Advanced Roadcraft wrote:AlistairL wrote:Hi Folks,
I drive a nice old R1100RS, a ten year old BMW boxer twin. I'm working on my slow speed maneovering which involves a bit of revs, a bit of clutch and a variety of rear brake.
I'm finding it tricky finding the right revs that aren't too noisy, but avoiding the lumpiness at low revs.
Any tips, or should I stick at the practice, practice, practice?
Thanks
Alistair.
Constant revs - enough to keep the engine 'busy' (say 1500rpm on the R1100RS?)...
constant clutch position (a tad over the bite point)...and
all speed control via the rear brake (& never touch the front one)
And, yeah, 'practice, practice, practice'...but let the old girl rest between every three - four exercizes so you don't overheat that dry-plate clutch.
Best, B
Agreed with that.
In addition, in common with any exercise where the sense of balance is being trained, keep your head and eyes up, don't look down, don't hunch. The taller your body is, the better your sense of balance will seem to be.
Also, practice doing everything as slowly as you can manage. When you're driving out and about normally, see how slowly you can come up to red traffic lights, see if you can be completely stopped before you put a foot down, and make it the one you meant to put down, and not rushed. All this will make those slow maneouvres seem less precarious.
That's how I learned to be good at riding a 6ft unicycle (with only one scar
) that's how I used to be able to turn my raleigh racer (Rust in Pieces) in a circle slightly *smaller* in radius than the wheelbase!
On a slightly different note, I have a wet clutch, does that mean I'm less likely to overheat it? I've often wondered if sitting at traffic lights on the bite point is a Bad Idea, or if it's just a handy way to help my engine warm up more quickly...
Cheers & God bless
Sam "SammyTheSnake" Penny