Lol, I just made the stupidest mistake...

[MementoMori]

My dad assures me everyone's done it, so maybe you could share with me when this happened to you

I took all your advice and went out to practice, this time my dad was infront of me so I could copy him, and follow his line.
Anywaaaay, coming up to a roundabout, I changed down and pulled the clutch in waiting to turn left.
"A ha, a space!" I thought.... let the clutch out gently, give it some throttle aaand..... bike shudders and stalls. "Bollocks" ... pull the bike into the curb and let cars pass behind me. Find a gap in the traffic, let the clutch out, etc... bike stalls again. "For crying out loud!" Am feeling well embarrased right now, and I don't suppose it helps I'm getting glaring looks off car drivers.. and have two green mohecans on my hat.

I guess you all know what my problem is by now, but it took me a further five minutes sitting there and stalling, to realise the problem. Amazingly, I have a brainwave, knock the bike out of second, put it in the PROPER gear, 1st, and pull away like nobody's business.

:: sigh ::
____________________
The tiger who came for a pint

[Hex]

[Mister James]

I wouldn't worry about it too much buddy, I did it last week on my Fazer.

Some fucking chugnuts decided he'd had enough of waiting for a gap in the traffic, and decided that pulling across a 2 lane 40mph road was the solution to all of his problems. I'm in 4th, changed down to 3rd because I saw him looking like he was going to do something stupid, and then just speeding up when he makes his suicide move.

On slam the anchors, bike stops in a couple of lengths, some choice anglosaxon pursues the middleaged asian businessman in his large silver merc as he waves at me as if I've offered to let him go past.

Take 2 seconds to cool off, then clutch out, throttle up, stalled. Restart the engine, do the same again, put give it a bit more welly as I pull away. It's only as I glide gently down the road that I realise I'm in 3rd gear :S

At least you were only in 2nd!

If you find that you are heading for a stall, just open up the gas and give it some welly, it should allow you to pull away ok.

[G]

A while ago on my zx6 I was pulling out of the petrol station, going back to work after my lunch brake.

Clutch, rev. Hardly moves. Car coming in the distance.
More clutch, more revs. Still not moving. Car getting very close as I'm now halfway in the road.
Lots of clutch slipping, lots and lots of revs. My first *big* second gear clutched wheely.
Turns out the car was someone I work with... they just though I was showing off .

[tony532]

been there done that on the rs125 many times

my latest one on the gsxr400 is knocking it down to neutral coasting to a set of traffic lights thinking i was in first gear

and then the bike reving like mad and me going no where when the lights change

very embarasing

[Ade067]

I've never ever forgot to change down to 1st gear before pulling away.

Oh did I mention that I lie like a cheap watch

I actually did it today but luckily my bike doesn't mind pulling away in 2nd too much

[stryker]

When I was doing my CBT that was my problem. Kept pulling up at junctions thinking I'd took it back down to 1st when I was in 2nd or even 3rd.

Then to prove a point the instructor hopped on my bike and pulled away in 5th, showoff.

There is a good chance if you come to a stop before you've worked down through your gears you will think your in first as it won't go down any more. The fact is if your not moving chances are your gears won't go down anyway as they don't like being changed on a standstill.
____________________
Now what?

[JodieWodie]

My CBT was a disaster !!!
I was at traffic lights...pulling away in 3rd...2nd...3rd...did a full WHEELIE AT ONE SET..as I dropped the clutch !! Jesus

I still, now, knock down to 1st instead of going up to 3rd......or forget what gear I am in approaching a roundabout...
all scary..juddery stuff...

Don't worry...we ALL do it...off days and bad days.....
some days it clicks...some days...I am a pleb

Jo xxx
____________________
Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow"

[Smoto Bob]

[Gazdaman]

Fear not, I've done it aswell, I love spotting the gap at a roundabout, only to crack the throttle open, to hear a low rumble and moving forwards very slowly.

Gaz

[pipnet11]

I remember those moments well sort of "grrrrrr chug chug cluck...bastard'' moment, oh the embarrasment, especially as i only had a kick start and of corse it refused to start again. Joy!!

Phill
____________________
I love the girls that do, I hate the girls that dont, I hate the girls who say they will and then they say they wont, but the girl I like most of all and I think youll say Im right, is the girl who says she never has but looks as though she might. - Max Bygraves

[Smoto Bob]

[jamie192]

My sister did that an awful lot in her cbt, ive had my bike for a number of weeks now and i still have more to go, im hoping to be so used to the bike that that wont happen to me, i bet it will but im hoping it wont, the best ive done is pull away in 4th on mine but i doubt id be able to if i didnt know it was in 4th. i can pull away in second when thinking its in first tho
____________________
Ride Fast, Brake hard, don't fall off!

[Bomberman]

Heh, I did that at two consecutive junctions when I went out on my own for the first time I thought my bike was broken How embarrassed was I? Then I started thinking, how the hell can it have so little low down power? Along with, am I really that inept with the clutch? Hehe Something you get used to. Especially hard I found, coming from a car, where what gear you're in is instantly obvious with a quick left and downward glance.
____________________
'Allo! My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!
'89 TZR 125 - '94 GPZ500s - ZK3 GSXR600 Alstare

[Frost]

HAH! i still do that now, allthough i have got used to letting the clutch out slowly if in doubt. At least that way you just have to stop, kick it down a bit, then carry on rather than actually stalling it.

I can honestly say that most have problems like there where they kick it down to 2nd thinking it was in bottom gear. only the other week i spent 10 minutes trying to get my bike into neutral only to be told by m1ke i was actually going from 2nd to 3rd rather than 1st to 2nd

[pipnet11]