New rider, few questions

Howdy guys, passed my test a couple of days ago and due to my insurance being a pain I have no grey area between going from my scooter to my bike so have to jump in at the deep end on the bike for commuting to work. So I am now officially riding my ER-5.

I have a few questions regarding riding I would like to ask.

Firstly, my bike doesn't feel right at 20mph with the clutch out in first or second gear. It feels like its too high for first gear but not fast enough for second. It jerks around and lurches. What do I do about this/what causes this? It is pretty uncomfortable.

Secondly, downshifting. I know its a buzz word and there is a ton of info out there but I am finding it a bit overwhelming. Today I ended up in the wrong gear at junctions as well as downshifting and feeling the vehicle lurch underneath me as it applies a lot of engine braking. When I shift down a gear how do I do it?

At the moment its

clutch in,

throttle off,

gear down,

clutch out/throttle on.

Is this right? I've read about rev matching, engine breaking and so on and its all going round in circles in my head. I know I'm obviously doing something wrong but Im not sure how to fix it.

Thanks for any help.

Ben

Your chain tension is OK? .......A loose chain can cause jerky gear changes.....

carry on as you are you will learn what feels right for the bike

as for down shifting rev matching is blipping the throttle between gear changes this will smooth out the bike when you let the clutch out as the revs will be higher and less engine braking

but honestly just forget all that for now and learn the bike and get used to the feel of it

come back to rev matching/blipping the throttle when you get the feel of the bike

Chears guys. I don't really want to ask this but should I get P's for my bike? As I am slow at junctions and sometimes slow down when changing gear. I don't want to cause a nuisance to anyone. Not to mention yesterday while filtering a transit van deliberately started weaving side to side in his lane to screw with me and as a biker I don't like that and as a new biker it was really not what I needed.

Don't really want P's but just a thought .

Cheers

Ben

Not sure about "P"s.

Personally if I see "P"s on a bike or car i give leeway as a new driver may be slower or a bit unpredictable but some see it as an other reason to push past or dominate.

With the weaving you get that. Some drivers will block some will give room and the majority stay put. Just be careful and keep alert for the blockers.

Just keep at it i guess. I'm going thought the same transition. My FZ6 is worlds apart from my CG and i'm still getting used to it. Slow and steady as i went until my confidence improved. Shame the front sprocket dropped out after only 4 days of riding it . It's now sat on the drive looking very sorry for itself. Just keep at it, as i will when its fixed. To be honest it was just the same starting on the CG, now i zip about (legally of course) all over the place on taht no problem.

No way i'm putting P plates on though.

Thanks guys. An FZ6 Foxy? That's what I trained on. Really liked it once id gotten used to it.

Another question for you guys to save me making a thread everytime. There's a very steep cobbled road outside my office. It's full of leaves and mud n stuff and about 40 /60 feet long with a T junction at the end. Atm I struggle to ride down it as I put gas on to stop engine stalling but as it's steep downhill any throttle feels like to much as it's not long enough.

So. How should I handle this? It's very hard to control the bike atm n that surface. Can I leave the throttle and clutch alone and ride down in first gear on tickover and just focus on breaking? Today I almost ended up in the middle of the road I went too fast.

Thanks

Ben

Thanks guys. An FZ6 Foxy? That's what I trained on. Really liked it once id gotten used to it.

Another question for you guys to save me making a thread everytime. There's a very steep cobbled road outside my office. It's full of leaves and mud n stuff and about 40 /60 feet long with a T junction at the end. Atm I struggle to ride down it as I put gas on to stop engine stalling but as it's steep downhill any throttle feels like to much as it's not long enough.

So. How should I handle this? It's very hard to control the bike atm n that surface. Can I leave the throttle and clutch alone and ride down in first gear on tickover and just focus on breaking? Today I almost ended up in the middle of the road I went too fast.

Thanks

Ben

That sounds like a challenging road for anyone never mind a new rider. Why do you think the engine is going to stall if you don't use the throttle to keep the revs up? Maybe give the bike a minute or two to warm up before ridiing off. I assume it's EFI so if everything's working properly I wouldn't think the bike would stall. Otherwise, slipping the clutch and *gentle* use of the back brake is probably the way to handle it.

Some new riders don't like to slip the clutch because they've been taught not to do it in a car, but it's an essential technique for slow speed control. Also bike engines rev much higher than car engines, so keeping it in first with the engine spinning at say 5k is fine. Allows you to control your speed on the throttle much better too.

Cobbles. Nasty. Mud. Not nice. And on a hill in the wet? Very unpleasant.

If it's wet, can you turn the other way and go home up the hill? It sounds as if it's easier to learn to do that road in the dry and graduate to doing it in the wet.

Nah, no way around it, its practically the drive way to work. It will probably be fine if I just coast down it in first with no throttle. Im just timid about stalling at the moment.

Another update on the madness of a new bike! My front brake is almost nonexistent and doesn't trigger the brake light when used. Squeezed it progressively harder today until it was at maximum at 40 mph and it didn't do anything. I have asked my soon to be father in law to have a look at it and show me how to fix it this weekend but until then i'll be going even slower. I am just glad I got him to tighten up the back brake as originally that was useless too.

Exciting!

You don't want to be riding with no front brake The majority of braking force is from the front, the back will not stop you in a hurry in a controlled manner.Get it fixed.

The light may just need the switch adjusting or replaced.

I got it sorted yesterday. Bled the brakes and now they are much tighter. There was a little air in the system but not loads. It has been suggested to me that I may have a faulty valve on the actual brake fluid cap. So when I squeeze the brake the valve lets a little fluid back in instead of pumping it out. When I bled the brakes with the cap top off it did do a little bloop and splash a tiny bit when I squeezed the brake. Not sure if that's an issue or not.

I will see if my brakes resort to how they where originally then I need to look for another cause.

Thanks

Ben

The bloop was probably air in the system. When you say a faulty valve on the cap I am confused, there should just be a big rubber seal to keep the air in? If that is gone then it's a quick change (new seal seems to be around a tenner). Also I am sure you know, but remember to clean up any spilt brake fluid asap as that stuff is nasty

It must be the seal, it wasn't a bubble more like something moving under the surface so probably the seal. Anyway its still working so that should hopefully be sorted.

Another issue I am having which I have asked before but have to ask again.

My bike hates being at 20mph. As in in first its screaming (By screaming I mean at 6k rpm out of about max of 10k) and dragging and in second its raring to go and twitchy. Its like 20mph is between the gears and it just hates it. What do you guys reckon this could be? The bike runs fine, starts fine, and under 15mph and over 25 its fine. In second gear its like the slightest twitch on the throttle and I am off and in first it feels like I am pushing it too hard.

Am I overthinking this?

Thanks

Ben

It must be the seal, it wasn't a bubble more like something moving under the surface so probably the seal. Anyway its still working so that should hopefully be sorted.

Another issue I am having which I have asked before but have to ask again.

My bike hates being at 20mph. As in in first its screaming (By screaming I mean at 6k rpm out of about max of 10k) and dragging and in second its raring to go and twitchy. Its like 20mph is between the gears and it just hates it. What do you guys reckon this could be? The bike runs fine, starts fine, and under 15mph and over 25 its fine. In second gear its like the slightest twitch on the throttle and I am off and in first it feels like I am pushing it too hard.

Am I overthinking this?

Thanks

Ben

Try third gear, or forth!