Low Speed Trick
Jun 15th, 2009 by Leo
Ever worry about killing the engine while doing a low speed maneuvers? The technique the MSF teaches is to use your throttle liberally (rev it as much as you want) while using your clutch to moderate how much power goes to the rear wheel. You can use your rear brake also to keep the power in line. But…if you think about it, that’s a lot of work… You’re using three controls, two hands and one foot to control the amount of power to the rear wheel. Why? Because during low speed turns, the throttle is often too sensitive to use well without killing the engine or dumping the bike. What if you could use just one control? You can leave the clutch alone, and even leave the throttle alone, and control the power in a tight turn with just the rear brake.
How do you do that? Here’s what stunters and gymkhana riders do: they turn up the idle to around 3000 to 3500 rpms. Stunters do this so that they can cruise without having to hold open the throttle with your right hand. Gymkhana riders do this because it’s easier to idle through a super-tight turn controlling the speed with the rear brake than it is to do it with throttle control.
How do you set the idle speed? Most fuel injected bikes have a knob that’s somewhere easily accessible (usually on the left side). So if you ever wanted to know how they did it, the answer is: practice, practice, practice, and a fast idle. And if you’re so inclined, get out some traffic cones and hone your gymkhana moves in a parking lot somewhere… then getting around gridlock will be a breeze! Then as you get comfortable with the throttle control, you can gradually lower the idle speed (to save gas) except for special gymkhana sessions… Cheers!
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