Clutch Control

[JohnDonohoe95]

Hello I have been riding bikes for 2 years now, I used to ride a little 50cc Twist and Go, I have upgraded to a Yamaha YBR-125 and gears on a bike is new to me.

I have been learning gears on private land and I am fine with them.

The only problem I sometimes have is stalling the bike at a stop sign, giveway, traffic lights etcetera.

I know the reason why I sometimes stall, it's probably because I don't have enough revs when setting off, or I release the clutch too fast.


Does anyone have any tips for me that could help improve my setting off capabilities or does it just come with practice?

[snomag]

Give it enough revs and don't release the clutch too fast

[JohnDonohoe95]

[Ollie1995]

Just rev it and slowly let the clutch out.
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XR 125, DT125 LC, Greeves Scottish, RS200, XS400, GPX600r

Theory Passed - 18/7/13 MOD1 Booked - 24/9/13

[Ribenapigeon]

Next time out just think, bit more revs, slip the clutch easy does it. Eventually it will work out. You might feel an idiot when you stall but that's just part of the learning curve.

[Lord Percy]

If you're stalling, you aren't revving it hard enough. With a 125 you can pretty safely rev it quite hard without the worry of doing a burning wheelie or anything like that, as long as you don't dump the clutch all with one go. So rev it quite hard and just release the clutch slow enough. You'll start to get a feel for when it's biting and eventually it'll be second nature to you, you'll know exactly how much throttle to give it for any situation.

[shereen]

[ScaredyCat]

[HJM]

[metalangel]

In my experience, Yamahas have a reputation for very small 'biting points' in their clutches which can take a bit of getting used to. A bike rental guy confirmed this to me so I am definitely not making it up :p

Just give it a little bit of revs, and start letting the clutch out and when you feel it start to pull then give it more revs and once you start moving release the clutch the rest of the way.

You probably feel a bit anxious at traffic lights to get going? Just relax, better to take an extra second to make sure you go than to stall and waste ten seconds. Try stopping and starting around your 'private land', getting used to knowing that feeling when the clutch starts to pull the bike forward.
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Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[DottyDuck]

Like everyone else has said.. rev the arse off it.. dont worry it won't break and also wont flip you on your back lol

What i would do is.. the next time you are on your bike.. put it in gear forget about the throttle and let the clutch out slowly... you will notice it will slowly start pulling you forward. When this happens give it some revs..don't be scared of stallling if you stall just give it another go!

I wish i had a video of how bad i was and a video now... Because with the big improvements i have made you would of thought it was a different person lol and the best bit is ...it is second nature! I use to avoid certain routes because of hills and the dreaded hill-starts.. but now i go where-ever the heck i like!

Keep going on dont be put off!
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CBT- 2012 Theory- 18/12/13 Mod 1- 07/01/14 Mod 2- 15/01/14
Old Bike: Zontes Panther 125cc - wrote off Current Bike: Kawasaki ZR7

[DottyDuck]

Like everyone else has said.. rev the arse off it.. dont worry it won't break and also wont flip you on your back lol

What i would do is.. the next time you are on your bike.. put it in gear forget about the throttle and let the clutch out slowly... you will notice it will slowly start pulling you forward. When this happens give it some revs..don't be scared of stallling if you stall just give it another go!

I wish i had a video of how bad i was and a video now... Because with the big improvements i have made you would of thought it was a different person lol and the best bit is ...it is second nature! I use to avoid certain routes because of hills and the dreaded hill-starts.. but now i go where-ever the heck i like!

Keep going on dont be put off!
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CBT- 2012 Theory- 18/12/13 Mod 1- 07/01/14 Mod 2- 15/01/14
Old Bike: Zontes Panther 125cc - wrote off Current Bike: Kawasaki ZR7

[J.M.]

Don't rev the nuts off of it, that's just learning to ride badly!

You should be able to pull away with 3-4k RPM on a 125 quite easily if you're on a straight. Just be gentle with the clutch and let it out gradually. You'll get to the stage where you know the biting point and the RPM you need as second nature.
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[CG Sam]

All I did was sit and find my biting point and letting it start to pull itself then clutch back in and do the same over and over till I got used to where the biting point is, then I started putting some throttle into it and just practiced pulling a way for a bit.

It's pretty much second nature now, and I haven't been riding long at all!
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CG125, SV650S, CBR600F, GSXR600 SRAD

[c_dug]

When I got my first bike, my ts50x, I couldn't pull away at all. I had a 10 meter race up my road against my friend on crutches and lost.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[JohnDonohoe95]

Thanks for all these tips guys.

Since I posted this thread I have pretty much been riding everywhere.
The Clutch is getting much easier for me to use, I have just got back from riding around for around 1 hour 30 minutes, I only stalled the bike once, just as I was around 5 minutes from home, for some reason I had the bike in 2nd gear at a junction (whilst stopped), I don't know why I didn't check to see if it was in first gear


Anyway all I need to probably learn better is downshifting smoother.

[Boxing]

I have a two smoker DTR 125, I just blip the throttle and let the clutch out slowly. I pull off quickly most of the time, as I filter the the front of the queue. But I wouldn't recommend trying it, you'll probably wheelie off.

Also when I first started riding a geared bike or was practising clutch control, I'd keep my foot hovering over the back brake, so if it did decide to do a wheelie I could quickly regain control without flipping it.

Mind you, I've never done a wheelie where it wasn't intentional.