Newbie: Advice on Shifting Technique
 

I'm a new SV rider and I'm having trouble shifting up and down on a hilly environment. My neighborhood is quite hilly and has lots of stop signs so I find myself in a number of stop-and-go situations. I'm also having some trouble with quick take off as well.

Can you guys give me some pointers on what to do when dealing with hills and how to get going in a reasonable time ins stop-and-go situations? I'd also love to hear your thoughts on shifting in general. I'm currently doing the following and I'm afraid with my current skills I'm not ready for the highway.

Going up hill:
1. Use the back break to slow down before reaching to of the hill.
2. Pull the clutch in and down-**** to 1st gear before reaching the top of the hill.
3. Come to a complete stop using the back breaks.
4. When it's my turn to go I give it some gas and then start shifting to 2nd gear and then finally 3rd. Of course the whole process to get going is insanely slow for me (~4-5 seconds) and cars are right on my tail.

Going down a hill.
1. I'm completely at reset and in 1st gear before descending down hill.
2. I pull the clutch in and let gravity do its thing.
3. I slow down as I am going down and change to second gear.
4. Finally I change to 3rd gear.
5. 10 seconds later I have to completely stop and do the whole thing again.

When going up the hill, just use the torque of the engine to keep going, dont change to third untill you are moving over around 40 otherwise you will bog down the engine and it will chugg and you will not have much power on tap to accelerate fast if you need it.

Going down hill, dont let it coast down, stick it in a low gear '2nd' and let the engine braking slow the bike down + brakes, then just as you come to a stop put it into '1st'. The lower the gear the more engine braking there is and the bike will slow down.

Only my experiance though, other peeps will have other ideas.

Re: Newbie: Advice on Shifting Technique
 

my advice would be to use more revs, and lower gears i think.
on the SV, you very rarely need to use the brakes, as the engine brake is quite strong.

Agree with TSM and bb. It could be you're sifting up too quickly and the bike can't sort itself out i.e. it'll be on low revs in too high a gear and feel like it's going to stall. You're better off using higher revs in a lower gear. Either you're trying to knock up the gears too quickly or you're not twisting your right wrist fast enough!

Re: Newbie: Advice on Shifting Technique
 

When did you pass your test. Your biggest problem IMHO is this. You sound like in general you are lacking in confidence. This will come with practice. If you really are that worried go back to your riding school and get some more time with an instructor explain what you are worried about and ask them for tips and get them to take you out on the road so you can practice what you are doing.

Sounds to me like a lack of confidence. You should be using the front brake more than the rear. I always try to use the front more than the rear brake. I'll bring in the rear brake during the last few metres coming up to a junction just to help settle the bike. Also it frees up my right hand from duties with the front brake lever so I'm ready to go with the throttle when its safe for me to pull away.

On an uphill junction as I think you are doing. You can hold the bike on the rear brake and use it in a similar way you would do the handbrake in a car.

Downhills arent much different. Just use the back brake during the last few metres and then hold the bike on the back brake to stop it rolling away from you. Again your throttle hand is free so you can apply the throttle when its safe to pull away.

IMHO its not good to let the bike coast with the clutch in for great distances. You're robbing yourself of another mechanism to control the speed of the bike namely the engine. I always find I can approach junctions in 3rd or 2nd and then pull the clutch in just prior to a stop and then only select 1st gear once I have stopped and am ready to pull away.

If you are riding in hilly areas with lots of junctions try changing gear less. leave the bike in 2nd and concentrate on your braking and approach to junctions. Once you have got that sussed try adding some more speed and changing up into 3rd or 4th if you have the time to build the speed up.

As for pulling away. Its easy enough it just takes a bit of practice. Remember the SV has plenty of torque so theres no need to nail the throttle hard when pulling away. Unless you want to :twisted:

Again I found a smooth progressive opening of the throttle was better than just snapping the throttle open hard was better. You need to be positive with the movement of the gear lever when chaning gear. I find that a small amount of pressure on under the lever before I pull the clutch in helps make for a good gear change.

It really is just practice thats all. Concentrate on one thing at a time. Trying to get everyting right all the time and remembering all the adivce you'll get given is just going to confuse the hell out of you. Remember nobody is perfect and nobody gets in 100% right all the time.

HTH

where you from ? mabe someone from here could take you out for a ride ?

while its not exactly "advanced riding", its a start :)

Thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate it. Yes, I'm new and I need a lot of practice. I think I'm not giving the bike enough gas when in 1st and 2nd gear. How fast should you be going to shift from 1st to 2nd gear and 2nd to 3rd gear? And what speeds should once generally maintain when in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear?

fizzwheel,

Sad as it may sound I've had my license for two years (took an MSF class) and didn't buy a bike until just a few weeks ago.

bikageboy,

I'm in Seattle, USA.

Maybe. Certainly would explain the lack of progress pulling away if its bogging down because its in to high a gear.

Depends on speed a road conditions as to what speed is good in what gear. If you can keep the revs in the 5000rpm region I find that would give me good acceleration from there or it would give me good deceleration using the engine braking to slow myself down.

Its not sad at all. I really would think about going back to your riding school and getting a refresher lesson or two.

Just take your time and don't rush things. You'll get the hang of it.

I picked up on a lack of confidence. It's nothing to be embarrassed about - practice, practice, practice. And as fizz says, be sure to have good training - an instructor riding behind you can see what you're doing and can pick up on faults much better than we possibly can. I think it's great, a very positive thing in fact, that you have recognised that your road skills might be lacking - and that you're prepared to admit to it. Most don't. Far better to spend £250 on a few days' training to improve your riding than on a new zorst, IMHO.

Going uphill - why use the brake at all? If no junction, as Warren (bikeageboy) says, you can simply roll off. I make a point of keeping well to the nearside just in case someone's overtaking on the other side, so as to give plenty of room. If there's a junction at the top, and you have to slow/stop, why are you using back brake alone? I'd use front brake mainly - don't be afraid of using the front brake - gentle and sustained pressure - never a quick grab. And then let off the front brake to stop the front from diving - it unsettles the bike - and hold it on teh back brake.

I don't like the idea of coasting with the clutch in - not at all. You have far less control.

Change gear less often, don't be afraid to rev the bike. It can sound awful - you'll think the pistons are coming through - they won't - and you soon get used to it. Wear some ear plugs, it muffles the noise!!

TBH it sounds to me that you're trying to ride your bike like you'd drive a car, and if you have an automatic it'll be even worse. They are completely different. Don't be afraid to use the rev range to the full. You'll get better engine braking too. Don't be afraid of the front brake - never, never grab it, progressive gentle pressure will bring the bike to a stop. And don't be afraid to rev it through the range, if you stick to 3K at best you'll never get the best out of it.

Suggest you experiment on some quiet roads.

The above posts are very helpful but if you want a short answer, it's as fizz said
5000 revs, not like a car - enjoy your bike (up to the rev limit once you are confident)