Low Speed GRiSO Maneuvering

This is one just for the great unwashed, the barely worthy.....in other words the newbie riders amongst
our forum contingent, which I include myself as being a member of. In my own limited experience on the bike,
having only ridden an Yamaha MX100 dirtbike as a snot-nose kid, I find the GRiSO a little tough to navigate around parking
lots and in slow speed traffic. Luckily, I stumbled on something online that drastically improved my ability
and confidence when dealing with tight walking speed cornering. The trick is; while  you are motoring
around in 1st gear at low RPM, feather the rear brake at the same time, creating friction so that you need to slightly increase the revs so as not to stop or stall. Holding the higher rev range will make the bike more easily controllable
and able to move through tight turns. It sounds counter-intuitive to apply the brake and the gas at the same time,
but it really works!

And Leaning outside of your turn helps a lot too, just don't practice in front of anyone in case you drop the bike

Good stuff Dave

waterbottle wrote:

And Leaning outside of your turn helps a lot too...

That's the ticket, shift your weight WAY to the outside and you'd be surprised at how tight a turn you can make.

[quote="… feather the rear brake at the same time …[/quote]

rear brake? what rear brake?



sorry couldn't resist …

Clutch control is what you learn offroad, seems to work well onroad too

I'm 5.7 and 165lbs...
I got to learn how to deal with the weight of the GRiSO and i can maneuver this thing fine now.
The only thing that is a bitch for me and it's the same with any heavy bike when I'm not flat footed which is the case with the GRiSO, is backing out and rolling it around.
Everything else is peachy.

diedel wrote:

[quote="… feather the rear brake at the same time …

rear brake? what rear brake?



sorry couldn't resist … [/quote]

It has one but as far as i can tell its only purpose is to turn on the stop light....

cya
Scot.

Dave, go borrow a small dirt bike again and practice tight full lock figure 8's leaning the bike in hard and your body leaning out, way out as Street said. It is all just balance. When you have the feel and confidence it is exactly the same principle you will use on any big bike, except the turning circle will be greater.

Also note, the use of the rear brake while cornering is a form of "trail braking". You will use it frequently on round-a-bouts and in car parks. Simultaneous throttle and rear brake are a normal part of every day riding and you should learn to use it in high speed cornering.

If ever you feel too fast in a corner and fear running wide, the normal response is to back off or use both brakes before parking it in the bushes. DON'T! Applying the rear brake while keeping the throttle open will save your bacon.

1st rule of thumb, focus on "WHERE YOU WANT TO GO"
Applying throttle or at least maintaining a steady throttle will;
A. Maintain stability. (Closed throttle at full lean will make the front end feel vague and push wide, using either brake at this time will only exacerbate the problem).
B. Applying throttle will stop the rear tyre from skidding out if you apply too much rear brake.
C. It is then possible to slow your speed and tighten your line for safety.

Before traction control was invented, racers would use the rear brake to control wheel spin when hard on the gas on corner exit. Same principle. Try it.

The GRiSO has a great rear brake especially with the right pads, I guess it depends how you ride.
Used with the front brakes it aids high high speed stops.
I also use it a lot entering a corner if I need it to scrub of a little bit of speed and settle the rear of the bike and it doesn't use up front suspension travel before it is needed in the corner. I also use it in quick corners to tighten the line if the corner tightens, better than grabbing a hand full of front which will usually cause it to stand up and understeer.
It is also excellent when 2 up with luggage as it tends to squat the back a little if applied first and doesn't throw your pillion forward as much.
All of this is done with modest pressure application or light feathering so as to not lock the rear wheel and requires a bit of practice to find the best performance.
I guess if you never use it then its benefits aren't obvious.

Scot p wrote:

diedel wrote:

[quote="… feather the rear brake at the same time …

rear brake? what rear brake?



sorry couldn't resist …

It has one but as far as i can tell its only purpose is to turn on the stop light....

cya
Scot.[/quote]

… and to pick one's nose right-handed

Anyway it's interesting to see how tastes differ while driving' the moped and i believe Pascal will definitively find his way, too.

Diedel

I use a 'flick of the hips'..........

For a big ole bird, she's not too bad to move around. Off road stuff really does help with bike control although opening the throttle off road to get out of a rut is not applicable

Mark111 - Interesting to read your comments on the rear brake. I have also thought that the rear brake on my Tenni is pretty much just ornamental, but may possibly benefit with a change in pads. When I fitted Brembo carbon ceramic pads to my Mk1 & S3, it made a big difference.

I've put up with the GRiSO back brake for long enough so should do something about it - what rear pads are you running?

(Dave - sorry to have turned your 'low speed maneuvering' thread into a 'rear brake thread)

Spozzy

ghezzi wrote:

If ever you feel too fast in a corner and fear running wide, the normal response is to back off or use both brakes before parking it in the bushes. DON'T! Applying the rear brake while keeping the throttle open will save your bacon.

1st rule of thumb, focus on "WHERE YOU WANT TO GO"
Applying throttle or at least maintaining a steady throttle will;
A. Maintain stability. (Closed throttle at full lean will make the front end feel vague and push wide, using either brake at this time will only exacerbate the problem).
B. Applying throttle will stop the rear tyre from skidding out if you apply too much rear brake.
C. It is then possible to slow your speed and tighten your line for safety.

Just happened to me on Monday evening (entered a corner faster than I should have). Fortunately, I was not going quite fast enough to completely lose it and the "look where you want to go" rule was juuust enough from keeping me from going over what looked like a cliff and most likely death. Will certainly practice this rear braking technique a bit more.

It sure sends a charge through the body when you know you are in some potentially deep shit!!

I always use shitty pads on the rear brake so I have to press real hard to lock the wheel.
That way I can use it like Wayne does without worrying about a wheel lock.
This helps a lot when you enter a curve a little too hard.
In my racing days (amateur), there were fast curves where I stayed full throttle but drag the rear brake a bit to slow down just enough without losing the momentum. Those tricks work great.
Another trick for heavy bikes like ours, is using the front brake in fast chicanes but you have to practice that one for a while to get it right...go hard in the first turn and use the front brake as you throw the bike if the second one, it helps you manage the weight but your timing needs to be impeccable.
I understand that all this is in a racing environment but it works well on the streets in a lesser scale of course.
Besides, the best road riders have dirt bike training under their belt. Ask Kenny Roberts and even Vali.

Spozzy,
Brembo HH pads in my current bike, don't know if they are the originals as I bought the bike 2nd hand. I used EBC HH pads in my old bike, both sets have plenty of bite but practice and regular use has allowed me to develop the appropriate feel and I have not had any issues with the rear locking up.

I attended a rider training day at a local circuit and came away with a gem of tip from a very successful NZ rider. He always applies the back brake fractionally before the front brake in every corner. He uses this technique on street and race bikes, including the Britten. Good enough to win Daytona, good enough for me. It settles the suspension before the weight transfer from the greater forces of front brake application.
I now use this on the GRiSO and adventure bike.