What Gear RU in & other Noob ?’s - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

Sandman · 02-26-2007, 05:14 PM

Or another title might be… Questions newer riders might have but are too embarrassed to ask.

Hey, I don’t mind telling on myself for the sake of finding out if this is a normal progression, or if I need to walk my bike the next MSF refresher course.

Do you always know what gear you’re in? - I imagine you’re supposed to, but sometimes in the process of coming to a stop I’ll be in the next higher (or next lower) gear than I think I am. I always engine brake through 2nd gear, then keep the clutch in until stopped. I never engine brake in 1st as I find it too jerky. So here is where I discover sometimes that there is an extra gear to shift through, OR clunk into 1st at above 20 mph, and boy does the gearbox whine when you do that (dead giveaway to not let out the clutch)! No biggie, just makes me feel dumb.

Do you always come to a smooth stop? It’s been 10 months and 5500 miles, and I still have issues with coming to a smooth stop every time. Smooth meaning balanced with no lean in either direction. I would say that 90% of my stops are textbook, 5% are ok, but the remaining 5% make me feel like an idiot. I find that from about 10 mph on down, if I apply more back brake than front, I am more apt to come to a perfectly balanced stop. If I use more front than back, for whatever reason the bike starts to lean to the left, so I end up having to stop more abruptly before the point of no return. When this happens it is a complete mystery to me as to why.

Those are my 2 nagging questions for now, I appreciate any insight you can provide! Thanks!