some general riding q's from a newb : Yamaha R6 Forum: R6MessageNet : YZF-R6 Forums

dakh · 06-08-2006, 04:13 PM

So I put maybe 30 miles on this old track dog just riding around in the city. Those are my first 30 miles on any bike after the MSF course (yeah, I know - wrong bike choice but read on).

My goal is to go racing and I don't really care for street riding (too risky for my taste, I live downtown so almost all of my riding is in heavy traffic), but obviously I need to get the basics down before hitting the track so some street riding is a must.

So far the issues I have are simple: even though I make a point of having my hands relaxed at all times and thus hugging the bike with my knees, I still get my balls squeezed against the tank pretty noticeably. Scooting my butt up the seat kinda helps, but only kinda and the posture then gets a little more uncomfortable. What to do?

Now this is a race bike and the (aftermarket, sloped down) clip-ons are set up basically as low as possible - the brake and clutch levers are almost rubbing the air ducts, plus the rear suspension has an aftermarket dog bone that is raising it. So if the answer to this is "that's what you have to live with on a race bike", I'll take that too. Or maybe it's just because I'm skinny (5'11" @ 145lbs) and I need a different seat?

Then there's the downshift rev-matching thing that I can't seem to get down. I heel-n-toe on my car pretty much perfectly when braking for a corner, but on a bike I either have uneven braking or botched rev-matches. How the heck is it possible to not change the amount of pressure on the brake lever and yet blip the throttle for a downshift?

Next up is the foot placement. Yeah it's a lot better to have balls of the feet on the footpegs but then this means you have to move them each time you need to go for a gear change or use the rear brake, right? Kinda awkward.

EUBATT · 06-08-2006, 04:28 PM

I say you don't worry about rev matching and the sort until you are fully comfortable controlling the bike. It takes time to get used to riding, so don't rush yourself. As far as your positioning on the bike; it is a track bike, so you won't be very comfortable when you ride the street, but you should be able to get used to it.

Good luck and have fun

dakh · 06-08-2006, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EUBATT

I say you don't worry about rev matching and the sort until you are fully comfortable controlling the bike. It takes time to get used to riding, so don't rush yourself. As far as your positioning on the bike; it is a track bike, so you won't be very comfortable when you ride the street, but you should be able to get used to it.

Good luck and have fun

Hey thanks, I happen to have fun both wrenching on it and riding it so it's all good. The most uncomfortable thing of course is going downhill while still trying to keep all the upper body weight supported by the butt and legs and not by hands. There are some steep slopes around here and I get tired pretty quickly, but that's something that can be trained for and my mid-section is quite strong as is.

But the ball-squeezing thing - come on, it can't be trained for and you can't get used to that! Something needs to be done about it, to the best of my knowledge I don't have kids yet so I'd like to keep my balls functional :/

dakh · 06-08-2006, 04:54 PM

Oh and for rev-matching, it's just easier for me to learn this stuff right away 'cause I'm so used to doing it on cars. I had to drive this other car the other day where the gas pedal was way lower than the brake pedal so I couldn't heel and toe on it, and I was so confused! Same thing on the bike, if I can't set up for a turn properly I just get nervous.

dakh · 06-08-2006, 05:00 PM

Also, the lowered clip-ons and all, is this supposed to make doing tight low-speed turns easier or harder?

CephasGT · 06-08-2006, 06:49 PM

The clip-ons being low will make low-speed maneuvering harder.

Yes, you do have to move your feet around on the pegs for rear braking and shifting. Takes a little getting used to, but once you get familiar with the feel of the pegs and controls, it becomes second nature. If you watch the MotoGP and WSBK/AMA guys, they practically dance on the pegs.

Downshifting/rev-matching just takes practice, and lots of it. You had to practice for awhile to learn to heel-toe in a car, right? Same deal. Just make sure you're using only 2 fingers on the brake lever, and keep practicing. Like everything else, it becomes second nature after awhile.

As for the nut-squashing thing... Boxer breifs man. That's all I gotta say.

Hope that helps.

Utta · 06-09-2006, 01:21 PM

About youre little testicular issue... When coming to a stop, or anything that might hurt your jewels in any way, use your inner knees to clamp the tank and prevent your body from being pushed into the tank. Works for me.

Im a short guy, being 5'5 w/ boots on, and shaved my seat down a little bit. I left a little more towards the front and that keeps me from ramming the tank. If youre going track only, you might want to try that. You really dont need the seat much on the track. Im sure you could find a seat off Ebay for cheap.

Oh yeah... Congrats on passing MSF. You'll have a blast on the track bro. I wish i had the funds to go...

Karonic · 06-09-2006, 01:52 PM

The best thing to do is take your time, you don't wanna do too much at once. Right now you need to concentrate on your riding. Once your good at that then move up to riding position, downshifting, wheeling j/k. . . . If you try to do too much at once you'll go down and that's not a good thing. There are two types of riders, those who have been down and those who are going down. You want to be the latter, and keep it that way.

dakh · 06-09-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karonic

The best thing to do is take your time, you don't wanna do too much at once. Right now you need to concentrate on your riding. Once your good at that then move up to riding position, downshifting, wheeling j/k. . . . If you try to do too much at once you'll go down and that's not a good thing. There are two types of riders, those who have been down and those who are going down. You want to be the latter, and keep it that way.

Well, there's another school of thought - if you're not falling it means you're not pushing yourself hard enough. I'm Ok with going down, but of course I'll do my best not to. But of course this doesn't apply for street riding.

I don't quite understand what you mean by concentrating on riding as opposed to position, shifting, etc. Aren't thouse just elements of riding?

dakh · 06-09-2006, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utta

About youre little testicular issue... When coming to a stop, or anything that might hurt your jewels in any way, use your inner knees to clamp the tank and prevent your body from being pushed into the tank. Works for me.

Im a short guy, being 5'5 w/ boots on, and shaved my seat down a little bit. I left a little more towards the front and that keeps me from ramming the tank. If youre going track only, you might want to try that. You really dont need the seat much on the track. Im sure you could find a seat off Ebay for cheap.

Oh yeah... Congrats on passing MSF. You'll have a blast on the track bro. I wish i had the funds to go...

That's the thing - the ball squeezing goes on as soon as I get on the bike, doesn't really matter what the riding situation is. And I do squeeze the tank _all_ the time to keep my hands relaxed.

I think I might try to be standing on the footpegs more to take some weight off my butt..

As for MSF course - I got only -2 points and that was the best result in the group, so maybe I'm a natural

If the bike holds up that's gonna be the cheapest thing ever - I paid 3100 for it and spent maybe $200 and two weekends to put it on the road. So yeah there's some budget left for racing.