Rory, Rory tell us a stally!

[DanceLikeAMon...]

It's a nice mild night up here in Newcastle (bit damp but not too bad), so I have spent the last hour and a half riding about on the SR.

I am fine when riding around but I am still stalling the bike quite a bit when pulling away (almost got hit by a car when I stalled and he didn't stop at a junction ). I get the biting point fine, but when I start to pull away, I seem to wobble a bit and must be either dropping the clutch to much or losing the revs.

Anyone got any advice?

[meyrick]

Hey DLAM,

If you get to the point where the bike is pulling away and then immediately stall, try holding onto the clutch a bit longer. I was doing this when I went out with my dad and he told me that when you reach the biting point, hold the clutch there until you are well on your way. Don't feel the need to drop the clutch completely right away.

Also, bear in mind that as you let the clutch out, the revs will drop sharply under the strain. It is up to you to give it more throttle to compensate for this. IE. to keep the bike at constant revs while letting go of the clutch, you need to increase the throttle.

One final bit of advice, this time from my instructor. If you are having trouble, don't worry about keeping the revs down when you pull away. When pulling away, the clutch dictates the pace, not the throttle. He told me this when I was trying too hard to pull away 'quietly'

Hope this helps and doesn't sound patronising, I am a 'noob' too after all

Paul

EDIT: Also, I would find a car park or something like that and just do stop starts until you start to go insane It helps.

[DanceLikeAMon...]

Not patronising at all, cheers for the tips mate!

Sadly all of the supermarkets around here are 24hrs, so I am still looking for a car park I can play around in!

How's your riding going? Any more drops are are you managing to keep it upright now?

[dodsi]

Just do everything in a smooth motion,

Roll the throttle on and ease the clutch out at the same pace.

dont be scared of the throttle, afterall its only a 125 and wont fire you into a situation you cant handle.

Maybee try relaxing a bit and not thinking of it! worked for me as I started my biking days on a speedshite 100 which requires absolutly no skill what-so-ever. a geared 125 does!

you could try sitting on the bike without using the throttle and feeling the biting point as it will (nearly) pull away with no throttle.

Have you tried adjusting the clutch? as I set the clutch where I was comfortable with it...have you changed the setting?

use the force...use the force

[DanceLikeAMon...]

I think the clutch is probably set OK for me as I can pull away fine most of the time from my own driveway ie when there's no pressure of other cars around, so it probably is just a case of spending a morning practising until I can do it without thinking.

I'm going to be sober on New Years Eve for once, so I might get up early on Jan 1st and spend the day practising in car parks (I assume that even Supermarkets are closed on New Years Day)

[dodsi]

Should be, I think that you think too much about controlling the awsome power of the SR 125?


Just relax and it will come together for you!

[DanceLikeAMon...]

I was on a straight, empty, main road last night, full throttle, head down - bike crawled up to 43 mph! (admittedly there was quite a strong head wind)

[kaillum]

best advice my instructor gave me was.. slip the clutch.. dont try and pull away to quietly, the clutch on small engined bikes is there to be slipped...

once you've found the bite point, roll on the throttle, and gently let your clutch out... but not all the way, only fully release your clutch once your moving above a walking pace..

as has been said above.. you need more throttle the more the clutch comes out because the engine is under load and will try to bog down..

The last piece of advice he gave me before my test was - "Ride like everyone on the road is trying to kill you... If they dont, its a bonus!"...

Ride Smart ~ Ride Safe

Andy ~ kaillum

[DanceLikeAMon...]

[meyrick]

[kaillum]

glad to hear it m8e...

it does get better with time...

my wife started riding in October.. and for the first couple of weeks she would stall and be very nervous pulling away from junctions... but after a couple of months she's really up to speed... most of her problems lie with the bike though.. its a restricted RS125.. which has no torque whatsoever.. so the slightest incline involves her giving it a handful of revs and slipping the clutch like a woman possessed just to get it moving!!!

good luck m8e... and ride Safe

Andy ~ kaillum