike a couple of weeks ago. I was riding 5-10 miles every day to build up some comfort level. Then after a week tried to do a u-turn on a country road. Ended up on my butt again with some scrapes on my bike. Arhggh!!!!

Question 1: Obviously one week in was too early for slow speeding. When would I be better trying it? Or maybe now is the right time, but I should start with bigger circles in a large parking lot or something?

Question 2: this was the second time where I got going too slowly and tipped over. I have a Harley Softail (aka heavy am-fm). Anyone have any tips on how not to go down once a tip over starts? In both cases I got the bike stopped. In the first, the shock of falling sort of froze me and I just went down. The second time I felt it coming and tried to not go over but the bike is so heavy I couldn't hold it. Then I got my arm down to try to prevent the bike from hitting. Right - holding 800 lbs falling with my arms. Wailed my arm on the concrete instead... Thought I might have broken it. Obviously the wrong strategy! But what's the right one?